Review: Oneplus 13 - Powerful in a slim Package

Through its now several years long collaboration with camera manufacturer Hasselblad, OnePlus's flagship has several different strengths to lean on. We notice a clear focus on the camera, performance where OnePlus continues with the constant work to ensure speed in the system, this time with the help of the top chip Snapdragon 8 Elite, we of course get a bouquet of AI features where some are really useful, and the phone has design and material choices that give it its own identity.

Latest and Greatest

Let's start with the performance. In addition to having the latest system chip, Qualcomm's latest and fastest Snapdragon, the screen also has a fast refresh rate, and OnePlus has shaved off millisecond by millisecond in its interface Oxygen OS to make it as fast as possible. One shouldn't perhaps exaggerate the difference this makes in practical use. With the power the phone possesses, it's not surprising that it feels fast, but the difference is not noticeable compared to other flagships or previous models. In recent years, OnePlus has increasingly merged with its sister company Oppo, which has the same owner, and this has made OnePlus lose a bit of what previously made them more unique.

Oneplus promises four years of system updates, and the company's interface Oxygen OS, in addition to some customization options in the settings, also includes a few extra apps. These include a photo gallery that also syncs with Google Photos, a proprietary browser in addition to Chrome, as well as notes, voice recording, and a few other things. Nothing special, really.

Several AI features impress

The most noticeable aspect of the software, I think, is the AI features, most of which are related to image processing. I miss voice-to-text in the recording app, but I like several of the AI features that are available. During a museum visit, I take several pictures through glass display cases and can successfully remove reflections in the images on almost every photo I've taken. Sure, there are times when it goes wrong, but it is surprisingly accurate, better than those I've tested before, like Samsung's most recent and Huawei's earlier counterparts in the P40 Pro a couple of years ago. Less useful is the AI zoom, which at higher zoom levels is supposed to improve detail with the help of AI. When I test it, faces look like cartoon characters, and it's clear that the AI has a very vague understanding of what reality looks like.

More important than AI and post-processing is perhaps how the cameras themselves perform in the first step. The Oneplus 13 has a main camera with a sensor from Sony, a telephoto lens with periscope zoom that provides 3x optical zoom but is enhanced with AI assistance, and a wide-angle camera in addition. These stand out primarily with really good color reproduction, especially in challenging conditions with limited light, and by allowing me to easily capture moments with moving subjects without getting motion blur. I notice this when, for example, in just a second, I decide to take a picture of a passing double-decker bus in London or when I spot a fox in the same city one evening. Few other cameras would have managed that. Even in burst mode, I get sharpness in the details, although the phone is a bit slower than others and takes fewer pictures then. This can be explained by the technology behind it. The Oneplus 13 has a special feature that, when you take a picture, captures a double exposure. Both a long and a short shutter speed image are taken, and the system merges these into one image. When I compare, an iPhone takes around 80 pictures in the same second that the Oneplus 13 manages 50. The telephoto camera handles distance shots with fine results. Up to about 30 times magnification, I think I can get usable images, but the AI support can be both a great help and sometimes produce results that do not match reality at all. For example, if I take pictures of a logo from a long distance, a symbol that I know exactly how it looks, the AI can interpret and depict it as something completely different.

The phone is noticeably thin on the outside and thus seems to precede a trend that is being talked about, where both Samsung and Apple are planning Slim versions of their upcoming phones. Despite its thin design, the battery life in the Oneplus 13 is good and, as mentioned, the performance is also more than sufficient. You no longer get a charger in the box, but the phone supports both fast charging and wireless charging. With an extra case, there is also support for Qi 2 with magnets that hold the phone in place and optimize charging efficiency, in the same way as Apple's Magsafe. However, here the magnets are not integrated into the phone from the start, but the special case is required for the connection. To take advantage of the magnetic case, Oneplus has also released a range of magnetic power banks, but with the magnetic case, you can also charge your phone from chargers adapted for iPhone's Magsafe.

Oneplus 13 is released in three colors and the back is made either of glass, which applies to the black and white variants, which is the one I am testing, and in vegan leather, meaning plastic for the blue model. The screen is flat with subtle curves on all four sides, and the metal frame provides a good grip along with the back, which is also slightly curved. On the side of the phone, we find Oneplus's physical button, which is a switch for silent mode.

Questions and Answers

What does Oxygen OS do?

It is Oneplus's interface over Android, and I don't think it adds as much unique value as it used to. "Fast and smooth," meaning quick and seamless, has long been Oneplus's motto, but in practice, there are quite few apps or features that positively distinguish the system from other manufacturers' versions.

What AI features are available?

Google's Circle to Search is available, as well as some from Oneplus themselves. You have AI support in camera zoom that doesn't impress, but the image editing, on the other hand, is really good for removing reflections if you take pictures through a window.

First with the top chip?

No, globally Xiaomi was first with its Xiaomi 15 series and for the Swedish launch, Asus ROG Phone 9 was ahead. Snapdragon 8 Elite, as the chip is called, is expected in phones from most major manufacturers during the year.

An alternative

If you want to save some money, a tip is not to focus solely on the very latest launched phones. The Xiaomi 14 series, which was released last year, can for example be an alternative, all with a clear camera focus, but with Leica instead of Hasselblad assistance.

Camera example:

The camera is particularly good for action shots with a lot of movement and generally for achieving color reproduction, even in low light. AI can help you remove glass reflections afterward, but it can also be a bit too creative and produce zoom images where the subject doesn't look realistic.