OnePlus has kicked off the smartphone season and it’s a promising start. OnePlus 13 manages to set the tone for the year through a better display, processor, and camera, but it has also given us a feel for what we should expect from AI. Here’s what impresses us about the phone and what could have been better.

Big on battery

The 6,000 mAh battery is up from 5,400 mAh that we had in last year’s OnePlus 12. Running identical tests on the OnePlus 12 and 13 after six hours of YouTube, gaming, social media and 4K video, recording usual intensive stuff, the OnePlus 12 would have been down to 50 per cent versus the 58 per cent on the OnePlus 13. So we are looking at a bigger battery and a much longer-lasting one. It takes around 36 minutes to get the phone charged, depending on if you are using the device while having it plugged in. You still get 50W wireless charging but you need the company’s wireless Magnetic Charger to get that going.

Under uneven lighting, photographs appear to be slightly brighter than it usually is

What is exciting is that phones are no longer getting thicker despite packing bigger batteries. These are lithium-ion batteries with a new silicon carbon anode. So you get more energy density, a greater range of operating temperatures and faster charging. The technology will help when it comes to smaller phones and folding phones. Overall, the OnePlus 13 is at least a day-and-a-half phone even with brightness turned up.

Performance uptick

We have the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform. Just to give you an idea of what we’re looking at in terms of performance, you will get excellent ANTUTU benchmark and single-core Geekbench scores. And we’re seeing an uptick in the graphics-heavy 3D Mark Stress Test.

OnePlus 13 has a software feature called LiveAlert, which is a bit like Dynamic Island on the iPhone

The new chip throttles less, we’re seeing a higher stability score and there is a big jump in frame rate. It runs every game flawlessly but that’s kind of been the case for the last couple of years now.

Usually, we get five to 10 per cent improvement year on year. This time it’s different.

If you are using Instagram and regular apps, higher scores may not mean much but if you are pushing the chipset, there will be higher frame rates and high power outputs without throttling while gaming. It also helps with battery efficiency.

Looks somewhat different

I think this is one of the coolest-looking OnePlus phones in a very long time. Weighing just 213g, the phone is just 0.85cm thick. All this makes me wonder how OnePlus managed to squeeze in a bigger battery this time. The rear panel of the phone is not a massive departure from the OnePlus 12, I think the overall feel is far better. You get a flat screen which everyone loves but there is a slight taper towards the edge.

Wireless charging is not a problem with the OnePlus 13

You get excellent stereo speakers, an Alert Slider, and well-placed antennas. Even when you hold the phone in landscape mode while gaming, overall connectivity is not impacted.

There is the traditional water and dust resistance (IP68). Further, you have IP69, which means it can survive hot jets of water. So if you spill a cup of hot coffee on it, the phone will survive. This is a massive change from a few years ago when OnePlus phones didn’t have IP certification.

There are no Qi2 magnets built into the phone but the official cases have magnet rings in them and they are of the same diameter as MagSafe.

Bright and effective display

On the face of it, there is the same big 6.82-inch Quad HD+ dynamic AMOLED display with one to 120Hz refresh rate, with brightness topping out at 1,600 nits (4,500 nits HDR). On top of this, you get Radiant View which improves colours and contrast when you get the brightness maxed out, making the screen appear less washed out.

There is also Aqua Touch 2.0, which makes the screen easier to use even if there is water on it. If that’s not enough, this phone has been given A++ rating by DisplayMate. OnePlus has gone for a Ceramic Guard, which improves the durability of the screen.

Good camera but…

First, the specs. It’s a 50MP main camera (Sony LYT-808 sensor), which is the same as on last year’s phone. But then you get a 50MP 3x telephoto with Sony LYT-600 sensor. There is a bigger sensor — 1/1.95” and that should allow more light to stream in. Next, 50MP ultra-wide (S5KJN5 sensor) but the sensor size (1/2.75”) is slightly smaller than what we got last year.

Camera specs don’t always tell the entire story. If you take the same photos using last year’s phone and the new one, there are significant differences — the colours are less oversaturated, the white balance appears more true to life and zooming in, say 15x, you get sharper images.

The Hasselblad-branded colour calibration boosts reds and oranges, especially in indoor lighting

The ultra-wide doubles as an impressive macro mode. OnePlus has also upgraded some of the camera features. For example, you can shoot an 8K video at 30fps, you can take photos much faster (there is a faster burst mode), you can record in Dolby Vision (4K@60) with all the cameras, and the portrait mode does a wonderful job.

What I think could have been better is the front camera — photos are not contrasty enough in uneven lighting.

The camera setup is good but the question is: Can it compete with rivals under uneven lighting? When it’s dark, the camera tries hard and makes some pictures look brighter than they are.

OnePlus and Hasselblad have been enjoying a partnership for several years now. Besides a few portrait mode offerings and a few tweaks to the Pro mode, I don’t see a lot of extras from a company like Hasselblad. There is no out-of-the-way improvement that OnePlus couldn’t have managed on its own.

Snappy software

The phone ships with Android 15 and we have their Oxygen OS 15 on top. There are some AI features, including the AI editor in the photo gallery app, you can improve clarity, AI assistance for the Notes app but nothing that you haven’t heard of. Oxygen OS is incredibly fast and there is a fair deal of optimisation. OnePlus promises four years of OS updates and six years of security patches.

One feature that caught my eye: LiveAlert capsule. Anytime music is playing or if you have hotspot on or a screen recording going on, a bubble pops up on top of the screen. What is that iPhone feature called?! You can tap it to bring up the card with control for the activity.

Make the call

Many of the AI features require an Internet connection and I think people would like that to be available offline as well. Samsung is expected to take big strides with the launch of its flagship series (Galaxy S series) later this month. We expect more AI-powered features on the Samsung phone. Can OnePlus close the gap with software upgrades? Overall, OnePlus 13 has polished several features to a T, making flagship phones more competitive.

At a glance

Device: OnePlus 13

Price: 12 GB RAM + 256 GB Storage: ₹69,999; 16 GB RAM + 512 GB Storage: ₹76,999; 24 GB RAM + 1 TB Storage: ₹89,999

High notes

Powerful performance

Sensible design

Fast charging

Very good battery life

Strong IP rating

Muffled notes

Ultra-wide could have performed better under low light