OnePlus 13 Unveiled With An Ultrasonic Sensor, Snapdragon 8 Elite And Gobs Of RAM

The OnePlus 13 has officially landed in China and it looks like a proper stonker of a phone, as many leaks and teasers before it have hinted at. While there's a chance that the specs of the global model (when it arrives in 2025) may have minor changes, we believe the core features will carry over. Future buyers can expect Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Elite processor with tons of RAM, the second-generation BOE X2 display, fancy new 6,000 mAh silicon-carbon battery, and an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor.

OnePlus is taking off from the gates with its OnePlus 13 flagship phone boasting hardware and low pricing to embarrass big brands like Samsung, Apple, and Google. After initially thinking that the 13 would merely be an incremental update from the already fantastic 12, the Chinese phone maker (part of the BBK Electronics powerhouse) has revealed a phone that improves in almost every aspect.

Starting with the go-faster bits: the OnePlus 13 is confirmed to have the Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC with up to 24 GB of DDR5X RAM and 1 TB of UFS 4.0 storage. If you've been on the pulse of mobile processor news, you'd know that the Snapdragon 8 Elite is fire and has the ability to burn even the Apple A18 in standard benchmark tests. To help with added heat, the vapor chamber surface from previous models has been increased to 9925 mm2.

The phone sports the latest BOE-sourced LTPO AMOLED panel: it's a 6.82-inch 120 Hz 10-bit piece that's gratefully much flatter now. The display also will have the lineup's first ever under-screen ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, an improved Rain Touch 2.0 (for improved touch performance when the screen or fingers are wet), improved glove-touch support, and what seems like better anti-flicker tech (for those sensitive to pulse width modulation effects). 

Besides the processor, arguably the biggest thing we're most excited about is the inclusion of a larger (and thinner) 6,000 mAh silicon-carbon battery (with 100W wired and 50W wireless charging). While the battery technology has been introduced in phones like the Honor Magic 5 Pro and 6 Pro, the OnePlus 13 will be the first flagship in the U.S. to carry an Si/C power source. The fact that OnePlus is able to offer such a large capacity and shave 0.7 mm off the thickness plus 10 g off the weight from the OnePlus 12 can largely be attributed to the battery, and this paves the way for other brands to follow.

We'll have to get our grubby mitts on the phone for proper impressions on the camera array, but outwardly, the sensors are pretty promising. Hasselblad continues to help with the tuning, while the hardware consists of a 50 MP 1/1.4" 50 MP Sony LYT-808, a 50 MP Samsung JN5 ultrawide, and a 1/1.95" 50 MP Sony LYT-600 telephoto-periscope.

Finally, the new device also gets a small, but meaningful bump in dust-water resistance. The OnePlus 13 carries an IP69 rating over the IP68 on the previous model.

In China, the phone is going for about $630 for the 12/256 GB model, $690 for 12/512 GB, $740 for the 16/512GB, and $840 for the top-of-the-line 24 GB/1 TB iteration.