We're not quite a week into the new year, and we're already getting our first big phone launch of 2025. OnePlus takes the wraps off the OnePlus 13 this Tuesday (January 7), showing off one of the first mainstream phones to run on the new Snapdragon 8 Elite silicon.
The OnePlus 13 isn't as much of a mystery as many newly launched phones. OnePlus actually launched the device in China late last fall, so we have a pretty good idea as to what kind of specs to expect once the phone maker starts talking up its new flagship device during an online launch event.
Still, we have several lingering questions about the OnePlus 13 ahead of its global launch, with many of the answers likely to arrive at the same time the new phone does this Tuesday. There's also the same matter of the OnePlus 13R, a scaled-back version of the flagship phone that's also appearing during the launch event. Given how impressed we were by last year's OnePlus 12R — in my opinion, it was one of the best phones in 2024 — it should be interesting to see what OnePlus has planned for a follow-up.
Here's what I want to know about both of OnePlus' new phones heading into the upcoming launch. But first, let's talk about how you can follow along with the new hardware announcements.
OnePlus 13 launch event details
OnePlus plans to host its OnePlus 13 launch event on Tuesday, January 7, with an online stream that begins at 10:30 a.m. ET / 7:30 a.m. PT / 3:30 p.m. GMT. The phone maker has a OnePlus 13 launch event page on its website, and we'd also expect that you'll be able to find a live stream on the OnePlus YouTube channel.
In addition to the OnePlus 13, OnePlus has confirmed that the OnePlus 13R will also be announced during the event. Additionally, we'll get a look at some new earbuds, the OnePlus Buds Pro 3.
As noted above, a lot of the OnePlus 13 specs are already known, thanks to the phone's release in China. The phone features a 6.8-inch OLED panel promising up to 4,500 nits of brightness. In addition to the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, OnePlus will include at least 12GB of RAM, with other configurations boosting the memory to 16GB or 24GB. A 6,000 mAh battery keeps the phone powered up, and you'll capture photos using three rear cameras that all use their own 50MP sensors.
So what else is there to learn about the OnePlus 13?
What kind of camera improvements will the OnePlus 13 introduce?
Based on the OnePlus 13's China release, we know that at least two cameras on the back of the phone are changing from what the OnePlus 12 offered. OnePlus is upgrading the 48MP ultrawide shooter on last year's phone to a 50MP sensor, while the 64MP telephoto lens on the OnePlus 12MP makes way for a 50MP version on the OnePlus 13. That's a drop in resolution, but we've seen other camera phones switch to lower-resolution sensors without any drop in photo quality. The OnePlus 13 will continue to offer a 3x optical zoom with its new telephoto lens.
The bigger story involving cameras will be OnePlus' ongoing partnership with lens specialist Hasselblad. That team-up has lead to some noticeable improvements in camera performance in recent years, culminating in the OnePlus 12 offering the best cameras we've yet seen on a OnePlus flagship. We expect OnePlus to detail how the OnePlus 13 will continue that progress.
According to reports about the OnePlus 13, the focus this year will be on portrait photos, with a new portrait algorithm letting you choose different presets for your portrait shots. Any sort of improvement would be welcome — when we tested the OnePlus 12 against other cameras such as the iPhone 16 Pro Max in a 200-photo face-off, portraits shot by the OnePlus 12 tended to be inconsistent with some issues around dynamic range.
Other reported camera improvements will apparently center around AI-powered features, with the OxygenOS 15 software running on the OnePlus 13 reportedly delivering tools to get rid of excessive blur in photos, remove reflections and boost other details.
Will the OnePlus 13 include any other AI features?
Given how intensely Apple, Samsung and Google focused on AI features in 2024, OnePlus may seem like it has some catching up to do. The OnePlus 12 offered some AI capabilities, but it certainly wasn't a major part of that phone's appeal.
It sounds like AI will have a more prominent role on the OnePlus 13, and not just with the aforementioned photo-editing tools. OnePlus is highlighting Intelligent Search, a new tool that lets you use natural language searches to look up info in multiple places including Settings, My Files and Notes. It's billed as a time-saving feature in the few public comments OnePlus has made about Intelligent Search so far, but we expect the launch event will contain a more thorough demo.
Can the new OnePlus phones make further battery life improvements?
Battery life isn't really a concern for me when it comes to OnePlus phones. Rather, the question I have ahead of the OnePlus 13 launch is: how much longer can these new phones last?
As of this writing, OnePlus phones hold down two of the top five slots on our best phone battery life list. The OnePlus 12 lasted a little more than 17 hours on our battery test, beating the average smartphone's result by 7 hours. As impressive as that is, the OnePlus 12R lasted even longer with a time of 18 hours and 8 minutes.
You'd think there's not much room for improvement, especially since the 6,000 mAh battery slated for the OnePlus 13 is the same size as the power pack in the OnePlus 12. (The OnePlus 13R is tipped to get a larger battery than its predecessor though that's not official.) But the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset powering the OnePlus 13 is more power efficient than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 silicon used in last year's model — and that system-on-chip did an excellent job at squeezing out more performance while consuming less power.
In other words, as great as the OnePlus 12 was at lasting on a charge, the OnePlus 13 could be even better. And I'm excited to see if this year's phone can pull it off.
What will be the OnePlus 13 price?
The big question around any phone launch centers around what you'll be expected to pay to get all these new features and improvements. Thus far, OnePlus hasn't provided much of a hint on what it plans to charge for the OnePlus 13 outside of China.
In that country, the OnePlus 13 starts at 4,499 yuan for the entry-level 12GB/256GB model, a modest increase over the 4,299 yuan starting price for the OnePlus 12. We'd caution against reading too much into that, as phone makers tend to set specific prices for specific regions.
We do know that the OnePlus 12 costs $799/£849, and in the U.S., that was a $100 increase from what OnePlus charged for the OnePlus 11. However, a pretty liberal trade-in program let most shoppers save $100 on the cost of the phone. Whether that price sticks around for the OnePlus 13 remains to be seen.
Will there be a lower-cost version of the OnePlus 13R?
Details surrounding the OnePlus 13R feel like they're more up in the air compared to the OnePlus 13. It's expected the midrange phone will use last year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and offer its own triple camera array (though without the telephoto lens you'll find on the flagship device). But what I'm interested in is the storage options on the OnePlus 13R.
Specifically, the OnePlus 12R came in a 128GB version that was available in the U.S. last year. OnePlus sold that phone at $499, the same price as the Pixel 8a. A 256GB version of the OnePlus 12R cost $599/£649 — certainly a fair price, but a less compelling one for bargain hunters.
Right now, we've only heard about a 256GB version of the OnePlus 13R, which would suggest the new phone might not come in a model that costs less than $500. It's possible OnePlus could announce specific versions for specific regions like it did for the OnePlus 12R last year, but that's something I'll be paying attention to during the launch event.
Early OnePlus 13 deals
While the official price of the OnePlus 13 won't be announced until the January 7 event, OnePlus is offering early bird deals for its new phones through the company's online store.
Pre-paying $50 for the OnePlus 13 or OnePlus 13R will get you a $50 discount on either phone. You'll also be eligible to receive a free OnePlus Watch 2R that OnePlus values at $229. Under the offer, you'll have until January 13 to pay off the remaining balance on your phone purchase, though OnePlus says that trade-in options will be available that you can apply to your balance for additional discounts.
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