OnePlus 13R Evaluation: Worth Priced, Flagship Efficiency And Specs

	OnePlus 13R – Priced At $599 The OnePlus 13R gives unimaginable efficiency, nice battery life and a plethora of options, for a a lot cheaper price than competing telephones.
	Brilliant, lovely show Glorious efficiency Quick wired charging, charger within the field Refined software program with good replace dedication  Lengthy battery life Sharp, brilliant show with 120Hz refresh ×Quick 80W charging and included plug ×Glorious efficiency with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 ×Alert slider is again	No wi-fi charging Cameras might be higher

The OnePlus 13 was introduced with some fanfare lately, sporting the quickest Snapdragon chip presently out there and a brand new Hasselblad digicam array that ups picture high quality significantly. The extra mainstream OnePlus 13R would not have these issues, but it surely’s nonetheless an extremely compelling cellphone that provides nice efficiency at a extremely aggressive value level. This cellphone has one of many quickest cellular processors on the planet, even whether it is a couple of 12 months outdated, and it would not skimp on the display screen, battery, or software program help—but it prices a lot lower than the OnePlus 13 and different flagship smartphones.

Priced at $599.99, the OnePlus 13R units a brand new normal for mid-range smartphone efficiency, even with no Snapdragon 8 Elite. Each the cellphone’s {hardware} and the newest OnePlus Software program look nice. Add because of the longevity of a 6,000mAh battery and fantastic thing about a quick, high-resolution OLED, it is laborious to return away something apart from impressed.

OnePlus 13R Specs And Options

For the previous few years, OnePlus R-series telephones have appeared like barely much less fancy variations of the flagship cellphone. That is not the case in 2025. The OnePlus 13R has a definite design that units it other than the OnePlus 13 whereas nonetheless retaining some OP vibes. At a look, you can simply mistake the OnePlus 13R for a Samsung cellphone, and we imply that in one of the best ways attainable. It appears nice and feels good within the hand. All of the buttons are stable and tactile with none wobble. This cellphone is IP65 rated for water and mud, which is healthier than final 12 months’s IP64 12R, however not as tight because the IP69-rated OnePlus 13. 

The 13R has clean, flat edges and a slim symmetrical bezel all the way in which across the flat OLED panel—there is not any 2.5D glass just like the OP13. Nonetheless, flip the cellphone over, and it is all OnePlus. This gadget has the trademark spherical digicam module that OnePlus has used on its telephones for a number of generations. It is not precisely centered, however the flat physique helps stabilize the cellphone when it is laying flat on a desk or desk. The smaller digicam module additionally makes the cellphone much less top-heavy than the OP13.

The show and again panel are produced from a brand new Corning materials referred to as Gorilla Glass 7i, which is formulated with mid-range telephones in thoughts. It would not fairly match the newest Victus glass, but it surely’s nonetheless twice as scratch-resistant as competing glass. The again panel has a silky texture that hides fingerprints effectively, however it’s a bit slippery. The aluminum body on our take a look at unit is a pleasant, grippy matte black, although.

As you look at the OnePlus 13R, you will see much more of notice than in your common smartphone. There are energy and quantity buttons on the left edge, in fact, however OnePlus additionally has the alert slider reverse that. The three-position slider allows you to immediately change between, ring, vibrate, and silent—it is a fabulous function that helps set OnePlus aside. The lone USB-C port is on the underside, and that is the one technique to cost the cellphone—no wi-fi charging for this gadget. Nonetheless, OnePlus stored the IR blaster up high.

OnePlus has lengthy supplied a few of the greatest official cellphone circumstances in our opinion, and the 13R isn’t any exception. They match nice and do not have an effect on the button really feel. This 12 months OnePlus added MagSafe-style magnets to the circumstances, which makes a bit extra sense for the OnePlus 13 with its wi-fi charging. You possibly can’t stick chargers to the 13R, but it surely does nonetheless connect to different equipment. 

The OnePlus 13R takes a small step down in show high quality in comparison with the 13, however the two are as shut as they’ve ever been. Each telephones have 120Hz refresh charges with LTPO expertise that may drop the refresh as little as 1Hz to save lots of energy. Additionally they share a peak brightness of 4500 nits. The OnePlus 13R’s 6.78-inch OLED is completely flat, clocking in at 2780×1264, which is a bit of decrease decision than the 13, however nonetheless greater than adequate even for pixel peepers. There’s an optical fingerprint sensor underneath the OLED, and it is as quick and correct as any OnePlus cellphone we have examined. 

OnePlus 13R Software program And AI

OnePlus has gone by quite a few phases of Android software program, from Cyanogen, to the totally customized OxygenOS, to the shared codebase with the China-specific HydrogenOS. Immediately, the software program on Chinese language and worldwide telephones are mainly the identical, with the primary distinction being the presence of Google apps and companies. That was a detriment for OnePlus telephones, however the newer builds are noticeably cleaner and extra constant. 

There’s loads to love within the newest OxygenOS 15, which is predicated on Android 15. It is flashy and slick, that includes buttery clean animations all through. You will not get any of the stuttery animations you typically see with different telephones, even if you happen to’re putting in or downloading issues within the background. We’re additionally happy to see that OnePlus has pulled again a bit on a few of the overzealous animations, just like the “shrinking” wobble everytime you tapped on a widget in older variations.

OnePlus contains extra customization choices that you’re going to get on one thing like a Pixel. There are a number of Fast Settings structure choices, a customizable widget panel, and the choice to cover a few of the voluminous standing icons. The house display screen has additionally gotten sufficiently feature-rich that you just won’t really feel the necessity to set up a third-party choice anymore.

Nonetheless, that is nonetheless OxygenOS, and which means a whole lot of colours and a few extra strightforward integration, that lacks some glitz. Whereas the cellphone theoretically helps Materials You theming, it is buried within the settings and poorly applied all through the OS, to the purpose that it is not value utilizing. OnePlus has additionally “borrowed” some issues from iOS, together with expanded folders, frosted glass transparency results, and “Stay Alerts.” The latter is a misplaced and restricted tackle the iPhone’s Dynamic Island interface.

OnePlus has not centered on AI fairly as aggressively as Google or Samsung—that is nice by us as lots of the AI options crammed into the newest telephones lack refinement at this second in time. The OnePlus 13R has some fundamentals like Circle to Search and Gemini Stay, although. The Gemini app additionally will get a spot on the lock display screen by default. The Images app has a smattering of AI sharpening and object removing instruments, too. The OnePlus Notes app contains an AI instrument for summarizing and reformatting, which is among the extra helpful issues you are able to do with AI on telephones.

Maybe the perfect factor in regards to the OnePlus 13R’s software program is how lengthy it would stay up to date. It is assured 4 years of full OS updates, plus one other two years of safety patches past that. This is not as beneficiant as Samsung or Google insurance policies, which promise full OS updates for seven years, however that is nonetheless stable for a cellphone on this value vary.

OnePlus 13R Digicam Efficiency

Whereas the 13R’s digicam module appears loads just like the OnePlus 13’s, the sensors are a step down. The first shooter is a 50MP Sony LYT-700 with an f/1.8 aperture lens and optical stabilization. That is the one optically stabilized sensor, although. The 50MP 2x telephoto and 8MP ultrawide each depend on digital stabilization solely. Lastly, there is a 16MP selfie digicam, a step down from the OP13’s 32MP front-facing sensor. Though the cameras aren’t as succesful because the OP13’s, we have nonetheless been pleased with the outcomes.

Taking photographs in ample mild or outdoor is a pleasure—the OnePlus 13R captures photographs rapidly, they usually normally look nice. The white stability typically appears a bit off to us when seen on different shows, however the colours pop with out trying artificially vibrant. In tougher lighting situations, for instance, when the topic is backlit, the OP13R does tend to clean out the topic. Likewise, pictures in low mild current some issues. 

Regardless of assurances that the LTY-700 is tuned for low-light efficiency, that is the place the OnePlus 13R falters a bit. Captures take noticeably longer than Pixel telephones, and typically even a bit longer than Samsung gadgets. That makes it laborious to seize movement with out blurriness. The digicam largely avoids unusably dim photographs, however low-light pictures do not look superb, with second-tier colours and readability. The picture processing sharpens some particulars, however it will possibly go overboard in dim lighting too. The OnePlus 13R merely lacks the highly effective picture processing software program that Google and Samsung use to wash up photographs. 

The OnePlus 12R skimped on the cameras by together with a devoted macro lens, which took some disappointing photographs. The 13R makes a notable enchancment right here, swapping in a 50MP 2x telephoto shooter. 2x zoom is not very a lot, however it would get you nearer to your topic earlier than you need to begin digital zooming. OnePlus says this digicam’s focal size is right for portrait pictures. In the event you change to portrait mode, the cellphone will robotically use the 2x telephoto. We like the pictures from this digicam effectively sufficient, however the colours do look noticeably hotter than the opposite sensors. 

As for the 8MP ultrawide, it is nice however removed from groundbreaking. At simply 8MP, you will not get a ton of element, but it surely’s good for a large panorama shot. There’s little or no edge distortion, although.

Telephoto

This digicam lacks autofocus, which is used for macro photographs on the OnePlus 13. So, you will not be capable of get too near your topics with the 13R.