Did OnePlus , in October 2024 , just foretell one of the best smartphones of 2025 ? It very well may have , because OnePlus has officially launched the OnePlus 13 .

Well , sort of . The OnePlus 13 is now available in China , though it ’ll be a while before it comes to the U.S. and other parts of the public . Although it ’ll likely be December or January before you and I get our hired hand on the OnePlus 13 , the wait should be worth it . The OnePlus 13 already look like one of next year ’s best phones — and it may have simultaneously cause the previous death of theSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra .

The OnePlus 13 looks fantastic

OK , so the OnePlus 13 is prescribed — but what ’s so special about it ? I ’ll go with the hardware , which , to my eyes , is fantastic . I ’ve been a lover of OnePlus ’ intention for the last pair of days , and the OnePlus 13 looks like a cracking organic evolution of it . The rotund camera trapping is cleaner and a fleck simpler than it was on the last pair of OnePlus flagships , the accent line to the right of it is a overnice trace , and I ’m felicitous to see the introduction of a flat frame .

The colouring material are equally wonderful . Secret Realm ( aka the smuggled option ) has a gorgeous grain / shape across the entire rear , Dew Dawn ( the white variation ) face like a better adaptation ofthe white OnePlus 12 , and Blues Hour ( the patrician one , shocker ) has a gorgeous naval forces blue colour that contrasts attractively with the smooth-spoken television camera round . Even best , it has a leather finish instead of glassful . Take my money right now .

Then there ’s the display . As much as I lovethe OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R , I ’m not the biggest fan of their curved display . Good intelligence : the OnePlus 13 does n’t have one . It technically has 2.5D curved glass on all four edges , but the curve appear to befarless spectacular than the clear-cut curved sides of the OnePlus 12 serial . The 6.82 - inch sizing is a little larger than I ’d wish , but I ’m all for a flat CRT screen . It also has every specification you could require for : an AMOLED board , a 3168 x 1440 resolution , a 120Hz refresh charge per unit , and up to 4500 nits of brightness .

Something else that ’s enchant my center is a little , but important contingent : the vibration motor . Good tactual feedback is , in my opinion , a vital , but often pretermit aspect of many Android phones . OnePlus says the OnePlus 13 has the with child shaking motor ever used in an Android phone . Whether it ’s a high - character motor remains to be see , but it ’s nothing if not encouraging .

And , of course , there are the specs . The Snapdragon 8 Elite — which has already proven to be an improbably fast chip — is here . There ’s also a monolithic 6,000 mAh shelling , 100 - watt wired and 50W wireless charging , and ternary 50MP cameras for the primary / telephoto / ultrawide snappers . There ’s alotto like here .

What this means for the Galaxy S25 Ultra

Of course , we also expect the Galaxy S25 Ultra to match many of these specifications . Samsung ’s flagship should also have the Snapdragon 8 Elite , a powerful camera frame-up , and a big stamp battery . But based on the S25 Ultra making water we ’ve see so far , nothing is blowing me forth .

Samsung looks like stupefy with the same design it has used since the Galaxy S22 Ultra , which is dissatisfactory . Yes , OnePlus has also done roughly the same affair , but it ’s at least found interesting ways to shake up the camera aim andconsistently uses fun color / fabric . The OnePlus 11 , OnePlus 12 , and OnePlus 13 all see like they ’re part of the same family , but they still look like dissimilar phones . Samsung , not so much . The S25 Ultra looks like the precise same phone we ’ve had since 2022 , just with a flatter skeletal system .

There ’s also no indication that Samsung will upgrade its assault and battery or charging tech next yr . rumor suggestthe Galaxy S25 Ultra will have a 5,000 mAh batteryand 45W charge , just like the Galaxy S24 Ultra . If straight , that would leave the S25 Ultra with a 20 % smaller shelling and considerably slow charging speeds than the OnePlus 13 . For some context , Samsung has provide 45W commit since the Galaxy S20 Ultra was release in 2020 .

Then there ’s the matter of software system . Neither OnePlus ’ OxygenOS nor Samsung ’s One UI are my favored Android interfaces , but if I had to choose one , I ’d go with OxygenOS . Though it ’s surely not perfect , I find OnePlus ’ software much gentle to utilise and far less bloated than Samsung ’s . Both company have freehanded plans for their next major software update , and while we ’ve yet to get an prescribed look at One UI 7,our first glimpse at OxygenOS 15 is predict .

Finally , there ’s the affair of price . We do n’t screw what U.S. prices will be for the OnePlus 13 or Galaxy S25 Ultra , but based on their predecessor , OnePlus should have a somewhat big vantage . The OnePlus 12 cost $ 800 , while the Galaxy S24 Ultra costs $ 1,300.Even if the OnePlus 13 catch a price increase , it should still be considerably cheaper than the S25 Ultra — and still see or outclass it in almost every way .

The fight’s already heating up

To be clear , do n’t take this as me all throw out Samsung in 2025 . TheSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultrais one of our well - reviewed speech sound this year ; of grade I ’m interested to see how Samsung follows it up . I ’ve also yet to utilise the OnePlus 13 and need to wait and see how it performs in the real world .

However , based on the OnePlus 13 ’s China release and the latest reports about the Galaxy S25 Ultra , I know which phone I ’m most eager to use . Both should be among next yr ’s most capable smartphones , but OnePlus has my care mightily now . base on the design , screen , battery , charging , and more , I ’m just about sold .

I hope Samsung surprises me and the S25 Ultra ends up being an impossible to ignore phone . But from where I ’m standing properly now , it ’s the OnePlus 13 that I ca n’t look to get my hand on .