Although it’s an essential part of my job when testing a new smartphone camera, I don’t use long-range zoom in my day-to-day life all that often. While it’s sometimes fun to impress my friends and punch in on something from across Baltimore’s harbor, I rarely save the final images, let alone post them anywhere when I’m done. So, when the OnePlus 13 boasted about an updated 3x telephoto sensor, I expected more of the same. I figured it would be good up to about 10x zoom and fine up to 30x zoom, but no more. I was wrong.
Instead, I think OnePlus has found the perfect balance between telephoto hardware and AI processing software, making the OnePlus 13 a force to be reckoned with. Here’s what I think the secret is and how it compares to flagships from Apple and Google.