OnePlus 13R Review: Flagship-Level Power with Some Trade-Offs

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OnePlus 13R's 6.78-inch LTPO OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and vibrant HDR10+ colors.

OnePlus is back with a new addition to its lineup, and this time it’s the OnePlus 13R. Positioned as a “flagship killer,” this device aims to deliver premium features without the hefty price tag of a full-fledged flagship phone. But does it live up to the hype?

The OnePlus 13R slots itself in a competitive space, promising powerful performance, a sleek design, and a feature-packed experience for tech enthusiasts and casual users alike. It’s not trying to dethrone the high-end flagships outright but instead offers a balance of cutting-edge technology and affordability that’s hard to ignore.

From its refined build quality to its capable hardware, the OnePlus 13R has a lot going for it on paper. But specs and promises can only go so far. Is it truly worth your hard-earned money, or are there compromises that might make you think twice?

In this review, we’ll dive deep into the design, display, performance, camera, and overall user experience of the OnePlus 13R. Whether you’re considering this as your next smartphone or just curious about how it stacks up against the competition, we’ve got you covered. Let’s find out if the OnePlus 13R is the killer deal it claims to be.

BUY>> OnePlus 13R

 

Design & Build Quality

The OnePlus 13R takes a fresh approach to its design, moving away from the curved aesthetics of its predecessor to adopt a more flat and angular look. This shift in design not only gives the phone a modern and clean appearance but also enhances the overall grip, thanks to its sharp edges. Despite being a more affordable alternative to the flagship OnePlus 13, the 13R retains an air of sophistication and premium craftsmanship.

The back panel of the phone is made of glass, but it features a textured metallic finish that adds a unique tactile feel while reducing smudges. Paired with an aluminum frame, the device exudes durability without feeling overly heavy. This thoughtful choice of materials strikes a fine balance between aesthetics and practicality.

A standout feature of the OnePlus 13R is its iconic alert slider, located on the side. This small but incredibly useful addition lets you effortlessly switch between sound profiles, a hallmark of the OnePlus design philosophy that fans have come to love.

One of the key improvements over its predecessor, the OnePlus 12R, is the upgraded water resistance. The IP65 rating provides better protection against dust and splashes, offering more peace of mind in daily use. While it may not match the higher waterproofing standards of full-fledged flagships, it’s still a welcome addition in this price range.

Despite its flat design, the phone feels comfortable to hold, with the angular edges providing a subtle yet effective grip. The design isn’t just about looks either—the OnePlus 13R also packs high-end hardware like an OLED display, a large battery, and even a telephoto zoom camera, which was absent on the previous model.

Overall, the OnePlus 13R delivers a premium build and thoughtfully designed features, making it an excellent option for those who value style and substance in a more affordable package.

Display Specs and Features

The OnePlus 13R features an impressive 6.78-inch LTPO OLED display, offering a premium viewing experience that rivals many flagship devices. This panel boasts a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, which ensures smooth scrolling and fluid animations. Thanks to the LTPO technology, the refresh rate can scale down to as low as 1Hz during static usage, conserving battery life without compromising performance.

Protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 7i, the screen is built to withstand daily wear and tear, making it highly durable. The display also supports 10-bit color depth along with HDR10+ and Dolby Vision standards, providing rich, vibrant colors and stunning contrast. Whether you’re watching videos, playing games, or browsing, the visuals are nothing short of exceptional.

In terms of brightness, the display performs admirably. It reaches a maximum of 800 nits with manual adjustment and peaks at 1,200 nits in auto mode under bright conditions. While this is comparable to the flagship OnePlus 13, it falls slightly short of the brightest screens on the market. Nonetheless, the brightness is more than adequate for outdoor visibility and HDR content.

For audio, the OnePlus 13R is equipped with stereo speakers that deliver loud and immersive sound. In loudness tests, the speakers earned an “excellent” rating, and while there’s a decent amount of bass, the vocals and high frequencies can sound slightly harsh at higher volumes. Still, the audio quality is sufficient for most users, offering an engaging experience for media consumption.

When it comes to biometrics, the phone integrates an under-display optical fingerprint reader. It’s fast and reliable, though its placement is a bit low on the screen, which may feel awkward for some users. A slightly higher position would have enhanced usability.

The OnePlus 13R offers generous storage options, starting at 256GB and going up to 512GB depending on the market. However, there’s no support for expandable storage via microSD, so choosing the right variant is important.

Software & Updates

The OnePlus 13R runs on OxygenOS 5, layered over Android 15, providing a polished and feature-rich interface. While it shares many elements with the software seen on Oppo and Realme devices—given their shared manufacturer—the OnePlus version retains a distinct identity through its custom fonts and iconic red accents, adding a touch of brand personality.

One of the standout additions this year is an expanded suite of AI-powered features. Many of these tools are accessible through the Smart Sidebar, a context-sensitive menu that activates depending on your activities. Notable AI utilities include:

  • AI Summary, which condenses lengthy text into key points.
  • AI Speak, for reading text aloud.
  • AI Writer, which helps generate text.

Beyond these, the integration of Google’s Gemini AI Assistant offers another layer of smart functionality, complementing built-in tools like Google Lens for enhanced search capabilities. The phone’s gallery app also comes packed with AI-based editing tools, including an AI Eraser for removing unwanted elements from photos, making photo edits seamless and intuitive.

On the update front, OnePlus promises four years of major OS updates and an impressive six years of security patches. This level of commitment to software longevity ensures that the OnePlus 13R remains relevant and secure for years to come, outpacing many competitors in its class.

Additionally, the IR blaster is a handy inclusion, allowing the phone to double as a universal remote for controlling appliances like TVs and air conditioners—a feature that many users will find practical in day-to-day life.

Performance & Chipset

The OnePlus 13R may not feature this year’s latest flagship chipset, but its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3—last year’s top-tier offering—delivers performance that’s nothing short of impressive. Despite being a generation behind, the power and efficiency it offers are comparable to most 2024 Android flagships.

In benchmark tests, the OnePlus 13R scores remarkably well, even landing slightly above average for its category. This translates into a device that handles multitasking, gaming, and general app usage with ease, ensuring a smooth and responsive user experience across the board. Whether you’re navigating the UI, streaming media, or playing demanding games, the 13R performs like a champ.

As for thermal management, the OnePlus 13R exhibits decent control over heat during prolonged stress tests. While some throttling was observed under extended heavy workloads, the overall sustained performance remains reliable, ensuring you won’t experience major slowdowns even during intensive tasks.

Battery Life & Charging Speed

The OnePlus 13R makes a leap in battery capacity, boasting a 6,000mAh battery compared to the 5,500mAh unit in its predecessor. This increase translates into impressive longevity, with the phone delivering an active use score of 15 hours and 9 minutes. It’s a slight improvement over the OnePlus 12R, but still an excellent performance overall, ensuring all-day usage with ease.

When it comes to charging, the 13R supports 80W wired charging, although the inclusion of the charger depends on the market. The charging speeds are reasonably fast, with the battery going from 0 to 73% in just 30 minutes and reaching a full charge in 48 minutes. However, this is notably slower than the 12R, which achieved a full charge in just 25 minutes.

Unfortunately, wireless charging is absent on the OnePlus 13R, a feature that many competitors offer in this price segment. While the wired charging performance is respectable, the lack of wireless charging could be a downside for those seeking extra convenience.

 

Camera Performance & Specs

The OnePlus 13R brings an upgraded camera setup, with notable improvements over its predecessor. It features a 50MP main camera with a Sony Lytia 700 sensor, a new 50MP 2x telephoto camera (replacing the previous macro camera), and an 8MP ultrawide camera. Here’s how each performs:

Main Camera

The main camera delivers excellent image quality in daylight, producing sharp photos with plenty of detail, wide dynamic range, and good contrast. Colors are pleasing and natural. Indoors, the performance remains strong, though some shots occasionally exhibit over-sharpening due to a possible HDR algorithm glitch. Portrait photos shine with nice subject isolation and accurate skin tones, regardless of whether the dedicated portrait mode is used.
At night, the main camera uses an automatic night mode that produces clean and detailed shots, with a wide dynamic range. However, a slight yellowish tint and dialed-up micro-contrast might give images a slightly grittier appearance.

2x Telephoto Camera

The 2x telephoto camera offers impressive results. Daytime shots are sharp, detailed, and boast a wide dynamic range. Surprisingly, the 2x images even outshine the main camera in sharpness in some scenarios. The performance is consistent indoors, with photos of people standing out for their clarity and natural tones. At night, the telephoto camera maintains its great image quality, delivering well-balanced shots with good detail and dynamic range.

Ultrawide Camera

The 8MP ultrawide camera is the weakest link in this setup. Daylight photos lack sharpness and have just okay dynamic range, but colors are well-saturated. Interestingly, nighttime ultrawide shots are much better than expected, thanks to the advanced ISP, which compensates for the lower-quality hardware. While these photos aren’t perfect, they surpass typical performance for an 8MP ultrawide camera.

Selfies

The 16MP front-facing camera captures vibrant selfies with punchy colors, good dynamic range, and strong contrast. However, images tend to be a bit soft, which could be noticeable upon closer inspection.

Video Recording

The OnePlus 13R can record 4K video with its main and telephoto cameras, while the ultrawide and selfie cameras are limited to 1080p.

  • Main Camera (4K): Sharp, detailed, and clean videos with good dynamic range, though colors could be more vibrant.
  • 2x Telephoto (4K): Decent but slightly noisier, with less impressive sharpness and some color enhancements.
  • Ultrawide Camera (1080p): Soft and washed-out videos that are passable but unimpressive.
  • Nighttime Video: The main camera records clean 4K night videos with good sharpness and minimal noise, though contrast and color vibrancy could be better.

BUY>> OnePlus 13R

Drawbacks

The OnePlus 13R offers excellent value for money, but it’s not without its flaws. While the main camera and telephoto camera deliver impressive performance, the ultrawide camera falls short, producing less sharp images with mediocre dynamic range in many situations. Similarly, the 16MP front-facing camera struggles with sharpness, making selfies appear softer than expected, and the selfie video quality is not competitive with rivals.

Another significant omission is wireless charging, which is becoming a common feature in this price segment. This lack of versatility might be a dealbreaker for users accustomed to the convenience of wireless charging. Additionally, while the 120Hz LTPO OLED display is vibrant and sharp, its maximum brightness lags behind flagship models, which could be a limitation in bright outdoor conditions.

Finally, while the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset ensures top-notch performance, the device experiences mild throttling during prolonged usage, which could impact sustained gaming or heavy multitasking sessions. These compromises may give pause to users considering the OnePlus 13R as a flagship alternative.

 


Verdict

The OnePlus 13R is a well-rounded smartphone that offers flagship-level performance, impressive battery life, and a premium design at a competitive price point. Its 50MP main and telephoto cameras perform admirably, making it a great option for photography enthusiasts. Additionally, the long-lasting battery and efficient charging speeds add to its appeal as a dependable daily driver.

However, its weaker ultrawide and selfie cameras, along with the lack of wireless charging, highlight some of the compromises made to keep the price down. These shortcomings might not matter to every user, but for those seeking a more complete flagship experience, alternatives like the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE or Xiaomi 14T Pro may be worth exploring.

In conclusion, the OnePlus 13R delivers great value for its price, making it a solid choice for users who prioritize performance and design over a few missing premium features.

BUY>> OnePlus 13R

 

Daven Klarsen
Daven Klarsen is a technology writer and researcher. He's also an avid sports fan, especially when it comes to the LAL. When not working, you can usually find him tweaking his Android devices or watching soccer news.

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