OnePlus 13: Android’s new Beast has lost its Beauty (so close to perfect)

If my experience as a tech writer has taught me something, it is that if a phone looks too good to be true, this means the company can always find a way to screw it up - a lot or just a little bit…

Luckily, OnePlus seems to have done the latter, but this doesn’t mean I’m not mildly frustrated (that’s basically my job after all).

To start with the positive sides of the design of the OnePlus 13 - this is the first OnePlus that (seems) to have symmetrical display borders with a 3D curved glass, and that’s a long overdue win in my book.

The phone will also be thinner than the OnePlus 12, and presumably, lighter, which is always a welcome upgrade - especially when it comes to large phones (which it very much will be).

Also… Can we talk about that blue eco leather variant?! I’ve said it several times here - I pretty much never tend to go for blue phones but this year's iPhone 16 and the OnePlus 13 are making me reconsider my color preferences.

OnePlus 13 has lost its personality for no reason at all - drops the unique camera island from the OnePlus 12, OnePlus 11, OnePlus 10

But that’s where the compliments will end, and the reason is pretty obvious to any phone nerd… Where did the camera island that melts into the metal frame go, OnePlus?! Everyone seems to like this unique design element, which has become your “thing” thanks to being part of the OnePlus 12, OnePlus 11, and the OnePlus 10.

Of course, there’s always the chance the reason for this decision was due to hardware constraints, but I really don’t see why this would be the case. Sure, the frame of the OnePlus 13 is now flat but this doesn’t mean the melting camera island is impossible to achieve - not to mention the actual back of the phone is still curved (for the sake of ergonomics).

What happened here sort of reminds me of the time when Google came up with the killer Pixel 6 series design (which made the Pixel 6 look like the most unique phone from the back), but dropped the symmetrical display of the Pixel 5.

Not to mention the time when Google went ahead and got rid of the black camera visor the very next year with the Pixel 7 series. I was never a fan of this decision, and the same stands true for the OnePlus 12 > OnePlus 13 camera design change.

Now, is this a dealbreaker? Not, absolutely not. But it’s such a bizarre move - especially at a time when literally all flagship phones have adopted a flat display with a flat frame and look and feel identical.

And if you live in Asia, the cherry on top is that OnePlus’ sister company (Oppo) has also ruined the stunning look of the Oppo Find X6 and X7 to go with something way more basic. So, I guess everyone is getting equally screwed.

And I still fail to see why…