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The Good
- Amazing display (DisplayMateA++ recognition)
- Takes beautiful portraits
- Improved water resistance
The Not So Good
- Stabilisation issues in video mode
- Camera not as good as Vivo X200 Pro
The OnePlus 13 is here, and it’s the first Android flagship to hit the market in 2025. I’ve actually had it since November, following a press briefing in Amsterdam, which has given me an unusual amount of time (trust me, we rarely get this long) to form an opinion of the latest OnePlus device.
Straight up – it’s a great phone. Really good, in fact. But so is practically every Android device I review these days; they’re all well-built, fast, good-looking, and capable of snapping lovely photos.
We’re also well beyond the point of no return when it comes to democratising what used to be flagship technology and features. Unless you buy an iPhone 16, of course.
Read my iPhone 16 Pro Max 3 month review
I’ve noted recently that reviewing smartphones is becoming increasingly challenging simply because they’re all so bloody great. That’s why I’m focusing almost exclusively on what the brand in question thinks is special about its device, beyond the performance, display, AI capabilities, and operating system. Because all of that stuff is, well, a bit ‘meh’ (in a good way).
In OnePlus’ case, they start their review guide with the camera system, so that’s where I’ll begin (after the spec rundown, obvs).
Specs
The OnePlus 13 is powered by the brand-new Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, which was unveiled a couple of months ago by Qualcomm in Hawaii. There are two configurations to choose from – either 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage or 16GB and 512GB, respectively.
Running the show is OxygenOS 15, which is based on Android 15 and now features a bunch of AI stuff, which I’ll get into (briefly) later.
The display is a 6.8-inch ProXDR unit with 4,500 nits of peak brightness and the obligatory 120Hz variable refresh rate. It also has all of the eye comfort stuff built into it and some records have been broken, too – I’ll get into all of that later, too.
Water resistance has been increased significantly with both IP68 and IP69 certification. That’s reassuring, given the tech the OnePlus 13 is packing, which includes Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and a sizeable 6,000 mAh battery. The latter is compatible with 100W SuperVOOC charging and 50W AirVOOC wireless charging – for which there’s a new fan-equipped magnetic charging puck (which needs a compatible case to attach to the phone).
I don’t have the pricing to hand yet, but as soon as OnePlus releases it, we’ll update this review. That said, and given that the OnePlus 12 was £849, we should expect competitive flagship pricing.
(You can find out if the OnePlus 12 is worth buying here).
It should also be noted that there’s a OnePlus 13R, too, which uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and a slightly downgraded camera system. And, yes, we’ve reviewed that, too.
Camera
The rear camera system on the OnePlus 13 is 50MP all around, with all three cameras also benefiting from optical image stabilisation. The selfie camera is 32MP. When it comes to video, the rear camera system is capable of shooting up to 8K at 30fps, and Dolby Vision at up to 4K at 60fps.
OnePlus promises quite a bit with this camera system, so let’s cover each feature in turn.
Starting with the triprism telephoto camera, OnePlus has found a way to reflect light three times which provides long focal lengths within a small body. That camera bump is indeed satisfyingly small, and as much as I’d like to see 5x on the OnePlus 13, the 3x shots are great.
Push up to 6x, and, while you’re in the realm of digital zoom, the results are still great in most conditions.
However, head into double-digit zoom ranges and you do need the best conditions and most appropriate subjects to achieve decent shots, otherwise, it starts to look very processed. This is no different to every phone in this class, bar the simply incredible Vivo X200 Pro.
Dual Exposure enables the OnePlus 13 to capture both short and long exposures and essentially blend them for the sharpest image. It seems to work well for fast-moving subjects like my son, and particularly in low-light scenarios.
Clear Burst is a feature that allows you to press and hold the shutter button to capture multiple frames when shooting very fast-moving subjects. I tried it during the press briefing and, as you can see with these examples of a bike and break dancer, it’s possible to get just the right shot. The only downside is that you end up with loads of photos in your Google Photos library if you sync everything there (the OnePlus Photos app thankfully groups them).
Portraits on the OnePlus 13 shine – predictably. This is where the tie-in with Hasselblad rears its head, providing 1x, 2x, and 3x focal lengths which mimic different Hasselblad lenses. The results are decidedly lovely.
There are ‘smart modes’, too, which basically select the most appropriate ISO based on the assumed scene (sunsets, concerts, fireworks, etc), which the OnePlus 13 gets right impressively consistently.
Low-light photography on the OnePlus 13 is great. I put it to work during a light trail walk over the Christmas period, and while there were a few misfires, I managed to capture the atmosphere of a very chilly yet pretty walk – including a nice family selfie with that front-facing camera.
Overall, this phone produces nice, sharp, characterful photos and it was reliable enough for me to capture the moments that mattered.
Video performance is good, but exhibits some of the Android jitteriness with the stabilisation feature, which is something I’ve become accustomed to in Android land.
Interested in other OnePlus phones?
Design and display
The OnePlus 13 is available in three colours – Arctic Dawn, Black Eclipse, and Midnight Ocean. I was sent the latter to review, and it’s a lovely-looking phone. It features an industry-first microfiber vegan leather finish on the back which aids with the anti-slipperiness, and as noted earlier, that camera bump doesn’t dominate and spoil the balance of the phone, like it does on the Vivo X200 Pro.
It’s also nice to have IP68 and IP69 water resistance this time around, which is a big upgrade from the OnePlus 12. If you’re wondering, IP69 essentially offers enhanced protection against high-pressure water jets. Fairly irrelevant for most of us, yes, but nice to know it’s there.
OnePlus has opted for polished rather than brushed sides, which gives the 13 an air of flagship-ness and the buttons all feel high-quality – including the triple sliding switch for setting the phone to ring, silent, or vibrate. Special mention must also be made for the fingerprint reader, which is super fast and reliable.
The display is lovely – as it should be. It’s also the first smartphone display to achieve DisplayMateA++ recognition and has helped OnePlus achieve 21 display records. Most won’t be visible to the naked eye, but I understand why manufacturers shout about this stuff – the bar for Android device displays is incredibly high these days.
If you’re wondering, the OnePlus 13 display also packs 2,160Hz PWM dimming, Eye Care 4.0 and LTPO 4.1. The latter is capable of delivering two different refresh rates at the same time, for which it’s hard to think of a use case but which does, apparently, improve battery life. So that’s nice.
There’s also the latest iteration of Acqua Touch, which is designed to make the display useable during rainfall. This worked well during the tests the phone was subjected to at the press briefing, as did the ‘Glove Mode’, which isn’t turned on by default but when it is, is designed to – you guessed it – ensure you can wear gloves while operating your OnePlus 13.
Performance and battery life
The OnePlus 13 is the first smartphone I’ve used that’s running the new Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. With that in mind, I decided to run a Geekbench test on it, even though I knew the resulting numbers would be meaningless.
The OnePlus 13 scored 3,063 for single-core performance and 9,295 for multi-core performance. For comparison purposes:
- S24 Ultra: 2,172 (single-core) / 6,782 (multi-core)
- iPhone 16 Pro Max: 3,421 (single-core) / 8,449 (multi-core)
So, on paper, it’s significantly, erm, better than both the S24 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The only problem is that I have no idea what any of these numbers mean – I can just see that the 8 Elite chip is generating bigger numbers than the other two. This should come as no surprise – the 8 Elite is a generation ahead of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 that’s in the S24 Ultra. As for the iPhone, well, who knows; at least it beat the OnePlus 13 in single-core performance.
All of that aside, I can confirm that the OnePlus 13 feels fast, and fluid, and never ever lags while you zip around the operating system. Just like every phone I’ve tested over the last couple of years.
As for OxygenOS 15, it feels great and, just like the performance aspect of these reviews, it’s hard to know what to say beyond the fact that, just like most other iterations of Android 15, it’s considerate yet customised enough to feel a little bit unique. OnePlus has also stepped into the AI arena with the usual bunch of AI features for photo editing (which work impressively well) and productivity (which work in the same manner as the others I’ve tested).
More importantly, Gemini is now the default digital assistant within OxygenOS and Circle to Search has come along for the ride, too.
Google AI: What is Google’s Gemini?
More smartphone AI reviews:
– Samsung S24 Ultra review
– Google Pixel 9 Pro XL review
– Honor Magic6 Pro review
Conclusion
The OnePlus 13 offers some significant upgrades over the OnePlus 12. A more capable chip (if that’s your thing), proper water resistance, and parity with the competition in terms of AI will be good news for anyone who was put off by the OnePlus 12.
Add that stuff to what is a great flagship smartphone with a reliable and characterful camera, and the OnePlus 13 ticks lots of boxes. It’s not as good with its lenses as the Vivo X200 Pro, but then nothing is, and that doesn’t mean that OnePlus can’t tout the camera system as the most important element of its new flagship.
The headroom on offer from the Snapdragon 8 Elite will please anyone who needs to know it’s there, and the display is as triumphant as it should be. As a package, it’s a great alternative to the MediaTek-powered Oppo Find X8 Pro, if Oppo isn’t your thing.
The OnePlus 13 is a great way to kick off 2025 and I do not doubt that the legion of OnePlus fans are going to be happy with this release.
