OnePlus 13 review: Super smooth performer

OnePlus on Tuesday (January 7) launched the company's latest flagship OnePlus 13 series in India.

OnePlus is offering the new device in three variants-- 12GB RAM + 256GB storage, 16GB RAM + 512GB storage and 24GB RAM + 1TB storage-- with prices starting at Rs 69,999.

I have been using it for a little over a week and here are my thoughts on the newest premium Android phone from the house of OnePlus.

Design, build quality and display

OnePlus has made slight design changes to the OnePlus 13 over the predecessor. The latter had a large camera module, which was fused to the frame on the left side.

In the new phone, the camera module is in the shape of a large circular island with an LED flash. It is encapsulated with a metallic ring and 'H' Hasselbrand branding on the right side. The rest of the back panel is clean and has just a '1+' engraving.

OnePlus 12 (left) and OnePlus 13 (right).

Our review unit is the Arctic Dawn colour variant. It is touted to be the industry-first phone to feature surface-based glass coating. It has a silky-smooth surface with a matte finish.

The company also offers another exclusive OnePlus 13 colour model--Midnight Ocean. It is the first OnePlus flagship phone to feature a micro-fibre vegan leather body. It promises to offer a real premium leather-like hand feel and the special material used for the device is resistant to corrosion and scratches.

OnePlus 13 is also available in a third colour option--Black Eclipse. It is also a pretty good-looking phone.

The device also boasts of OnePlus' signature feature-- a three-position alert slider on the left side of the frame. It lets the user switch between silent, ring, and vibration modes effortlessly.

OnePlus 13 5G.

On the right side, you will find the volume rocker and just below it, there is a power button.

The build quality is absolutely top-class. Like the predecessor, it is really hard to stain the pristine snow-white colour of the phone.

Further, the device comes with an IP68/IP69 dust-and water-resistant rating, meaning it can survive accidental drops in a freshwater body like in a pond, a river or a swimming pool, for up to 1.5 metres (around five feet) close to 30 minutes.

Also, the device comes with ceramic glass-based protection called Crystal Shield on the front panel to safeguard the display against scratches. It will come in handy in scenarios where the phone is kept in the close confines of the pant pockets with vehicle keys and coins.

Add to that, OnePlus, as part of the Project Starlight initiative, is offering lifetime guarantee against green line issues on OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R series phone display. The display will be replaced for free no questions asked.

And, those who buy OnePlus 13 before February 13, the company is offering additional benefits. Customers will be able to avail free device replacement within the first 180 days of purchase in an unlikely event of a hardware issue with their new OnePlus 13 or OnePlus 13R.

After February 13, the same service can be availed by paying Rs 2599 for the OnePlus 13 and Rs 2299 for the OnePlus 13R.

OnePlus 13 5G.

However, on the downside, the SIM tray is too close to the microphone at the base. Be very careful while using the ejector tool to remove the SIM tray.

The phone features dual SIM slots, a type-C port, an infrared sensor and an ultrasonic optical in-display fingerprint sensor. The latter works amazingly fast.

OnePlus 13 5G.

On the front, the OnePlus 13 flaunts a beautiful 6.82-inch 2K+(3168×1440p) LTPO AMOLED ProXDR display. It is one of the best displays on a phone I have seen in a while. The phone display is rated A++ by DisplayMate.

The display also boasts of the latest technology designed to protect eyes against blue light emission. It has TÜV Rheinland Eye Care 4.0 certification, and Aqua Touch 2.0. The device's display will be able to sense touches even if the finger has oily residue. Also, if the user's hand has woollen gloves, it still can recognise the touch input.

OnePlus 13 5G.

It is great for watching movies and TV series for hours. The colour of the objects in the motion picture is closest to natural and black appears darker. Also, it supports a dynamic 1-120Hz refresh rate and offers up to 4500 nits peak brightness, which comes in handy outdoors with direct sunlight. The user will be able to read the messages and consume multimedia content without having to take the phone closer to the face.

Performance

OnePlus 13 is powered by Qualcomm's 3nm class Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset with 900MHz Adreno 830 GPU.

The processor can top CPU speed up to 4.3GHz, which is more than enough to any application or game available on Google Play Store.

My review unit comes with 16GB RAM + 512GB storage. During the entire review period, it was super smooth. It never exhibited the slightest of lag-ness as such.

OnePlus 13 5G's CPU and GPU performance score on Geekbench 6.0 app.

It also supports several Google Gemini-powered generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI) features such as language translators, Circle to Search, note summary, audio transcription, AI eraser and more. They work fine as long as there is a stable internet connection.

However, like the Pixel phones, there is room for improvement. To accurately recognise Indian English accents, will take time. Language models require fine-tuning and will surely improve with time.

Also, support for Indian languages such as Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu, requires phone users to subscribe to Gemini Advanced subscription.

OnePlus 13 5G supports several Gemini-powered AI features.

OnePlus 13 runs Android 15-based OxygenOS 15. It has a lot of pre-loaded apps, but it is not a deal breaker. The base model comes with 256GB storage and is more than sufficient to add a hundred more applications and games, in addition to storing photos and videos captured through the phone's camera.

OnePlus also offers an ultra top-end model with 24GB RAM and 1TB storage.

Besides the superfast processor, another big upgrade we see in the OnePlus 13 over the predecessor is the massive 6,000mAh battery.

Under normal usage with a Wi-Fi connection (at home and at the office), it can easily last more than a day.

OnePlus 13 5G supports AI eraser.

If you are fully dependent on cellular data all day, the device will still be able to last a whole day. Even if you binge-watch TV series episodes for several hours on a stretch, there is no need to worry, as the company offers a SuperVOOC 100W fast charger.

It can power up the device from zero to 50 per cent in under 15 minutes. It can reach a 100 per cent market in under 40 minutes.

Also, the new phone supports 50W wireless charging. The company is offering a supercooling wireless charger for Rs 5,999 in India.

OnePlus 13 5G.

The interesting thing to note about the OnePlus 13 series is that it is India's first 5.5G smartphone, which can support 380 per cent faster download speeds than any regular 5G phone.

In India, Reliance Jio is the only service provider to offer a 5.5G network.

Conventional 5G networks, which work on non-3CC technology can support around 277 Mbps of download speed. But, with the Reliance Jio's 5.5G (with 3CC technology), a device like the OnePlus 13 can achieve peak download speed up to 1Gbps (around 1,014.86 Mbp).

OnePlus 13 5G's camera sample.

Photography

The OnePlus 13 features a 5th gen Hasselblad camera system--main 50MP (1/1.4-inch Sony LYT-808 sensor, f/1.6 aperture, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation) + 50MP 114 degree ultra-wide camera (with 1/1.27-inch Samsung JN1 sensor, f/2.2, 3.5cm macro) + 50MP periscope telephoto camera (with 1/1.95-inch LYT600 sensor, f/2.6, OIS, 3x optical zoom, 6x in-sensor zoom, up to 120x digital zoom) with LED flash.

OnePlus 13 5G's camera sample.

From the very first photo I captured on the OnePlus 13, I was able to see marked improvement over the predecessor. The clarity and the punchy colours of the objects particularly those of flowers appear really pretty and vibrant.

OnePlus 13 5G's camera sample.

The portrait mode does an amazing job of delivering a dramatic bokeh effect. The phone gets a sharp focus on the subject and artfully blurs the background.

OnePlus 13 5G's camera sample with portrait mode on.

The AI Eraser does a fine job removing unwanted objects and people from the frame.

OnePlus 13 5G's AI Eraser feature in action.

Besides the AI Eraser, the OnePlus 13 supports AI Unblur, AI Detail Boost and AI Reflection Eraser. All the features do a decent job of enhancing the photo quality.

OnePlus 13 5G's camera sample.

At night, the OnePlus 13 does a decent job of capturing good photos. It absorbs and captures the right amount of light coming from sources such as street lamps and neon lights. And, most importantly keep the darkness of the night in the frame.

OnePlus 13 5G's camera sample.

With macro mode, the device does an exceptional job with capturing the minute details of the subject with natural colours.

OnePlus 13 5G's camera sample.

OnePlus 13 5G's camera sample with close-up mode.

Even with the ultra-wide angle mode, it gets the vast area of the landscape pretty well in the frame.

OnePlus 13 5G's camera sample with ultra-wide angle mode.

On the front, it features a 32MP camera (with Sony IMX615 sensor, ƒ/2.4). It takes brilliant selfies in almost all light conditions.

OnePlus 13 5G's camera sample.

The human face appears with a near-natural skin tone. Of course, the native camera has some tricks up its sleeve to smoothen the skin and remove the last remnants of acne scars and pimples.

OnePlus 13 5G's camera sample.

Both the front and the main primary camera on the back can do it. I am not complaining. Every phone in the market comes with these superficial features that can turn a sombre-looking face photogenic and worthy to be shared on social media platforms.

OnePlus 13 5G's camera sample.

OnePlus 13 can record up to 8K videos. The front camera can support up to 4K resolution at 30 fps (frames per second). The quality is really good, on par with phones in its class.

Final thoughts

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered OnePlus 13 is a super smooth performer. Whatever the tasks, the device waltzs through the day without any slightest hint of lag-ness.

Design-wise, there are minor meaningful changes. However, the build quality and AMOLED ProXDR display are absolutely incredible.

The back panel particularly the arctic dawn model does an amazing job of repelling dust and fingerprint smudges.

Also, the camera hardware has significantly improved. It takes brilliant photos in all light conditions, and Gen AI-powered tools further enhance the photography experience on the OnePlus 13.

Besides the 100W SuperVOOC charging speed, the long battery life is another plus point of OnePlus 13.

The lifetime guarantee on display, which face greenline issues is an amazing initiative by OnePlus to build strong loyalty among customers.

OnePlus 13 series.

OnePlus 13 comes in three variants-- 12GB RAM + 256GB storage, 16GB RAM + 512GB storage and 24GB RAM + 1TB storage-- for Rs 69,999, Rs 76, 999, and Rs 89,999, respectively.

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