OnePlus 13R review: a triple threat of battery, performance, and brilliance

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OnePlus 13R review: Two-minute review

The OnePlus 13R builds on the winning formula of its predecessor, the OnePlus 12R, by delivering prolonged battery life, a dazzling display, and plenty of power in a slick, premium package.

Its price is not as competitively low as the brand’s earliest ‘flagship killers’, but if you’re after a flagship phone without the quite frankly eye-watering price tags that come with them, the OnePlus 13R delivers plenty while only compromising in a few small areas.

This is only the second time an R-Series handset has launched internationally; the initial ‘R’ branded devices (of series 9, 10, and 11) did not reach European or North American shores.

The OnePlus 13R is a less tricked-out – and thus more affordable – version of the flagship OnePlus 13 which launched alongside it. Think of this phone like Samsung’s ‘FE’ variants of its high-end S series and Google’s ‘A’ line of its Pixel phones.

The 6.78-inch display is colorful and sufficiently bright, making it easy to use even in direct sunlight. The screen is flat, and flush with the phone’s aluminium frame, which results in a pleasing viewing experience.

Meanwhile, the sizable 6,000mAh battery lasted me two days on a single charge, and even power users will get more than a day’s use from the OnePlus 13R before needing to reach for the charging cable. But reach for the cable you will, as there’s no wireless charging.

There’s plenty of power under the hood, with the previous flagship generation Snapdragon chipset at its heart, ably assisted by 12GB of RAM. It means the 13R can handle pretty much anything you throw at it.

While the trio of cameras on the rear may not have the very latest features of the current-gen flagships, it’s a great point-and-shoot camera that holds its own in most scenarios.

Holding the 13R may be a little tricky for those with smaller hands though, as this is a large phone. And you’ll want to be careful around water, as this handset isn’t protected against submersion. It’s merely splash-proof, which does mean it’ll be okay in the rain.

The OnePlus 13R is an accomplished smartphone that borrows many of the features from the brand's previous flagship phone, while being kept just out of reach of some of the very latest tech which has been reserved for its non-R, numerical twin.

OnePlus 13R review: price and availability

• OnePlus 13R price is $599 / £679
• Available with 12GB RAM + 256GB ROM in North America and Europe
• India also has the option of a 16GB + 512GB variant

When it comes to buying the OnePlus 13R, things are kept simple with just one storage configuration of 256GB ROM + 12GB RAM available in North America and Europe.

For those in India, there’s a beefier 512GB + 16GB additional configuration, which may have some in Western markets looking enviably over to Asia.

The OnePlus 13R price is $599 / £679, matching the launch price of its predecessor (the OnePlus 12R) in the US, but coming in at £30 more expensive in the UK.

With the same launch price in the US as last year’s 256GB OnePlus 12R, the 13R is well positioned in the market, offering a big screen, big battery, and plenty of performance at a price point that undercuts Apple. Meanwhile, for UK buyers the £30 price increase is a little frustrating, but OnePlus has improved on its predecessor and the 13R still offers a solid all-round experience.

This price point sits the OnePlus 13R towards the top end of the ‘affordable flagship’ market, and unlike the OnePlus 12R, the US only gets the 256GB ROM + 12GB RAM. There’s no cheaper variant with 8GB/128GB of RAM and storage this time round.

That means it’s more expensive than the smaller, more palm-friendly Pixel 8a – Google’s own take on an affordable flagship – yet similarly priced to the AI-loaded Samsung Galaxy S24 FE and alternative Nothing Phone (2), although the latter is now a year and a half old at the time of writing.

One of the big draws of the OnePlus 13R will be its supreme battery life, but if battery life is the most important focus in a big-screened phone for you, then you may want to look at the Honor Magic 7 Lite. It’s a chunk cheaper and boasts an even bigger battery (6,600mAh), although it has less power and storage and isn’t available in North America.

• Value score: 4 / 5

OnePlus 13R review: specs

The OnePlus 13R comes with a trio of headline specs. There’s the big, bright, and bold 6.78-inch display boasting a maximum brightness of 4,500 nits, the huge 6,000mAh battery that can keep you going for two days, and slick performance thanks to the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset as the brand’s previous generation flagship, the OnePlus 12.

There’s also a trio of cameras around the back, fast 80W wired charging, and 256GB of storage which will keep all but the most prolific power users happy.

OnePlus 13R review: design

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

• Wonderfully premium aluminum and glass frame
• A little large for small hands, and can’t be submerged in water

The OnePlus 13R is a slick piece of hardware, with a sleek aluminum frame wrapping around the circumference of the handset, which is sandwiched on either side by glass.

The flat sides are reminiscent of Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro and 16 Pro series, as well as the Oppo Find X8 range – the latter of which shares various design cues with the OnePlus 13 series, as the two brands are part of the same overarching company.

To complete the premium package the screen and rear of the phone are covered in Gorilla Glass 7i, the first OnePlus phone to harness this new glass type, which maker Corning claims is “specifically engineered to address the need for improved drop protection and scratch resistance.”

This means the 13R should be able to resist the odd drop and knock, but during my review time with the phone, I didn’t really put this to the test.

While the aesthetics may not be entirely unique, the OnePlus 13R has a premium look and feel; it’s built solidly and outperforms its price tag.

Those with smaller hands will find the size of the device overbearing – especially for one-handed use – while I’d have liked the power and volume buttons on the right of the 13R placed lower down.

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

The volume rocker especially was a stretch for my thumb, resulting in awkward shuffles in the hand to turn the volume up. If OnePlus placed these a few millimeters lower the buttons would fall naturally under the thumb, making for easier manipulation.

OnePlus’ now iconic alert slider is present on the OnePlus 13R, providing an easy way to toggle between silent, vibrate, and ring modes – although it suffers the same placement affliction as the volume and power – it’s placed just a little too high up on the left of the phone for my taste.

While this was a novel addition in the early days of OnePlus, its inclusion now feels a little superfluous as user habits have evolved over the years resulting in fewer people switching regularly between ring states. Former OnePlus co-founder, Carl Pei, even tweeted to say “most people never use it” in regards to the alert slider.

The USB-C port sits centrally on the bottom edge of the phone, flanked by the SIM tray (which supports two cards) and the speaker. On the back, the smooth, minimalist finish of my Nebular Noir-colored device is interrupted only by the enormous circular camera housing.

It’s aligned to one side of the handset – providing a small point of differentiation to the centrally placed camera bump on the Find X8 devices – which does displace the weight slightly, but isn’t an issue during daily use. OnePlus has managed to keep the weight of the 13R to a reasonable 206g, which allows it to sit comfortably in the hand.

One disappointing feature is the handset’s IP65 water resistance rating. It’s an improvement over the IP64 rating of its predecessor and protects against jets of water, but an IP68 rating (water resistance for submersion) is not uncommon in this price bracket.

• Design score: 4 / 5

OnePlus 13R review: display

• The 6.78-inch display is big, bright and colorful
• A peak brightness of 4,500 nits makes it great for use in the sun

OnePlus makes a big deal about the display on this phone, and the good news is it lives up to the billing. It’s big, bright and colorful.

At 6.78 inches, it’s a sizable offering, much larger than the 6.1-inch screen on the Pixel 8a, a hair bigger than the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE (at 6.7 inches), while it’s the same size as the Honor Magic 7 Lite – another big-battery competitor.

There’s plenty of real estate for apps, and the slender uniform bezels all the way around give it a premium appeal. The only interruption on the screen is the circular cutout at the top of the display for the 16MP front-facing camera.

The 1264 x 2780 (1.5K) resolution – which gives you a pixel density of 450 ppi – is par for the course. OnePlus says the 13R can deliver a maximum brightness of 4,500 nits, but you won’t actually see that level of brightness in real-world use.

In my time with the phone, the OnePlus 13R’s screen performed very well in bright light, whether indoors or outdoors. If you’re fortunate enough to find yourself in a particularly sunny climate, you can be confident you’ll be able to see what’s on-screen in direct sunlight.

And when the weather turns and rain starts to fall, the OnePlus 13R continues to perform thanks to Aqua Touch 2.0. Taking the phone into the rain, the screen continued to respond well when my use was uninterrupted by the conditions – rain can cause issues on other phones, where the screen is confused by water droplets leading to unregistered taps or erroneous inputs.

Another nice inclusion for the OnePlus 13R is Glove Mode, allowing you to interact with the screen while wearing woolen or sheepskin gloves (up to 0.5cm thick). This mode isn’t on by default, you need to dive into the accessibility menus in the Settings apps (you can search “glove” in Settings to find the mode quicker) to enable it.

Once enabled, I was impressed by just how responsive the screen was when wearing a pair of woolen gloves. With the mode switched off, there was zero response from the screen when wearing gloves, so the difference is stark.

Interactions do require a little more force to be applied compared to non-glove use, but that’s not a surprise. OnePlus does note that glove mode does not support gameplay, so if you’re planning to have a round of PUBG while vacationing in Lapland, Finland, you may want to wait until you’re inside and gloveless before parachuting into battle. Opening and closing apps, moving around the interface, scrolling social, and tapping out messages are all easily done, however.

• Display score: 4.5 / 5

OnePlus 13R review: software

• OxygenOS 15.0 offers plenty of customization options
• OnePlus guarantees four years of OS updates, but rivals offer more

The OnePlus 13R is an Android 15 smartphone, with the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system underpinning the software you see on the screen.

It’s not pure Android, as OnePlus has applied its OxygenOS 15.0 interface on top, providing the handset with a familiar look and feel for users of the brand’s previous generation of devices.

What this gives you is a slightly different look and feel to the stock Android platform (found on Pixel handsets). My OnePlus 13R also arrived pre-loaded with additional apps on top of the default system offerings.

These included Netflix, Amazon Music, Booking.com, LinkedIn, Facebook, Lyft, and AliExpress. You may find some of these pre-installed apps useful, but if you don’t the good news is they can be uninstalled entirely from the phone – leaving you with more of the apps you want.

I have seen phone manufacturers pre-install many more apps than on the OnePlus 13R, and also forbid users from uninstalling them, so what OnePlus has done isn’t cause for concern.

OnePlus says it has reduced the overall size of OxygenOS 15 by 40%, meaning it takes up less of the 256GB of internal storage space, leaving you more room for apps, games, photos, videos, and more.

OnePlus’ overlay also provides a wide range of customization features, allowing you to make the OnePlus 13R personal to you. From a range of home screen widgets and the ability to tweak the size, shape, and design of app icons, to different options from the drag-down motion to access the notifications bar and quick settings – there’s plenty to explore.

The Open Canvas feature from the OnePlus Open and OnePlus Pad 2 is present here, so I could have two apps side-by-side on screen. A horizontal bar divides the screen, and I could drag it up and down to resize the two apps.

There’s also the option to open an app in a floating window, and I could move around the rest of the phone’s interface while keeping the selected app open in a small area of the screen. Useful if you’re watching a video or part of a busy group chat and want to look up information in other apps.

I could even drag and ‘pin’ up to two of these floating windows to the edge of the screen, minimizing them to a transparent app logo tucked off the side of the display. A quick tap on the logo opened it back up as a floating window.

These multitasking features work well on the OnePlus 13R, and while it’s a little fiddly to enable split screen or floating window (and to pin these), it’s impressive when you get multiple apps all working at once – especially if you have two apps on split screen and then a third in a floating window.

The OnePlus 13R comes future-proofed too, with OnePlus committing to four years of software updates and six years of security updates for the device. While this is a good offering, it’s not industry-leading. Apple has offered five years of updates for some time, while Google and Samsung offer seven years of software and security updates on their latest devices.

And this wouldn’t be a 2025 smartphone without a mention of AI. In the Photos app (the OnePlus version, not Google’s Photos app) you’ll find the AI Editor option with four tools for you to use. More on these in the camera section.

Google’s Gemini AI assistant also comes pre-loaded on the OnePlus 13R, giving you access to features such as Circle to Search and Magic Compose (for help writing text messages).

• Software score: 4 / 5

OnePlus 13R review: cameras

• A capable all-round camera delivers great images in most conditions
• Plenty of modes and settings for avid photographers

The OnePlus 13R packs a trio of cameras in the sizable, circular camera housing, headlined by a 50MP Sony LYT-700 main sensor alongside a 50MP telephoto sensor, providing support for the 2x zoom. The sensor array is completed by an 8MP ultra-wide sensor with a 112-degree field of view. There’s also an LED flash to help illuminate dark scenes.

On the front, you get a 16MP selfie camera, but there’s no wide-angle lens to expand the view to fit more faces. You’ll either have to press cheeks together or live with the fact some people may not make it in the frame.

The OnePlus 13R camera app loads swiftly and comes packed with features, with quick access icons for Google Lens, exposure, retouch (beautification mode), and filters ensuring you’re Instagram-ready in no time.

You can move between different camera modes by swiping horizontally above the shutter button – with smartphone staples ‘Video’ and ‘Portrait’ quickly accessible on either side of the default ‘Photo’ mode.

For those who like to fine-tune their shooting experience, ‘Pro’ mode gives granular controls for ISO, Shutter speed, exposure, focus, and white balance – plus there’s the option to shoot in RAW rather than JPG for greater editing flexibility in programs such as Photoshop.

Dive into the ‘More’ section and you’ll find further modes to choose from including night, panorama, slo-mo video, and time-lapse.

• Camera score: 4 / 5

OnePlus 13R review: camera samples

Portrait mode does an excellent job of keeping the cat in focus while blurring the sofa behind(Image credit: Future)

Macro mode is automatically enabled when you get close to your subject(Image credit: Future)

In bright daylight, the OnePlus 13R is a great point-and-shoot camera(Image credit: Future)

The default 1x zoom (Image credit: Future)

Tap to the 2x optical zoom and you’ll get closer to your subject while maintaining image quality(Image credit: Future)

The 13R can zoom all the way to 20x digitally(Image credit: Future)

At night, the OnePlus 13R captures detailed shots(Image credit: Future)

And does impressively well close-up in lowlight (default shooting mode)(Image credit: Future)

The selfie camera produces bright, clear shots – although they can be a little overexposed(Image credit: Future)

Switch to Portrait mode when using the selfie camera and you get a more natural result and decent blurring around the subject(Image credit: Future)

As with its predecessor, the advice for those who want to take their smartphone photography seriously on the OnePlus 13R is to stick to the main 50MP camera. It benefits from both EIS (electronic image stabilization) and OIS (optical image stabilization) to improve results.

You can use the phone as a reliable point-and-shoot to capture outdoor and indoor shots, both during the day and at night. The OnePlus 13R camera particularly impressed me during a nighttime walk through a light trail, with the default settings handling the variable lighting conditions very well.

I was able to take a series of striking low-light images with minimum effort as I walked through the trail, and this is exactly what I want from a smartphone camera. Something that can quickly and easily generate great results for social and group chats.

The OnePlus 13R also offers solid editing tools, allowing you to tinker with pictures way after you’ve taken them. As mentioned earlier in this review, OnePlus has included a number of AI-powered editing tools in its own gallery (the 13R has two photo galleries, the default OnePlus app, and the Google Photos app – the latter of which has its own editing tools as well).

AI Unblur, as the name suggests, can take your blurry photographs and reduce the lack of focus. It can be applied to any image, not just ones taken on the 13R, although I found the difference made – while an improvement – was minimal.

What I found more useful was AI Detail Boost. This enhances busy images to provide better clarity and contrast throughout your shots – again, working on any image.

Then there’s AI Eraser and AI Reflection Eraser. The former you’ll likely be familiar with as it’s a tool most smartphones offer, allowing you to remove people/animals/objects from your shots. It works well here, although it can struggle with busier scenes and complex backgrounds.

Reflection Eraser takes things a step further by, yup you’ve guessed it, attempting to remove reflections on windows, glass, or screens. I tried this on a number of images, with varying success. Generally, improvements were made, but I didn’t manage to completely remove reflections in any of the images I tested it on.

In all, the AI tools are a nice addition to the OnePlus 13R, but they don’t deliver an experience that stands out over similar tools available on other phones.

OnePlus 13R review: performance

• Powerful chipset provides flagship-grade performance
• Hyperboost performance settings are great for mobile gamers

The OnePlus 13R comes packed with power, ensuring it keeps up with pretty much anything you can toss its way.

While the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset isn’t the latest top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite offering from Qualcomm, it’s the same flagship chipset that featured in the OnePlus 12. What this means is the 13R still packs a punch, backed up by a capable 12GB of RAM.

The interface flows well, and the performance along with the 120Hz displays makes for slick, smooth scrolling on social media. Apps load quickly, although for more demanding titles the OnePlus 13R doesn’t feel quite as fast under the finger as the true flagships on the market.

That’s not really an issue, and considering the price point of this phone I was more than happy with the performance I was getting, whether that was browsing social, streaming video, checking emails, doing work (including writing parts of this very review) or taking a well-earned gaming break.

I ran a number of benchmark tests from 3DMark, Geekbench, CrossMark, JetStream, and WebXPRT 4 to really push the capabilities of the OnePlus 13R. It performed admirably with flagship-level (or close to flagship) results, reinforcing the fact there’s plenty of power available in this phone.

Fire up a game and you’ll notice the handset’s Hyperboost performance settings are automatically engaged, giving you live data on the phone’s condition during your gaming session.

From the drop-down panel, you can easily keep an eye on your fps (frames per second), latency, and how hot the OnePlus 13R is getting thanks to a temperature sensor embedded under the display.

There are three modes to choose from, with ‘Balanced’ being the default setting. You can alternatively switch to ‘Low power’ which will help extend your gaming session when the battery is running low by reducing screen refresh and lowering touch response.

Then there’s ‘Pro Gamer’ which channels all power to your game resulting in increased temperature and battery drain. A pop-up even warns you to consider only using this mode during ambient temperatures.

There are even more tools to play around with in the Hyperboost menu, including tweaking the GPU settings, toggling key features on and off, and screen recording controls to capture epic battles. In short, if you’re big into mobile gaming, the OnePlus 13R has plenty to offer.

The OnePlus 13R comfortably handled Genshin Impact at 60fps and its highest graphics setting (at 30fps). Load screens took a beat longer to process compared to the high-end flagship phones, but it didn’t detract from gameplay. While the handset did get warm it never reached an uncomfortable temperature.

Something else that impressed me during testing was the performance of the biometric scanners. Located under the display close to the bottom of the screen, the fingerprint scanner is well placed for your thumb to land on it every time when unlocking.

It performs well too, with great responsiveness and no read failures experienced during my time with the phone.

You can also choose to enable face unlock. It’s quick to register your face, and in daylight, the OnePlus 13R is able to instantly recognize you and unlock, even from awkward angles such as sneakily looking at your phone from under a desk.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

OnePlus 13R review: battery

• TA huge 6,000mAh battery delivers two-day use on a single charge
• 80W charging sees 1%-100% in 52 minutes, but no wireless charging

One of the biggest selling points for the OnePlus 13R is its huge 6,000mAh battery, providing the handset with excellent longevity and giving you the peace of mind of truly all-day battery life without the need to even consider reaching for a charger.

During our heavy-usage days, we found we’d still be getting into bed at the end of the day with the battery at least 20%, and on days where we curbed our gaming and video watching, we could easily unplug at 7am and then plug in at 11pm with 50% still left in the tank.

With slightly more thoughtful use (i.e. no gaming and videos and limited social media) the OnePlus 13R is capable of delivering two days of battery life from a single charge without the need to switch to a battery-saving mode.

The SUPERVOOC charging speed has been reduced from 100W on the OnePlus 12R to 80W on the new OnePlus 13R, as the firm looks to preserve the overall life of the mammoth power pack inside.

The 80W charging still delivers a good amount of juice in a short amount of time, and with the right fast-charging plug adapter (you only get a USB-C cable in the box in the UK) the OnePlus 13R can go from 1% to 100% in as little as 52 minutes.

Using a fast 60W charging block, the OnePlus 13R replenished from 15% to 31% in 15 minutes, and the battery got back to 48% after 30 minutes (increasing 33 percentage points in half an hour). Respectable top-up times, especially if you need to swiftly add charge before stepping out of the house.

These charging times will improve if you have an 80W charging block to take advantage of the maximum supported charging speed.

The only blemish in the OnePlus 13R’s battery story is the fact it doesn’t have wireless charging. This feature has been reserved for its pricier sibling – the OnePlus 13, so you’ll need a cable to top up the 13R.

• Battery score: 4.5 /5

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OnePlus 13R review: also consider

How I tested the OnePlus 13R

I used the OnePlus 13R as my daily device for more than two weeks, testing it in a wide range of daily scenarios.

From night-time photography walks around illuminated festive trails and trips to live sporting events, to hours spent playing games (including Pokemon Go, Clash Royale, and Genshin Impact) and streaming videos (via Netflix, DAZN, YouTube, and Disney+), the 13R experienced high-usage and demanding applications to push the screen, chipset and battery to their limits. I braved the storms, taking the phone outside during heavy downpours to test the screen resistance, while also chasing the sun to put the 4,500 nits display through its paces.

There were quieter days too, where I was checking emails, scrolling social media, and listening to music without the demands of gaming or video, to get a true feeling of how the battery and interface work. I even wrote some of this very review on the OnePlus 13R, to see how it coped as a work device – as life isn’t all pleasure. At least, not for me.

Alongside daily use, I ran numerous benchmarking tests from the likes of Geekbench, CrossMark, 3DMark, and more, to find out if the OnePlus 13R lived up to its performance billing – which it certainly did.

First reviewed January 2025