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OnePlus 13 review

Combining a best-in-class display, incredible battery life and impressive imaging capabilities, the OnePlus 13 sets the standard for what to expect from a flagship phone in 2025.
Ernest Doku author headshot
Written by Ernest Doku, Broadband and mobiles expert
Updated on 8 January 2025
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OnePlus 13 pros and cons

  • Exceptional 6000mAh battery comfortably delivers multi-day use.

  • Awesome display, with vivid crispness and clarity.

  • Snapdragon 8 Elite processor offers cracking performance.


  • Firmly flagship price point, although bundles and incentives up the value.

  • More exciting colour variants limited to larger storage options.

Few mobile manufacturers live and breathe their mantra more than OnePlus, whose latest device delivers on the 'never settle' tagline by bringing bleeding edge technology to bear throughout the OnePlus 13.

Crafted to deliver best-in-class hardware specs, a stellar display and attractive stylings to boot, the OnePlus 13 certainly starts 2025 off with a bang - setting a new standard for what to expect from a top-flight smartphone...with a price point to match.

Design and specifications

The OnePlus 13 is a stunning device to look at, eschewing strong curves for a subtler flat display and created with high-end materials throughout, very much in keeping with current mobile trends.

The design is certainly a bold one - the off-centre Hasselblad-branded camera array and distinct variants may come across as a little polarising to some, but there's no denying that the OnePlus 13 makes a true style statement upon first impressions.

Digging into the trio of available models - Black Eclipse is understated with burnished metal bezels and a dusky textured matte hue, Arctic Dawn offers piercing white with frosted glass, whilst Midnight Ocean (the model in for review) boasts a glossy frame paired with deep blue, courtesy of a vegan leather finish across the entire rear of the device.

Each has its own clear merits, with the Black Eclipse minimising marks, the Midnight Ocean’s leather lending a warm tactile feel, while Arctic Dawn showcases a more stark take on a fingerprint-resistant finish.

These looks don't come at the expense of durability, with the Chinese manufacturer continuing to take feedback onboard and pushing further - delivering both IP68 and IP69 ratings on a OnePlus device for the first time.

In the real world, this means the OnePlus 13 can more than stand up to the elements with complete dust and water resistance, including being submerged for as much as 30 minutes.

This device tips the scales at a decent 210g and a slender 8.5mm, impressing more when you consider the build quality and battery in the OnePlus 13 (more on this later).

A nearly unnoticeable curve in the body of the device serves to make it more ergonomic to hold, which is one area where the textured Midnight Ocean served will in limiting slips whilst navigating.

It wouldn't be a OnePlus without making mention of the now-iconic Alert Slider, taking price of place on the left side of the device, and flanked by a single piece volume / audio toggle and power button on the right.

In summary, the OnePlus 13 breeds familiarity in comfort and design where it counts, whilst making some interesting departures in looks and specs to make for a fresh take on the flagship smartphone.

Screen display and audio

The OnePlus 13 also features a cutting-edge screen to continue the theme of top-tier performance, offering a 6.82-inch ProXDR AMOLED display at a QHD+ resolution of 3168x1440 - a screen size sweet spot which many devices have gathered around.

With an adaptive refresh rate ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz, it delivers creamy visuals without coming at the cost of battery life.

With a dazzling peak brightness of 4,500 nits - although more like 1,800 nits when it comes to average daily use.

The screen shines (or rather it doesn't due to minimising glare) in outdoor settings, offering clear and vibrant colours and deep blacks even under direct sunlight.

Another aspect which is entirely welcome is the return of Aqua Touch 2.0 - originally limited to its flagships, but now making its debut on more OnePlus devices - allowing for the screen's sensitivity to spike when wet or oily, meaning operation can continue without the screen glitching out.

It's a great feature which comes into its own whether watching a YouTube video whilst washing up or caught in the rain.

The OnePlus 13 makes this official by renowned testing house DisplayMate giving the screen an impressive A++ rating, with the device being lauded for its industry-leading colour accuracy, contrast, and responsiveness.

This is brought to life in everyday use, with a crisp, clear screen making legibility a breeze whether browsing or viewing content.

On the topic of content, support for both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ makes the OnePlus 13 a great home for viewing videos or gaming alike, streaming with minimal blur and a welcome crispness to content.

Complementing the display is a dual stereo speaker setup with Dolby Atmos support, offering immersive audio quality.

Streaming Spotify was a joy, although we did have a few issues with Bluetooth connectivity on both a pair of Bose QC Ultras and the new Sonos Ace headphones, which simply weren't as happy to pair without some cajoling, and the occasional drop in audio quality.

Potentially a bit of an edge-case, but one thing to flag in the absence of a dedicated headphone jack on this one.

Camera capabilities

With a refreshingly subtle camera bump and a clear indication of its on-going partnership with photography powerhouse Hasselblad, the OnePlus 13 delivers some keen upgrades rather than sweeping changes in mobile imaging over the OnePlus 12.

It is made up of:

- a main 50-megapixel Sony LYT-808 sensor, complete with Optical Image Stablisation for sharp, vibrant images.

- a secondary telephoto lens - still 3x zoom, but now 50-megapixel as opposed to the OnePlus 12's 64MP snapper - also equipped with OIS to serve up high-quality zoomed images and detailed portraits alike.

- an ultrawide 50-megapixel sensor (which is an upgrade, however slight, on the 12's 48-megapixel effort) with enhanced performance in low-light settings.

Particular mention should go out to the telephoto lens, which while changed, its Triprism technology manages to capture distant subjects with clarity, with AI underpinnings to take you to 10x zoom for detailed shots from far away.

The Ultra-Wide lens excels in capturing expansive scenes, even in low-light conditions.

We found it to be a more than handy snapper in most situations, limited or night shoots fared just as well as those potentially overexposed day moments with great accuracy.

The innovative Dual Exposure Algorithm ensures sharp images in fast-paced scenarios, while new features like Clear Burst and Action Mode cater to high-speed photography.

Clear Burst enables a prolonged press of the shutter button to create multiple continuous shots to ensure you don't miss that magic moment, whilst Action Mode doubles the capture speed to reduce blue for objects or people on the move.

Portrait Mode, still supported by the best in the business in Hasselblad, delivers high-grade dedicated bokeh (clever depth of focus) effects, filters, and superior low-light imaging for creative portraits - not new, but remains an impressive addition beyond simple branding.

Moving images are just as capably handled, with the OnePlus 13 showing out with 4K Dolby Vision recording functionality via all three lenses.

The Live Photo feature is an interesting amalgam of the two - novel to Android devices and capturing a brief moment in motion at the same time as a still image.

Processor and performance

Another first for OnePlus, with this new flagship marking the debut of Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, featuring Qualcomm’s custom Oryon CPU, making the 13 a pocketable productivity powerhouse.

Paired with up to 16GB of RAM, it delivers unparalleled speed and efficiency.

The internal cooling system - more innovation with a pair of heavy duty vapour chambers - ensures peak performance, even under heavy duty gaming.

A boot of Infinity Nikki definitely had some compromises visually against the console version, but ran smoothly in a lot of areas and without the device getting even a little warm over prolonged periods.

The OnePlus 13's operating system is built on that back of Android 15 in OxygenOS 15.

The user experience - naturally peppered with AI-assisted flourishes - has a sole focus on delivering a smoother, smarter, and lighter user experience, which it largely makes good on.

Rather than being nested in impenetrable menus or random places, subtle introductions such as enhancing search or not-taking capabilities mean that its presence is more than a buzzword, but rather simple key features which make navigation around the device that bit easier.

Google's Circle to Search is fast becoming an Android mainstay, with deep integration to the OnePlus 13 as with many recent flagship devices - remaining an altogether useful feature.

More features are promised down the road to narrow the gap between its offering and the likes of Samsung, who are putting AI front-and-centre on their latest devices. As such, features like real-time translation have been touted for launch later this year, but were unavailable at the time of review.

So the first wave of Snapdragon 8 Elite devices - of which the OnePlus 13 is the current flagbearer for - do certainly show promise in both power and efficiency, making for another clear milestone in current generation smartphone tech.

Battery life

The OnePlus 13 introduces groundbreaking battery innovation with its 6,000mAh silicon-carbon battery.

Broad strokes, this means not only more power, but without increasing the bulk of the device, which makes for an incredible flagship experience where it counts.

Users can expect up to two days of regular use on a single charge, making the OnePlus 13 a standout in battery endurance - note that there are four distinct modes to customise how the device functions, however.

Balanced mode is your default in many instances, with a high-performance mode which both removes the shackles and causes a bit more of a drain to battery life, but also a regular and 'super' power saving modes, all to eek out those extra hours of battery life when you need it most.

Ideally, these could be brought a bit more front-and-centre given how important battery life is to many, but their presence is a welcome one.

Having said that, you may not need it thanks to the other side of the battery life coin - charging.

Not content with having two days of battery life through normal usage, the OnePlus 13 also supports 100W SuperVOOC charging, delivering a whopping 50% charge in just 13 minutes and a full charge in under 40 minutes - an incredible technical feat which worked perfectly during testing, and is keenly felt when you need a quick top-up.

To also offer wireless charging at 50W - comparable to wired charging speed of the competition - feels almost like showboating from the OnePlus 13, adding that bit of convenience and complete with new accessories to take advantage of this feature, including a magnetic puck.

Reverse wireless charging rounds out the OnePlus 13's versatile nature, underlining just how well they've nailed such a key decision factor to why people choose smartphones today, and really marking itself as the gold standard for expectations in battery performance and efficiency.

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UK pricing and availability

The OnePlus 13 certainly has a price to match its premium pedigree - starting at £899 for the 12GB of RAM / 256GB of storage, topping out at £999 for the models with 16GB and 512GB of memory respectively at the time of writing.

An interesting wrinkle is that the Midnight Ocean (vegan leather) and Arctic Dawn models are only available in this higher-spec configuration, whilst the Black Eclipse is available across both sizes.

However - and as is often the way with OnePlus devices - there are a host of incentives and discounts bringing the that price down significantly, lending more value in the process.

Firstly, between January 7th and February 5th there's a launch offer on the OnePlus website which reduces the 512GB models down to the lower £899 pricepoint - a common strategy for the likes of Samsung to give some value back to early adopters.

Not only that, but there is also the choice of a Bang & Olufsen Beosound Explore speaker (worth £219), or a OnePlus Watch 2R (worth £250) as a bundle bonus upon purchase - making things altogether more palatable.

Round that out with the usual trade-in and coupon discounts, and the price-point is certainly within striking distance of some 'budget premium' handsets a tier below.

All that being said, the sticker price is going to be a real consideration for many, and the OnePlus 13's flagship credentials are reflected in its cost.

Verdict

The OnePlus 13 is an unmitigated showcase of innovation and premium craftsmanship, and is immediately the high watermark when it comes to the best of smartphone technology in 2025.

To meld an industry-leading ProXDR display, Hasselblad-powered camera capabilities and exceptional battery life makes the OnePlus 13 a flagship to recommend (almost) without hesitation, with the price point proving one element to give true consideration to.

Everything from AI smarts to supremely robust build quality is present and correct in the OnePlus 13, finished off with bold, eye-catching design accents which show a meticulous attention to every detail.

While some shortcomings in terms of audio and a lack of expandable storage may prove to be minor drawbacks, the OnePlus 13 sets itself apart as an adventurous foray into what smartphone excellence without compromise looks - and feels - like.