The next phase in OnePlus’s attempt to control the market for high-end smartphones is represented by the OnePlus 13. This time, it featured a powerful camera system, a redesigned microfiber back, and the flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. Its goal is to provide a more competitive price point in 2025 while directly competing with the current competitors’ models that have the same SOC and MediaTek’s Dimensity 9400 SOC. Is it fulfilling its promise? Let’s check over in this review.
Design & Build: A Unique Approach to Premium
Although it is also offered with a smooth glass back, OnePlus has taken a different approach with the design of the OnePlus 13, offering a microfiber leather back that distinguishes it from the typical flagships with glass backs. In contrast to conventional glass, the material is supple but robust, enhances grip, and has a smudge-free texture that deters fingerprints. Its IP68 certification for dust and water protection and matte metal frame increase durability.
The phone is weighted at 213 Grams with thickness of 8.9mm, a fairly standard for a flagship smartphone with good ergonomics and balance. The front display is protected with Ceramic Guard glass. Overall the phone is rated IP68/IP69 for water and dust resistance with added support for wet touch operations.
The OnePlus 13 is pleasant for everyday use because it feels well-balanced in the hand, even if it has a huge display. In a crowded flagship market, its distinctive material selection and superior construction quality make it stand out.
Display: A Feast for the Eyes
The 6.8-inch QHD+ OLED display is one of the greatest OnePlus has ever included on a smartphone. It has a peak brightness of 1,600 nits, which allows for excellent visibility even in direct sunlight. HDR10+ support is available to give vivid colors and increased contrast, while the 120Hz adaptive refresh rate with LTPO 4.0 ensures ultra-smooth scrolling and power efficiency.
The screen’s refresh rate is dynamically adjusted from 1Hz to 120Hz using LTPO 4.0 technology, which optimizes both performance and battery life. Whether you’re gaming, viewing videos, or surfing, the display provides spectacular images and seamless movements along with Dolby Vision and HDR10+.
Performance: All About Power Meets Efficiency
The Snapdragon 8 Elite CPU from Qualcomm powers the OnePlus 13, offering a 40% performance increase over its predecessor. The device offers lightning-quick performance on all workloads when paired with up to 512GB of fast UFS 4 storage and up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM.
The OnePlus 13 performs admirably during our tests. Apps and games load quickly and without any obvious lags, and apps can multitask without any issues because to the substantial amount of RAM. This is made possible in part by the Trinity Engine, which aids in automatically optimizing resources.
Games like Genshin Impact and Call Of Duty will just run on the phone smoothly and it is able to sustain high framerate longer which is a joy for gamers alike. There is a dedicated game mode that allows you to customize performance and enhancement to make your gaming all immersive.
The also features an improved vapor chamber cooling system, ensuring it stays cool under heavy workloads.
Benchmarks
Above is just some of the benchmarks that we obtained and compared against some of the phone available within the market today. The OnePlus 13 is definitely one of the strong contenders around town.
Camera System: A Major Upgrade, but Not Perfect
OnePlus’s camera system has been greatly enhanced with Hasselblad tuning, which results in greater color accuracy and dynamic range. A 50MP OIS main sensor is part of the triple 50MP back camera arrangement, which can take detailed pictures with precise color. While the 50MP telephoto camera can zoom up to 3x optically and up to 120X digitally, as well as generate superb zoom photographs, it lacks periscope zoom. In contrast, the 50MP ultrawide sensor with a 120 degree field of view is perfect for all landscape and group photos. The camera now works effectively in night mode in low light or at night, producing details with reduced noise but with a limited dynamic range nonetheless, making it a formidable competitor in this field.
Lets get on to the front camera, which is powered by a single 32MP sensor that can produce pretty well balanced selfies that at the same time, delivers sharp images, whether it is day time or in low light conditions.
Touching on video camera, it is also capable of recording video at 4K 60FPS maximum which is ideal for mobile videography and VLoggers alike.
Despite the improvements, the absence of a periscope zoom lens means zoom capabilities lag slightly behind competitors but still strong when it comes to most of the photo scenario tested and snapped.
Battery Life & Charging: One of the Best in the Business
With a 6,000mAh battery, the OnePlus 13 is among the flagship phones with the longest battery life. When combined with the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s power economy, the phone may be used for up to nine hours on the screen over the course of two days on average. Although it is not included in the package, it can also be charged at 100W using a SuperVOOC charger. Any PD charger will function as long as it is compatible, but for the greatest charging experience, the aforementioned 100W SuperVOOC charger would be ideal, fully charging from 0% to 100% in around 35 minutes.
OS & Ecosystem : Light and Fluid
The OnePlus 13 runs OxygenOS 15, based on Android 15, delivering A clean, fast, almost bloat-free experience with AI-powered Smart Notifications & Assistant and Enhanced gesture navigation & multitasking on all your needed daily navigation and use. Talking about any additional apps, its only quite a few but those are part of OxygenOS UI so it is fairly fluid and the overlay on the UI changes remain quite minimal.
However, some AI features are basic as it gets, and OnePlus’s promise of only four years of software updates is slightly behind Samsung’s seven-year policy.
Verdict & Conclusion
The OnePlus 13 is an impressive flagship smartphone that delivers premium performance, stunning visuals, and all-day battery life, all while undercutting the competition in price. If you’re looking for a high-end Android phone without spending over RM4500, this is one of the best options available.
Who should buy it?
Users who want flagship specs without paying a premium price
Gamers and power users who need top-tier performance
Those who prioritize battery life & fast charging
Who should skip it?
If you rely on extreme zoom photography
If you expect flawless AI-driven features
The OnePlus 13 is now available officially at RM4399. For more information and purchase, Click here to find out.