OnePlus 13 vs OnePlus 12: All the differences explained – Ultra-Sim

Intro

Design and Display Quality

New styling with flat sides

The first and biggest change is just to the design of the OnePlus 13 which now gets flat sides, similar to what you have on iPhones, the latest Samsung Galaxy Phones, Pixels and many more. The previous OnePlus 12 used curved sides.

We like this change, it makes it easier to pick up the phone from a table and helps with grip.

The overall size of the OnePlus 13 remains quite big, it’s a 6.8-inch phone after all, just like the OnePlus 12. However, it’s a bit slimmer and weighs a bit less, despite having a bigger battery. That’s a win.

Here is a comparison of the OnePlus 13 vs OnePlus 12 size and dimensions:

Those are mostly minimal tweaks, but it’s good knowing the exact numbers.

The other thing that has remained present is the alert slider aka the mute switch, a nice little touch we still very much appreciate, both the 13 and 12 have it.

One important new feature is IP69 support on the OnePlus 13, which means it can not only withstand water submersion but also water jets and high temperature water. Most other phones only have IP68 water and dust protection, which does not guarantee protection against water jets.

OnePlus 13 color options

You have a choice of three combinations of colors and materials:

Good news is that you get a fast charger, a charging cable and even a case in the box, at least that’s what the unboxing experience looks in China.

You get an ultrasonic fingerprint reader for the first time on a OnePlus flagship

OnePlus is particularly proud of the next generation screen technology used in the OnePlus 13. It uses a 6.8-inch BOE X2 OLED display with a 1440p resolution, which is the same size and resolution as the OnePlus 12, but a newer panel with even better accuracy.

It’s a much brighter screen too, reaching 800 nits of typical brightness, up from 600 nits on the OnePlus 12. Viewing angles have also improved as well. It also has better eye protection with a 2160Hz high frequency pulse-width modulation (PWM), effectively meaning that there will be less eye-straining flicker.

Performance and Software

Top-level Snapdragon 8 Elite chip on the OnePlus 13

As for the rest, you have the same configurations, starting with a base model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and then you have a 12/512GB version, a 16/512GB model, and finally an insane 24GB RAM/1TB storage version. At least those are the OnePlus 13 models on sale in China, we are yet to see if all of them will be available in the US and global release.

As for the rest, benchmarks from the device are already here and we see the numbers we were promised: 40% upgrade in both CPU and GPU performance.

It’s important to know that OnePlus phones run different software in their homeland of China and in their global release. The China models run on ColorOS, while the global ones feature OxygenOS. We strongly recommend you to avoid the Chinese versions (in case you are thinking of importing), and just wait for the global model. This will make your life much easier as you won’t have to go through some big hoops just to set up your phone right.

Camera

New sensors and a few camera tweaks

Three cameras on the back

There is no big overhaul of the OnePlus 13 camera system compared to the OnePlus 12, as it uses a similar setup with main + ultra-wide + 3X telephoto camera on the back.

However, the sensors are new and we have three 50MP sensors (different sizes, though).

The OnePlus 13 is not an “Ultra” flagship, so it skips on the biggest sensors and the main camera has a 1/1.4″ Sony sensor (smaller than the 1-inch sensors on Xiaomi and Oppo Ultra models).

Unlike other mainstream phones, here you get a 3X telephoto camera, rather than a 5X one. However, it’s a 50MP sensor, so it can deliver great zoom quality at 6X level as well thanks to the magic of sensor cropping.

The color science is once again “Hasselblad” inspired, and there are a few new portrait modes and Fuji-like color presets. We have to test more, but it does look promising.

Battery Life and Charging

A massive silicon-anode battery inside

20% bigger battery than on a Galaxy Ultra or Pixel phone

A 6,000 mAh battery on a flagship phone sounds awesome and this is a big upgrade over the 5,000 mAh battery commonly used on other Android flagships like the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Comparing the OnePlus 13 battery to the OnePlus 12, it’s a smaller jump, going from a 5,400 mAh capacity on the OnePlus 12 to a 6,000 mAh size on the OnePlus 13.

What’s notable here is the OnePlus 13 is using the new silicon-anode type of battery, where the anode no longer uses graphite but a new compound with silicon that provides more capacity at the same physical size.

The official estimate for OnePlus 12 battery life was 1.79 days of use, and the OnePlus 13 jumps to 1.96 days of use, so essentially this is a real two-day battery life phone! Absolutely great news.

Of course, we would need to double-check that on the global model once it’s available, so stay tuned for a full review in the near future with those important details.

As for charging speeds, nothing has changed. Wired charging caps at 100W speeds (probably a little lower, 80W in the US), while wireless charging is available at 50W.

New OnePlus Magnetic Turbine wireless charger

OnePlus also introduced a new wireless charging puck for the OnePlus 13, which looks similar to the Apple MagSafe charger as it has magnets, but it’s bigger and comes with a fan. Hey, that’s the price to pay if you want double the charging speeds! By the way, that fancy new charger works with iPhones too.

Interestingly, there are no magnets built in the OnePlus 13 itself. You would need to purchase a separate case with magnets (OnePlus has a few official options) in order to use the new wireless charger. These cases simply allow for the proper magnet alignment, while the wireless charging coil is still inside the phone itself. Why did OnePlus go with such a strange design? It’s hard to tell, but there are benefits to not having magnets in the phone. It helps keep the device slimmer and cost down.

Specs Comparison

And below, you can find a breakdown of all the individual specs of the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 12:

Should you buy the OnePlus 13?

If you have an older phone, absolutely!

Of course, OnePlus 12 owners don’t really need to rush as one year does not get you THAT many upgrades. For all else, this seems like an awesome upgrade with a brand new design, a much bigger battery, improved fingerprint scanner, and a brighter display. 

We’re still in the dark about the official global release date and price of the OnePlus 13. However, considering its early release in China, it’s likely that the price will be only slightly higher than before. Therefore, the OnePlus 13 will still be one of the best deals if you’re in the market for an all-out flagship phone.

We will be updating this comparison with all the details about the global model once we have them, so make sure to bookmark this and check back here in a month or two when we will hopefully know more.