OnePlus 13s review: A pocket-sized powerhouse with big AI ambitions

Are compact flagships back? OnePlus has just announced their latest flagship - the OnePlus 13s, and it’s a tiny marvel that I just can’t get enough of. I’ve been using my unit for almost a month now, and it’s convinced me that small phones are now the way to go…if they’re done right.

OnePlus 13s Design

It’s a very portable device, and that’s not just because of its size. The OnePlus 13s measures 8.15mm thin and weighs 185g, which sounds pretty ordinary. However, it is packing a lot of stuff in a small body. The weight distribution is near perfection, making it one of the best devices I’ve used in a long time. 
The back material is very premium. The glass back feels good to use even without a case. When I took the phone out of the box, I accidentally scratched the back glass, but one wipe with a towel and the scratch vanished, so that’s good.

On the side of the phone, I must bid farewell to the dear alert slider, which will be missed. OnePlus has finally debuted its new ‘Plus Key’ on the 13s, which looks and behaves exactly like the Action Button on the iPhone. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as you can customise it to do things like toggling the flashlight on or off, switching between sound modes, taking a screenshot, or using the brand new ‘Mind Space’ feature on the phone, which I’ll get to in a bit.

OnePlus 13s Display

The phone comes with a 6.32-inch 1.5K AMOLED ProXDR display, which is really good. It supports 1-120Hz refresh rate, has a max brightness of 1600 nits. I haven’t struggled at all with using the phone in bright environments. Colour reproduction has been fairly good during my binge-watching sessions. I’ve seen a few episodes of The Last Of Us on the OnePlus 13s, and it hasn’t disappointed me at all.

The phone also works with wet fingers, thanks to Aqua Touch 2.0 functionality, and I tried it when I (accidentally) spilled some water on it next to the sink. I received a call and typed a couple of text messages, and the phone had no issues registering my touches.

OnePlus 13s Camera

There are two rear cameras on the phone, and to my surprise, OnePlus hasn’t opted for the usual formula of a main + ultrawide camera. Instead, we get a 50MP main lens, paired with a 50MP 2x telephoto camera. I am not complaining about this at all. The primary camera has a 1/1.56-inch Sony LYT-700 sensor with a wide f/1.8 aperture and support for OIS, which results in some stunning shots in both day and night. Portraits look natural, details are retained even in challenging light conditions. I took the phone with me to a Harry Potter x Miniso installation and took a few photos there, and the camera did a fantastic job.

Of course, a notable exception from a flagship is the ultrawide camera, and it’s not unnatural to expect one at this price.

You can check out the camera samples from my OnePlus 13s here.

OnePlus AI

We’ve seen some on-device AI features on previous OnePlus devices, but with the 13s, that AI experience is taken to a whole new level. I especially liked features like the AI Eraser and AI Unblur, which made my shots even better. Possibly, one of my favourite features was the AI Recompose option, which is available after taking a photo. It automatically realigns the shot and makes the photos even better. A very handy tool for someone like me who isn’t great with picture compositions.

One of the highlight features on OnePlus AI is the new Plus Mind, which can be your personal AI companion. It can be set up using the new Plus Key, as I have done so, or swiping up on the screen with three fingers. Doing so will automatically take a screenshot of whatever is on your display, save it to the Mind Space, and also use AI to analyse everything that’s visible on the screen.

It’s like a digital journal, a place to store all your thoughts, supercharged by AI analysis. But it doesn’t always require an input, as it can also suggest things on its own when it sees something worth noting down, for example, you’re making plans with a friend and you decide to meet at a particular place and discuss the date, time, venue, OnePlus AI will suggest to add it to your calendar. OnePlus says this is just the beginning, and more functionality will be added to OnePlus AI in the future. And I am excited to see what becomes of this.

OnePlus AI has also resulted in the evolution of existing features like Intelligent Search, which debuted with the OnePlus 13. That has now become AI Search, which now offers a more natural, conversational flow to your conversations.

Of course, there’s also Gemini integration, which brings features like Circle to Search, Gemini Live and more to the OnePlus 13s as well.

OnePlus 13s Performance

All this computing requires exceptional power, and that’s why the OnePlus 13s runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite, the latest flagship chipset from Qualcomm. And it is more than capable of handling everything that you put this phone through. I tried all of these AI features, gamed a lot, constantly switched applications, and never faced a single issue with lag or any kind of drops in performance. The OnePlus 13s also features a massive 4,400mm2 3D Cryo-Velocity Vapor Chamber, which kept the phone running cool and calm despite being under fire from my rapid testing and the heat of the Delhi summer.

OnePlus 13s Battery

This is where I was most impressed. I was worried that a small phone will compromise on the battery, but the OnePlus 13s has a 5850mAh battery that lasts all day long without any hassle. It’s one of the main reasons why I am getting convinced that even small phones can do it all. Moreover, in typical OnePlus fashion, the OnePlus 13s supports 80W fast charging, which tops it up in no time. 
There’s also support for Bypass Charging, which means power from the charger is routed directly to the phone instead of the battery, a feature that comes in handy when gaming as it maintains battery health as well as keeps the phone cool under heavy load.

Should You Buy OnePlus 13s?

The OnePlus 13s is an excellent phone, and at a starting price of ₹54,999, this is a really good purchase for most people. It looks and feels very premium, has fantastic battery life, some useful on-device AI features, good optics (despite the lack of an ultrawide camera). I believe it’s a great pick for someone who’s in the market for a compact powerhouse that almost does it all. I am excited to see OnePlus make their next version of the “S” series.

OnePlus 13s Availability

The Green Silk, Black Velvet, and Pink Satin colour options cost ₹54,999 for the 12+256GB variant. Green and black models also have a 12+512GB variant that costs ₹59,999. The OnePlus 13s will go on open sale from June 12, 2025, and will be available at OnePlus.in, OnePlus Store App, Amazon.in and offline retail partners.