The first OnePlus 13 rumors are already here, despite the fact the OnePlus 12 has only been available for about six weeks. It may be rather early in the cycle, but we’re not one to turn down information on what the next big flagship phone might have in store.
According to Digital Chat Station over on Weibo, OnePlus is apparently redesigning the rear camera module on the OnePlus 13. The current design first appeared on the OnePlus 11 and didn’t change all that much on the OnePlus 12.
Over on Twitter/X, OnePlus Club claims to have an image of this new camera design. While it is rather smaller and less bulky than the current round OnePlus 12 camera, it's rather an, erm, interesting choice. Assuming that this is a legitimate design leak.
OnePlus 13 will launch in October 2024 with the launch of Snapdragon 8Gen 4!The rear camera design on OnePlus 13 has been changed pic.twitter.com/rwMJQoMCPkMarch 5, 2024
There’s a surprising diversity in camera module designs out there, and OnePlus could have gone in any number of directions. I have to wonder whether there was something better than the vertically stacked array with the enlarged main lens.
It’s also claimed that the OnePlus 13 is currently being tested with a 2K OLED screen, which is no huge surprise considering that’s what the OnePlus 12 has. However, Digital Chat Station claims that the phone will have improved camera hardware, on par with Pro models from rivals. That includes upgrades to the main camera and the periscope zoom.
One thing the OnePlus 13 definitely needs is better optical magnification. Currently the 12 is limited to 3x zoom which, while not terrible, pales compared to the 5x zoom that is common to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Plus improvements like a larger sensor would be a great benefit to the phone’s low-light capabilities — something OnePlus regularly stumbles with.
Finally it’s claimed that the OnePlus 13 will also run on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset. Which is no huge surprise, considering that is more than likely going to be the go-to chipset for flagship Android phones in 2025.
Of course we won’t know for sure until the end of the year, when OnePlus will presumably launch the OnePlus 13 in China — ahead of a global launch in the following months. Until then we’ll just have to make do with the OnePlus 12 or OnePlus 12R.
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