OnePlus has announced that its OnePlus 13 smartphone, the first to secure both an IP68 and IP69 rating, is officially coming to Canada and the U.S. in January 2025.
The new flagship phone, which already launched in China, will launch in global markets, including Canada and the U.S., in three colours: Midnight Ocean, Black Eclipse, and Arctic Dawn. The Midnight Ocean option is the first phone to include microfibre vegan leather, making it both elegant as well as scratch and scuff resistant.
The defining feature of the OnePlus 13 is that it is the first OnePlus phone to launch with both an IP68 and IP69 rating. An IP68 rating, which is standard on both premium smartphones nowadays, indicates that the phone is water resistant in freshwater sources down to a maximum depth of 1.5 metres for up to 30 minutes. It’s also protected from dust.
As a step up, an IP69 rating has the same rating against dust but the increase for water resistance means that in addition to being able to be submerged for up to 30 minutes in up to 1.5 metres of water, the phone can also withstand close-range high pressure, and high temperature water jets and steam cleaning.
Since the OnePlus 13 meets both specifications, it means it can be both submerged and stand out to high-pressure water jets, affording more possibilities for adventurers. For example, you could take this phone with you while boating or surfing, or use it during a water gun fight without worry. That means it can also be used in more industrial settings, making it a viable business phone for those who work in fields like medicine, food processing, and agriculture.
What do we know already about the OnePlus 13? The successor to the OnePlus 12, which I reviewed earlier this year, has a 6.82-inch OLED screen with an impressive 4,500 nits brightness. Powered by a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, it comes with up to 24GB RAM and is loaded with the ColorOS 15, which is based on Android 15. Storage is up to 1TB and the cameras include a 50MP main, 50MP ultra-wide with 3x optical zoom, and 32MP front. The battery is 6,000mAh and supports super-fast 100W wired charging and 50W fast wireless charging. Note that these are specs based on the version in China, so it’s possible the specifications in North America could vary. Pricing in China equates to about $632 for the lowest-end version, which could be closer to a starting price of $800 in Canada. Either way, it’s looking to be a relatively affordable option in the premium space.
Stay tuned for more details about the OnePlus 13.