OnePlus 13: The High-End Android to Beat

Technical Data

• Operating system: Android 15
• System-on-a-Chip (SoC): Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite
• Memory (RAM): 12 or 16 GB (LPDDR5X)
• Storage: 256 or 512 GB (UFS 4.0)
• Screen: 6.82 inches, QHD resolution, ~510 ppi, LTPO 4.1
• Cameras:
  • Main (wide) 50 MP, f/1.6, 1/1.4″
  • Telephoto 50 MP, f/2.6, 1/1.95″
  • Ultra-wide 50 MP, f/2.0
  • Selfie 32 MP, f/2.4
• Battery: 6000 mAh (split-cell), 100 W wired, 50 W wireless
• Dimensions: ~163 × 75 × 8.5 mm
• Weight: ~220 g
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, 5G SA/NSA, IP69 rating
• Launch price: from £1029 for 256 GB, up to £1179 for 512 GB

Slimmer, Lighter, and More Resilient

The OnePlus 13 highlights a noticeable design upgrade over last year’s OnePlus 12. It trims about 10 grams from the overall weight—down to roughly 220 g—and slims the chassis to a moderate 8.5 mm. OnePlus also introduces IP69 certification, meaning the handset is not only sealed against dust and fresh water submersion (for up to 30 minutes at 1.5 metres), but it can withstand higher-pressure jets and temperatures up to around 80°C.

Refined Aesthetics

Following the wave of 2024 handset designs, the OnePlus 13 features an elegantly curved display on all four edges, reminiscent of the approach taken by sister brands for their own flagships. Such an approach fosters immersive visuals and narrower bezels. Beneath the surface, you’ll find an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor that unlocks the phone upon a slight touch on the front glass.

Handling remains pleasant. The device feels well-balanced and stable. While it’s heavier than certain mid-range phones, it’s still comfortable enough for daily usage. On the rear, the main camera cluster sits in a circular arrangement offset to the top-left. This is ringed with a subtle metal accent. Meanwhile, the brand’s photography collaboration with Hasselblad endures, signified by the “H” logo on the camera module.

Build materials: OnePlus chooses a vegan leather for the back panel, lending the phone a smooth, slightly grippy finish. On the right side, you’ll still find the alert slider, which toggles among ring, vibrate, and silent modes. Although a hallmark of OnePlus identity, it can occasionally misfire if you’re frequently shifting volume settings.

Photography: Solid Hardware and Rich Feature Set

Hardware-wise, the OnePlus 13’s triple cameras seem quite standard for a 2025 flagship. Each module has a fairly large sensor:

• Main (wide): Sony LYT-808, 50 MP, 1/1.4″ type, f/1.6, ~24 mm eq.
• Telephoto: Sony LYT-600, 50 MP, 1/1.95″ type, f/2.6, ~73 mm eq.
• Ultra-wide: 50 MP, f/2.0, ~15 mm eq.
• Selfie: 32 MP, 1/2.74″ type, f/2.4, ~21 mm eq.

Enhanced Photography Software

OnePlus complements the standard hardware with an extensive list of software features:

1. Dual-exposure for more dynamic capture, combining short and long exposures.
2. Burst mode reworked, simply hold the shutter for rapid frames.
3. Action mode extended beyond 0.6x, 1x, and 3x, running at 60 fps for capturing moving subjects.
4. Portrait mode refined, adjusting tone mapping to improve dynamic range.
5. 4K Dolby Vision possible on every rear lens, outdoing certain rival brands.
6. AI zoom that notifies you about smoothing beyond 10× digital.

Real-World Performance

Main (Wide) Lens

Focus is snappy across all camera modules. We observed minimal shutter lag except in Night mode requiring an extended exposure. Overall, the wide lens produces crisp, vibrant images with a warm leaning, short of oversaturation. Zooming to 2× (digital) yields decent clarity too.

Ultra-Wide Lens

This lens occasionally dips in low-light, showing more noise or less detail. In daytime, it’s an enjoyable tool for wide landscapes with consistent colour and acceptable sharpness.

Telephoto with 3× Optical

The dedicated telephoto camera stands out, capturing consistent detail and colour akin to the main lens. Darker areas in photos can appear slightly underexposed, but the results remain pleasing. When capturing portraits, the phone typically starts at 3× by default. Overall, the 3× vantage is well-executed, offering lovely background blur and well-detailed faces.

Extended Zoom (6×, up to 120×)

The camera interface allows 6× from the tele lens, though detail can degrade a bit. Nonetheless, for distant scenes, the 6× retains the same colour fidelity and good sharpness from the 3×. Going beyond 10× triggers an AI smoothing notification, culminating at an extreme 120×. That final stage is more of a novelty, since heavy software post-processing yields distinctly artificial images.

Burst Mode

Burst automatically fires a quick sequence of images, letting you pick the best frame. We found it adept at capturing fish in motion or fleeting expressions, with each series containing around 20 images.

Display: Impressively Bright

OnePlus endowed the OnePlus 13 with a 6.82-inch panel, QHD resolution (3168×1440, ~510 ppi), and a supposed 4500-nit peak brightness. Beneath that stands an LTPO 4.1 system allowing 1–120 Hz dynamic refresh, plus a claim that different sections of the screen can update at separate rates. Our usage found fluid transitions, though the multi-rate capability wasn’t always obvious.

Protective Glass and Tactile Enhancements

Rather than Gorilla Glass Victus, OnePlus uses Crystal Shield Ultra Ceramic Glass, claiming double the drop resistance of the OnePlus 12’s Victus 2. They also bring Aqua Touch 2.0 for improved usability in wet conditions, as well as a Glove Mode for normal operation with gloves—both of which performed remarkably well in testing.

Lab Findings

While it doesn’t quite reach 4500 nits, the phone can hit a respectable ~1718 nits in HDR. That’s near top-tier, though not quite matching certain Pixel or specialized phones surpassing 2000 nits. In standard usage, an average brightness of about 1415 nits outpaces many 2024/2025 rivals. Colour accuracy measures near a delta E of 2.4, quite good for daily content consumption.

OxygenOS: Yearning for Fresh Air

The device ships with OxygenOS on top of Android 15. Over time, OxygenOS has converged with Oppo’s ColorOS and Realme UI, but OnePlus tries retaining its distinct identity. For instance, Open Canvas replicates multi-window interactions from the OnePlus Open foldable: one can drag an app’s window to either side for seamless split-screen usage.

They’ve also improved task management: apparently, launching an app used to involve six sequential steps, now reduced to two steps plus four run in parallel. In practice, it’s extremely fluid. The OS has also slimmed down, occupying about 19 GB in the phone’s system partition, about 5 GB less than last year’s OnePlus 12.

AI Tools: The phone supports advanced features like AI note-taking, text rewriting, article summarising, and more—some remain unavailable in French. The brand states it’s actively working on expansions, though as of now, only certain languages benefit from the entire suite. The integration feels coherent enough, with a side menu to avoid clutter.

Update Policy: Four major Android updates and six years of security patches, which is decent but overshadowed by certain competitors now offering up to seven years. For a phone priced around four figures, that might disappoint some prospective owners.

Under the Hood: An Elite SoC and a Massive Battery

Snapdragon 8 Elite & Co.

With the Snapdragon 8 Elite plus 12–16 GB LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage, the phone breezes through daily tasks. Our benchmarks confirm outstanding multi-core performance, rivalling or surpassing top-tier devices. Meanwhile, advanced connectivity includes Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and 5G SA/NSA.

Battery Innovation

The 6000 mAh silicone-carbon battery is a highlight. OnePlus claims it stays above 80% capacity even after four years. Real-world usage suggests it easily lasts an entire day, possibly stretching to two for moderate users.

Charging occurs either:

• 100 W wired SUPER VOOC (charger sold separately). Full refill in ~1 hour.
• 50 W magnet-based wireless charging, requiring an official OnePlus case for alignment, as the phone alone lacks built-in magnets.

We measured ~28% battery in 10 minutes of wired charging. Although not the absolute fastest on the market, it’s still near the upper echelon. Our standard lab test for battery endurance was not functional at the time, but anecdotal usage strongly suggests a comfortable day’s operation, if not more.

Audio: Merely Average

OnePlus uses a two-speaker system, with the top speaker integrated near the earpiece and the second along the bottom edge. The phone manages a fairly balanced stereo effect. The output emphasises midrange frequencies. The lower end is slightly muted, meaning bass lines lack serious punch. While it’s decent for calls, podcasts, and casual media, audiophiles may find it underwhelming.

Price & Availability

The OnePlus 13 retails from £1029 for the 256 GB version, climbing to £1179 for the 512 GB. This places it up against similarly priced contenders like the Galaxy S24+ at launch. Pricing might dip over time or vary by region.

Conclusion

Overall Score: 9/10

A “no real faults” phone: that’s how we’d sum up the OnePlus 13. Our testing uncovered no crippling weakness: it excels in performance, imaging, battery longevity, design, software responsiveness, and display quality. The only significant blemish is that OnePlus doesn’t push further on its software promise—four years of Android updates remain short for 2025.

Beyond that single misgiving, we can wholeheartedly recommend this remarkable handset, which has already set a high bar for the year to come.