OnePlus launched its flagship OnePlus 13 smartphone in India today. It has several upgrades from last year’s OnePlus 12 such as improved display, faster SoC, bigger battery, improved camera, and lots more. However, the price of the phone has increased again. Is the phone a good upgrade to last year’s OnePlus 12? Let us dive into the review and find out.
| Box Contents |
| Camera |
| Battery Life |
| Conclusion |
Box Contents
- OnePlus 13 (16GB+512GB) in Arctic Dawn colour
- 100W SUPERVOOC charger
- USB Type-C Cable
- Protective case
- SIM ejector
- Quick Start Guide and Warranty Information
Display, Hardware and Design
The OnePlus 13 features a 6.82-inch (3168×1440 pixels) 2K AMOLED display with 1-120Hz refresh rate LTPO 4.1 display, which is the same as the OnePlus 12. However, the curve is now subtle, and the bezels are even thinner.
The phone has 510 PPI pixel density, and the display is bright since it has up to 4500 nits peak brightness, which works for HDR, and the global maximum brightness is 1600 nits. It offers good colour output since it has 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, and the sunlight legibility is good as well.
You can select from vivid, Natural and Pro screen colour modes. I am also a fan of nature tone display feature, which adjusts the display based on the ambient lighting conditions.
The phone has a 2160Hz high-frequency dimming technology. In dark environments (brightness below 70 nits) where DC dimming can’t work, the phone will automatically switch to 2160Hz PWM dimming mode to maintain accurate colors on display with a more comfortable eye experience, said the company. It is TÜV Rheinland Intelligent Eye Care Certified with High visibility and has TÜV Rheinland Eye Care 4.0 certification. The phone has Ceramic Guard protection. There is Aqua Touch 2.0 so that you can use the phone even when the fingers are wet, and there is also Glove mode.
The phone also has HDR 10 support, which works for YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and Dolby Vision works for Netflix. You can enable video color boost from display settings, which increases the colors in select apps. There is also image sharpener option.
The phone doesn’t have a notification LED, but this has an always-on-display that shows contextual info and notifications all day or as per schedule. The phone has ultra narrow bezels side bezels, making it compact to hold. It has strong vibration motor.
The phone has a tiny punch-hole that houses a 32-megapixel camera. Above the display, there is an earpiece on the top edge that doubles up as a secondary speaker. It has an in-display ultrasonic fingerprint scanner.
Coming to the button placements and ports, the power button is present on the right side along with the volume rockers. The alert slider is on the left side, which is a change made last year for a new integrated antenna for an enhanced antenna performance for gaming, according to the company.
You can also see the antenna bands, since this has a metal frame, but has a glossy finish. The Dual SIM slot, primary microphone, USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 1 port and the loudspeaker grill are present on the bottom. The secondary microphone is on the top, along with a speaker vent and an IR blaster.
The Arctic Dawn colorway that we have has a next-generation surface-based glass coating for a smooth experience and doesn’t attract fingerprints. The Midnight Ocean brings industry-first microfiber
vegan leather material, offering a skin-friendly, lightweight feel and the Black Eclipse uses a sophisticated black rosewood grain glass process inspired by OnePlus’ classic wood grain designs. The phone weighs 213 grams, which is 7 grams lighter than the OnePlus 12, and the leather back version is even lighter at 210 grams.
The phone also doesn’t miss on the waterproof ratings. The OnePlus 13 is the company’s first phone to get both IP68 and IP69 ratings, so it can withstand water immersion at a depth of 1.5m for 30 min and powerful, high temperature water jets.
Camera
- 50MP main camera with 1/1.4″ Sony LYT-808 sensor, f/1.6 aperture, OIS,
- 50MP 114° ultra-wide camera with 1/1.27″ Samsung JN1 sensor, f/2.2 aperture, 3.5cm macro
- 50MP 1/1.95″ LYT600, periscope Triprism telephoto camera with f/2.6 aperture, OIS, 3x optical zoom, 6x in-sensor zoom, up to 120x digital zoom,
- 32MP front-facing camera with Sony IMX615 sensor, ƒ/2.4 aperture
The camera UI in the OxygenOS 15 is familiar. There is Pro mode, Panorama, Macro, Flim, Slo-mo, Time-Lapse, Dual-View video, text scanner,XPAN and tilt-shift. The rear camera offers 12.5MP output after pixel binning, and the front camera images are 32MP in size.
Daylight shots came out well, thanks to the new 50MP sensor, and the dynamic range is better with auto HDR. Zoom is better, thanks to the new periscope telephoto sensor, and there is 3x optical zoom, and 6x in-sensor zoom. Up to 30X looks good, but you lose details when you zoom further. The Triprism telephoto lens reduces the thickness of the camera module, since it is 24% smaller and 30% lighter than traditional periscope lenses. Since the cases of reflection is higher with a tri-prism lens, it uses advanced ALC coating to minimize glare and reflections, said the company.
The phone has 5th Gen Hasselblad Camera for Mobile and Hasselblad Portrait Mode. 2x portrait mode offers 48mm, for medium long or medium portraits and 3x portrait mode in 73mm can be used for medium close-up portrait or close-ups in complex backgrounds, and there is 6x for 146mm zoomed shots. Thanks to the large periscope telephoto sensor, 3x portraits look better compared to the OnePlus 12. Even when you zoom further, images look good.
Ultra-wide shots are good as usual. Low light shots are good with a lot of details and less noise. The night mode is useful, but it takes a few seconds to process. There is also a tripod mode. The same old 32MP front camera does a good job in daylight, and could be better in low light. Edge detection is good in portrait shots.
Check out the camera samples.
It can record videos in up to 8K in 30fps, and all the cameras, including the front camera can record 4K 60 fps in Dolby Vision HDR. There is slow motion 1080p at 240fps, but Portrait video mode video with the main camera is limited to 1080p, 30 fps, and ultra-steady mode lets you shoot in 4K at 60 fps. There is OIS and EIS which does decent job.
Software, UI and Apps
The OnePlus 13 runs Android 14 based OxygenOS 14 out of the box. It has Android security patch for December 2024. The phone will get 4 Android updates and 6 years of security updates. OxygenOS 15 offers redesigned icons, new design elements, Parallel Processing, reduction in system storage, AI features such as AI Detail Boost, AI Unblur and AI Reflection Eraser.
The Intelligent Search is an AI-powered feature that leverages natural language processing, allowing you to search across apps like Settings, Files, and Notes using simple, everyday language.
There is circle to search. OxygenOS 15 bring AI Notes feature that automatically organizes notes, highlights key points, and enhances readability. It can expand or reduce content, adjust formality, and even correct grammar errors.
AI Reply available within the AI Toolbox on the smart sidebar intelligently analyzes the conversations and suggests relevant responses, making it easier to stay engaged in your chats. When you’re using messaging apps, AI Reply will automatically activate within the AI Toolbox, ready to assist you with crafting thoughtful and engaging replies. Open Canvas offers seamless two-app split-screen interactions, making it easier to work on multiple tasks simultaneously. There is also Google’s theft protection feature.
Apart from the usual set of OnePlus apps and Google apps, it comes with several pre-loaded with Netflix, which can be uninstalled, but come back once the phone is reset. The IR remote app is useful.
Out of 16GB LPDD4X RAM, you get 14.75GB of usable RAM, and about 9GB of RAM is free when default apps are running in the background. It also has DRE or dynamic RAM expansion feature, which uses the built-in storage as RAM. This has up to 12GB of additional RAM expansion. Out of 512GB UFS 4.0 storage, you get about 459GB of free storage.
Fingerprint sensor and Face unlock
It has an in-display fingerprint sensor that unlocks the phone quickly, and the company has finally switched to an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, which works even when your fingers are wet. The scanner’s sensitivity and compatibility are optimized to work best with the official tempered glass screen protector, says the company, so the experience might vary depending on the scanner. You can add up to 5 fingerprints. You can also use the fingerprint for app local and payments in apps.
Furthermore, you can change the fingerprint animation and also disable it, and also enable quick launch option to launch apps directly from the lock screen by holding the fingerprint. The phone also has face unlock feature.
Music and Multimedia
YouTube Music is the default Music Player. It doesn’t have Dolby Atmos, but has OReality Audio with customizable Smart, Movie, Game and Music modes. It doesn’t have FM Radio support. Audio through the stereo speakers is good without any distortion even in full volume. Audio through earphones is good as well.
This has Widevine L1, so that you can play HD content on Netflix and other streaming apps. It supports HDR content on YouTube, and Netflix. There is also Dolby Vision for Netflix.
Dual SIM and Connectivity
The OnePlus 13 has support for n1/n3/n5/n7/n8/n20/n28/n38/n40/n41/n48/n77/n78/n66 Network Bands in India. It has 4G Wi-Fi and VoLTE, with support for Carrier Aggregation on 4G, and finally gets eSIM support in India.
Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi 7 802.11 be (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.4, GPS (L1+L5 Dual Band), GLONASS, Galileo (E1+E5a Dual Band), Beidou, A-GPS, QZSS, NavIC . It has OTG support, and NFC support.
The BeaconLink brings a new Walkie-Talkie functionality to connect with other OnePlus 13 or other devices even without network coverage. Afuture over-the-air update will bring a new Chat feature, allowing users to send messages and photos via Bluetooth, said the company. The Steady connect lets you stay connected to the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 at up to 360 meters.
Moving on, the call quality is good, and we did not face any call drops and the earpiece volume was loud. The hybrid antenna technology leverages metal components like the camera deco for exceptional connectivity, said OnePlus. The Clear Voice feature automatically blocks background noise in calling apps.
The OnePlus 13’s body SAR is 1.145W/Kg and head SAR is at 1.129/Kg, which is well under the limit of 1.6 W/kg (over 1 g) in India. However, this is slightly higher than the OnePlus 12.
Performance and Benchmarks
This is one of the first phones to launch in India with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform. It has a new 2 + 6 all-big core architecture that uses 2 x Oryon Prime CPU at up to 4.32GHz, 6 x Oryon Performance CPUs at up to 3.53GHz.
It is fabricated using the TSMC 3nm Process Technology. It promises 45% performance improvements and 44% improved power efficiency. The phone has 9925mm² Dual Cryo-velocity VC that utilizes two vapor chambers, one to distribute heat evenly and another to accelerate cooling efficiently.
We did not face any issues or frame drops in the graphic-intensive games like COD, BGMI and Genshin Impact, thanks to the new Adreno 830 GPU. It offers 120 fps gaming in select games such as BGMI with game frame interpolation. The all-new dual gaming antenna design brings better gaming experience when you hold the phone horizontally, says the company.
In 3D Mark wild life stress test, it scored 69.1%, which is better than the iQOO 13. Temperature shot up from 29 to 44 degrees, which is decent. Check out the benchmarks below.
Battery life
Coming to the battery life, the phone packs a 6000mAh (typical) Silicon-Carbon battery, which is 600mAh bigger than the OnePlus 12. At 805Wh/L, the energy density increases by 5.5%, yet the size of the phone remains the same. It can easily last for a day with heavy use, thanks to the optimization.
I got 5 and half hours of screen on time with 2 days of use, mostly on Wi-Fi, and occasional 5G use with Smart refresh rate. This is better than the OnePlus 12.
Since the phone has support for 100W fast charging, it can charge from 0 to 50% in about 15 minutes and up to 100% in 36 minutes. You will have to enable fast charging option if you want to reduce the charging time, but the phone gets a bit hot.
The phone has 50W wireless flash charging, and also supports wireless reverse charging. It can be charged up to 100% in over an hour with a wireless charger, which is sold separately.
It even has Magnetic wireless charging support with the Magnetic charging case and AIRVOOC 50W Magnetic Charger that are sold separately. The case also supports third-party Qi charging power banks.
Conclusion
At a starting price of Rs. 69,999, the OnePlus 13 is a feature-rich flagship and a upgrade from the OnePlus 12 when it comes to display, performance, cameras and battery life. This even has IP69 ratings that the OnePlus 12 missed. 6 years of security updates is a good move, but 4 years of OS update might be less when you compare it with other flagships from Samsung and Google.
Pricing and availability
The OnePlus 13 is priced at Rs. 69,999 for the 12GB + 256GB model, 16GB + 512GB model costs Rs. 76,999 and the top-end 24GB + 1TB (Black Eclipse only) model costs Rs. 89,999. There is a Rs. 5000 bank offer for ICICI Bank customers.
It will be available from OnePlus.in, OnePlus Store App, Amazon.in and offline retail partners such as OnePlus Experience Stores, Reliance Digital, Croma, Vijay Sales, Bajaj Electronics, and others starting from January 10th.
Alternatives
The iQOO 13 also comes with Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC, but only has a 1.5K screen, and lacks wireless charging, but it is a lot cheaper. If you can spend more for a better camera, the vivo X200 Pro is a good option.
Pros
- 2K AMOLED 120Hz LTPO display is brilliant
- Smooth performance and good gaming performance
- Good cameras
- Solid build quality, IP68 + IP69 ratings
- Long battery life with 100W fast charging, 50W wireless charging
Cons
- 50W Magnetic Charger requires a case