OnePlus 13R review: the best $600 you can spend on a phone this year

Just how do you create a follower to among the very best smart device values in years? That’s the job OnePlus encountered when creating the OnePlus 13 R.

The OnePlus 12 R was among 2024’s best mobile phones by a slim chance– supplying effective specs, a premium design, and qualified software at an amazing $ 500 rate. It was among my preferred phones of in 2015, and I’ve aspired to see exactly how the OnePlus 13 R would succeed it.

I’m happy to report that the OnePlus 13 R is every bit like the 12 R– and notably better in some essential methods. The higher cost suggests it’s not fairly as promptly jaw-dropping, but after investing a couple of weeks with the OnePlus 13 R, I’m battling to think of another $ 600 phone that’s even more worthy of your money.

OnePlus 13 R specifications

The OnePlus 13 R has a straightforward but effective layout

The OnePlus 13 R is significantly a function over kind mobile phone. It’s not the most aesthetically striking mobile phone around, but it’s simple, functional, and leaves you with extremely little to grumble around.

A matte aluminum frame is joined by a matte glass backside, regardless of which tint you choose. I have Galaxy Noir (aka black), though I ‘d suggest getting the Astral Path color if you can; it has a lovely spiral pattern emitting from the electronic camera that looks fairly striking.

Even in the much more boring Astral Route color, the OnePlus 13 R’s equipment is indisputably solid. The matte finish is stylish and does not pick up fingerprints, every one of the switches feel great to press, the sharp slider is as satisfying as ever, and the ultrasonic fingerprint sensing unit is fast and reliable. Once again, there’s an IR gun if you wish to control your TV, a/c, and so on, with your phone.

OnePlus also upped its sturdiness this year, increasing the IP 64 rating from the 12 R to IP 65 for the OnePlus 13 R. The major advantage right here is that the 13 R is currently secured versus water jets, and while not as robust as the IP 68 ratings we see on a lot more expensive front runner phones, it’s still a welcome renovation.

There’s not much even more to claim concerning the OnePlus 13 R’s equipment. Sure, it’s a little bit monotonous aesthetically, but functionally, OnePlus nailed whatever. The OnePlus 13 R is comfortable to hold, well-made, and feels every bit as costs as a $ 1, 000 smartphone. This was a strong point of the OnePlus 12 R, and the OnePlus 13 R proceeds its heritage without a problem.

A premium screen with one huge modification

The OnePlus 13 R has an incredible display. It’s high-grade in every feeling of words and much nicer than you ‘d expect for a “value front runner” phone.

Specs-wise, it’s basically similar to that of the OnePlus 12 R. You have a 6 78 -inch AMOLED panel, a 2780 x 1264 resolution, a variable 1 – 120 Hz refresh rate, and unbelievable brightness levels– up to 1, 600 nits in High Brightness Setting and as much as an eye-searing 4, 500 nits for its highest possible optimal illumination. It’s a brilliant, vivid, sharp, and responsive display screen with which I’ve had absolutely no complaints.

The biggest adjustment for the OnePlus 13 R is that it has a level display contrasted to the rounded sides of the OnePlus 12 R display. I didn’t think the bent screen was a deal-breaker on the 12 R, however I significantly favor the level design on the 13 R this year. I find it extra comfortable to make use of, and it eliminates the opportunity of accidental screen touches (a small concern on the 12 R).

Are the OnePlus 13 R electronic cameras any type of good?

You’ll locate 3 cams on the back of the OnePlus 13 R: a 50 -megapixel primary cam, a 50 MP telephoto electronic camera with 2 x optical zoom, and an 8 MP ultrawide cam rounding things out. The OnePlus 12 R had a 50 MP primary electronic camera, also, though the one on the 13 R is a newer sensor. The 50 MP telephoto camera is also a great modification, as it changes the worthless 2 MP macro cam that was on the 12 R.

In general, photos from the OnePlus 13 R look good. Also without the exact same Hasselblad integration on the regular OnePlus 13, the 13 R still produces pleasing photos with nice shades. I have actually been quite pleased with several of the photos I’ve gotten. The collapsing waves against the rocks of CocoCay in the first image over were caught flawlessly. The black fur on my pet cat Minnie looks excellent, also, as does the photo of the a glass of wine glass in a dimly lit bar aboard the Appeal of the Seas.

The 50 MP telephoto electronic camera is solid, also. The 2 x optical zoom range won’t give you similar zoom capacities as you ‘d locate on the Galaxy S 24 Ultra or Oppo Discover X 8 Pro, yet it suffices to obtain a bit closer to your subject and still obtain an attractive shot. There’s a visible action down in resolution with the 8 MP ultrawide video camera, however it does a good work of capturing similar shades to the main electronic camera (something the OnePlus 12 R had problem with).

Where the OnePlus 12 R’s cams felt passable, the cam system on the OnePlus 13 R is genuinely solid. It’s far from the most interesting camera plan available in 2025, yet there’s likewise nothing outright poor about it. So long as you don’t need extreme zoom capabilities on your following smart device, I believe you’ll be rather satisfied with what the OnePlus 13 R provides.

The OnePlus 13 R’s performance is extraordinary

Powering the OnePlus 13 R is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. It’s not the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite, but it coincides chip used in a number of last year’s flagships– such as the Samsung Galaxy S 24 Ultra, Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro, and OnePlus 12 The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is coupled with 12 GB of LPDDR 5 X RAM plus 256 GB of UFS 4.0 storage.

Checking out Geekbench 6 outcomes compared to the OnePlus 12 R, the OnePlus 13 R sees a significant 38 % increase in single-core CPU efficiency, a 23 % increase in multi-core CPU performance, and an enormous 73 % increase in GPU efficiency. It trails somewhat behind the Galaxy S 24 Ultra, and the OnePlus 13 with its newer Snapdragon 8 Elite chip is quicker yet, yet the OnePlus 13 R remains an incredibly quick smart device.

The GPU improvements are a lot more apparent when running 3 DMark’s Wild Life Cardiovascular test, which runs each phone through 20 mins of heavy-load performance benchmarking. In this examination, the OnePlus 13 R sees concerning 36 % far better efficiency with boosted security, too.

Although criteria just tell part of the story, real-world usage verifies the 13 R’s updated efficiency. The phone is blazing-fast, taking care of apps like Threads, YouTube, Duolingo, and Microsoft Teams without any concern. It’s also done an amazing job of powering via my Pokémon TCGP addiction, tackling 30 – and 45 -min video gaming sessions without frame declines and with no recognizable warm buildup.

Possibly the very best praise I can offer the OnePlus 13 R is that using it has felt like utilizing a flagship. It’s managed every little thing I have actually tossed at it, hasn’t overheated at any factor, and has simply been a joy to utilize.

Excellent battery life, somewhat unsatisfactory billing

The OnePlus 12 R collection records with a 5, 500 mAh battery, the largest battery at the time for a OnePlus phone. The OnePlus 13 R breaks that videotape simply a year later, stepping points as much as an enormous 6, 000 mAh battery. As you can probably presume, the OnePlus 13 R has unbelievable battery life.

Just just how extraordinary? The OnePlus 13 R is very firmly a two-day mobile phone. And, with lighter usage, it can most likely even creep right into three days of usage before you require to put it on the battery charger.

As an instance, I started one day at 8 a.m. with a full cost. After almost four hours of screen-on time– consisting of 1 hour and 40 minutes of playing Pokémon TCGP and frequent use of Telegram, TikTok, YouTube, and X– I had 61 % battery continuing to be at 11: 25 p.m. that evening. The next day, I got up to 58 % staying at 7: 45 a.m. and acquired over three more hours of added display time. At the end of day two, amounting to 7 hours and 13 minutes across both days, I still had 18 % battery left at 11: 20 p.m.

I was just able to kill the 13 R’s battery in a solitary day when, and that was during a very hectic travel day with great deals of Uber, Google Maps, Telegram, X, the Fly Delta app, and taking lots of photos. Even after that, the OnePlus 13 R still executed extremely well, starting the day at 6: 05 a.m. and finishing it at 9: 45 p.m. with 7 % battery after 6 hours and 12 minutes of screen time. This is phenomenal endurance and even far better than the already exceptional battery performance of the OnePlus 12 R.

However, contrasted to the 12 R, the OnePlus 13 R takes an unpleasant action in reverse with its charging. Where the OnePlus 12 R supported 80 W charge speeds, taking the phone from 0- 100 % in about half an hour, the OnePlus 13 R has been devalued to 55 W.

On its own, 55 W is a great number– outperforming the charge rates of the current flagships from Samsung, Apple, and Google. A full recharge from 0- 100 % takes simply under an hour, and you can go from 14 % to 54 % in 15 minutes. That’s great! However I can’t assist but still have a sour taste in my mouth knowing that OnePlus can (and has actually) done better. There’s additionally no cordless charging, which, while not a deal-breaker, is less very easy to overlook when the wired billing rates have actually decreased and the price has increased compared to the OnePlus 12 R.

OxygenOS 15, AI, and software updates

The OnePlus 13 R ships with OxygenOS 15, OnePlus’ custom user interface for Android 15 And you know what? It’s kind of fantastic.

OxygenOS underwent a metamorphosis in 2022, switching over from the “supply” Android UI it had used for years and taking on an extra elegant UI comparable to what was discovered on phones from its sister brand name, Oppo. And I despised it. OnePlus made some progress with OxygenOS 14, and OxygenOS 15 is even much better.

A core focus of OxygenOS 15 is being as quick and responsive as possible. OnePlus invested an unbearable quantity of time discussing this in my rundowns, however I can’t reject how big of a difference it makes. There’s a degree of fluidness and snappiness to the OnePlus 13 R’s software that’s really, truly good.

OxygenOS 15 likewise adds the Open Canvas multitasking system introduced on the OnePlus Open. It’s an one-of-a-kind take on split-screen multitasking where you can quickly bounce back and forth between 2 applications in mainly full-screen home windows. It’s much more valuable than Android’s default multitasking system, and I actually enjoy it. I’m additionally a fan of OnePlus’ modification devices, which provide you ample control over your always-on display, app symbols, accent colors, and so on.

There’s also a smattering of AI features included, and it has to do with what you would certainly expect– consisting of unblur and resolution boost picture modifying tools, notes summarization, and Google’s Circle to Browse. It’s nothing you have not seen prior to, and I’ve mostly overlooked a lot of it, but it’s there if you want it.

Finally, software application updates. OnePlus assures 4 years of Android OS upgrades and six years of security updates. That’s routing the seven years of OS/security updates promised by Samsung and Google, but also for most people, it must be completely great. I would certainly like to see OnePlus ultimately match the seven-year pledge of its rivals, however this is a completely acceptable degree of support.

OnePlus 13 R price and accessibility

The OnePlus 13 R is readily available in one arrangement (12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage) and costs $ 600– a $ 100 price increase compared to the OnePlus 12 R. Rising prices are never fun, however in this instance, I assume it’s relatively well warranted.

For context, the $ 500 OnePlus 12 R came with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage space, while the $ 600 model included 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. Contrasted to the base 12 R, the OnePlus 13 R has even more RAM and double the storage, and also a quicker processor, level display, boosted cams, longer battery life, and extra years of software program updates.

The OnePlus 13 R is likewise very well-priced when put against the competitors. Its closest rival in the U.S. is the Samsung Galaxy S 24 FE. It costs $ 650 and has an even worse layout, flimsy-feeling equipment, a much less remarkable display screen, and slower charging. There isn’t any type of real advantage to it over the OnePlus 13 R (unless you truly respect Galaxy AI), and it costs $ 50 much more.

The Google Pixel 8 a is a much better option. It sets you back $ 100 less than the OnePlus 13 R however also brings a much longer list of compromises– including flimsy-feeling hardware, one-day battery life, sluggish billing speeds, a much less capable processor, and much less RAM and storage space. It’s an excellent $ 500 phone, however there’s a very simple argument to create spending $ 100 extra for the OnePlus 13 R.

Preorders for the OnePlus 13 R are live now, and normal sales will certainly begin on January 14 It’s readily available at OnePlus.com and Ideal Buy.

Ought to you purchase the OnePlus 13 R?

The OnePlus 12 R rejuvenated the worth front runner scene last year, and the OnePlus 13 R does an amazing task of bring its lantern onward for another year. Yes, it’s a lot more pricey, yet the brand-new $ 600 cost is conveniently justified by the (very significant) upgrades.

The level display screen is excellent, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is a serious performance boost, the video cameras are substantially better, and the battery lasts also longer. Set that with a great software program upgrade plan and well-made equipment, and the OnePlus 13 R leaves you with really little to complain around. The slower fee speeds are frustrating, as is the continued lack of wireless charging, yet they’re small troubles rather than severe disadvantages.

My conclusion for the OnePlus 13 R is similar to extract for the OnePlus 12 R. You can absolutely spend even more money on smartphones with even more bells and whistles– the $ 1, 100 Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and $ 1, 300 Galaxy S 24 Ultra are sitting there waiting on you. But when the OnePlus 13 R is this great therefore much cheaper, why would certainly you?