OnePlus 13 tipped to bring a new design and ultrasonic fingerprint sensor

Ben Schoon | Mar 5 2024 - 9:25 am PT

The OnePlus 13 may finally get a new design, a reliable source claims.

For the past few releases, OnePlus has been sticking with roughly the same overall look and feel for its devices. In a lineup, the OnePlus 10, 10T, 10R, 11, 11R, 12, and 12R all look pretty similar. A larger, off-center camera sits on the left side with metal that makes it look like it’s connected to the frame. Later generations converted this to a circle, but the basic concept has been very familiar for the better part of three years now.

According to Digital Chat Station, that may change as OnePlus 13 is allegedly “[changing] its design” to remove the “family style hinge.” That rough translation seems to be referring to the area around the camera, as these devices don’t have a “hinge.” The post also mentions Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 under the hood, as expected.

Beyond that, another Weibo post claims that OnePlus 13 will also adopt an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor.

OnePlus has been using optical under-display fingerprint sensors for the past several generations of its devices and, while the brand’s fingerprint sensor performance is arguably the best in the business, ultrasonic is generally considered as the better technology, at the very least because it avoids shining a very bright light which can be irritating in dark environments. The post also claims that Xiaomi 15 will also make the switch.

The OnePlus 12 made its debut in China in early December before launching globally in January, and there’s no reason to expect any different this year.