IQOO 13, which almost outperformed the OnePlus 13, is now globally available

The OnePlus 13 is among the best Android flagships one can get these days – and starting today, it should be ready to defend its title, as it has a top competitor in the face of the IQOO 13, which also goes global.

See, OnePlus phones are often seen as a phenomenal bargain – they are cheaper, while being just as good as flagships from other, better-known brands (in many cases, OnePlus' champs are way better than the "famous" flagships). However, one can go even cheaper with the brand-new IQOO 13. It was unveiled in China at the very end of October 2024 (for ~$560) for the 12/256 GB variant.

In India, where it's currently launched (pre-booking is available on IQOO.com, Amazon's pre-orders start on December 5), it's a bit more expensive at just over ~$610.

Ok, but why are we talking about a $600 phone from an obscure brand?

Because it packs Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite, that's why. You know, the flagship chipset that almost every Android flagship phone out there packs (if it can afford it).

Apart from the top-shelf chipset, the IQOO 13 has a promising display, massive battery and 50 MP cameras.

The iQOO 13 arrives with a 6.78-inch Quad curved LTPO AMOLED display with a resolution of 3168×1440 and a 20:9 aspect ratio. Its LTPO technology supports adaptive refresh rates from 1Hz to 144Hz, balancing battery efficiency with smooth performance. The display, which supports HDR10+, peaks at an incredible 4500 nits of brightness (although that's on a portion of the screen for a moment, not all the time).