OnePlus 13 review

Introduction

The next chapter of OnePlus smartphones - the OnePlus 13 - has now finally made its way to international markets after been available in China for a couple of months already. The upgrades aren't massive, but a few steps in the right direction can go a long way.

Sure enough, there's a chipset update, and it's the Snapdragon 8 Elite that powers the OP13. A higher-capacity battery is always a welcome development and the new power pack is also the latest chemistry. The body has gotten a bit lighter, meanwhile, but more importantly it's now properly sealed - IP68/IP69 like all the others this year.

We're not being treated to a whole lot in terms of camera improvements - not the most enticing realization we get from looking at the specsheet. The triple-cam setup on the back is more or less the same as before, with the telephoto getting a different sensor. It's only after some more careful examination of the promo materials that we see the real change - a more compact lens for the zoom camera. It's... something?

About as noticeable at first glance is another change - an ultrasonic fingerprint reader replaces the optical one. This one is perhaps a little more important from a usability perspective than a thin camera lens, and we can get behind that. That's pretty much the list of changes all covered, but you can check out for yourself in the specs below.

OnePlus 13 specs at a glance:

• Body: 162.9x76.5x8.5mm, 210g; Glass front (Crystal Shield), glass back or silicone polymer back (eco leather), aluminum frame; IP68/IP69 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.82" LTPO AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 800 nits (typ), 1600 nits (HBM), 4500 nits (peak), 1440x3168px resolution, 19.8:9 aspect ratio, 510ppi; Always-on display.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8750-AB Snapdragon 8 Elite (3 nm): Octa-core (2x4.32 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix L + 6x3.53 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix M); Adreno 830.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, UFS 4.0.
• OS/Software: Android 15, OxygenOS 15 (International).
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.6, 23mm, 1/1.43", 1.12µm, multi-directional PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.0, 15mm, 120˚, PDAF; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/2.6, 73mm, 1/1.95", 3x optical zoom, PDAF, OIS.
• Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.4, 21mm (wide), 1/2.74", 0.8µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240/480fps, Auto HDR, gyro-EIS, Dolby Vision; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS.
• Battery: 6000mAh; 100W wired, PD, QC, 50% in 13 min, 100% in 36 min (advertised), 50W wireless, 10W reverse wireless, 5W reverse wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 7; BT 5.4, aptX HD, LHDC 5; NFC; Infrared port.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers.

OnePlus 13 unboxing

The OnePlus 13 arrives in a half-height red cardboard box - the color is the correct one, but the thickness comes as news to us. We're not entirely sure all markets will get the same treatment, but our review unit's package does not include a charger. The usual set of OP stickers also got axed. A red USB-A-to-C cable is still part of the bundle, as is a SIM eject pin.

We'll have to reiterate that depending on your locale, you may get a different set of accessories (and, well, a different box to accommodate them). Last year, all OP12s had chargers, but only India-bound units included a protective case, and this year the differentiation may have spread to other bits and/or markets.