OnePlus 13R Review: Great Phone, Excellent Price

It’s a model new yr and we have model new OnePlus quantity collection telephones. The OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R have been launched in India earlier this week with the newest {hardware} and new design. OnePlus has managed to maintain the pricing very aggressive as properly. Talking about being aggressive, the underdog OnePlus 13R is as soon as once more trying to be an important package deal, a minimum of on paper. I’ve been utilizing the 13R for about two weeks to seek out out if the brand new mid-range flagship is an efficient improve from the OnePlus 12R.

The OnePlus 13R is priced at Rs. 42,999 for the 12GB + 256GB storage choice, whereas the 16GB + 512GB mannequin will price you Rs. 49,999. It is obtainable in Astral Trail and Nebula Noir color choices. We received the Astrail Trail variant for evaluate within the prime trim.

OnePlus 13R Design: Premium and flat

• Dimensions – 161.7 x 75.8 x 8 mm
• Weight – 206g
• Colours – Astral Trail and Nebula Noir IP Rating – IP65

OnePlus 13R will get a brand new design this yr, with a flat body and a flat show. You can nonetheless inform that it is a OnePlus cellphone, because of the left-aligned round rear digicam module, which has been a staple because the OnePlus 11. The cellphone does have a barely totally different implementation of the module, although, because it’s not hooked up to the facet body.

The rear digicam module is not hooked up to the facet body

 

The 13R feels very premium in hand, and the glass rear panel has a patterned matte end to it. The Astral Trail model we received for evaluate has a pleasant texture that’ll remind you of these cool star path images on the web.

I actually favored the star trail-like sample on the again

 

The body is aluminium, has a matte end, and will be slippery. Luckily, it is not a fingerprint magnet, although. OnePlus does present a pleasant silicone case within the field, although. You’ll discover the clicky quantity and energy buttons on the fitting facet, with the left housing the enduring textured alert slider.

The alert slider is in the identical place as final yr’s OnePlus 12R

 

The SIM card tray, which may accommodate twin SIMs, is positioned on the underside alongside a loudspeaker, twin microphones, and the USB Type-C port. There’s a 3rd microphone on the prime, together with one other speaker and the IR blaster.

The cellphone will get an IR blaster

 

Overall, the cellphone feels nice to carry in hand, though the flat body does are likely to dig into your palm after some time. The OnePlus 13R will get an IP65 score, barely higher than its predecessor.

OnePlus 13R Display: Quality of life upgrades

• Size and sort – 6.78-inches LTPO 4.1 AMOLED, 1.5K decision
• Refresh charge – 120Hz
• Protection – Gorilla Glass 7i

The show on the OnePlus 13R is now flat and makes use of a more moderen LTPO 4.1 AMOLED panel. The specs are nonetheless the identical as earlier than, although, and also you get a 120Hz refresh charge, 1.5K decision, 19.8:9 side ratio, HDR10+ help, Dolby Vision, 10-bit color depth, and one hundred pc Display P3 help.

The cellphone will get slimmer bezels in comparison with final yr’s mannequin

 

The show is nice for watching movies and streaming content material on Netflix and different streaming providers. It additionally will get fairly vivid, with a claimed excessive brightness mode of 1,600nits and a peak brightness of 4,500nits. Again, the identical figures as final time, and it continues to be extremely legible even underneath direct daylight. The viewing angles are additionally fairly good. The panel additionally helps Aqua Touch 2.0 and Glove Mode.

The panel gives HDR10+, HDRViVid help together with Dolby Vision

 

The cellphone’s color replica was very true to life, particularly within the Natural color mode. It additionally gives Vivid, Cinematic, and Brilliant color profiles. You can select between a normal and excessive display screen decision, with the latter draining extra battery. As for the refresh charge, you’ll be able to toggle between auto (1 to 120Hz), 60Hz, and 120Hz.

The optical fingerprint scanner labored properly all through the evaluate interval

 

OnePlus appears to have additionally managed to barely enhance the screen-to-body ratio because of slimmer bezels throughout. The show has a punch gap cutout on the prime centre for the selfie digicam and an under-display fingerprint scanner, which is of the optical selection. The scanner labored very properly in the course of the evaluate.

OnePlus 13R Software: Clean with a contact of AI

• OS – Android 15
• UI – OxygenOS 15
• Latest safety patch – December 5 2024

The OnePlus 13R comes with the newest Android 15-based OxygenOS 15, which is significantly better than earlier iterations of OxygenOS. There’s virtually no bloatware and I really like the general smoothness and animations when navigating the UI. You do get just a few pre-installed apps, corresponding to Facebook, LinkedIn, and Netflix, however these are apps that I’d obtain anyway. OxygenOS 15 can also be claimed to be 40 p.c lighter than earlier variations, which suggests you get extra storage in your apps and knowledge.

The cellphone is confirmed to obtain 4 years of OS updates

 

OnePlus has additionally included some AI options on the cellphone. You get AI-backed options within the Photos app, corresponding to AI Detail Boost, AI Unblur, AI Eraser, and AI Reflection Eraser. There’s Circle to Search from Google, Google Gemini, AI Assistant for Notes, PassScan in Google Wallet, and Magic Compose for rewriting textual content. While some options corresponding to AI Detail Boost and AI Unblur are hit-and-miss, I discovered the AI Eraser, Reflection Eraser, Magic Compose, and the AI Assistant for Notes fairly helpful.

A brand new Share with iPhone function allows you to simply share information together with your iPhone pals. OnePlus additionally added the brand new Open Canvas function for multitasking from the Open. I attempted each of those options, and so they labored fairly properly. However, Canvas is finest fitted to bigger screens.

During the evaluate interval, the cellphone acquired two OTA updates and is presently on the December 5 2024 Android safety patch. OnePlus has promised 4 years of OS updates and 6 years of safety updates.

OnePlus 13R Performance: Buttery clean

• CPU – Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
• RAM – 12/16GB LPDDR5X
• Storage – 256/512GB UFS 4.0

OnePlus telephones are recognized for his or her clean efficiency, and the 13R would not disappoint. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is a flagship chipset from final yr, so you have received nothing to fret about. The cellphone carried out extraordinarily properly in all our artificial benchmark exams, and I confronted no lag or stutter throughout every day or heavy utilization.

Benchmarks	OnePlus 13R	iQOO 12	Xiaomi 14	Oppo Reno 13 Pro
AnTuTu v10	19,14,550	19,83,471	19,73,937	13,73,029
PCMark Work 3.0	15,043	13,320	N/A	12,032
Geekbench 6 (Single)	2,112	2,225	2,210	1,372
Geekbench 6 (Multi)	4,943	6,726	6,808	4,163
GFXB T-rex	60	143	121	93
GFXB Manhattan 3.1	60	143	121	120
GFXB Car Chase	60	127	N/A	120
3DM Slingshot Extreme OpenGL	Maxed Out	Maxed Out	N/A	Maxed Out
3DM Slingshot	Maxed Out	Maxed Out	N/A	Maxed Out
3DM Wild Life	Maxed Out	Maxed Out	N/A	Maxed Out
3DM Wild Life Unlimited	19,178	Maxed Out	N/A	11,518

The cellphone additionally runs fairly cool, and I hardly confronted any heating points in the course of the evaluate. This is essentially because of the 9,925mm sq. vapour chamber, which stored the warmth away even throughout heavy gaming classes. Regarding gaming, I performed BGMI on the best settings obtainable, and the cellphone dealt with it with ease. Genshin Impact additionally ran easily with none hiccups. It’s positively an important cellphone for gaming.

Gaming is tremendous clean on the cellphone, and it would not warmth up a lot both

 

You get twin audio system on the cellphone, and so they can get fairly loud. There’s additionally some bass, which is sweet. The earpiece and microphone additionally labored properly throughout cellphone calls.

OnePlus 13R Cameras: Better than earlier than

• Main rear – 50-megapixel Sony LYT-700, f/1.8, OIS, Autofocus
• Telephoto – 50-megapixel Samsung S5KJN5, 2x Optical zoom, f/2.0, Autofocus
• Ultrawide – 8-megapixel, f/2.2, 112 diploma FoV
• Front – 16-megapixel, f/2.4, Fixed focus

The OnePlus 13R has an improved digicam setup. The firm listened to customers and reviewers and removed the 2-megapixel depth/macro sensor. You now get a helpful 2x optical zoom digicam. The major digicam has additionally been up to date, however the ultra-wide sensor seems to be the identical. Nevertheless, the cellphone does see much-needed enhancements.

The 2-megapixel macro digicam is lastly gone

 

The digicam app is straightforward and has a number of modes, together with Time-lapse, Hi-Res, Long Exposure, and Pro. You additionally get devoted Portrait and Night modes.

Plenty of modes can be found within the Camera app

 

Coming to digicam efficiency, I seen enhancements in images taken from the principle digicam in daylight circumstances. The colors are on level, there’s loads of element, the dynamic vary is vast, and the white stability can also be good.

Photos shot from the principle digicam in 1x [Tap to expand]

 

This yr, the brand new telephoto digicam is a pleasant addition and produces superb ends in daylight circumstances. Once once more, there are many particulars, the colors intently match the first sensor, and the picture has a superb dynamic vary.

Samples shot utilizing the 2x telephoto digicam [Tap to expand]

 

Next, the ultrawide digicam, which stays the identical as final yr, takes good images when there’s loads of mild. The photographs have good element, however the colors are extra saturated than images from the opposite cameras.

Camera samples from the ultrawide digicam [Tap to expand]

 

The 2x telephoto digicam can also be fairly first rate with regards to Portrait images. You get 1x and 2x crop within the digicam app, and the sting detection is just not too dangerous both. However, the pictures are likely to have loads of noise and softness in lowlight circumstances.

Portrait images with the 2x telephoto; Daylight (Top), Lowlight-indoors (Bottom) [Tap to expand]

 

Talking about lowlight circumstances, the principle sensor continues to carry out properly, with photographs providing good element, pure colors, and a reasonably correct white stability.

Lowlight digicam samples from the first rear digicam at 1x [Tap to expand]

 

However, ultrawide and telephoto cameras aren’t superb when there’s not sufficient mild. You’ll discover loads of noise and softness in photographs.

Lowlight samples: Ultrawide (Top 3); 2x Telephoto (Bottom 3)

 

The entrance digicam on the OnePlus 13R produces fairly good images in daylight circumstances. There are good particulars, and the pores and skin colors are fairly correct. However, the digicam would not carry out properly in lowlight circumstances. There’s loads of noise and softness in selfies taken with much less mild.

The OnePlus 13R can report movies at as much as 4K 60fps, and also you do get optical picture stabilisation, but it surely solely works in 1080p 60fps. Videos taken on the cellphone, utilizing the principle digicam in 4K, have a superb quantity of element with barely boosted colors. Lowlight movies lack the identical quantity of element, and you may begin seeing some noise and darker shadows. Stabilisation is sweet when utilizing Ultra Steady video mode in 1080p decision, however you may see some shakiness and sudden jumps when operating or panning.

OnePlus 13R Battery: Massive in all methods

• Capacity – 6,000mAh
• Charging velocity – 80W
• Charger – 80W (In the field)

The OnePlus 13R makes use of a brand new Silicon-Carbon battery that’s denser and bigger than earlier than. Despite packing a bigger 6,000mAh cell, the 13R is slimmer than the 12R. In my every day utilization, the cellphone constantly delivered over 7 hours of screen-on time. Most of my days often ended with over 40 p.c of battery nonetheless remaining. In our HD video loop take a look at, the cellphone lasted 32 hours and 16 minutes, which is sort of spectacular however not stunning.

A full cost takes about 1 hour 30 minutes

 

OnePlus gives an 80W SuperVOOC charger within the field, which may cost the cellphone from 0 to one hundred pc in about 1 hour and half-hour. I ran some extra exams and located you can get about 40 p.c cost after half-hour of being plugged in and about 60 p.c in 45 minutes. Overall, I’d say this is a superb efficiency.

OnePlus 13R Verdict

Is the OnePlus 13R an important package deal? Yes. Is it full worth for cash? Yes. Has it improved over final yr’s 12R? Yes. The new OnePlus 13R is certainly definitely worth the improve. It will get higher cameras, a bigger battery with longer life, higher construct high quality, longer software program help, and different minor enhancements.

As for alternate options, I can solely assume of some. There’s the newly launched Oppo Reno 13 Pro (Review), which prices larger however lacks in key areas corresponding to efficiency and battery life. There’s additionally the Xiaomi 14 (Review), which will get the identical chipset, gives higher cameras, a compact design, and likewise prices about somewhat larger. You can even go for the iQOO 12 (Review), which, though older, nonetheless gives nice efficiency and an honest digicam setup.