This might be your first live look at the OnePlus 13's screen

30 Sep 2024, 17:37 by Anurag Singh · Android Police

Key Takeaways

OnePlus says it has successfully tested the BOE X2 panel, the successor to BOE's flagship X1 OLED panel used on the OnePlus 12.
The new BOE X2 panel was shown off in a video from the display maker, effectively offering an official early glimpse at the front of the OnePlus 13.
OnePlus is moving away from Samsung's OLED technology to favor BOE, and this new panel is expected to offer better brightness and efficiency than what was seen on past OnePlus phones.

The OnePlus 12 was a huge leap compared to last year’s OnePlus 11. The smartphone brought back wireless charging and introduced features like a 6,000mAh battery, a new telephoto camera, and the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, all while maintaining a competitive price tag. The OnePlus 13 is expected to continue this trend with even more upgrades, according to leaks suggesting the smartphone will debut earlier than its predecessor. While OnePlus itself hasn’t revealed much, we now have an image showing the display of the OnePlus 13.

OnePlus 13: News, leaks, rumored price, and release window

Expect a new look and a bigger battery at the expense of wireless charging

OnePlus’ China head, Li Jie, shared an image of a new BOE display that will be used on an upcoming OnePlus phone (via Android Headlines). The OnePlus executive didn’t explicitly confirm whether the device shown in the Weibo post is the OnePlus 13. It could simply be showcasing the display intended for the upcoming device. There isn’t much to gather from the image either, aside from the screen itself. All that’s visible is a small selfie camera hole and some thin bezels around the edges.

Lie Jie did confirm the smartphone in question would be using a BOE X2 panel. While this was already confirmed earlier this month, what's noteworthy is that the company has now successfully tested the display. The OnePlus 12 uses BOE's flagship X1 OLED panel from 2023, featuring a full-screen brightness of 1,600 nits.

Source: OnePlus

The OnePlus 12’s display had a maximum brightness of 4,500 nits and came with a P1 display chip. It was an 8T LTPO panel and offered 2,160Hz high-frequency PWM dimming. The display not only looked good on paper but also performed well in real-life conditions. While it's unclear what specific improvements the OnePlus 13 will bring, Li Jie is promising “outstanding performance.”

OnePlus is moving away from Samsung's OLED

Samsung Display, the display arm of the Korean conglomerate, has long been a leader in OLED technology. Not only do the best Android phones use Samsung-made displays, but even top iPhones rely on them.

However, OnePlus appears to be favoring China’s BOE over the Korean company, though whether this choice is due to better quality or a lower price remains unclear. It's not just OnePlus; other Chinese OEMs like Honor and Xiaomi are also exploring alternative display manufacturers. Some are sticking with BOE, while others are turning to TCL CSOT.

The OnePlus 13 may offer 24GB RAM, but it won’t come cheap

The phone's top-end variant could get a price bump