OnePlus 13 could get iPhone 16-style magnetic charging — what we know

OnePlus 12 held in the hand.
(Image credit: Future)

The OnePlus 13 could feature its own version of iPhone's MagSafe, according to no less than the head of the company.

Kinder Liu, president of OnePlus, posted a Weibo screenshot of a conversation between him and an anonymous user, in which said user was asking if the wooden/bamboo case designs of older OnePlus phones may be returning. Liu replied that wood grain phone cases will be available for the OnePlus 13, and that these cases would have a "magnetic suction function."

This sounds like a OnePlus take on MagSafe, the Apple-made system that's appeared on flagship iPhones since 2020's iPhone 12 series. While MagSafe was originally designed to work exclusively with iPhones, the recent introduction of the open Qi2 charging standard, developed with Apple's help means any manufacturer can use magnetically-aligned wireless charging on their phone.

A screenshot of OnePlus president Kinder Liu suggesting the OnePlus 13's cases will offer magnetic attachment features

(Image credit: Weibo)

Brother Jie, I am the owner of OnePlus 1 until OnePlus 12. I hope that the OnePlus 13 protective case can replicate the wooden shell of the OnePlus 1/2/3 generation. The bamboo especially is very classic. The more you play with it, the more comfortable it feels. 

Weibo user (machine translated)

As far as I know, there is no plan for this CMF for the time being. But there is a wood-grained mobile phone case to choose from. I've touched it, and it's also very good. It also has a magnetic suction function.

Kinder Liu, OnePlus president (machine translated)

However, as noted by Android Police, a previous OnePlus 13 leak from Digital Chat Station points to OnePlus designing its own magnetic charging standard, which would support chargers and coolers. This would presumably mean limited or no compatibility with Qi2 accessories.

Also, if we take Liu's statement at face value, there may not be any magnets inside the phone. This would be unfortunate if users wanted to use the phone with a third-party case, or no case at all, as this would make any magnetic accessories harder or impossible to attach.

We already have 50W wireless charging on the OnePlus 12 via OnePlus' wireless charging stand, though the cheaper OnePlus 12R doesn't offer any wireless charging. If magnetic charging is coming, hopefully we'll see a new pad or stand to support the standard, as well as support on all models OnePlus comes out with.

The OnePlus 13 should be coming to China this year (possibly by the end of October or early November), but the rest of the world will likely be waiting until the new year like with previous generations. Other rumored upgrades for this phone include large quad-curved display like previous OnePlus models, but with upgraded features like triple 50MP cameras on the back, up to 24GB RAM and an IP69 dust/water resistance rating.

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Richard Priday
Assistant Phones Editor

Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.

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