OnePlus 13, as per the leaks and reports, is shaping up to be a solid flagship Android smartphone. The global unveiling of the phone, touted to be one of the first phones to launch with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, could happen as soon as October 17, coinciding with the launch of Qualcomm's flagship chip at the Snapdragon Summit. OnePlus will introduce the flagship first in China, followed by a global rollout. With the launch date around the corner, the company has started to tease some of the highlights of the phone, giving us hints on what to expect from it. The basics of OnePlus 13 The OnePlus 13 will be the company's de facto flagship smartphone for 2025 unless the company introduces a successor to the OnePlus Open, its foldable smartphone. It is almost confirmed that the OnePlus 13 will offer at least 12 GB of RAM, going up to 16 GB on the high-end variant with 256/512 GB of internal storage. OnePlus seems to continue its partnership with BOE for the display, where the upcoming OnePlus 13 is expected to flaunt BOE's X2 flagship flexible OLED screen with 2K resolution, 6,000 nits of peak HDR brightness, 1,600 nits of brightness in high-brightness mode (HBM), and up to 1,000 nits of normal brightness. BOE is hosting a launch event on October 15, where the company is expected to share more updates regarding the same. Interestingly, the OnePlus 13 might go for a flat display instead of a curved display like its predecessor, possibly with the latest glass protection from Corning. Lastly, the OnePlus 13 might also switch from an optical in-display fingerprint sensor to an ultrasonic sensor, similar to that of the Galaxy S24, which will be faster and more precise. Fastest smartphone on the block The OnePlus 13, thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite, will be one of the fastest smartphones in the world, offering stellar CPU, GPU, NPU performance to aid multitasking, gaming, and AI features. Considering it is shipping with the latest chip, it is expected to have this kind of power. However, on top of this, the OnePlus 13 is also said to include a self-developed Tidal Engine and Aurora Engine to further optimize the system and enhance performance. In China, the OnePlus 13 will ship with ColorOS 15, while the international version is expected to run on OxygenOS 15, again a bloatware-free version of ColorOS 15 with Google Play Services. This time around, the ColorOS 15 is expected to pack new lock screen customization features, similar to iOS 18 and HyperOS, along with an improved file-sharing platform, similar to AirDrop, which allows users to share files with nearby OnePlus smartphone users by just touching their smartphones. The OnePlus 12 delivered stellar battery life thanks to its 5,400 mAh battery, and it might go a notch up on the OnePlus 13, as the smartphone is speculated to pack a 6,000 mAh battery, possibly with fast wired and wireless charging support. However, the OnePlus 13 might take a little bit longer to charge, as the fast charging speeds of the OnePlus 13 are speculated to remain identical to that of its predecessor with 100W fast wired charging and 50W fast wireless charging. Is the charger going away? When it comes to smartphone fast charging, OnePlus has always paved the way, ever since the OnePlus 3, which was introduced almost a decade ago. With the OnePlus 13, the company might follow the trend of removing the charger from the box, and the phone might only come with a red USB-C cable accompanied by a SIM ejector tool, according to images shared by OnePlus on Weibo. The OnePlus 12, with its 100W fast charging, is easily one of the fastest-charging flagship smartphones of 2023, and by removing the charger from the box, OnePlus 13 users might have to buy a fast charger separately, which is likely to cost a lot more than your typical smartphone charger. When will OnePlus 13 launch in India? The OnePlus 13 will go official in China later this month, and it might take a few weeks for the brand to introduce the same in India. Considering the OnePlus 12 landed in February 2024, the OnePlus 13 might arrive a bit early, possibly by late November 2024 or early January 2025. In terms of pricing, the OnePlus 13 is expected to cost around Rs 65,000 for the base model. The higher storage variant might cost a bit more.
