From www.techadvisor.com
Image: Hannah Cowton / Foundry
When it comes to flagship smartphones, Apple, Samsung and Google are probably the first brands that come to mind.
But ignore OnePlus at your peril. The Chinese company is great at making high-end phones, evidenced by the excellent OnePlus 12. It offers everything most people are looking for in an Android phone, at a price that undercuts many rivals.
So, what can we expect from its successor? As its launch date next week is now official, we already have an idea of what OnePlus is planning.
Here’s everything you need to know at this stage.
When will the OnePlus 13 be released?
The OnePlus 13, the next flagship from OnePlus, has been officially confirmed to launch in China on 31 October 2024. This follows an earlier statement from OnePlus China President Louis Lee, who had announced that the device would debut in October.
This accelerated timeline hints that the company wants to be among the first to debut a device powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which is expected to be revealed at the Snapdragon Summit between 21-24 October 2024.
If this launch is limited to China, a global release might not happen until February or March 2025. Here’s how it looked in previous years:
- OnePlus 12 – February 2024
- OnePlus 12R – February 2024
- OnePlus 11 – February 2023
- OnePlus 10 Pro – March 2022
- OnePlus 9 – March 2021
- OnePlus 9 Pro – March 2021
How much will the OnePlus 13 cost?
Nothing has been revealed regarding the pricing of the OnePlus 13 at this stage. However, previous models give us a rough idea of what to expect:
- OnePlus 12 – from £849/$799
- OnePlus 12R – from £649/$599
- OnePlus 11 – from £729/$699
- OnePlus 10 Pro – from £799/$899
- OnePlus 9 – from £629/$729
- OnePlus 9 Pro – from £829/$1,069
The OnePlus 12 saw a significant price rise compared to the 11, but we don’t expect that to be repeated in the next generation. While tech in general has been getting more expensive, OnePlus will want to still undercut flagships from the likes of Apple, Samsung and Google on price.
However, according to Digital Chat Station, the top-tier model of the phone (24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage) is expected to be more expensive than the OnePlus 12 equivalent.
What specs and features will the OnePlus 13 have?
Design
The OnePlus 13 brings a refined design compared to its predecessor. The circular camera array from the OnePlus 12 is retained, but the module is no longer attached to the phone’s frame.
There were previously some confusions, with reports hinting at a possible rectangular camera design, but this is now likely to apply to the more budget-friendly OnePlus 13R model.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
The phone will feature a flat, brushed frame, likely providing a sturdier feel than the thin, polished frame of the OnePlus 12.
OnePlus will also introduce three distinct colour options – Obsidian Secret (Black), which mimics the texture of wood; White Dawn (White), with a smooth finish; and Blue Hour (Blue), featuring a velvety leather-bound texture.
Here are some more images shared by a leaker Evan Blass:
In addition to the design updates, the phone is also expected to have enhanced water and dust resistance, potentially achieving an IP68 or even IP69 rating.
This improvement, as reported by Digital Chat Station on Weibo, would offer superior protection against water immersion and dust, making it more durable than the OnePlus 12, which had an IP65 rating. An IP69 rating would allow the phone to withstand high-temperature water jets, marking a significant advancement in smartphone durability.
In terms of dust, 6 is the highest rating. The OnePlus 12 is described as ‘dust-tight’ with a rating of 6, so it’s likely the OnePlus 13 will also get that designation.
Display
The OnePlus 12 features already excellent 6.82-inch AMOLED screen with a QHD+ (3168×144) resolution and adaptive refresh rate from 1-120Hz.
However, a Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station suggests that OnePlus 13 will bring significant upgrades from the OnePlus 12 and 12R. According to the leak, the OnePlus 13 will feature a flat screen instead of the curved displays of the lat year’s models.
Recently, OnePlus has teased the OnePlus 13 by showing off its new screen (according to Digital Chat Station), although the full phone itself hasn’t been revealed. The display uses BOE’s second-generation ‘Oriental Screen,’ which promises better performance compared to the previous model used in the OnePlus 12.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Digital Chat Station also claims the phone will use the BOE X2 panel, offering a 2K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and LTPO technology. Additionally, the display might feature a gently curved design on all sides.
However, within the display, there are also rumours that OnePlus could be upgrading the fingerprint sensor. According to Smart Pikachu on Weibo, the OnePlus 13 could include an ultrasonic scanner instead of the current optical one.
In general, ultrasonic sensors are more reliable and better at unlocking when your fingers are wet, so this would be a nice upgrade.
Performance
Smart Pikachu on Weibo, Digital Chat Station (via Gadgets360) and OnePlus Club on X believe that the OnePlus 13 will be powered by Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite (previously referred to as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4) chipset.
That would make sense, given that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 can be found in the OnePlus 12 and the company generally aims to put the latest and greatest chips in its flagship phone.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
According to OnePlus China President Louis Lee on Weibo, the new chip promises “epoch-making” performance, marking a new era for mobile chips.
He says that the OnePlus 13 will be equipped with Qualcomm’s latest technology, utilising a “self-developed dual-core architecture” for a major performance leap, with exclusive features tailored to OnePlus devices.
So this almost certainly means that the OnePlus 13 will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
A recent tip from a OnePlus employee hints that the OnePlus 13 will feature a custom next-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset that surpasses Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro A18 Pro in power efficiency.
This claim was made by Weibo user Cai Zuxuan, an employee of OnePlus, suggesting that the new Snapdragon chip could enhance both performance and battery life.
Jon Mundy / Foundry
What’s more, the phone was recently benchmarked on Geekbench (via GSMArena), showcasing impressive results with this chip.
The multi-core score exceeds 10,000 points, with the CPU featuring two core clusters clocked at 4.32 GHz and 3.53 GHz. However, such high clock speeds raise concerns about overheating, leading some to question the accuracy of these figures.
The device also seems to offer 16 GB of RAM. However, a Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo reports that the OnePlus 13 will go up to 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM. If true, this would match the maximum amount offered by the OnePlus 12.
Additionally, the new Adreno 830 GPU, with a clock speed of 1,250 MHz, could deliver up to 30% better performance than its predecessor, the Adreno 750.
Cameras
Cameras are likely to be a big focus on the OnePlus 13. According to Android Authority, OnePlus will make minor improvements to its periscope-style telephoto lens and keep other cameras the same.
If true, OnePlus would be sticking with three lenses on the back – the current 50Mp main, 48Mp ultrawide and 64Mp 3x telephoto cameras. It’s also not clear if the 16Mp selfie lens will be improved at all.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
However, a known leaker Digital Chat Station (also via Android Authority) suggests that all three lenses might be 50Mp, with the telephoto lens retaining its 3x optical zoom. He also adds (via GizmoChina) that the main camera will use Sony’s Lytia LYT-808 sensor with an f/1.6 aperture, similar to its predecessor.
Battery and charging
The OnePlus 12 already has a great battery and charging combination, with a 5400mAh cell and support for 100W wired, 50W wireless and 10W reverse wireless charging.
While it’d be a surprise to see any further improvements, 91mobiles reports that OnePlus 13 has been confirmed to include a larger 6,000mAh battery.
The phone has been spotted on China’s TAF certification website under an Oppo model number, PJZ110, which is believed to be the OnePlus 13. If true, this should result in even better battery life, especially with the phone’s more power-efficient chip.
The 6,000mAh capacity is reportedly made up of two 2,920mAh battery packs, and it will likely be marketed as such. OnePlus has previously used larger batteries in other models like the Ace 3 Pro.
A know leaker Digital Chat Station previously also claimed that the OnePlus 13 will feature a larger 6000mAh battery, with the same fast charging capabilities—100W wired and 50W wireless.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
The OnePlus 13 is also set to support magnetic wireless charging (via GSMArena) but with a unique approach. Rather than embedding magnets directly inside the phone, it will likely rely on magnetic cases to connect with magnetic wireless chargers.
This information was shared by a OnePlus executive on Weibo, though it’s worth noting that machine translation could affect some details. There’s still a possibility that the phone may have built-in magnets.
If OnePlus follows the case-based system, it would be similar to existing products that allow regular phones to work with MagSafe chargers.
Software
Android 15 is likely to be out by the time the OnePlus 13 is released, so it’s likely to be running Google’s next major version of the software.
It’ll likely be paired with OnePlus’ own OxygenOS 15 skin, although it doesn’t usually make many changes to the core Android user experience.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
It’ll be interesting to see if OnePlus matches Google and Samsung in offering seven years of software updates. The current four years of OS updates and five years of security patches is already pretty good, though.
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Author: Artur Tomala, Mobile Writer, Tech Advisor
Artur is a Mobile Writer at Tech Advisor, where he covers a range of smartphone, tablet and smartwatch-related topics. He has been working in the tech industry since 2021, including time spent leading a team focused on mobile news, reviews and product rankings. As an ambassador for the productivity app Notion, he runs training workshops and creates advanced templates to help people stay organised and productive.
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