We’re not expecting the OnePlus 13 to launch outside of China until sometime in early 2025, following the phone’s launch in its home country. Normally the new OnePlus flagship launches in China in December, but a new report claims that the OnePlus 13 could pull a Google Pixel 9 and arrive two months earlier than normal.
Digital Chat Station claims the OnePlus 13 may make its Chinese debut in October, or early November at the latest. Not only does this mean we’ll get our first glimpse at the phone earlier than normal, it also puts the phone dangerously close to the launch of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset — which is set to launch at some point in October.
OnePlus flagships are often some of the first phones to feature the newest Snapdragon chip. But by releasing the next phone much closer to the Gen 4 chip’s launch event, the more likely it is that the OnePlus 13 will be the first time we get to see the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in action.
Granted that will be the Chinese version of the phone, which will have a number of key differences compared to the global model. Like the fact it won’t have any access to Google apps or services, for instance.
The question we have is whether an early Chinese debut will affect the global launch of the OnePlus 13. The OnePlus 12 arrived in late January earlier this year, following the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S24. Considering Samsung’s launch came right after CES, it doesn’t give OnePlus much room to bring that launch event forward. Not unless it wants to go head to head with Samsung or one of the biggest consumer tech shows on Earth.
There’s a lot we still don’t know about the OnePlus 13, though rumors suggest we could see a 2K OLED display panel this time round, alongside a 6,000 mAh battery.
OnePlus could reveal the phone before the end of the year, but that wouldn’t make a lot of sense either. Unless you have a product that will be on sale before the holidays, it makes more sense to leave that whole period well alone. But that’s just my take, OnePlus might have different ideas — especially since it’s grown to become a major player in the Android phone market.
There’s a lot we still don’t know about the OnePlus 13, though rumors suggest we could see a 2K OLED display panel this time round, alongside a 6,000 mAh battery. However, that same battery rumor claims that OnePlus will pull out one of its old tricks again, and pull wireless charging away from the phone — something OnePlus seems to love doing every other generation for reasons unknown.
We’ll be finding out more once the OnePlus 13 launches in China later this year. While the hardware may not be 100% identical, typically there’s little difference between the regional versions of the phone. Until then be sure to check out our OnePlus 13 hub for all the latest news and rumors about the phone.
