5 things I love about the OnePlus 13 after using it for a month

5

The OnePlus 13’s battery life is unmatched

This phone easily lasts all day and charges in no time

Great battery life and fast charging have always been synonymous with OnePlus, and the OnePlus 13 continues that legacy. It features a massive 6,000 mAh silicon-carbon battery (wonder when Samsung, Google, and Apple will adopt this tech), which easily powers through a full day of use.

I used the OnePlus 13 as my primary device during my recent trip to Abu Dhabi, and never had to worry about battery life. I could hardly drain it before the day ended — even with heavy use of Google Maps, extensive photo and video capturing, occasional calls, and gaming. A quick 30–40 minute charge in the morning was enough to bring it back to 100%.

Keep in mind, we’re talking about recharging a massive 6,000 mAh battery here. Other flagship Android devices like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 9 Pro, with smaller batteries, take much longer to charge fully.

Android Police’s Phones Editor Will Sattelberg had a similar experience and was equally impressed with the OnePlus 13’s battery performance. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: once you experience this combination, it’s hard to switch to other devices (looking at you, Samsung and Google). It’s becoming a habit every year, but once again, the OnePlus 13 is the phone to beat for fast charging and battery performance.

4

The OnePlus 13 has premium durability that finally feels right

I don’t have to baby the OnePlus 13 anymore

One reason I’ve hesitated to fully recommend OnePlus smartphones is their lack of proper dust and water resistance. Even last year’s OnePlus 12 fell short in durability compared to other Android flagships, offering only an IP65 rating while others provided at least IP68.

Come on, OnePlus, it’s 2025 — we take our smartphones everywhere: to the beach, the pool, and even near the kitchen sink. This lack of protection made it hard for me to fully recommend OnePlus devices.

Thankfully, the OnePlus 13 fixes this. It comes with both IP68+IP69 ratings, not only matching other flagships but arguably surpassing them. OnePlus claims the OnePlus 13 can even withstand streams of water jets. While I haven’t tested this myself (I won’t), the upgraded IP rating finally removes the hesitation I had about taking my OnePlus phone everywhere.

3

A flat-ish display that’s simply perfect

Curved just enough to feel premium

At first glance, the OnePlus 13 doesn’t look much different from its predecessor, the OnePlus 12. The build and overall design remain largely the same, but one key change is the (sort of) shift to a flatter display. While the OnePlus 12 had curved sides, the OnePlus 13 features a quad-curved display that bends slightly on all sides, with noticeably flatter edges.

This makes the OnePlus 13 easier to handle and offers better palm rejection than last year’s model. The display itself feels absolutely amazing to use. It’s a large, bright 6.82-inch OLED panel with a high refresh rate, impressive brightness, and vibrant colors — everything you could ask for in a flagship screen.

2

The camera finally holds its own

No more compromises — photos actually impress now

2025 marks the fifth year of collaboration between OnePlus and Hasselblad for fine-tuning their flagship cameras, and it finally seems to be paying off. Inconsistent camera performance was one of the main reasons I couldn’t fully recommend OnePlus phones before. The camera was good, sometimes great, but it didn’t always perform well in all conditions.

That’s no longer the case with the OnePlus 13. I took it alongside my iPhone 16 Pro on a recent trip, and it truly feels like OnePlus has closed the gap. The OnePlus 13 captures excellent shots in all lighting conditions. While the colors are still slightly more vibrant than I prefer, the main sensor’s performance, especially at 1x and 2x zoom, is outstanding.

The extremely fast shutter speed also helps with action shots (more on that in an upcoming article), and the macro camera performs impressively as well. You can check out some of the photos I took with the OnePlus 13 in various scenarios above.

1

I can finally use my MagSafe accessories with the OnePlus 13

But only if you use OnePlus’ official case

One of the coolest surprises with the OnePlus 13 is that I can finally use my MagSafe accessories. While the OnePlus 13 doesn’t fully support Qi2, it is Qi2-ready. This means the phone supports 15W wireless charging with compatible chargers but lacks built-in magnetic alignment like iPhones.

To make it fully Qi2-compatible, you need OnePlus’ official case, which includes built-in magnets for MagSafe support. I tested the setup with my MagSafe wallet and portable power bank, and it works perfectly. It’s a small but meaningful addition that makes switching from an iPhone easier, though I wish this feature was built directly into the phone.

The OnePlus 13 is the most complete OnePlus flagship yet

On paper, the OnePlus 13 may seem like a minor upgrade over the OnePlus 12, but OnePlus has refined the smartphone in so many subtle ways that it finally feels like a complete Android flagship ready to compete. It remains to be seen how Samsung will respond with its Galaxy S25 series, but I’m confident OnePlus will be in the race for the best Android flagship title once again this year.