OnePlus 13 review: Setting stage for 2025 flagships

The OnePlus 13 has all the makings of a flagship, so if you’re buying this right after looking at the spec sheet, you can’t go wrong. However, here are some things that the spec sheet won’t tell you about the OnePlus 13. Also Read: OnePlus 15 Leak Reveals Three Colour Options Ahead Of Launch

Firstly, this has a lot of firsts for OnePlus, starting with the IP69 rating, the triprism telephoto lens, massive 6000mAh battery, 5.5G support, and a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. Secondly, OnePlus has promised the OnePlus 13 with 3 generations of Android updates plus 4 years of security updates. And lastly, this phone has all the makings of a flagship and one big Achilles’ heel. Also Read: Is OnePlus Working On A Turbo Series? Leaks Suggest 9,000mAh Beast In Testing

OnePlus 13 specifications

Build and design

This is a tightly built phone. The OnePlus 13 has a 6000 mAh battery with a chip as powerful as the Snapdragon 8 Elite in a chassis under 9mm thin. It feels slim & light, and the vegan leather finish on our unit looks great. This phone also has IP69 water resistance so some splashes, rain, or even a dive in the pool shouldn’t be a problem. Also Read: Not Into iPad? These 5 Premium Tablets Are Worth Your Attention In 2025

The water resistance has also brought along a snappy ultrasonic fingerprint reader. It translates to a fast unlocking experience, making it easy to unlock even with wet hands. You get volume and power buttons on the right, and the alert slider on the left. And if you are coming from an iPhone, or using this alongside an iPhone, you will appreciate the alert slider.

It is certainly a big phone but the vegan leather finish gives it a good grip at most angles. The light weight also contributes to this phone’s feeling good when it is held over longer periods, and the camera bump acts like an awkward pop-socket to give you some additional grip.

OnePlus 13 display

A QHD+ AMOLED screen with enough brightness to watch videos under the winter sun. I am impressed by the OnePlus 13’s screen because it has great colours, and excellent brightness, but most importantly, there’s a certain depth and contrast in this screen that I’ve experienced before on much more expensive flagships.

This screen is complemented by the powerful speakers. They’re clear, loud, and don’t lose detail even at full volume. These are still smartphone speakers so there’s virtually no bass, but the stereo sound separation works really well on the OnePlus 13.

OnePlus 13 cameras

Remember the Achilles’ heel I was talking about at the beginning of this article? This is it. The OnePlus 13 has a triple 50MP camera setup with the latest Sony LYT sensors. These are complemented by the fifth-gen Hasselblad mobile camera tech. All of this makes for great specs on paper, but the real-world results are a mixed bag.

In certain situations, the OnePlus 13 takes shots that’d put some more expensive flagships to shame. And at times you see the camera completely losing focus, overexposing stuff and messing up the whole shot. While the capable hardware makes it a great tool in the hands of a professional, for most, as a simple point-and-shoot camera, the OP13 isn’t there yet.

You will have to manually focus and maybe put some effort into the exposure control to get a great shot. I like the detail retention on this camera. Even if the camera messes up a shot, there will be enough detail to paint a picture, just not a clear one.

OnePlus 13 performance

So yes, Achilles has a heel but let’s not forget it is Achilles we’re talking about. The OnePlus 13 has the specs to give a mid-range laptop a run for its money.

I appreciate OnePlus for not dialling down the specifications for the Indian units. The top variant of the OP13 gets 24GB RAM paired with 1TB storage. While that should make this phone amply future-proof, it will set you back by Rs. 90,000.

Our variant is the 16GB + 512GB one. The base variant gets 12GB + 256GB storage. I didn’t experience any heating during my usage, but the January cold has probably played a part. There are no lags or crashes either, except for games.

San Andreas Definitive Edition and Traffic Rider crashed after about an hour of gameplay in my initial usage. An update stopped these crashes and if they start again, I’ll update it here later.

So far, you can count on the OnePlus 13 being a performance powerhouse, and the 12GB base variant RAM should also ensure it runs smoothly for years. When you combine these specs with the OnePlus 13’s display and design, you essentially have a discreet gaming phone.

Battery and charging

I’ve been charging it once every two days, regularly draining the phone down to the last 4-5% battery. With our current workloads, even if you play a demanding game or shoot and upload social media videos from the OnePlus 13, this phone has the juice to keep going. It is natural for Android versions to get heavier and run more complex tasks every year, so this battery should be able to keep up with those changes too.

And the cherry on the cake here will be the 100-watt Supervooc charger. It charges this phone from 4% to 100% in under 35 to 40 minutes. We haven’t tested any of the magnetic accessories yet, but the 50-watt Airvooc wireless charging support means you can have fast wireless and reverse wireless charging from this phone.

OnePlus 13 review: Verdict

Let me draw on the Achilles metaphor one final time. The OnePlus 13 is a solid phone, hardware as well as software wise. It has the specifications and the backend support to go on for years and keep up with the latest Android updates.

As much as I love the feeling of having this sleek and normal-looking gaming phone, I don’t think that’s appealing to everyone. And that’s where the cameras step in. The OnePlus 13 is a powerful phone that is setting the bar for what a flagship needs to be in 2025, but at the same time, this camera needs to get better so we can recommend it to more people.