The OnePlus 13 sets a new bar for smartphone performance. Here's what to know about the latest Android phone.

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

OnePlus launched two new phones in the US on January 7: the flagship OnePlus 13 and the mid-range OnePlus 13R. The phones are available to buy starting January 7 and January 14, respectively.

After some time with the OnePlus 13, it's highly probable it'll end up on our best Android phone guide, and perhaps our guide for the best phones overall thanks to its excellent performance, cameras, and design. Our full review is in the works and will come shortly.

I haven't checked out the OnePlus 13R yet, but after testing every OnePlus phone to date, and hundreds of phones over the last decade, I'm almost certain it'll offer a worthwhile experience based on its specs, features, and value-driven price.

OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R: Release date

The OnePlus 13 is available to buy on January 7 from the OnePlus website and Best Buy. Availability on Amazon will follow "at a later date," according to OnePlus.

The OnePlus 13R is available for preorder on January 7 from the OnePlus website and Best Buy. It will be fully available on January 14 from OnePlus and Best Buy and will also be available on Amazon "at a later date," according to OnePlus.

OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R: Price

The OnePlus 13 starts at $899.99 for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage model, which is only available in the "Black Eclipse" (black) colorway. The 16GB RAM and 512GB storage model costs $999.99 and is available in black, "Arctic Dawn" (white), and "Midnight Ocean" (blue) color options.

The OnePlus 13R starts at $599.99 and is only available with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. It's available in two colorways: "Nebula Noir" (black) and "Astral Trail" (silver).

For the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R, OnePlus is offering up to $899 for an eligible trade-in phone when you buy the phones from the OnePlus website. Meanwhile, Best Buy is offering a $100 gift card when you purchase either model.

For the OnePlus 13, specifically, OnePlus and Best Buy are also offering the 16GB RAM and 512GB storage model for the same price as the base model. When you buy the phone from the OnePlus website, you'll get an additional $100 credit for trading in any phone in any condition.

For the OnePlus 13R, specifically, you can pick one free "gift" if you buy from the OnePlus website, including the OnePlus Watch 2, Watch 2R, or Buds Pro 3.

OnePlus 13: Cameras

The OnePlus 13 features a three-lens camera system that includes a main, ultrawide, and a 3x zoom, all of which are 50MP. OnePlus continues its partnership with renowned camera company Hasselblad for camera tunings and features.

If you find yourself in beautiful places at the right time of day, like sunset, the OnePlus 13 is capable of taking truly beautiful — breathtaking, even — photos. I usually dislike it when phones try to "enhance" my photos, but the OnePlus and Hasselblad collaboration produces photos with some of the most pleasing colors out of any phone I've tried.

The OnePlus 13 is sometimes prone to making dark parts in a photo overly dark, but not always. More testing needs to be done, but I'm overall pleased with the OnePlus 13's cameras so far.

OnePlus 13: Performance and battery life

The OnePlus 13 runs on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, and it is flawlessly quick and smooth. Its benchmark results are stunning, too — they blow every other Android phone out of the water, with about twice the performance results of the Google Pixel 9 series.

With its slim-yet-high-capacity 6,000mAh battery, the OnePlus 13's battery life has been excellent so far, and its overnight battery drain is staggeringly slow. We still need to conduct our official battery test to see where it places among other phones in our best phone battery life guide.

Unlike many phones in the US, the OnePlus 13 includes a charger, and it supports an incredibly fast 80W charging speed. To put that into perspective, the iPhone 16 series can charge up to around 25W, and Samsung's Galaxy S24 series maxes out at 45W.

The OnePlus 13 doesn't have a built-in magnet, but it supports wireless charging. You can add magnetic functionality with a OnePlus case that has built-in magnets, which lets you attach magnetic accessories, like OnePlus' AIRVOOC 50W wireless charger.

The OnePlus 13 will offer four years of Android operating system updates and six years of security updates.

OnePlus 13: Display

The OnePlus 13's display can reach up to 1440p resolution, but it's set to 1080p by default, which is easily sharp enough for most people, and provides longer battery life than the sharper option.

The 6.8-inch display uses a ProXDR panel with a variable 1-120Hz refresh rate, which provides a high-end experience typical in the Android market.

OnePlus tends to include helpful, unique features with its phones, and it has introduced a new Glove Mode for the OnePlus 13's display. It's designed to let you wear gloves up to 0.2 inches thick while using the phone. The company is also introducing an updated Aqua Touch 2.0 mode, which helps with using the phone when the screen or your fingers are wet.

OnePlus 13: Design

The OnePlus 13 has a shiny, polished metal frame and a matte-textured glass back panel. OnePlus's matte texturing has an interesting silky texture. It feels premium and shows virtually no fingerprints or smudges, but it also makes it more difficult to grip the phone.

The display is thankfully flat instead of curved, which hopefully marks the end of the curved display trend. The display's glass panel is ever-so-slightly raised above the metal frame, which also means the glass panel's edges are slightly curved.

The OnePlus 13 is one of the first phones in the US to come with an IP69 rating. That means the phone can withstand higher-pressure water streams and heat than the typical IP68 rating (which the phone is also rated for), but it doesn't necessarily improve submersion resistance.

OnePlus 13: Should you buy it?

Even after a few days with the OnePlus 13, I'm comfortable saying you should consider it for your next phone. Though our full review is pending, the phone excelled in initial testing.

For its $900 starting price, the OnePlus 13 offers outstanding value for its first-rate performance, excellent camera quality, and large screen size.

OnePlus 13R: A mid-range phone with a high-end processor

The OnePlus 13R is a stripped-down version of the OnePlus 13. It has a similarly sized 6.8-inch display and runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, the same processor running the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, so it's still a very high performer.

Overall, it should provide a similar experience to the OnePlus 13. It will offer the same four years of Android OS updates and six years of security updates available to the OnePlus 13.

We have yet to test the cameras, but they might be the compromise that accounts for the OnePlus 13R's lower price, in addition to its lack of wireless charging. The Sony cameras in the OnePlus 13R aren't as high-end as those in the OnePlus 13, and they're not tuned with Hasselblad's collaboration.

However, one of the best things OnePlus did for the OnePlus 13R is to replace niche macro cameras from previous generations with a zoom lens that more people are likely to use.

Based on its specifications, it looks like an absolute steal for its $600 starting price, considering its screen size and performance.

OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R: Specs