OPPO K13x Review: A Balanced Budget Phone

It’s no secret that flagship smartphones get all the fame and press coverage. But the truth is that only a small fraction of people ever buy one. And in developing economies, budget 5G smartphones matter so much more. One such phone is the newly launched OPPO K13x, which at INR 11,999 comes with 5G connectivity, a capable MediaTek chip, a 6,000 mAh battery, and a 120Hz display.

I had the opportunity to test the OPPO K13x, and in this review, I’ll share my experience using the phone over the past week. With so many budget options available, this should help you decide whether the K13x is worth your money or not.

Design & Hardware

Often, when working on a tight budget, design usually takes the back seat. But surprisingly, that’s not the case with the K13x. The Peach variant I received looks genuinely attractive. OPPO has done a great job with the subtle transition from pink to white and the way light reflects off the back panel.

Sure, the phone lacks the premium in-hand feel since it’s entirely made of plastic—but from a distance, you’d never guess it’s a budget phone. In fact, I had multiple friends ask me what device I was using because of the back design, which could be great if you love attention. The dual camera module is also quite sleek, and you get a ring flash for nighttime shots.

The plastic sides held up well when I accidentally dropped the phone from hip height onto a concrete floor. There were a few scuffs, but nothing serious.

The side-mounted fingerprint sensor, which, once set up, proved quite reliable in unlocking the device in various scenarios. You also get the rare headphone jack, which is a thoughtful addition for the budget-conscious consumer.

Display

The OPPO K13x features a 6.67-inch HD+ LCD panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. And for the price, it’s pretty serviceable. Yes, I’d have liked to see smaller bezels or a higher resolution panel, but that’s not the priority when making a budget phone. The 120Hz refresh rate more than makes up for all the shortcomings, as it makes UI run super smooth.

I also had a pleasant time watching YouTube and Netflix; the colors and skin tones were more than acceptable. With a peak brightness of over 500 nits, the display remained usable even under harsh sunlight.

Performance

Under the hood, the OPPO K13x is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor, which features two Cortex-A76 cores clocked at 2.4 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2.0 GHz. Along with it, you get the ARM Mali-G57 MC2 GPU, 6/8GB of LPDDR4x RAM, and up to 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage.

In day-to-day usage, I had zero complaints from the K13x. Apps opened quickly, switching between different tasks was smooth, and OPPO has done a good job of optimizing the UI to work with the processor. This, coupled with the 120Hz display, provides a pretty decent user experience.

That said, I did notice a hint of stutter when opening heavier applications and games. Also, the device comes with a lot of bloatware, including the infamous “Hot Apps” and “Hot Games” folders, pre-installed.

Benchmarks & Gaming

To push the Dimensity 6300 to the limits, I also ran a series of benchmarks. In Geekbench, the K13x scored 956 in the single-core test and 1,899 in the multi-core test. According to AnTuTu, the device scored 437,763 points. In comparison, the similarly priced Infinix Note 50x scored 607,856 in AnTuTu.

Moving to gaming, I played a bit of BGMI, and the experience was less than ideal. OPPO hasn’t collaborated with the game’s developers to unlock a higher refresh rate, and at Smooth and Ultra settings, I occasionally noticed a few dropped frames. However, for casual games like Clash Royale, the experience was pretty decent, and I observed no thermal throttling.

Battery Life & Charging

Battery life is probably the biggest strong suit of the K13x, and for good reason. OPPO has managed to pack in a massive 6,000 mAh battery, and coupled with the mid-tier specs, it performs brilliantly. With my workflow, which consisted of scrolling social media and watching videos, I easily went through two full days of usage.

The phone also comes with a 45W fast charger, which charges the battery from 20% to 80% in just over an hour.

Cameras

In terms of optics, the OPPO K13x features a dual camera setup, comprising a 50MP main camera with an f/1.88 aperture and a 2MP portrait sensor with an f/2.4 aperture. The camera performance from the K13x in ample lighting is decent. There is a good amount of sharpness, the colors look natural, the white balance is well-managed, and there is some HDR effect too.

Low-light performance, however, leaves much to be desired. Images appear soft and grainy. I noticed a similar trend with portrait shots, which often lacked crispness and a natural depth of field.

The K13x can record videos at up to 1080p at 60FPS. While I wish it offered some form of video stabilization, the footage was fairly stable in daylight, with good color reproduction and contrast.

Regarding the selfie camera, the photo quality was once again serviceable in daylight. And as expected, the quality dropped significantly at night, with muddy colors and a lack of sharpness.

Should you buy the OPPO K13x?

Honestly, at a starting price of INR 11,999, the K13x gets a lot of things right. You get a sleek design, a smooth 120Hz display, solid durability, and decent performance, as long as gaming isn’t a priority.

While I wish the cameras were a bit better, especially in low light, the K13x is still a well-rounded budget smartphone. If you’re looking for a smartphone in this segment, it’s worth considering.