The OnePlus 13 is coming this month as the brand’s next premium mobile flagship. There are high expectations surrounding the device, especially after its impressive leaked benchmark results. Now, a company executive claims that the OnePlus 13 will feature a custom Snapdragon 8 Elite chip that is more power efficient than the Apple A18 Pro.

Apart from the OnePlus 13, the Snapdragon 8 Elite’s benchmark performance has been seen on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. However, the upcoming OnePlus device delivered the most impressive results. According to Geekbench 6, the OnePlus 13 scores over 10,000 points in multi-core tests. For reference, this is 18% more powerful than the Apple A18 Pro in the same tests. On the other hand, the Galaxy S25 Ultra narrowly surpassed 9,000 points.

OnePlus 13’s custom Snapdragon 8 Elite surpasses Apple A18 Pro’s energy efficiency, executive claims

The OnePlus 13’s raw power certainly calls into question the device’s energy efficiency and thermal management. After all, impressive benchmark results are useless if the phone can’t deliver similar day-to-day performance due to thermal throttling. However, Cai Zuxuan, a OnePlus executive, claimed on Weibo that the OnePlus 13 will use a custom chip that outperforms the A18 Pro in terms of energy efficiency.

OnePlus wouldn’t be the first brand to use custom Snapdragon chips. For a few years now, Samsung has been implementing “for Galaxy” versions of Qualcomm’s most powerful SoCs in its Galaxy flagship devices. These versions offer slightly higher CPU clock speeds than the standard variant. Other manufacturers usually access this special version of the chip in the second half of the year, but with the “Pro” surname.

The OnePlus executive specifically highlights the energy efficiency of the SoC. So, it’s possible that OnePlus’ custom Snapdragon chip goes a little further than just increasing the CPU speed. However, as there are currently no specific details available, any claims made in this regard are merely conjectures. Jikanglucky, a Weibo user, revealed that the iPhone 16 Pro consumes a maximum of 12W during Geekbench tests while reaching up to 9,615 points in multi-core tests. So, if the claims are true, the OnePlus 13 should be better than that.

The device will arrive in the next few days

We won’t have to wait long to learn more about the OnePlus 13. While there is no specific day yet, the company has already confirmed that it will arrive sometime in October. So, it is likely that both official and leaked information will pop up in the coming days.

Microsoft is bringing the latest Call of Duty game to Xbox Cloud Gaming on day one. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be available to stream for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers at 10AM PT on its launch day, October 25. Modern Warfare III and the battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone arrive on the platform on the same day.

This will be the first time Call of Duty games have been playable on Microsoft’s cloud gaming platform. “Game Pass Ultimate members will be able to enjoy Call of Duty in more places than ever before, including on their consoles, PCs, mobile devices, select Samsung TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Meta Quest devices,” Xbox VP of Gaming Experiences & Platforms Ashley McKissick wrote in a blog post. “This opens up even more ways to play Black Ops 6 starting on day one at launch.”

Ubisoft owns the rights to streaming Activision games after Microsoft cut a 2023 deal to gain regulatory approval for its purchase of the Call of Duty maker. So, Ubisoft appears to have licensed it back to Microsoft (and could do so with other cloud platforms).

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will have a full campaign set in the early 1990s. The game will add omnimovement, the new fluid mobility option that lets you sprint, slide, and dive in any direction.” Also new is Supine Prone, “the ability to rotate while prone,” which Activision describes as adding more freedom of movement and tactical flexibility. Its maps will span the Middle East, southern Europe, Russia and the US.

Modern Warfare III is last year’s installment, which came to Game Pass in July. One of the lowest-rated games in the franchise’s history, it’s a direct sequel to Modern Warfare II. The game follows a special operations unit tracking Russian ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makaro, who is (tsk, tsk) hatching a plot to start World War III. The game includes a single-player campaign, multiplayer and an open-world Zombies mode (just in time for Halloween).

Finally, Call of Duty: Warzone is Activision’s 2022 answer to the free-to-play battle royale trend. As with genre stalwarts like Fortnite, you parachute onto a shrinking game map and have at it. Locations include Urzikstan, Rebirth Island and Fortune’s Keep.

In just over two weeks, TechCrunch will gather some of the startup world’s leading companies at Disrupt in San Francisco. But our partners provide more than just financial support. Their presence at Disrupt gives startups at any stage the tools, knowledge, and community they need to be a success.

We thank Meta for their support of a special invitation-only cocktail reception. If you get the invite to “Women in Tech(Crunch),” the women staff of TechCrunch look forward to seeing you there. 

Dropbox DocSend will be hosting a Breakout session and is one of our Startup Battlefield sponsors, as is J.P. Morgan. We appreciate the high-octane support for our amazing Battlefield startups! You can also connect with J.P. Morgan at the Women of Disrupt breakfast on Tuesday, October 29 at 8 a.m. PT (first come, first served). 

Thank you to HP and Thomson Reuters for sponsoring the sessions on our AI Stage. And many thanks to Casa Azul and Humanx, who are supporting the Speakers and Editors’ Dinner.

We’re grateful for the Metronome-sponsored coffee and espresso bar. Once you have your caffeine, head over to the industry stages, including the StrictlyVC stage, presented by Amplitude, and the SaaS Stage, presented by SingleStore.

Thank you to Braindate for being the official networking provider at Disrupt 2024. Braindates are knowledge-sharing conversations that you book with others to have either one-on-one or in small groups on-site in the Braindate Lounge. They’re the best way to brainstorm, solve challenges, and share expertise or experiences while connecting with new (brilliant!) people. 

And don’t miss these companies in the Exhibition Hall:

Radiansys

PureLogics

Selise Group

Innova 

Reach Expo

MyCustomAI

Astana Hub

Ukraine Pavilion

TeamOut

The Future List

Enterprise Ireland

AFEELA 

Mizzle

Latvia IDA

Builder.ai

The rumors are true, the Destiny franchise is heading to mobile devices soon. Destiny: Rising is a new free-to-play mobile sci-fi RPG shooter that includes a number of playable hero characters, a shared world, and PvE and PvP modes all set in Bungie’s Destiny universe.

China-based NetEase Games has developed Destiny: Rising, after announcing a partnership with Bungie and a $100 million investment into the studio in 2018. Destiny: Rising will be set in an alternative Destiny timeline, exploring the post-Dark Age era of the universe and lore before the Tower existed and before the emergence of Guardians.

NetEase is licensing the Destiny brand from Bungie and it has been granted creative freedom to develop its own storyline and vision for Destiny: Rising. “We want to capture and depict a specific time where the reins are in the hands of the players to experience, to explore, to define,” says Stone Shi, senior narrative designer, at NetEase.

Unlike Destiny or Destiny 2, you’ll be able to pick from a variety of Destiny hero characters instead of creating your own Guardian based on Hunter, Warlock, or Titan classes. Hero characters include ones like Ikora Rey that exists in Destiny and Destiny 2, as well as a host of new characters.

Each character will have unique abilities and stories, and will be able to access single, co-op, and competitive multiplayer modes. There will also be the usual Ghosts, Lightbearers, Iron Lords, and Warlords found in the Destiny universe before the Last City. In a trailer for the game we see a variety of characters and their new abilities, including a new void scythe that looks a lot like something a Warlock would use in the main Destiny games. There are also familiar enemies like the Hive, Fallen, and Vex.

“For over a decade, we have built this universe to contain many unique and wonderful stories, and we are excited to see mobile gamers be able to experience this new take on the Destiny universe from the creative team at NetEase,” says Terry Redfield, creative lead at Bungie, in a press release.

Destiny: Rising players will also be able to play in first-person or even third-person view, with touchscreen controls or controllers. There will be the usual campaign missions, six-player co-op strikes, and replayable PvE and PvP modes.

Even powerful exotic weapons will be available, alongside a new Mythic weapon rarity class that includes a new weapon type, too. All of these weapons help to fight against the darkness enemies in the Destiny universe in new locations like Jiangshi and the Red Sea Rift. Part of this new Destiny narrative includes searching for seeds of hope that are said to “shape the future of human civilization” after its collapse in the Dark Age of Destiny lore.

One big question around Destiny: Rising is what monetization system it will use. NetEase isn’t answering that just yet, but it says in an FAQ that a “good part of the main campaign will be available” in the alpha test next month alongside “at least one map for all game modes” so people can try out what the game has to offer.

Destiny: Rising will be available first as a limited access closed alpha test on November 1st in the US and Canada. You can register for the test version at NetEase’s website.