OnePlus 13 Could Be the First Smartphone to Ship With Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC

OnePlus 13 is confirmed to debut in China at some point this month. We still don't have an official confirmation on the exact date, but a new teaser by chipmaker Qualcomm suggests the possible chipset on the upcoming OnePlus phone. The OnePlus 13 appears to be powered by a new Snapdragon 8 Elite chip aka Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC. This flagship Android processor is believed to power the next wave of flagships from Xiaomi, and Oppo.

Snapdragon 8 Elite Teased

Qualcomm posted a new video on the official microsite for the upcoming Snapdragon Summit teasing the arrival of the new Snapdragon 8 chip. The video assures that the upcoming chipset will have Oryon cores. The same architecture is used in Snapdragon X chips that power the latest Copilot+ PCs. The Oryon cores are expected to bring noticeable improvements in performance and power efficiency.

In the video, a smartphone with a circular camera island is seen carrying the new chipset. The prototype has a design similar to the upcoming OnePlus 13. The prototype has OnePlus's signature camera module housed in the top-left corner, which resembles the design language of the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 11.

Additionally, Louis Lee, the President of OnePlus China reposted the new Snapdragon 8 teaser chip video from his Weibo handle, suggesting that the OnePlus 13 will be the first smartphone in the world to debut with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC. The new chipset will be launched on October 22, during the Snapdragon Summit in Maui, Hawaii.

The Xiaomi 15 was earlier speculated to debut as the first smartphone with a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. iQOO, Honor, and Oppo are also expected to follow suit with Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered phones in China.

OnePlus 13 Specifications (Expected)

As per past leaks, the OnePlus 13 will come with a 6.82-inch LTPO BOE X2 micro quad curved OLED display with 2K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It is said to pack up to 24GB of RAM and up to 1TB of onboard storage. 

OnePlus 13 is expected to boast a triple rear camera system, comprising a 50-megapixel LYT-808 main camera. The camera setup could also include a 50-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto shooter with 3x optical zoom.