OnePlus 13 Long-term (Six Months) Review: A super-charged OnePlus 12 with extra finesse

First Post

a day ago

The OnePlus 13 is incrementally better in almost every department as compared to its predecessor, in addition to its incredibly powerful processor. read more
Pros:
Sturdy build with proper IP68/69 ingress protection
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite is a monster
Ample RAM and fast internal storage
Excellent QHD+ AMOLED display
The OnePlus 13 has a bright and vivid AMOLED display with 4500 nits peak brightness
Good camera performance across the board
Improved battery backup with fast wired and wireless charging
OxygenOS 15 is fluid with intuitive
Four more years of major Android updates promised
Cons:
Still feels a little bulky, though much better than the OnePlus 12
Tends to get warm rather quickly
Price continues to get steeper with every passing year
Rating: 4.3/5
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Price: Rs 69,999 onwards
Over the past couple of years, we have preferred doing long-term reviews of certain key smartphones as it gives us time to know them better and gives the company time to iron some creases and improve them further with a few software updates. Then there are a few that we choose to revisit again after six months. The OnePlus 12 was the first device from the brand to get that honour, and the OnePlus 13 that turned six months old recently happens to be the next.
In January this year, OnePlus launched its current flagship phone, and our initial impressions of the device were largely positive. From a more sleeker design to the insanely powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC, there were obvious improvements over its predecessors. But we wanted to observe it further and see how it evolves over time, and if it still justifies its higher price tag after the arrival of additional competition powered by the same Qualcomm chip. So here we are with this six months review of the OnePlus 13.
OnePlus 13 is available for purchase in India starting at Rs 69,999
OnePlus 13 Design: Looks the part and adds more style by trimming the bulk
The OnePlus 13 still speaks the design language of the OnePlus 11 and 12, but with some subtle changes. The most important change being the phone is a lot slimmer than the OnePlus 12. Though the 13 is still on the larger side for smartphones, it exudes more finesse than the 12. The sizable round camera island at the back is still present but is now detached from the edges. The curved display on its predecessors has made way for a flat one here. The screen protection has shifted from Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 to Ceramic Guard glass.
The matte glass back not only looks good but also stays free of fingerprints and smudge marks
You get a choice between an eco-leather back or a glass one; both make the device look and feel premium. We got the latter for review, the Arctic Dawn variant to be specific, that has an off-white/ light champagne gold matte glass back with a bit of lustre. It not only looks good but also stays free of fingerprints and smudge marks. The aluminium frame lends it sturdiness and style both. The weight of the phone has dropped by nearly 10 grams and the even weight distribution doesn't make it feel too heavy in hand.
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The Arctic Dawn variant looks extremely elegant with the light champagne gold matte glass back with a bit of lustre
The ingress protection has been upgraded from IP65 to IP68/69 which makes it way more water resistant than its predecessors and can survive high-pressure water jets and immersion up to 1.5 metres for up to 30 minutes. The volume rocker and the power button are present on the right edge while the Alert slider is at the left. While the power button is easily accessible, one may need to stretch their thumb a bit to access the volume rocker, especially volume up.
The power button and a volume rocker can be found along the right edge of the phone
A SIM tray, speaker and a USB-C port can be found along the bottom edge. The IR-blaster on the top edge has been retained. You now get an ultrasonic under-display fingerprint scanner located almost two inches above the bottom edge, which makes it ergonomic, and it's highly responsive.
A USB-C charging port, a speaker and a SIM tray are preset on the bottom edge
OnePlus 13 Display: Still a very good screen, but a flat one this time
The OnePlus 13 retains the 6.82-inch QHD+ display with a resolution of 3168 x 1440 pixels and 4500 nits peak brightness. However, you now get a flat display as compared to the curved variant (near the edges) on its last two predecessors. Don't think OnePlus has made too many changes here, nor were they necessary so soon. The 10-bit ProXDR display is compliant with HDR10+ as well as Dolby Vision, and HDR videos from Netflix and Prime Video look great on the OnePlus 13 screen.
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The LTPO 4.1 display has a variable refresh rate ranging between 1 Hz to 120 Hz for a flicker-free experience and better power efficiency. It can automatically drop the refresh rate to as low as 1 Hz for an always-on display or when looking at a still image, and take it higher when needed in things like scrolling or playing games. The display is sufficiently bright even outdoors and the colour accuracy is quite good too. You get three screen colour modes - Natural, Vivid and Pro, along with colour temperature adjustments.
Natural mode is easy on the eyes, but some may find it a little dull. In that case, you may switch to Vivid or Pro mode for more lively visuals. When using Vivid, use the Warm colour temperature option for best results. We found the Pro mode with default colour temperature to be the most colour accurate out of the box. You also get other Eye Comfort settings for different activities like reading or doing so before going to bed that one can explore, among other things.
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Normal mode
OnePlus 13 Performance: More powerful than anything we have seen before
As usual, OnePlus has opted for the latest and the most powerful Qualcomm SoC available at the time of launch, and the Snapdragon 8 Elite is an absolute monster as you will soon see. You get two variants of the OnePlus 13 in India, one with 12 GB LPDDR5X RAM and 256 GB internal storage, while the other offers 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage (our review unit). Both variants have UFS 4.0 storage.
We ran our usual set of synthetic benchmarks to gauge its performance, which has only gotten better with more updates since launch. In Geekbench 6, the OnePlus 13 scored 2887 and 8974 in single-core and multi-core tests respectively. These are by far the highest scores we have recorded in this benchmark, and by a distance - that's going to be the theme here. Even the OnePlus 12 with an incredibly powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip pales in comparison with scores of 2158 and 6451 in the respective tests.
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Benchmark scores - The Snapdragon 8 Elite sets new records in synthetic benchmarks
The OnePlus 13 also shattered the 15K score barrier in the PCMark Work 3.0 benchmark with a score of 15038. Its predecessor could manage the previous best 13380. To test the gaming capabilities of this phone, we used the 3DMark suite. Just like the last two OnePlus flagships, it maxed out the Wild Life benchmark. In Wild Life Extreme, the 13 scored 6629 with 39.7 average FPS while the 12 could get to 4920 with 29.46 average FPS. We also ran the Solar Bay benchmark with the OnePlus 13 scoring a whopping 11927 points with 45.35 frames as compared to its predecessor's 8255 points with 31.39. That's nearly a 45% jump!
As you can see, there is a massive jump in performance on all fronts as compared to its predecessor which already had the most powerful SoC out there till Qualcomm released the Elite that powers the 13. The OnePlus 13 managed to run every game and pretty much everything we threw at it smoothly without a stutter at the highest settings. Needless to say, there was absolutely no lag in day to day operations either. Performance throttling was manageable with the 13 staying around 70% of its peak performance even at its worst.
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The phone does heat up significantly after 30 minutes of gaming or even if you click a dozen photos at a go. However, it did not freeze, nor were there any heat related crashes. The phone has two speakers, one behind the earpiece and the other at the base of the phone. Collectively they produce a loud, punchy and immersive sound output with good stereo separation. The phone is Bluetooth 5.4 compliant and has tri-band WiFi with support for a/b/g/n/ac/6/7 standards. The call quality and reception were perfectly fine during the course of our testing.
OnePlus 13 Battery performance: Improved backup with a higher capacity battery
Despite the phone getting slimmer, OnePlus has increased the battery capacity from 5400 mAh on the 12 to 6000 mAh here. Charging specs remain the same with support for 50W fast wireless charging and 100W wired charging, with a 100W charger bundled along. To get the fastest charging time, one needs to enable Smart Rapid Charging from the Battery section under Settings. Once enabled, you can charge the phone from 1% to 100% in just 43 minutes. In cooler climes under 25 degrees celcius, it can save you another 5 minutes or so.
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Yes, the charging speed is a little slower than that of the OnePlus 12, but one must also factor in the extra battery capacity. And frankly, under 45 minutes is perfectly fine in terms of speed and long term battery health. I also tried using an older and more compact 80W OnePlus charger with this phone, and it took exactly the same time to charge the OnePlus 13. So if you have one around, it would make a great travel charger in lieu of the bulky 100W bundled charger.
Moving on to the actual battery backup, the OnePlus 13 lasts close to two full days on a lighter load without any gaming or excess photography. Like most Qualcomm flagship chips over the past few years, the Snapdragon 8 Elite is not just powerful but also power efficient. Long gaming hours will drain the battery faster, but even then, it should last you longer than its predecessor. And it can be juiced up fully while you take a shower and grab a meal.
OnePlus 13 Camera performance: A handful of changes result in an improved performance
Cameras - the OnePlus 13 has the distinct circular camera island at the back that resembles a watch dial
The OnePlus 12 had a good mix of cameras, and while the OnePlus hasn't changed their functionality, they have opted for different modules on the 13, barring the primary camera. Instead of the 50MP + 64MP + 48MP combination on the 12, you get a trifecta of 50MP shooters on the OnePlus 13. The 50MP primary camera with the Sony LYT-808 sensor and OIS (optical image stabilisation) has been retained. The 64MP periscope telephoto camera with OmniVision OV64B sensor is replaced with a 50MP unit with Sony LYT-606 sensor that still offers 3X optical zoom with OIS.
Optical zoom 3x
The 48MP ultra-wide camera with a Sony IMX581 sensor that was present in its last two predecessors has now been replaced with a 50MP unit with an ISOCELL JN5 sensor. Like before, it has auto-focus, and hence doubles up as a macro camera too. Like all recent OnePlus flagship phones, the 13 too is graced with Hasselblad's colour calibration as well as their portrait photography tricks. Lastly, the 32MP selfie camera that was upgraded just last year has been left untouched.
Ultrawide
The primary camera clicks some excellent shots with impressive dynamic range. Colours look lively and yet close to actual and images exhibit very good detail. The main camera does a great job in low light photography too capturing a good amount of detail with minimal noise. The colours are fairly accurate in low light too. When the light drops further, the Night Mode kicks in automatically. Though it is the same sensor, the image processing seems slightly better than what we have seen on the OnePlus 12.
Low light normal
The Night mode here is spot on as it makes things just a tad brighter to capture more detail in darker areas without making the image unnaturally bright. The low light captures are highly impressive as you can see in the camera samples below. Speaking of low light photography, the most notable improvement here is the ultra-wide camera that not just does an excellent job in well lit conditions but is much better in low light too.
Low light ultrawide
The colour reproduction of the ultra-wide camera is comparable to that of the main camera, and the images have ample detail. In fact, we found its dynamic range to be slightly better. As I mentioned, the ultra-wide camera has auto-focus and it doubles up as a macro camera. When you get closer to a subject, the phone automatically switches to macro mode; something that can be disabled. The macro shots are a lot more detailed now with improved colour accuracy though not 100% accurate.
Macro
The new telephoto camera is not bad at all but not necessarily better than the one on the 12. It captures some excellent 3X zoomed shots with ample detail and sharpness. The 6X hybrid zoom shots, though perfectly usable, feel a tad soft. In low light, their quality drops further. However, the optical zoom (up to 3X) works perfectly fine and captures some crisp shots even in fading light. Like before, the services of the telephoto camera are used for portrait photography too. You get 1x, 2x and 3x zoom options that mimic Hasselblad cameras with XCD 30 mm, 65 mm and 90 mm lenses.
The portrait shots on the OnePlus 13 are quite impressive with excellent foreground and background separation. It always worked well with human subjects, and now, probably with some AI smarts, works quite well with other subjects like animals and flowers too. To sum it up, the rear cameras on the OnePlus 13 do a great job and cover all key bases. The selfie camera is pretty good (though it still lacks auto-focus) and the skin tones feel natural in most cases in proper lighting.
Low light 3x optical zoom
Moving on to videos, all the rear cameras on this phone can record videos in 4K resolution at 30 or 60 FPS with support for HDR and Dolby Vision. You can now record 8K videos using the main camera at 30 FPS instead of 24. Super slo-mo Full HD videos can be captured at up to 240 FPS and 720p videos up to 480 FPS. You get OIS and EIS support to compensate for shaky hands. Captured 4K footage looks sharp and stabilised but still not in the Apple or Samsung league. You can now shoot 4K videos at up to 60 fps using the front camera and with Dolby Vision support too.
Here are a few camera samples:
OS and user interface: Clean, fluid, user-friendly and fairly future-proof
The OnePlus 13 runs the latest OxygenOS 15 based on Android 15. OxygenOS 15 is fluid, free of ads or excess bloatware and remains one of the best Android UIs around with a handful of tweaks to customise it further. The UI is smooth, lag-free and easy to comprehend even if you haven't used a OnePlus, Realme or Oppo smartphone before. You get a bunch of AI tools built-in like 'circle to search' and OnePlus AI for on-device searches.
OxygenOS 15 based on Android 15 is simple, fluid and largely free of bloatware
Then there are a handful of image editing options like AI Eraser, similar to Magic Eraser found on Google Pixel devices, AI Unblur to sharpen images, AI Detail Boost to sharpen resized photos, Reflection Eraser to handle glare and more. The new Mind Space feature that was first released on the OnePlus 13s a couple of months ago is now available on the OnePlus 13 too. It can be used for storing and accessing photos, notes and personal files more securely on the phone.
There's a lot more to explore and one can expect further additions and enhancements as the company has promised four years of OS updates and a couple more years of security updates for this flagship phone from the date of launch to keep it secure and relevant for long. Samsung and Google have been promising seven years for their flagship phones, but four major Android updates isn't bad either.
Final words: Sum of improvements adds up to a noticeably better whole
The OnePlus 13 is priced at Rs 69,999 for the 256 GB storage variant and Rs 76,999 for its 512 GB variant, with a one year warranty. That makes it at least Rs 5,000 more expensive than the launch price of the OnePlus 12 with similar storage. The price jump has been happening year on year, and the company will need to address that at some point. Yes, the OnePlus 13 does offer significantly powerful hardware, which is expected a year later, and some notable refinements in design, photography and AI usage. While it somewhat justifies its price tag, OnePlus should have managed it for a little lower.
All said and done, the OnePlus 13 is an incredibly powerful phone with a better design, an excellent QHD+ display, solid battery backup with fast and wireless charging and a versatile and quality camera setup. Add to that a fluid UI with a lot more AI tricks and four years of OS updates to follow. Yes, you now get phones like the Realme GT7 Pro, iQOO 13 and even the OnePlus 13s with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip for less than 55K, but the OnePlus 13 holds its own quite well against them as a total package even after six months since its release.
The ultrasonic fingerprint scanner is located almost 2 inches above the bottom edge for easier access
Update:
Both variants of the OnePlus 13 can be purchased for Rs 7,000 less in the ongoing sales on Amazon India as well as on the OnePlus India webstore.