Smartphones are becoming larger and larger these days. The minimum screen size of 6.5 to 6.67 inches has become so common that people have forgotten the old times of the 5.5 to 6-inch phones. This is happening primarily because of the increase in multimedia and smartphones becoming more than just a device to call. Although it is great, as it makes the visuals better and gives users a larger display to binge-watch but makes portability of the device a hassle. Also Read: 5 Best Premium Phones Under Rs 55,000 With Powerful Processors And Top-Notch Cameras

Now, OnePlus has decided to flip the market and introduce a mini phone that doesn’t sacrifice on experience and brings in flagship-level features. The OnePlus 13s is a different breed of small phones that could actually revive the mini phone category and push more and more brands towards making compact phones. But does it really deliver on what it promises? Let’s dive in and find out if the OnePlus 13s truly lives up to the mini flagship hype. Also Read: OnePlus Pad 3 India Sale Date Confirmed For September 5: Check Specs, Features, Where To Buy

OnePlus 13s Specifications

OnePlus 13s Design and Build

Starting with the build and design, the OnePlus 13s brings a completely new look to the OnePlus 13 series. What makes it stand out is the minimal choice to place the dual camera setup in a square cutout on the top left of the back panel. The back has a soft matte finish that feels really comfortable in the hand. Talking more about the in-hand feel, the boxy design combined with the aluminium sides make the phone premium. OnePlus clearly made sure that even if this is the more affordable phone in their 13 series, it doesn’t compromise on overall build quality. Another reason this phone feels so comfortable is its weight of just 185 grams, which makes it a breeze to carry around and feels barely there when slipped into a pocket.

The button placement is also really well done, making this compact phone easy to use with one hand. The only small tweak OnePlus could consider is shifting the power button slightly lower and bringing the volume rockers down a bit, which would make the ergonomics even better. The OnePlus 13s comes in three colours: Black Velvet, Green Silk, and Pink Satin.

OnePlus 13s Display 

Moving on to the display, the OnePlus 13s sports a 6.32-inch 120Hz LTPO AMOLED display. This feels like the perfect size, especially for those with smaller hands. I usually go for larger phones but using this was a delight as it’s genuinely handy and comfortable. The display feels really punchy and bright, and watching videos on it is a treat. Along with this, the OnePlus 13s has a solid set of stereo speakers. They are loud and punchy, and compliment the display well to enhance the overall multimedia experience. Coming back to the display, one of the best features of this display is the Aqua Touch 2.0, which works really well with wet hands.

Apart from this, two more display features really stood out for me: Adaptive Tone and Video Colour Boost. The Adaptive Tone feature is a cool way to have your display adjust to the kind of environment you’re in. The display basically changes its tone based on the lighting around you, which gives a nice immersive feel. The Video Colour Boost, on the other hand, makes everything look more vibrant and punchy, giving the visuals a much sharper and enhanced appearance. Overall, this display is flagship-grade and delivers great punchy colours with sharp visuals and the 120 Hz makes everything feel buttery smooth. 

OnePlus 13s Performance

Coming to the main USP of this compact phone, the OnePlus 13s really delivers when it comes to performance. The phone is powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite used in the bigger OnePlus 13. To complement this the phone gets 12GB RAM and up to 512GB storage. OnePlus has really done a great job with this chip as well, as it doesn’t throttle and doesn’t overheat. The brand says they’ve used a large 4400mm² VC with an exclusive 3D cooling structure. This surely plays a huge role because using a flagship chip in this form factor could have led to overheating issues. Even during heavy multitasking and gaming, the phone never felt uncomfortable to hold. It got a little warm and touched around 45 degrees, but it never crossed the 50 degree mark.

During gaming as well, the phone controlled the temperature well. The phone performs well and even runs BGMI on 120 FPS. Even high graphical games like Genshin Impact look great on this display and I was able to play this game without any major lags or hiccups. 

In day-to-day performance as well, the phone aces everything and handles all tasks smoothly. Switching between multiple apps, scrolling on social media, and even watching hours of videos feels incredibly fluid, with no lags whatsoever. In benchmarks as well, the OnePlus 13s shows that size doesn’t matter. It scores 2890 in single core on Geekbench 6. On the other hand, in multi core it reaches a whooping 8896. 

In 3DMark Wild life as well, the phone performed really well with a great score of 23,496. The phone runs on OxygenOS 15 based on Android 15. The OS feels smooth, but it does come with some preinstalled apps. While many of them can be uninstalled, apps like the built-in browser and app market cannot. This is an area where OnePlus can definitely improve the flagship experience by cutting down on bloatware. But, one area where the phone shines is in the haptics. The motor in this phone has a 602mm³ volume, and in real life gives one of the best feedbacks while typing. This haptic motor can easily be compared to any high end flagship. 

Talking more about the experience of the device, OnePlus has removed the alert slider and gone for a single multifunctional key. This is called the Plus Key and is clearly inspired by Apple. The Plus Key can be used to map the phone for multiple functionalities, ranging from launching the camera to triggering their new Mind Space. Even the whole dynamic island-style popup has been implemented in this phone. 

Taking this experience a notch above, multiple AI features have also been implemented in this phone. One that stands out is called Mind Space, which is a useful AI tool to store things in one place. It was somewhat helpful for summarising articles, but it still needs a lot of work to feel truly polished.

OnePlus 13s Camera 

The OnePlus 13s has a dual 50MP camera setup. The primary camera supports OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation), which makes videos more stable and less shaky. The secondary is a 50MP telephoto with up to 2x zoom capabilities. Honestly, OnePlus could have gone for a 50MP wide-angle instead of a telephoto. That would have added wide-angle capabilities, which are used much more by people while travelling, especially since digital zoom capabilities these days are more than enough. As this phone is not a Hasselblad-branded phone, the camera software experience is closer to the 13R. The overall experience of the camera app is close enough, so it’s not a big miss.

The shots from the OnePlus 13s are sharp and crisp, and they capture a good amount of detail. The dynamic range is decent, and the autofocus is quick and reliable. But the issue is that the phone gets a bit too aggressive when it comes to post-processing, often resulting in a little saturated look, especially when photos are taken in daylight. For example, the photo of the flowers comes out bright and a saturated, whereas in real life the colours are not that bright. 

Moving on to the 2x telephoto lens, it is a good addition to have but nothing too great. It clicks some good photos with the colours having a similar look and feel to that of the main lens. The shots from the 2x telephoto did have a lesser saturated feel which did make the shots look more natural. Personally, I found that the telephoto lens handles colours much better. This shows that OnePlus has the potential to fix the colour science on the primary lens too, possibly through a future software update.

When moving on to low light performance, the camera does take a hit and there is a clear loss of details, but it still performs well. Most shots in low light or night time came out to be good enough, but had a little bit of noise in them. In terms of video, the OnePlus 13s supports 4K at 60fps with OIS, resulting in some good-looking cinematic footage. On the front, the 32MP selfie camera captures sharp images and records 4K video at 30fps. The video from both the cameras came out great, with good stabilisation and punchy colours.

Overall, the camera setup on the OnePlus 13s offers a well-rounded experience but misses the polish and feel of a true flagship smartphone. With a few software improvements, especially in colour tuning and low-light refinement, it could get even better.

OnePlus 13s Battery 

The OnePlus 13s really kills it in the battery department with a massive 5,850mAh battery. This delivers some of the best battery life and easily lasts a full day even with heavy usage. Personally, on some days, I ended the day with around 30% still left in the tank. The phone also comes with an 80W SUPERVOOC fast charger in the box, which really helps in topping up this massive battery quickly. It took around 45 to 50 minutes to fully charge the device, which is great considering the large 5,850mAh capacity.

The only real deal-breaker here is the use of USB 2.0 instead of 3.1 or 3.2, which could have enabled even faster charging speeds and much better data transfer rates as well.

OnePlus 13s Conclusion  

OnePlus really gets a lot of things right with their first attempt at a mini flagship. The OnePlus 13s is a powerful device with top-notch specifications and a massive battery. This is the perfect phone for those looking for a smaller-sized device but who don’t want to miss out on the power of a large flagship. There are some compromises like the lack of a wide angle camera, a lower IP65 rating, and the use of USB 2.0, but none of these are deal-breakers. At a starting price of Rs 54,999, this phone packs in a great blend of functionality and comes very close to delivering a flagship-like experience.