OnePlus 13 cameras are modest but promise big improvements

OnePlus has been steadily dropping bits of information as it gears up for the launch of its next flagship phone later this month. The latest tease sheds some light on the OnePlus 13’s camera hardware, which seems like a mix of small upgrades and a minor drop.

The primary camera will adopt Sony’s LYT-808 sensor, which is the same 50MP 1/1.4-inch format kit that we also saw on the OnePlus 12. This time around, OnePlus is extending 4K Dolby Vision capture support across all cameras instead of keeping it limited to the main snapper.

An odd downgrade happens in the zoom capture segment. The OnePlus 12 offered a 64MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom output. On the OnePlus 13, the company is going with a 50MP sensor that offers an identical optical zoom range.

Though the aperture figures remain identical, the new 50MP telephoto unit uses a slightly bigger sensor. OnePlus has also confirmed that this periscope zoom module actually comes with an upgraded “multiple prism reflection structure.”

A OnePlus executive also shared on the Chinese microblogging platform, Weibo, that the new zoom camera kit delivers higher photosensitivity, which theoretically means more efficient light data collection and better picture quality.

The ultrawide camera is also getting a slight boost. OnePlus 13 will embrace a 50MP camera for wide-frame capture. Its predecessor, on the other hand, deployed a 48MP camera for the same task.

The Hasselblad mode optimizations are here to stay, and it seems there will be more tricks this time around for capturing stylistic photos and videos. Another noteworthy shift would be a flat 2K OLED display on the OnePlus 13, matching the flat side aesthetics adopted for the upcoming device.

The phone will draw power from Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon silicon, with OnePlus promising an unprecedented 120 frames per second (fps) gaming experience on its next flagship phone. On the software side, Android 15-based OxygenOS 15 is already in the beta testing phase.

OnePlus 13 will arrive in a trio of colors, which include white, black, and a navy blue shade with a leather finish. Pre-orders for the phone have already opened in China, and it will make its splashy arrival on October 31 in the brand’s home market.