OnePlus 13 Officially Launched: Powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Gaming, Standard Edition Price, Pro-Level Performance

OnePlus 13 Officially Launched: Powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Gaming, Standard Edition Price, Pro-Level PerformanceThe flagship battle that has been going on for over half a month has finally reached its climax. First, vivo and OPPO took the lead, followed by the Xiaomi 15 series, armed with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Gaming, charging into the battlefield

OnePlus 13 Officially Launched: Powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Gaming, Standard Edition Price, Pro-Level Performance

The flagship battle that has been going on for over half a month has finally reached its climax. First, vivo and OPPO took the lead, followed by the Xiaomi 15 series, armed with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Gaming, charging into the battlefield. Subsequently, manufacturers like iQOO, Honor, and ROG joined the fray, making the entire smartphone market lively and competitive. Their promotional campaigns are intense, each vying for a greater share of attention.

But in this world, there is no rule saying that you can't promote something before it's officially released. As long as manufacturers are determined enough, they can start promoting their products weeks in advance, build up hype, and capture the attention of the entire industry.

Thus, after holding a series of technical launch events this month, the OnePlus 13 series finally had its official launch this afternoon.

As the opening chapter of OnePlus' new decade, a product that embodies both sophisticated design and peak performance, the OnePlus 13 launch event took place at the 79 Tank in Beijing. Driven by curiosity, I traveled far to attend the offline launch. As per tradition, the OnePlus 13 released today doesn't have a "series" or a Pro model. OnePlus insists that the OnePlus 13 itself is positioned as a Pro-level product. Even with the release of the OPPO Find X 8 Pro, Li Jie (OnePlus CEO) still expressed great confidence. So, without further ado, let's jump right into the phone.

Design: To Each Their Own

If you were to ask ten OnePlus users on Coolpad what they most anticipated and least cared about regarding the OnePlus 13, the most anticipated feature would likely be performance optimization. The least anticipated would probably be the design.

How to put it? If it were 2020 or earlier, OnePlus would have been known for its penchant for innovative designs, even a pioneer in phone aesthetics. But all that changed when their design team implemented the "K-shaped light and shadow" design, resembling a hinged watch crown, on the OnePlus 11. The OnePlus Ace 2 adopted a similar family design, and the OnePlus 12 continued with it. The OnePlus Ace 3 and OnePlus Ace 3 Pro continued this design tradition. The OnePlus 13 is no exception.

However, after the controversy surrounding the design last year, OnePlus finally eliminated the "hinge" design that was criticized on the previous two generations. In its place is a new decorative line that separates the modules, featuring a glossy metal Hasselblad logo. The official name is "Dawn" design.

Building upon the previous generation, OnePlus 13 further upgraded the craftsmanship of the camera deco. The lens is covered with a single piece of glass, and the surrounding metal frame features a glossy chamfer, creating a harmonious and refined visual appeal.

Personally, while design preferences vary, I have to say that OnePlus has always been quite good at delivering quality.

As for colors, the three color options of the OnePlus 13 feature three different craft techniques. Besides the pure white silk glass, there's black made from wood-textured glass, and blue with a BabySkin-like velvet feel. The glass version is 8.5mm thick and weighs 213g, while the leather version is 8.8mm thick and weighs 210g.

I got to try all three colors at the launch. Leaving leather aside, the black and white models were both impressive, but I personally preferred the latter. The wood-textured glass feels finer than the white, and the color is also well-tuned.

Triple Camera System Boasts Enhanced Portrait Photography

From the image, you can see that the OnePlus 13's camera module is significantly larger than last year's. It's expected, considering imaging is another key aspect of the OnePlus 13.

Starting with the telephoto lens, the OnePlus 13 adopts a 50MP Sony IMX882 periscope telephoto lens. You might not be familiar with it, but it's the same periscope lens found in the OPPO Find X 8 Pro. Other manufacturers usually call it LYT-600 when they use it as the main camera. It features a 1/1.95-inch sensor, 3x optical zoom, a 73mm equivalent focal length, an F2.6 aperture, and supports two-axis OIS optical image stabilization. With a unit pixel area of 0.8m, it offers a larger pixel than other manufacturers. This is an upgrade from the OV64B commonly used by competitors, boasting more advanced underlying circuit design, high dynamic range, faster read speeds, and lightning-fast focusing. The focus remains on portrait photography, similar to the Find series.

The main camera continues to use the Sony LYT-808 sensor from the previous generation. It features a 1/1.4-inch sensor, F1.6 aperture, 50MP resolution, and supports OIS optical image stabilization. With the addition of Black Factory's imaging algorithm, it's exciting to see what this main camera can achieve this year.

Speaking of which, the ultrawide lens is no longer the familiar IMX581. Instead, it has switched to the Samsung JN5 sensor. This sensor features a 1/2.76-inch sensor, 50MP resolution, and the key upgrade is the transition from the "21OCL" phase detection of the previous generation, where focusing pixels only accounted for 1/16 of the total pixels, to full-pixel "22OCL" all-directional focusing, significantly improving focusing performance.

Overall, the OnePlus 13's triple camera system is indeed impressive for a standard flagship. It can compete with some Pro models, staying true to their product philosophy of the past two years.

Moving on from the Camera, Let's Talk About the Screen

"Full Deep Soft-Edge Straight Screen" Offers Enhanced Display Quality.

Like most Pro models this year, the OnePlus 13 adopts a soft-edge display design that feels close to a straight screen. The official name is "Full Deep Soft-Edge Straight Screen." Perhaps due to positive feedback last year, the OnePlus 13 continues to debut the second-generation 2K Dongfang screen. It features a 6.82-inch display, 2K resolution, and is crafted with BOE's X2 light-emitting material. It brings a higher refresh rate with an 8TLTPO circuit design, offering PWM + DC-like hybrid dimming.

Combined with the self-developed DisplayP2 display chip, the OnePlus 13 screen boasts significant improvements over the previous generation in aspects like color consistency, color accuracy, and power consumption. It's the best display quality yet.

The OnePlus 13 also features "extremely advanced" single-point ultrasonic fingerprint recognition and "everyone has it" Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, supporting both "IP68" and "IP69" dust and water resistance.

Powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Gaming, Energy Efficiency Exceeds Apple

As an all-around flagship, the OnePlus 13 naturally places great emphasis on performance. In terms of hardware configuration, it is equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Gaming, the flagship SoC for the next year. Lei Technology has conducted in-depth testing of this chip, which not only continues the positive reputation of the previous generation but also surpasses Apple's A18 Pro in both performance and energy efficiency.

The OnePlus 13 also offers a top configuration option of 24GB+1TB storage. It's one of the few flagship phones with such a large storage capacity this year. As the only favored son of Black Factory, the Find X 8 series recently introduced the Tidal Engine and Aurora Engine. The OnePlus 13 naturally inherits these technologies and adds OnePlus' self-developed gaming-exclusive display engine for a theoretically enhanced gaming experience.

The AnTuTu benchmark score exceeds 3.18 million, and the official claims that the phone can maintain a frame rate of 59.95 FPS while playing Genshin Impact from full battery to shutdown, thanks to the newly upgraded second-generation Tian Gong Cooling System Pro with a massive 9925mm2 VC.

At the event, Li Jie shouted out the familiar slogan, "Snapdragon 8, look to OnePlus." If I get the chance to get my hands on one, I'll test it and share the results with you.

Other peripheral configurations are also excellent. While most flagships are quietly lowering the quality of their motors, the OnePlus 13 uses the rare 0916T... The battery capacity is a generous 6000mAh with 100W+50W dual fast charging. Combined with the officially released three magnetic protective cases, it seamlessly integrates into OPPO's magnetic ecosystem.

Conclusion: Standard Edition Price, Pro-Level Performance

Finally, let's talk about the pricing. The OnePlus 1