REVIEW—When it comes to Android phones, OnePlus has become one of my favorite brands in the past couple of years. It started with the OnePlus 10 Pro, which I still use as a 24/7 display for my Tempest Weather Station. More recently, I’ve used both the OnePlus Open and OnePlus 12 as my primary cameras for product photography for my reviews. I ended up gifting the OnePlus 12 to one of the other Gadgeteer writers who needed an extra phone, and now I’m glad to review the OnePlus 13 to see if it will become my next Android favorite. Let’s find out.
What is it?
The OnePlus 13 is the latest flagship Android smartphone from OnePlus.
What’s included?
- OnePlus 13 smartphone
- 80W SUPERVOOC Power adapter
- Type-A to Type-C charging cable
- Quick Start Guide
- Safety Information and Warranty Card
- Screen Protector (pre-applied)
- SIM Tray Ejector
- USB Dongle (Type-A to Type-C)
Tech Specs
Platform: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 8 Elite
CPU: Qualcomm® Oryon™ [email protected]
GPU: Adreno 830
RAM: 12GB/16GB LPDDR5X
Storage: 256GB/512GB UFS 4.0
Battery: 6000 mAh (Dual-cell 3000 mAh, non-removable)
Display
Display Size: 6.82 inches / 17.32 cm (Measured diagonally from corner to corner.)
Display Resolution: 3168*1440 (QHD+), 510 ppi
Display Aspect Ratio: 19.8:9
Display Type: 120Hz ProXDR Display with LTPO 4.1, Support 100% Display P3, 10-bit Color Depth
Display Cover Glass: Ceramic Guard
Connectivity
eSIM – Feature availability may vary due to compatibility with local carriers.
LTE/LTE-A – 4×4 MIMO, Supports up to DL Cat 20/UL Cat 18 (2000Mbps /200Mbps), depending on carrier support
Band
2G GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G WCDMA:Bands 1/2/4/5/6/8/19
4G LTE FDD: Bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/30/32/66/71
4G LTE TDD: Bands 38/39/40/41/48
5G SA: n1/n2/n3/n5/n7/n8/n12/n20/n25/n28/n30/n38/n40/n41/n48/n66/n71/n75/n77/n78
Wi-Fi – Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 5, WLAN Display, WLAN tethering, WLAN overlay, 160 MHz Wi-Fi channels over 5 GHz, 320 MHz Wi-Fi channels over 6 GHz, 2X2 MIMO
Bluetooth – Bluetooth 5.4, SBC, AAC, aptx, aptx-HD, LDAC, LHDC5.0
NFC – NFC enabled
Positioning – GPS (L1+L5 Dual Band), GLONASS, Galileo (E1+E5a Dual Band), Beidou, A-GPS, QZSS, NavIC
Camera
Wide Camera
Sensor: Sony LYT-808
Sensor Size: 1/1.4″
Megapixels: 50
Pixel Size: 1.12 µm
Lens Quantity: 7P
ALC lens coating
Optical Image Stabilization: Yes
Electronic Image Stabilization: Yes
Focal Length: 23 mm equivalent
Aperture: ƒ/1.6
Field of View: 85°
Autofocus: Yes
Telephoto Camera
Sensor: Sony LYT-600 with 3X optical zoom
Sensor Size: 1/1.95″
Megapixels: 50
Pixel Size: 0.8 µm
Lens Quantity: 1G3P
ALC lens coating
Optical Image Stabilization: Yes
Electronic Image Stabilization: Yes
Focal Length: 73 mm equivalent
Aperture: ƒ/2.6
Field of View: 32.8°
Autofocus: Yes
Ultra Res (digital) Zoom: Up to 120X
Ultra-wide Camera
Sensor: S5KJN5
Sensor Size: 1/2.75″
Megapixels: 50
Pixel Size: 0.64 µm
Lens Quantity: 6P
Electronic Image Stabilization: Yes
Focal Length: 15 mm equivalent
Aperture: ƒ/2.0
Field of View: 120°
Autofocus: Yes
Size
Dimensions: 162.9 mm x 76.5 mm x 8.5 mm (or 8.9 mm depending on colorway)
Weight: 213g or 210g, depending on the colorway
Design and features
The new OnePlus 13 is available in 3 colorways. There’s a Black Eclipse (textured wood-like grain back), Arctic Dawn (silk glass back), and Midnight Ocean, which is the version that I received.
Where most phones have a slippery glass back, the OnePlus 13 Midnight Ocean has a micro-fiber Vegan leather back that adds a smooth, grippy texture that I really like.
Both the back of the phone and the display have smooth, rounded edges and corners that make holding this phone very comfortable.
The top edge of the phone has speakers, a microphone, and it also has a built-in IR blaster that you can use with the included app to control TVs, lights, and more.
On the opposite end, you’ll find the SIM card tray, a USB-C port, more speaker slots, and a microphone.
The right rail/side has a one-piece volume rocker button at the top and the power button below it. Both buttons have excellent tactile feedback.
The left side has a 3-position mute switch. In the down position, the phone is not muted, the middle position is vibrate mode, and the top position is fully muted. The button itself has knurling, which makes it easy to activate.
In hand, the OnePlus 13 is a solid phone. When I perform my patented Gadgeteer Squeeze test™, it doesn’t creak or crack. But, just like the OnePlus 12, there is a subtle rattle if I shake it. If I hold all the buttons and shake, I still hear a faint rattle, so I think it has something to do with the camera. You can barely hear it, so this is just me being thorough (and nitpicky).
Display
The OnePlus 13’s 2K ProXDR 120Hz display is gorgeous. When I compare it to my iPhone 16 Pro Max, there isn’t a lot of difference when both phones are set to max brightness. This is just to say that I have zero complaints about the brightness, crispness, and vividness of the OnePlus 13’s display.
It’s also fast and responsive when tapping and scrolling through long pages of text.
Besides looking awesome, the OnePlus 13’s display has a few tricks up its sleeve. First of all, it uses Ceramic Guard, which is rated 2 times tougher than standard smartphone glass for higher drop and scratch resistance. No, I’m not going to test those claims. I’m not THAT kind of reviewer 😉
And like previous phones that I’ve reviewed from OnePlus, the 13 comes with a pre-installed screen protector, which I wish all phone makers offered. I’m still kicking myself for not installing a screen protector on my iPhone 16 Pro Max the minute I unboxed it because it seemed to instantly get a scratch 🙁
The OnePlus 13 has a new feature called Aqua Touch 2.0, which means that you can use the phone in the rain. Raindrops won’t screw up the touch sensitivity of the display. I don’t normally use my phones in the rain, but if I wanted to use the OnePlus 13 while singing in the rain, I could.
Speaking of rain, OnePlus improved its IP water resistance rating to IP69, which is up from IP68. This means you can drop it in the toilet or wash it in the washer with your jeans without worrying. FYI: Don’t do either one.
This phone also offers Glove mode, which means that you can use it in the winter when you’re wearing gloves. No more buying special gloves just so you can use your phone when it’s super cold outside. Yay! It’s been pretty cold in Southern Indiana right now. While I type this, it’s 7ºF. Brrrrrrrrr. And yes, the phone does recognize my taps when I’m wearing gloves. Yes! I do have to make my taps and swipes more deliberate though.
Camera
The OnePlus 13 continues to work with Hasselblad for its camera module, and I think that’s great. I’ve been using OnePlus phones as my main review photography camera about 95% of the time for a couple of years now. I like the way my close-up product pictures look when snapped with this phone compared to iPhone pictures. Maybe because the OnePlus pics have a little more HDR. Regardless, the OnePlus 13 is a solid shooter for most environments except maybe night pics, where it could improve a bit.
OnePlus 13 photo samples
Click the images below to see the full-sized version (these are straight out of the phone).
Video sample
Check out the video below. Everything except the wide shots of me walking in the snow was recorded using the OnePlus 13 attached to a selfie stick (not a gimbal). The wide shots were from the Annke FCD600 dual-lens POE camera mounted on my garage.
User interface and apps
OnePlus uses OxygenOS as its operating system for its phones. It’s stock Android with an extra layer of features, similar to Samsung’s One UI. The OnePlus 13 is powered by Android 15/OxygenOS, so it has the latest and greatest features.
When it comes to bloatware, OnePlus doesn’t fill their phones with a bunch of unnecessary apps as some other phone makers ten to do, so that’s a huge plus, in my opinion.
Since I’m primarily an iPhone user, I enjoy using some cool features that OnePlus has to offer like the Smart Sidebar, Open Canvas, Circle to Search, and gestures.
The Smart Sidebar is a small slide-out launcher window that you can customize with your most used apps. Using the sidebar makes it easier to use the Open Canvas feature, which allows you to split the screen to run two apps at the same time. I really wish the iPhone had this feature! I know it’s not as useful as a folding phone like the OnePlus Open, but it can be pretty handy.
A feature worth noting is the Share with iPhone feature. Share with iPhone is an AirPlay-like feature that allows you to wirelessly share files with an iPhone by touching the top edges of the phones together. However, you must install an app on the iPhone for this feature to work. The first time you tap the two phones together, a notification appears on the iPhone that prompts you to download and install the O+ Connect app. Then, the OnePlus phone creates a hotspot for the iPhone to connect to before receiving the files.
OnePlus also added an iPhone dynamic island copycat feature called Live Alert Capsules. These capsules appear when you play music and plug a cable in to charge. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Face unlock and fingerprint unlock
Last year’s OnePlus 12 let you unlock the phone with your face (like Face ID on the iPhone), even in total darkness. But I’m super annoyed and sad to report that this doesn’t work on the 13. That means when I’m checking my phone in the middle of the night or under the covers early in the morning, I have to use a numeric code.
Why don’t I use my fingerprint? Well, that’s another feature that worked on the OnePlus 12 but doesn’t work on the OnePlus 13. I’ve yet to successfully register a fingerprint. It keeps telling me to clean my finger and the sensor when both are clean. Grrrrrrr.
Overall performance and battery life
I don’t like to put a lot of performance graphs in my reviews because I don’t think numbers and bars represent what it feels like to actually use the phone. That said, I have no complaints about the performance of the OnePlus 13 smartphone. All my favorite apps launched quickly, and scrolling through webpages and apps felt smooth and zippy. I’m not a gamer, so I didn’t test this phone with any games. No matter what apps I tried though, I couldn’t find a way to slow down this phone.
Now, let’s talk battery life. I had zero problems getting through more than a full day using the OnePlus 13 for all of my normal tasks (email, reading ebooks, watching YouTube videos, Marco Polo sessions, texting, a few calls, Instagram scrolling, snapping pictures, short videos, etc. On days when I didn’t do much with the phone, I could easily get through two days on one charge!
This phone charges crazy fast using a cable and the included 80W SUPERVOOC charger. It can charge from 1% to 100% in about 30 minutes, which is fantastic! If you prefer wireless charging, you’ll be disappointed that the OnePlus 13 doesn’t have Qi2. However, it can charge via a Qi charger, and the OnePlus cases even provide MagSafe magnets, so you can use the phone with MagSafe chargers and accessories.
Making and receiving calls with the OnePlus 13
Making and receiving calls is definitely my least used function on any smartphone, but I tested this feature and had no issues with either side of the calls that I placed or answered. Volume levels and clarity on both sides of the call were fine.
OS and security update promise
OnePlus promises the OnePlus 13 will have 4 years of Android OS updates and 6 years of security updates.
Final thoughts
If you want an affordable flagship quality Android smartphone that isn’t from Samsung or Google, I think the OnePlus 13 is an excellent choice. It looks great, feels great, has insane battery life, charges crazy fast, has unique software features that are both useful and fun to use and has a nice camera, all for a price that is less than the big boys. The OnePlus 13 is an excellent phone, and I have no problems recommending it. And yes, it is my new favorite Android smartphone – at least until the OnePlus Open 2 comes out! 🙂
What I like about the OnePlus 13
- Great look (I love the vegan back cover)
- Nice camera
- Long battery life
- Snappy performance
- Extra little features like Smart Sidebar, Open Canvas, and Gestures
What needs to be improved?
- Low light images
