OnePlus is back with its latest generation of flagship, or “flagship-killer,” phones — but for the OnePlus 13 series, there’s one new feature that you can’t get on anything else, and it could be the perfect new feature for clean freaks.
That feature? IP69 water-resistance. Yeah, it is nice.
OnePlus 13
The headline model is the new OnePlus 13, which sits atop OnePlus’ lineup as its best phone to date. If you think you’ve already seen images of the phone online, you might be right — it was released in China last month. But that doesn’t make it any less pretty — especially in the blue model that’s making the rounds.
That model is the Midnight Ocean variant, and it has a vegan leather back. The other colorways, Arctic Dawn and Black Eclipse, instead have a glass back, and while they look great too, the blue is clearly the best-looking.
As mentioned, the device is IP69 water-resistant, but it’s also IP68 water-resistant. The two ratings target slightly different use cases. The IP68 rating means that the device can be submerged in (fresh) water for up to 30 minutes at a depth of up to 1.5 meters, while the IP69 rating means that it can withstand 80-degree Celsius water jets from four different directions for up to 30 seconds at a time. Why would you want that? Well, you likely won’t need it, but OnePlus highlights that the device should be able to withstand a run through the dishwasher, as long as the water doesn’t exceed that 80-degree Celsius limit.
Say what you will about the oversized circular camera module — love it or hate it, you likely won’t be against it being shrunken down a little. While its footprint isn’t all that different from the OnePlus 12, OnePlus says that it is thinner, thanks in large to the new so-called Triprism telephoto lens, which itself is 24% smaller and 30% lighter than a traditional periscope lens.
The camera module on the device houses three 50-megapixel cameras (main, ultrawide, and 3x telephoto), and OnePlus has packed a range of new features into the camera system. OnePlus is quick to highlight the new Dual Exposure Algorithm technology, which essentially blends long- and short-exposure images to create sharper images with no motion blur. On top of that, there’s the new Clear Burst tech for more detailed burst shots, and Action Mode for sharper shots of objects in motion. A lot of the new features are built around the speed of the camera.
On the front, there is a pretty stunning screen. It’s an LTPO OLED screen with a refresh rate of 1Hz to 120Hz, a resolution of 3168 x 2440 pixels, and a peak brightness of 4500 nits.
All the other flagship-level specs are here too. The device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, coupled with either 12GB or 16GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage. The battery sits in at 6,000mAh, which is pretty huge — and it’s able to be so dense while remaining small thanks to the new OnePlus Silicon NanoStack battery tech. It can charge fast too, with support for 80W wired charging and 50W wireless charging as long as you use a OnePlus AirVooc charger. Unfortunately, the device doesn’t have the magnets for Qi2 charging, but the company is selling cases that do have the magnets to you can take advantage of the growing Qi2 ecosystem.
The OnePlus 13 starts at $899.99, and is available right now straight from Amazon, Best Buy, or the OnePlus website. That price will get you 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, however unfortunately that model only comes in Black Eclipse. For the other colors, you’ll have to pay $999.99, but doing so will at least get you 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.
Be sure to read BGR’s in-depth OnePlus 13 review to learn all about this new model.
OnePlus 13R
Perhaps more interesting than the OnePlus 13 is the OnePlus 13R, thanks largely to its great price point. The OnePlus 13R starts at only $599.99. For that price, pretty much everything about the phone is a little less powerful than the standard OnePlus 13 — but for many, the trade-offs will be easily worth it.
The device is powered by last year’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, which is still a great chip, though not as powerful as the Snapdragon 8 Elite. That’s coupled with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which should be plenty for most.
The camera is still a triple camera array, though the sensors are a little different than the OnePlus 13. You’ll still get three sensors, and thankfully one of those is a telephoto lens — not a low-quality macro lens. The 50-megapixel telephoto camera maxes out at 2x optical zoom (instead of 3x), while the ultrawide camera is 8 megapixels. It’s still a reasonably versatile camera system, which is nice.
The OnePlus 13R doesn’t have the IP69 water resistance on offer by the more expensive phone, but it does have IP65 water resistance.
The design of the device is pretty nice too. You won’t get the Midnight Ocean color, but the phone does come in Astral Trail and Nebular Noir (white and black), and both look pretty nice.
The OnePlus 13R starts at $599.99, and it’s up for pre-order right now, with open sales to begin on January 14. You can pre-order the phone straight from the OnePlus website, or from Best Buy. Our review of the OnePlus 13R is in progress, and you’ll be able to read it soon.
