The OnePlus 13 phones may look different from each other

Summary

• An early sketch of the OnePlus 13 and 13R suggests a repositioning of the rear camera island.
• The OnePlus 13 could utilize a center-placed camera island, while the OnePlus 13R could leverage a square-shaped island on the top left.
• Previous rumors have indicated that the OnePlus 13 may retain the 6.8-inch screen from the predecessor with minor changes onboard.

The OnePlus 12 and its cheaper sibling, the OnePlus 12R, were officially revealed for non-China markets in January, and eventually hit US shelves in February. Unsurprisingly, speculation about their successors is already underway, even though we’re several months out from seeing the OnePlus 13 flagships make their debut. A generally reliable source of leaks has now obtained an early sketch of the OnePlus 13 and the 13R, detailing a couple of key design changes to the camera island.

According to an image shared by Yogesh Brar on X/Twitter, OnePlus could finally offer some differentiation between the two smartphones (via Android Authority). While there are evidently some differences between the OnePlus 12 and 12R, particularly in terms of internal hardware, one would need to look closely (or write about them) to tell the two phones apart.

But as the sketch above suggests, the OnePlus 13’s camera island will move to the center of the back panel, whereas the 13R’s island will maintain its position on the left, but adopt a square shape. If true, this would make it infinitely easier to tell the two smartphones apart, even if you’re not familiar with the subtle changes in color, branding, etc.

It’s not uncommon for early design sketches to look indistinguishable from the final product. So we recommend taking this sketch with a grain of salt, especially given how early it is in the rumor cycle for the two upcoming OnePlus 13 phones.

What else do we know about the OnePlus 13 series?

Assuming OnePlus follows a similar launch pattern as the OnePlus 12, we expect the successor to make its debut in China by December 2024, with the global launch possibly happening a month later. Meanwhile, the OnePlus 12R made its China debut in early January as the OnePlus Ace 3, so we expect the OnePlus 13R (Ace 4?) to take the same route and eventually reach global shelves by January or February.

We’ve already heard about OnePlus 13 possibly sticking to the same 6.8-inch screen as the OnePlus 12, albeit with micro-curved edges. Furthermore, the manufacturer is also believed to be testing an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner for the next-gen flagship series. If implemented, this would be a significant upgrade over the existing models’ optical fingerprint scanner. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will likely feature on the top-tier OnePlus 13 model, although there’s no confirmation of this yet.