Following the launch of the OnePlus 13 in January, the next phone that we’re going to see from the popular offshoot of Oppo is the OnePlus 13T. The official launch of this phone has been booked in for April 24, so there’s not long to wait.
There’s a slight catch though: the launch is taking place in China, with no word on whether this phone is going to get a global release and make its way to the US, or not. That might not be the end of the story however. While the OnePlus 13 made its global debut in January 2025, it saw an earlier announcement in China in October 2024, so it could be that this compact flagship device gets launched in other regions too.
We’ve seen a number of leaks for this phone, confirming the design, revealing that the alert slider will be replaced with a shortcut button and other details. Now we have the official OnePlus 13T release date for China, with most of the specs getting leaked along the way.
The OnePlus 13T is expected to have a 6.3-inch 1.5K OLED display which is flat, in a frame that has square edges and rounded corners, not unlike the iPhone 16. The camera module on the back is a big change from the OnePlus 13, so from a design perspective, this isn’t a OnePlus 13 Mini.
The two cameras are expected to have 50-megapixel sensors, the main camera with a Sony LYT700 and the telephoto with a Samsung JN5 sensor, offering 2x optical zoom. There’s a 32-megapixel front-facing camera.
What makes this phone different to other compact devices is that it has a hardware loadout like a flagship phone. That includes the Snapdragon 8 Elite and a 6100mAh battery stuffed into that body. It will offer 80W charging of that battery.
It’s the big battery that’s most noteworthy here: the Samsung Galaxy S25 has a 4000mAh battery, for example, with a 6.2-inch screen, while the other notable compact powerhouse, the Sony Xperia 5 V has a 5000mAh battery.
The OnePlus 13T is expected to debut a new shortcut key on the side which replaces the slider that was in place since the OnePlus One launched in 2014. The new shortcut key could be OnePlus’ answer to Apple’s Action Button, opening up a range of options.
Smartphones have been dominated by big devices over the past decade: the expansion of devices has seen more pocketable phones less and less common. But OnePlus’ return to a smaller form factor, while reviving the T naming, could see a change in fortune for smaller phones.
The question still has to be asked though: do people actually want a smaller phone, or does the lure of a large display still dominate?
