OnePlus 13s hands-on review

Design

Let's start with the OnePlus 13s' raison d'être, and that is its size. Right off the bat, we want to dispel any potential misunderstandings regarding how small this phone is. OnePlus markets the 13s as 'compact' instead of 'small', and there is a reason for that.

The 13s isn't truly "small" by conventional standards. If you had something like the iPhone 12 mini or even the ASUS ZenFone 10 in your mind then you'll be sorely disappointed. Think more along the lines of the current standard-sized iPhones or the Galaxy S25 and you'll be closer to the actual size of the 13s. In fact, all three have essentially the same width but the 13s is a bit taller to accommodate its larger display.

The 13s takes some inspiration from these devices for the overall silhouette of its design. We have seen OnePlus do the flat metal and glass slab design before as recently as on the 13R but the 13s goes a step further and introduces much larger radius corners that are closer to that of the Samsung and the iPhone. From the front with the screen off, you might be hard-pressed to tell the difference between these phones.

The display uses flat glass, which thankfully has become the norm these days. OnePlus uses a larger than typical 6.32-inch display and the company achieves this by having relatively thin bezels. Unfortunately, the bezels do not have a uniform thickness, with the top and side measuring 1.34mm and the bottom bezel 1.845mm. You might think you wouldn't notice that difference, but you do.

More noticeable was the corner radius of the display, which does not match the corner radius of the phone, so the corners have thicker bezels than the sides. And if you really want to be annoyed, check out how the SIM tray is a different shade of pink than the rest of the phone. This might seem trivial but it's the sort of thing you expect from something marketed as a flagship and attention to detail isn't really 13s' forte.

The back of the phone has a sizable camera module at the top carved out of a single piece of aluminum. This houses the two camera lenses along with the IR blaster and the LED flash. The camera module sticks out a fair bit but it's also large enough on this relatively compact phone that it does not cause a lot of wobble when the phone is resting on its back. OnePlus claims that the placement of the module is optimized to stay out of your way when holding the phone sideways but it was impossible to not just touch the module but have your fingers rest directly on the camera glass in our use.

The Panda glass panel used for the back of the phone uses a different finish based on the color you pick. The black variant has a metallic sand finish while the pink (first for a OnePlus device) and green (exclusive to India) have what OnePlus calls Velvet Glass with a soft texture. It's an interesting finish but sometimes it feels as if OnePlus goes through far too much effort to make its glass backs feel less like glass.

Ergonomics is a big reason to consider a smaller phone over your typical flagship and here the OnePlus 13s does quite well. The size feels great in hand and the weight is well-balanced. The power button falls right where you place your thumb and the same is true for the Plus Key if you're left-handed.

There are some caveats here. First, reaching the top of the screen for the notifications is still a bit of a stretch, even if it's nowhere near as bad as on a big phone. Second, the fingerprint sensor position all the way to the bottom of the screen is abysmal. And finally, at 185g, this is not a light phone and feels heftier than what its size would lead you to believe.

In terms of subjective build quality, the OnePlus 13s feels great in hand with a premium finish and a sturdy feel. However, objectively speaking, the phone is worse than most flagships these days, as it only comes with an IP65 rating. It's the same as the cheaper OnePlus 13R and is adequate against splashes and rain but cannot protect the phone against submersion.