Everything we know so far and what we want to see

The OnePlus 12 launched globally back in January, but we’ve already seen some OnePlus 13 leaks and rumors start to trickle in. So what do we know about the upcoming flagship phone? Read on to find out all the major details and leaks we’ve managed to gather.

OnePlus hasn’t officially confirmed whether there’ll be a OnePlus 13. Nevertheless, the company has offered at least one flagship phone in the series each year since 2014. We’ve also seen some early leaks and rumors regarding the phone, suggesting that it is in the pipeline.

• OnePlus 10 Pro — January 11, 2022 (China) / March 31, 2022 (global)
• OnePlus 11 — January 4, 2022 (China) / February 7, 2023 (global)
• OnePlus 12 — December 5, 2023 (China) / January 23, 2024 (global)

OnePlus has been launching its flagship phones earlier and earlier. In fact, the OnePlus 12 actually launched in China in December 2023 before getting a global launch in January 2024. If history is anything to go by, then that means the OnePlus 13 could debut in China in December 2024 before receiving a global launch in January 2025.

We haven’t seen any leaked OnePlus 13 renders just yet, but we have heard some claims regarding the phone’s design. For one, Weibo tipster Digital Chat Station claimed that the phone will have a new design. More specifically, it sounds like the rear camera housing could get a change. That would be welcome news as OnePlus has used this same toilet-shaped housing since the OnePlus 11. This was echoed by tipster Yogesh Brar on April 17, who said we should expect a new rear camera design and arrangement.

Brar also asserted in early April that the OnePlus 13 (and OPPO Find X8 Ultra) could debut a “micro quad-curved panel.” That ostensibly means a quad-curved screen with subtle curves rather than anything approaching a waterfall display.

We haven’t heard much else about the OnePlus 13 design just yet, such as the presence of an alert slider or an IP rating. But we’ll update this rumor hub as soon as more info appears online.

Every OnePlus flagship phone in recent years has come with the latest and greatest Snapdragon flagship processor. Qualcomm is expected to launch the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in late 2024 and we’re expecting the OnePlus 13 to be powered by this chip. This claim has been echoed by leakers Digital Chat Station and Yogesh Brar too.

The two sources also assert that the phone will offer a 2K screen, which would be in line with recent releases. Brar further claimed that the OnePlus 13 packs a 5,400mAh battery and 100W wired charging — in line with the OnePlus 12. He added that the new phone will have the same camera sensors as the OnePlus 12 too. That means we should expect a 50MP main camera, a 64MP 3x periscope camera, and a 48MP ultrawide lens.

Digital Chat Station corroborated some of the camera claims, asserting that the phone will have a large 50MP main camera and an unspecified periscope lens.

Google and OPPO/OnePlus announced in April that AI features powered by Gemini would be coming to OPPO and OnePlus phones later this year. The two Chinese brands also confirmed that Google’s most powerful AI model (Gemini 1.0 Ultra) would be coming to their phones later in 2024. So it stands to reason that the OnePlus 13 would launch with some Google-powered AI smarts too.

There are still a few unanswered questions regarding the OnePlus 13 specs, such as RAM/storage details and the availability of wireless charging. But we’ll undoubtedly see these details leak as we get closer to the phone’s launch window later this year.

• OnePlus 10 Pro — $799.99
• OnePlus 11 — $699.99
• OnePlus 12 — $799.99

OnePlus has generally been all over the place regarding pricing in recent years, so it’s not easy to predict a price point. Nevertheless, the OnePlus 12 matched the base Galaxy S24‘s price tag. It, therefore, seems like a safe bet that the OnePlus 13 could match the base Galaxy S25.

We wouldn’t rule out a slightly cheaper OnePlus 13, though. A cheaper price tag would be possible in theory if the phone is indeed an iterative upgrade rather than a significant step up from the OnePlus 12.

The OnePlus 13 is still almost a year away from release, and that’s a long time to wait. But the OnePlus 12 ($899.99 at Amazon) can be found at a cheaper price nowadays if you look around, and it’s still worth a look if you want a high-end OnePlus device. It’s also expected to get some nifty Google-powered AI features later this year.

Alternatively, you should consider the Galaxy S24 ($859.99 at Amazon) if you want a well-rounded Android flagship phone. It doesn’t have blazing-fast charging speeds or a huge battery, but the S24 brings Samsung’s Galaxy AI features, brisk performance, water resistance, and seven years of updates.

Another phone worth considering over the OnePlus 13 is the Google Pixel 8 ($699 at Amazon). It brings seven years of updates, premium extras (wireless charging, IP68), a pocket-friendly size, and AI-driven features like Best Take and Audio Magic Eraser. You do lose out on performance, screen quality, and charging speed by opting for the Google phone, though. Then again, it’s also $100 cheaper.

OnePlus 13: What we want to see

That’s all we know about the OnePlus 13 for now, but we’ve also got our own wishlist of features we’d like to see on the upcoming flagship phone.

OnePlus has had a complicated relationship with IP ratings. The OnePlus 8 Pro, OnePlus 9 Pro, and OnePlus 10 Pro only had an IP68 rating for full water resistance if you bought them via T-Mobile — no rating for unlocked variants. Meanwhile, the OnePlus 11 and OnePlus 12 offer splash resistance, only.

We really hope OnePlus gives the OnePlus 13 an IP67 or IP68 rating for water resistance, bringing it in line with Google and Samsung’s flagships. And this IP rating should be available on all variants rather than just being restricted to carrier models.

The OnePlus 12 certainly brings impressive camera hardware, including a periscope camera for the first time in the mainline OnePlus series. We generally praised the daytime photos taken with these cameras but felt that the phone was disappointing in mixed or low light.

It’s not enough for a phone to take great daytime shots anymore as even budget phones can take fantastic daytime snaps. So we hope OnePlus goes back to the drawing board and delivers much-improved low-light performance for the OnePlus 13. The OnePlus 12’s low-light image quality is also regrettable when parent brand OPPO is able to knock it out of the park with the Find X7 Ultra.

The alert slider has been available on OnePlus flagships since 2015’s OnePlus 2, so it stands to reason that the OnePlus 13 will retain it. Nevertheless, we’re still adding this to our wishlist just in case OnePlus is thinking about ditching the feature. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that the company skipped the slider on the OnePlus 10T.

The slider is perhaps the most recognizable thing about OnePlus phones, so removing it would be a major step in the wrong direction for the brand. Here’s hoping that cooler heads prevail.

OnePlus already delivers a very respectable update commitment, with the OnePlus 12 scheduled to receive four major OS updates and five years of security patches. That’s pretty good, but it’s not quite best-in-class.

Samsung and Google both offer seven years of updates these days, including seven years of OS upgrades. It would be great if OnePlus could match this commitment. We’d also like the brand to offer ready access to spare parts, such as batteries, over those seven years, so users can keep the hardware running for the support period.