1738351816 OnePlus 13 is the smartphone for photography enthusiasts

OnePlus 13 is the smartphone for photography enthusiasts

OnePlus has clearly hit the mark with the OnePlus 13. The smartphone impresses with its camera.

At WANT, we get offered almost every smartphone to test. Yet we can already say that the OnePlus 13 is one of the highlights of the upcoming year.

The smartphone works in a good way, but what impresses most are the photos you take with it. It looks peaky.

The OnePlus 13 is blazingly fast

The OnePlus 13 is the brand’s flagship device. It is one of the first devices to run on the Snapdragon 8 Elite. After all, the Samsung Galaxy S25 won’t come out until a little later.

That Snapdragon 8 Elite chip provides tremendous speed. It is 40 percent faster than its predecessor and also more energy efficient. As a result, you can really handle anything with your smartphone. That chip is especially so fast to perform all kinds of AI processes. So in Oxygen OS 15, the shell the company built around Android, there are all kinds of new AI features, although they lag behind, for example, when I compare that to the Samsung Galaxy S25 or the Google Pixel 9.

OnePlus 13 is the smartphone for photography enthusiasts (Image: Jeroen Kraak/WANT)

Many of those AI features you may know from Google. For example, it obviously has Circle to Search and you can make photos better through AI and search even better through Intelligent Search. In addition, it has also taken a good look at the competition, as it is coming up with a kind of Dynamic Island. Something Samsung also recently announced with its Now Bar.

The battery

Another advantage of the chip is that it is more economical. Then, of course, we immediately look at the battery life. Inside the device is a hefty battery, as it has a capacity of 6000 mAh. The logical consequence is that your battery will last considerably longer than the previous version. You can get by just fine for two days with a 100 percent battery, even if you use the OnePlus 13 heavily.

Do you run out of battery anyway? Then charge it at lightning speed with the included 100W charger. That means you go from 0 to 100 percent in less than 40 minutes.

Top-level camera

So that performance is fine, but with the OnePlus 13 we have to talk mostly about the camera. To be exact, three cameras on the back and one on the front.

OnePlus 13 is the smartphone for photography loversVery natural photos. (Image: WANT/Jeroen Kraak)

The rear cameras all have 50 megapixels, though they are obviously different. OnePlus developed these together with the famous Hasselblad, and you can see that in the results. This also allows you to play with different filters, which produces slightly different results.

The main camera, when used by default, gives a very natural image. The colors are almost exactly the same as what you see with the naked eye. The telephoto lens also manages to do very well. Through AI, even zoom photos look good that are zoomed in no further than the 3x optical zoom offered by the lens itself.

Things get a little trickier when it’s dark, but even then the OnePlus 13 manages to hold its own. Photos are clear and you could even get rid of noise through AI.

The outside

The OnePlus 13’s screen is also fine. This is a QHD+ 120Hz screen, which provides very fine clarity. Therefore, watching series and movies is fine. That screen is also fine to operate when you have gloves on or when it is raining. So I can definitely call it Netherlands-proof as well.

OnePlus 13 is the smartphone for photography loversA photo with the OnePlus 13. (Image: Jeroen Kraak/WANT)

However, the exterior is a personal downside for me. I myself have the black one with some sparkle, but it feels a bit plastic and cheap. Something you don’t expect from a flagship, and that’s actually quite a shame. Also, I’m not really a fan of the camera design on the back, but well, that’s mostly personal taste.

The price of the OnePlus 13

The price for the OnePlus 13 is also very reasonable. Sure, 999 euros is a lot of money, but compared to the top devices from other brands like Apple and Samsung, this model costs almost as much as the entry-level model. This also comes with 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of memory. However, there is also one with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB. For this you will pay 1,149 euros.

However, OnePlus also has another cheaper option with the 13R. This one costs 749 euros, but has just a little less of everything. For example, it contains the slower Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and has a lesser camera. However, if you’re not much of a photographer and don’t need the very fastest chip, you can definitely consider it.

OnePlus 13

OnePlus

8.5
Score

Plus points

Great value for money Camera Blazingly fast due to Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset Battery Bright screen

Minuses

Feels a little cheap because of the exterior AI could be a little better

The OnePlus 13 gives you great value for money. You get a blazingly fast phone with an impressive camera for just under $1,000. However, the manufacturer could have done a little more on the outside to give it a more luxurious look

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