OnePlus 13 debuts in China with Snapdragon 8 Elite

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For the past few months, OnePlus has been heavily teasing its next flagship, the OnePlus 13.

Today, the OnePlus 13 was officially launched in China. However, the Android smartphone is still out of reach outside China, and this will likely change in the coming months. 

At first glance, OnePlus has slightly tweaked the design of its new handset compared to the OnePlus 12. The Alert Slider is still there, so don’t fret. 

The edges are now flat, and the rear camera housing is circular. The biggest highlight of the phone is its IP68 and IP69 ratings, making it the first water-resistant OnePlus flagship after the OnePlus 10 Pro. 

OnePlus 13: display and processor 

The OnePlus 13 packs an upgraded display — a 6.82-inch BOE X2 OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and 4,500 nits of peak brightness, with more accurate colors and better visibility under the sun. 

OnePlus previously stated that the new display will offer a local high refresh rate feature, allowing different screen areas to offer different refresh rates to increase battery life. 

OnePlus 13 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, making it one of the first brands to offer Qualcomm’s latest flagship mobile processor.

However, benchmarks are still unavailable, so we can’t tell you how much the performance has improved. 

OnePlus 13: cameras and other specs

OnePlus slightly lagged behind other flagships in the camera department. However, the company is actively trying to resolve that particular weakness. 

Last year’s OnePlus 12 brought several improvements, and the OnePlus 13 carries most of the same camera hardware. 

So, on the back, a 50MP LYT-808 sensor works as the primary camera, and we have seen it on the OnePlus 12.

However, OnePlus has swapped the 64MP 3x with a new 50MP 3x shooter (f/2.6, 1/1.95-inch, OIS) and the previous 48MP ultra-wide sensor with a new 50MP sensor with 120-degree field-of-view.

At the front, the OnePlus 13 offers a 32MP camera for selfies.

In addition, there’s a new Hasselblad branding and 4K/60fps Dolby Vision video capture. The phone also comes with new features like higher-quality Live Photos and more, inherited from OPPO Find X8. 

The OnePlus 13 has a larger 6,000 mAh silicon battery, leaving flagships like the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 9 Pro XL behind in terms of endurance. 

OnePlus claims the device offers 1.96 days of use, paired with 100W wired and 50W wireless charging support. 

	OnePlus 13
Display	6.82-inch OLED panel 120Hz refresh rate 4,500 nits of peak brightness
SoC	Snapdragon 8 Elite
RAM/Storage	12GB/256GB 12GB/512GB 16GB/512GB 24GB/1TB
Cameras	Rear: 50MP Sony LYT-808 + 50MP LYT-600 + 50MP ultra-wide Front: 32MP
Battery	6,000 mAh 100W wired 50W wireless
Protection	IP68/IP69

OnePlus 13 is powered by ColorOS 15, based on Android 15. The company claims that the new OS offers the smoothest experience. 

There’s no word on the phone’s update policy. However, OnePlus 12 offered four years of major OS updates and five years of security patches, so we can expect a similar or better figure.

Lastly, the OnePlus 13 offers an IR blaster, long-range Bluetooth, an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor by Goodix, and Wi-Fi 7.

OnePlus 13: price and availability 

The latest OnePlus flagship is currently China-exclusive, starting at 4,499 yuan ($632) for the 12GB/256GB variant. You can configure it up to 24GB/1TB, which will cost you 5,999 Yuan ($843).

OnePlus has increased the price a bit this year. In contrast, the OnePlus 12 was launched at 4,299 Yuan ($604) for the 12GB/256GB variant. 

The OnePlus 13 is also available in three different finishes: Silk Glass (White), Velvet Leather (Blue), and Obsidian (Black).

Unfortunately, OnePlus hasn’t confirmed the global availability yet. However, going by past trends, the device should hit the global market in a couple of months.

What do you think about the OnePlus 13? Do you like the device, and are you looking forward to the global launch? We would love to hear more from you below in the comments, or via our Twitter or Facebook.