OnePlus 13s 6-Month Review: A Mostly Excellent Compact Phone

Before its launch, the OnePlus 13s was the most hyped phone from the brand, even topping the craze for the flagship OnePlus 13. However, it appears that many have entirely forgotten about this phone since, and I was curious why. Is it a bad device, did OnePlus mess up the pricing, or do people just not care for compact phones at all? Well, I have been using it for months, and I will answer all these questions in this long-term OnePlus 13s review. 

OnePlus 13s Unboxing

Before starting with the review, let's take a quick look at everything included with OnePlus 13s. 

OnePlus 13s: Build and Design

The design of the OnePlus 13s was a departure from what we had seen from the brand. It's a more toned-down look from the off-center circular camera, with a rectangular bump, complemented by its matte glass back and metallic sides. I may sound hypocritical, but I actually like this design on the 13s over the OnePlus 15, which has the same aesthetics, and I loathe it for the same reason. 

Maybe it's something about the small size, the silk green colour, or the shiny aluminium rails that make me adore this look. I relished the in-hand feel of this phone. It fits perfectly in the palm of my hands as if it were made for it, and slides into my jeans pocket without any friction. The weight is also balanced well, and the phone doesn't feel too top-heavy or bottom-heavy. 

What I am saying is, OnePlus nailed the design of their first premium compact phone. However, over my months-long usage, I have always been worried about its durability. That's because OnePlus has not used any Gorilla Glass protection on the back, and it only comes with IP65 water protection. So I had to be extra cautious when taking it out in the rain or using it near the poolside. 

It is a bit of a letdown, especially because the Vivo X200 FE, which I also reviewed earlier, features a better IP rating. But I guess you can't have it all, right? 

OnePlus 13s: Display Quality 

In my six-month review period for the OnePlus 13s, I have spent months watching, reading, browsing, and scrolling on this small screen, and never had any complaints. It outputs good colour accuracy, sharp visuals, and an excellent viewing experience while watching HDR content, thanks to the Dolby Vision and HDR 10+ support, which is also available for Netflix. 

This is a dependable screen, with a smooth 120 Hz refresh rate, and a thin piece of Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protecting it from shattering from the numerous times I have dropped this phone. It won't win any awards for brightness, but the contents of the screen are still pretty visible, and that's what matters to me.

The stereo speakers also output thumpy, loud audio that goes well with any action movie or R&B song. So anyone thinking of picking up the OnePlus 13s for entertainment purposes won't be disappointed. 

OnePlus 13s: Performance Tested 

OnePlus gave the 13s a proper flagship treatment by shipping it with the powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. It might be a year old now, but it still manages to push through every task or game you throw at it. But don't take my word for it; here are the benchmark scores to prove my point. 

These are nothing short of extraordinary, and that's how I would like to explain the everyday performance of this phone. Over the months I have spent on this OnePlus 13s review, I have installed almost 100 apps, taken 1,000 photos and videos, and it has never shown signs of slowing down once. 

It's the same with gaming. Genshin Impact and Weathering Waves run at a breezy 60 FPS with the highest settings, and optimized titles like BGMI and Call of Duty: Mobile can do 120 FPS at the lowest graphics settings. So suffice to say, performance should be the least of the worries, and I can easily give it the title for the best gaming mobile phone in the compact category. 

Here's a breakdown of the gameplay settings I got in the games that I played for this OnePlus 13s review.

OnePlus 13s: Software and Updates

For most of this review, I have used the OnePlus 13s on the OxygenOS 15. But it recently received the OxygenOS 16 update, so I will be sharing my experience on that. And what can I say that I haven't before in my OnePlus 15 review? It feels like a more polished take on the brand's already excellent software.  

I don't know what black magic OnePlus has done, but the 13s runs even smoother after the update. Animations flow nicely, menus and apps open faster, and the hint of transparent effects here and there in the OS feels tasteful rather than a complete ripoff of iOS-inspired design. 

I also love its suite of AI features that let me record and transcribe calls, even on WhatsApp. The 13s was also the first phone to ditch the alert slider for a side-mounted button. I was pissed off at the time, but I have grown to like it a lot. It has become my one button to turn on vibrate mode, go to the camera, or use the MindSpace recorder to summarise and store my random thoughts. 

OnePlus 13s Camera Review

In terms of the camera, OnePlus tried to pull off an iPhone 17 by including only 2 cameras at the back. One main sensor and another a 2x telephoto lens. And the results are not as impressive as I initially thought out to be. Let me show you some recent camera samples to explain why I think so. 

The main 50 MP lens captures really crisp shots, rich with details and good dynamic range, and the colours don't look too boosted. It's basically the typical OnePlus colour scheme, and I prefer it over completely dull-looking shots taken from something like the Pixel 10. 

However, things don't look so good in low-light scenarios. The details look soft, almost watercolour-ish, the colours look too boosted, it takes out the shadows, and the tree in front of the building looks like it's painted on top of it. It's the kind of photos I expect from the OnePlus Nord 5 or even lower. 

The 2x telephoto does a little better at producing sharper images with warmer tones during daytime. But past 5x, it also starts to look soft and starts relying heavily on AI to add the extra polishing. At night, it again succumbs to the same issues. Soft photos, saturated colours, and haze around light sources.

I am not saying you can't capture some attractive shots with the 13s. But phones like the Vivo X200 FE, or Oppo Reno 14 Pro are more reliable for photos and include an ultrawide lens. 

Selfies and portraits from said selfie camera looked very clear and clean for the most part. However, the portrait mode is locked at 2x, so you need to take a few steps back when taking one. The bokeh effect is pretty neat, and the same goes for edge detection. 

Overall, the 13s has a decent imaging setup, but it is certainly not the best camera phone out there. I wish OnePlus had offered a more capable 3x zoom lens, or just an ultrawide with better main camera. I was not completely satisfied with the photos that I took for this OnePlus 13s review.

OnePlus 13s: Battery Life and Charging 

In the battery department, the OnePlus 13s has held up pretty well during my review period. I would start my day with 100%, ending it with almost 15% left in the tank. I would typically get around 6.5 hours of screen time, including everything like gaming, scrolling Instagram and other socials, watching movies and series, and everything else in between. 

The phone learned my usage over time, and after like a month, I could touch the 7-hour screen on time on some days. That said, I never bothered with the battery because the charging speed is so darn fast. The supplied 80W adapter topped up the OnePlus 13s from 0–50% in about 25 minutes. So I always had plenty of battery, even while I was in a rush. 

OnePlus 13s Review: Is It Still Worth the Money? 

After using the OnePlus 13s for all these months, I understand why the hype died down after its release. This compact smartphone features the best of everything its bigger brothers, like the OnePlus 13 or the OnePlus 13R, can do. However, the camera is not up to the mark, especially for its price, where there are better options available like the Oppo Reno 14 Pro and the iQOO 13. 

So if you want a Snapdragon-powered pocket rocket, then I can wholeheartedly recommend the OnePlus 13s. However, if you want the best overall compact phone experience on the Android side, without compromising on optics, then you can definitely check out the Vivo X200 FE, which retails at a similar price.