OnePlus 13
OnePlus
Two months ago I accompanied a relative to the Apple Store while she bought a new iPhone. As we walked out, several employees wished her congratulations. Which amused us. I mean, it’s not like she had a baby, graduated from college, or achieved any other life-altering milestone. She simply bought a phone.
Yet I sort of understand the sentiment because it’s a relatively expensive luxury purchase. Maybe not to the extent of buying a new car, but there is something satisfying about holding and coveting a new phone. And I was reminded of that the past couple of weeks while trying out the new OnePlus 13 smartphone that operates on Android’s OxygenOS 15 platform.
It’s elegant. The bright 6.82-inch display – which officials called “the best screen on the market” during a media presentation – displays at up to 4,500 nits, which means it’s so bright you can easily see it under sunny daytime skies. Plus it offers a fast 120Hz refresh rate. The glass has a ceramic guard layer over the screen that resists fractures. I can attest to its strength, as I accidentally dropped the phone on the floor and suffered no repercussions. Plus the quad-curve glass has a flat screen, but curved edges and corners. But what I really noticed and liked was the backing that feels nice and soft while resisting fingerprints. The unit OnePlus sent me to test is the blue version, which is made of a special microfiber vegan leather.
One of my other favorite touches to this phone is the ring silencer physical toggle on the left side. Inside, the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip processor is lightning fast. As expected, I had no hiccups watching videos, surfing the web or playing games. The 13 also has a high-end Hassleblad camera in the rear with a Sony top-end sensor. In fact, all of the cameras on this phone have huge 50MP lenses. There’s also a 3x tri-prism telephoto lens and an ultrawide lens, as well. Within the camera app, you can choose from various scenarios such as action mode that freezes movement, which is great for taking sports shots of your kids’ games. Burst mode captures short and long exposures simultaneously, for clarity. There are also stage, silhouette and fireworks modes. I found that the portrait mode works exceptionally well, as does the video that features Dolby vision.
Speaking of photos, you can go into each photo you take afterwards and use the AI features, such as detail boost, eraser, unblur and reflection eraser, to improve the image. Honestly, that last feature would’ve come in handy for me when taking beach photos through a van window a few weeks ago.
The 13 also has a IP69 rating that means it can handle a high amount of water pressure and temperatures up to 176 degrees F. So you could theoretically plunk it in a swimming pool, run it through a dishwasher in sanitize mode, drop it in the washing machine, or put it in a frying pan up to 176 degrees and still use it normally afterwards.
Watching the 13 charge is captivating. You seriously just plug in the charging cable and it informs you that fast charging mode is active. And then you watch your battery percentage increase quickly before your eyes. In just 36 minutes, it charges from empty to full with the included 80W SuperVOOC charger. But if you buy the optional 100W charger separately, it will charge even faster. The phone also charges wirelessly, albeit slower with a 50W. The new battery is higher density, slimmer, lighter and has a higher capacity than the battery in previous models.
The 13 sells for $900 (256GB) or $1,000 (512GB). But I was super impressed by the budget-friendly 13R version that sells for just $600. It’s missing some of the 13’s features, such as the cool backing, curved edges and ceramic screen coating. Instead it has a 6.78-inch, scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass screen. Its rear camera is 50MP with a 2x telephoto, but the front-facing lens is 8MP that can go ultra-wide and sports a great low-light sensor.
Both phones work with every 5G carrier and MVNO in the country. And if you’re lucky enough to buy one, may I be the most-recent to wish you congratulations.
