Oneplus 13 smartphone review: the best choice for those who don’t want an iPhone or Samsung?

The well-known Chinese company Oneplus has recently introduced its new flagship Oneplus 13. We received it for review, conducted tests, played with it, took pictures, and are now ready to share our impressions. The appearance of the novelty is almost the same as its predecessor, and the hardware has not been completely updated, but this device definitely has something to surprise users, so we recommend taking a closer look at this model right now.

Technical specifications of the Oneplus 13

Screen	LTPO AMOLED, 6.82 inches, 1440×3168 pixels, 120 Hz refresh rate, 800 nits initial brightness, 1600 nits standard brightness, 4500 nits peak brightness, Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support, 510 ppi
Case materials	Aluminum edges, glass back cover with eco-leather coating
Protection	IP68 and IP69 (immersion to a depth of 1.5 meters for 30 minutes)
Processor	3nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, one Oryon V2 Phoenix L core with a frequency of 4.32 GHz + six Oryon V2 Phoenix M cores with a frequency of 3.53 GHz
Graphics accelerator	Adreno 830
Operating system	Android 15 with OxygenOS 15 firmware
Memory	12/256, 12/512, 16/512, 24 GB/1 TB
Main camera	Main module 50 megapixel, f/1.6 aperture, 23 mm sensor, 1/1.43 inch sensor size, OIS, telephoto 50 megapixel, f/2.6 aperture, 73 mm sensor, 1/1.95» sensor size, 3x optical zoom, ultra-wide-angle module 50 megapixel, f/2.0 aperture, 15 mm sensor, 120° viewing angle, PDAF
Front camera	32 megapixels, f/2.4 aperture, 21 mm sensor, ½.74″ sensor size
Record video	4K@/60 frames per second, 8K@/30 frames per second
Interfaces and communication	Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, IR, GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS, NavIC
Battery	6000 mAh, wired charging 100 W, wireless charging 50 W
Dimensions	162.9 × 76.5 × 8.5 mm
Weight	213 grams

Packaging and equipment

The Oneplus 13 comes in a bright red box with the inscriptions 13, Oneplus, and Hasselblad. As you can see, the company’s work with the famous Swedish manufacturer of photographic equipment continues.

Inside is the phone itself with a film stuck to the screen, documentation, a paper clip for the SIM card tray, a matte case, a 100W power supply, and a USB-A to USB-C cable.

Design and ergonomics

The Oneplus 13 is very similar to the 11 and 12 models, but the screen is now flat, but protrudes slightly above the body on all sides. Everything else is unchanged — a large bulging circle of the camera module, the letter H and the brand logo on the back.

On the right side we can see the volume and screen lock buttons, on the left there is a mode switch that is unchanged for the brand’s phones, on the bottom there is a SIM card slot, a microphone, a speaker and a USB-C port, and on the top there is an infrared port.

We reviewed the pearlescent white version of the smartphone, and there is also a black and blue version with a leather-like texture.

Oneplus 13 — glass with a metal frame. The model’s dimensions are 162.9×76.5×8.5 mm, and it weighs 213 grams. The smartphone is very slippery in the hands without a case, so I advise you to put it on right away, even the bundled one, which, by the way, emphasizes the matte finish of the case. However, on such a surface, at least in white, there are no traces of use, fingerprints or dust at all.

Oneplus 13 also received full IP68/69 protection, although its predecessors had only IP65. This means that the new smartphone is not afraid of water or dust. This means it can be immersed in water one and a half meters for half an hour, and it can also withstand hot water jets (up to 80 degrees). But we remind you that even in such cases, the warranty does not cover drowning.

Oneplus 13 display

Oneplus 13 has a 6.82-inch LTPO OLED display with a resolution of 1440×3168 pixels. The pixel density is 510 ppi. There is support for adaptive refresh rate (1-120 Hz), Dolby Vision, HDR, HDR10+, etc.

A separate announcement was made about Radiant View technology, which improves the readability of the display in the sun. In theory, this thing increases the overall brightness of the screen and analyzes the content on it, increasing the brightness of individual pixels for a clearer picture.

The Oneplus 13 display has a maximum brightness of 1200 nits when auto-brightness is activated. When manually adjusted, this figure is 800 nits.

Here, too, I advise you to use the automatic mode or standard mode because the screen is very steep, and the difference in clarity on such a diagonal is almost imperceptible. However, high resolution «eats up the battery» a lot, so it’s up to you.

The screen of the new flagship has an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner and Aqua Touch 2.0 technology. The former makes unlocking the smartphone with a fingerprint really almost instantaneous, and the latter eliminates wet or damp fingers. It is also stated that the screen can be used with thin gloves.

In reality, the scanner really works superfast, and it really responds to any condition of the fingers. During a week of using the smartphone, the scanner failed to work exactly twice. I remember this clearly because it’s very easy to remember two cases. All the other hundreds of scans were superfast and didn’t cause any problems at all.

The location of the scanner was convenient for me. It is neither too low nor too high. It is just adequate for my long fingers. I don’t know how it will be for you. It’s always a matter of taste, but it depends more on the size of your hand and the length of your fingers.

Sound and vibration response

Oneplus 13 has two speakers, which means it has full stereo sound. And although one of the speakers is an earpiece speaker, they deliver loud, rich, and clear sound. It’s really pleasant to listen to, it’s suitable for different scenarios, and although there is no bass, the sound is quite surrounded as much as possible.

There are four sound modes in the settings, which are desirable to enable in different scenarios. There are presets for games and movies, for music, and the optimal mode. However, in reality, all of this refers to the sound in the headphones, which really changes and you can hear it. It should also change in the speakers, but in fact, I hardly felt any difference between the modes. Something was changing, but not much. The most important thing here is that the sound of the speakers is generally high-quality and definitely flagship.

The same goes for the vibration response. The motor of the top model is appropriate. There is a separate setting for the tactile response of the system to touch. You can choose the mode «Crunch» or «Gentle», and they really differ from each other.

The vibration itself can also be changed and customized. More precisely, its intensity in different scenarios. For example, you can change the vibration on calls and alarms, messages and notifications. And this is separate, and it also feels different.

Oneplus 13 cameras

Oneplus 13 has a triple main camera. The main module is a 50-megapixel Sony LYT-808 sensor with a size of 1/1.4-inch, a 23 mm lens and f/1.6 aperture. This is the same module as the previous flagship. However, the telephoto lens has been updated — now it is a 1/1.95-inch Sony LYT-600 sensor also with 50 megapixels and f/2.6 aperture, with optical zoom and stabilization. The third module, an ultra-wide-angle lens, was also replaced. It is also 50 megapixels, it is Samsung S5KJN5, its size is ½.76», and the aperture is f/2.0. The front module here is 32-megapixel with a viewing angle of 90 degrees and f/2.4 aperture.

The main sensor of the Oneplus 13 takes really high-quality photos during the day. It has a wide dynamic range, excellent detail, excellent white balance, pleasant, and most importantly, quite realistic color reproduction. The latter reminds me more of cameras than the acid colors of smartphones in recent years.

I also liked the telephoto lens and its ability to optically zoom three times. Photos almost do not lose quality when zoomed in, so we have good detail, adequate dynamic range and the same realistic, pleasant and close-to-reality color reproduction.

The same can be said for the ultra-wide-angle module. In my opinion, it takes the weakest photos of all three cameras, but that’s normal, and their quality is still excellent, especially for this format.

I liked the night photos on the Oneplus 13 less, but they are still of more than sufficient quality. There is noise, of course, and I also like that «brain» phone doesn’t try too hard to make night into day, as other modern smartphones often do. Here, night is night, the detail is fine, but try to get more street lighting in the frame.

I also liked the front sensor. It does well with colors, dynamic range and detail. It also has a good portrait mode, but you still need to have fewer objects in the background because when there are a lot of them, it doesn’t process everything correctly, as in one of my examples.

The Oneplus 13 can shoot video up to 4K at 60 frames per second on all of its modules, and if you need more, the main module is capable of recording videos at 8K/30 fps. There is support for Dolby Vision and the «Cinema» mode, which shoots video in a 21:9 aspect ratio and with some manual picture settings.

We did not forget about stabilization, and it is very good, especially in the second mode, but, of course, in this case the picture is seriously cropped at the edges.

Productivity, software and games

The flagship Oneplus 13 is equipped with the top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip with custom CPU cores (eight cores with a clock speed of up to 4.32 GHz) and an enlarged evaporation chamber. The graphics here are Adreno 830, which together gives serious results in various benchmarks and tests. Of course, the processor heats up and throttles, it’s a Snapdragon, but compared to other cases, it does so much less.

The smartphone has different memory configurations of 12/256 GB, 12/512 GB, 16/512 GB, and 1 TB/512 GB. But it’s always fast LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 ROM. Other modules include 5G, Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth 5.4, aptX HD, NFC, IrDA, aGPS, GPS, Dual GPS, GLONASS, Galileo.

With such hardware, the smartphone, of course, runs all the well-known, heavy and modern mobile games at high-maximum graphics settings with a refresh rate of up to 60 fps without any problems. There are no problems with freezes, glitches, or mediocre pictures at all. This is a classic flagship that can do it all.

During games, the case heats up, which means it shakes, but not too much, so it does not interfere and does not affect the positive user experience.

OnePlus 13 runs on Android 15 with the proprietary OxygenOS 15 add-on. Four years of OS updates and six years of security updates are promised.

OxygenOS 15 is a nice and relatively minimalistic system with ample customization options. There is a minimum of advertising, which is surprising for a Chinese shell, and it works quickly and without glitches.

They also added artificial intelligence and the popular Gemini AI assistant. However, the latter speaks Russian and has difficulty understanding Ukrainian.

As for other AI tools, there is a list of features that are built into the basic «Notes» app. Artificial intelligence can help write a text, read it out loud, or turn it into a list with the main points.

We also added AI to the Gallery. Now you can remove objects from photos, enhance images, remove blur and glare, improve clarity, and more.

All these newfangled tools work, but often incorrectly. For example, text writing turns out to be sloppy, and deleting objects in photos sometimes distorts other objects that were nearby.

Of course, you can get used to it a little bit, get the hang of it, and use it much better, but in my opinion, such features are still being added because of trends and are mostly of no practical use to users.

Battery Oneplus 13

Oneplus 13 has a 6000 mAh battery, which is 600 mAh more than its predecessor. It is claimed to be a modern silicon-carbon battery. There is also 100W fast charging, 50W wireless fast charging, 5W reverse charging, and 10W wireless reverse charging. Charging the bundled power supply from 0 to 50% takes 15 minutes. A full charge can be achieved in 35 minutes.

The flagship also has magnets in the case and supports the Qi 1.3.3 wireless charging standard with the Magnetic Power Profile function. That is, you can attach various accessories to the back of the smartphone, as well as put on cases with support for magnetic fasteners.

Oneplus 13 easily holds a day and a half of battery life. That’s with automatic screen refresh rate, standard resolution and auto-brightness. Of course, you can drain it faster, for example, with mobile games and the like, but you can also extend the battery life to two days if you want to. If you use your smartphone quite intensively, you can be sure that it will last for a full day of work.

In PC Mark tests, Oneplus 13 showed 16 hours and 24 minutes, and this is a great result.

Mobile games don’t drain the battery as fast as I expected. Depending on the project, one hour of mobile gaming drains the battery by 12-30%. The first in this case is Call of Duty Mobile, and the second is COD Warzone.

Experience using Oneplus 13

My overall impressions of the Oneplus 13 are very positive. Before the review, I didn’t expect anything at all, and as a result, I got a pleasant experience from a great flagship. It has a cool design, and most importantly, it does not require getting used to. At least for me, this is a plus.

I really liked the display of the Oneplus 13. It’s one of the best and brightest screens I’ve seen recently. Yes, its brightness does not break records because there are flagships with better results. But in general and through real-life impressions, the screen can easily be called excellent.

It is very, very bright and really super easy to read in the sun. Indoors, 30-50% brightness is enough without any problems, and most importantly, the screen is super clear and has rich colors. And I hardly ever turned on the increased resolution. It makes the picture a little better, but it was already great, so this thing is almost invisible, but it does consume a lot of battery, so it’s better to turn it off.

It’s cool that they put the top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip in here, and they also managed to make it not overheat, as is usually the case with processors from this manufacturer. It’s also good that there are a lot of memory options to choose from, so everyone will find the best option for themselves for adequate money.

Oneplus 13 has good and loudspeakers, and I also liked the vibration motor. This is not a discovery or a breakthrough in technology, but just a good quality vibration on a flagship that can still be customized.

I liked the cameras, which really take flagship-level photos and do not have the usual acid colors, but produce a picture that looks like reality. However, if you’re used to the stinging color reproduction of modern flagships, you may not find them as saturated.

The Chinese flagship also proved itself worthy in terms of battery life, fast charging, etc. And I can’t help but mention the full-fledged water and dust protection.

Price and competitors

Oneplus 13 is sold at a price of 26,990 for the 12/256 GB version. The most expensive version with 1 TB of storage and 24 GB of RAM costs from 37,200 hryvnias. As for the flagship series, and compared to some competitors, the same new Samsung series, the smartphone has an adequate price. But it should also be remembered that these are all actually «gray» versions, as there is no official representative of the company in Ukraine.

But there are competitors, many of them, they are popular and will not go away. For example, there is last year’s Oneplus 12 with a price tag of UAH 16,500, areSamsung Galaxy S24 (price from UAH 22,900). Don’t forget about Apple iPhone 16 with a price tag of UAH 31,200, as well as Google Pixel 9 (price from UAH 23,850). And where can we go without Chinese competitors: pay attention toRealme GT7 Pro for UAH 38,000, forXiaomi 14 (price from UAH 28,700) andXiaomi 15 (price from UAH 34,700).