A great phone, especially for gaming
The OnePlus 13R is an exceptionally capable twist that offers oodles of power , superb battery life and very tight charging . There ’s a brilliant display too , an improved design and package experience , and you ’ll get solid consequence from the chief camera , make this phone a decent all - libertine .
The Alert Slider could do more , the software update dedication need to be longer and not all the photographic camera sensors are as impregnable as the main detector . Those misgiving aside , the OnePlus 13R is a super sub - flagship twist and one of the best phones of 2025 so far .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
OnePlus has recoil off 2025 ’s flagship smartphone credit line - up with the OnePlus 13 serial , which includes both the OnePlus 13 and the OnePlus 13R.
TheOnePlus 13sits at the top of the caller ’s offering , while the OnePlus 13R makes a couple of compromise to come in at a more affordable price of £ 679 .
While the OnePlus 13 was the first twist to launch onQualcomm ’s Snapdragon 8 Eliteprocessor , the OnePlus 13R sticks with last year ’s flagship Snapdragon chipset . Do n’t lease that put you off though , because if gaming and electric battery living are top of your wishing list for a smartphone , the OnePlus 13R is a seriously strong competitor .
Design
We were n’t huge fan of the OnePlus 12R ’s designwhen we look back itlast year . The coloring material options were tiresome , the curving style felt dated , and the slippy finishing was n’t one we got on well with . Things have changed for the OnePlus 13R however .
The flat edges of the aluminium build make the OnePlus 13R comfortable to hold , the textured glass finish on the prat is a significant improvement on the slip of the OnePlus 12R , and the huge circular tv camera module on the rear looks good as a solo island without the extra detailing around it that we saw on the OnePlus 12R.
I guess the tv camera mental faculty would have looked well centralised rather than offset to the left , particularly given the etched tintinnabulation within the glass jury on the Astral Trail model use the camera module as a pathfinder , but overall , the design is premium and it play well .
OnePlus fans will no doubt be proud of to know the Alert Slider remains for this model too , permit for quick switch between silent , vibrate and loud , as well as boosting signal performance when gaming in landscape modality . It still ca n’t be interchange to do anything else though , and that feel like a squander opportunity .
As someone who has n’t had my phone on anything but tacit for the last decade , I ’d like the Alert Slider to be customisable like theAction Buttonon theiPhone 16 manikin , perhaps enabling a substitution between the photographic camera lenses , or launch an app when pushed up or down .
There are two colour option for the OnePlus 13R – Astral Trail and Nebula Noir . The one pictured in this revaluation is the Astral Trail role model , though if I were to choose , I would piece the Nebula Noir as I prefer the matte finish to the concentrical ring item . Both areIP65 blackleg for H2O and dust resistance , which is a slight improvement on the OnePlus 12R but still below manyflagship phones .
Screen
The OnePlus 13R has a 6.78 - inch display and it ’s fantabulous . I liken it side - by - side with theApple iPhone 16 Pro Max , which is twice the cost of the OnePlus 13R , and that ’s not something you would have been able to tell based on the screen alone .
semblance on the OnePlus 13R ’s screen look peachy with plenty of pop , detail is salutary from the 2780 x 1264 resolution that give up a pixel tightness of 450ppi , and view angles are decorous too .
They are better on the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max , with the whites remaining whiter as you tip the phone , but as I say , that phone is double the Mary Leontyne Price and the OnePlus 13R really does hold its own in this department .
There ’s superb brightness too , with a peak light of 4,500 nit like the former OnePlus 12R making it great for HDR content , and while that is efflorescence brightness , you still get a decent standard brightness of 1,600 nits too .
A lineament called RadiantView means the OnePlus 13R does n’t just hike overall brightness when the sun is out either , but identify the greyscale time value of what is on the display and dynamically boosts brightness accordingly .
The ProXDR Display with LTPO 4.1 extend in Gorilla Glass 7i , also adapts between 1Hz and 120Hz based on what you are doing , permit for smooth scrolling and gameplay , while extra features like Aqua Touch 2.0 make for a good user experience .
The Aqua Touch 2.0 technical school means the OnePlus 13R ’s display still responds to your touch even if it is wet , or you have oily hands , and there ’s a Glove Mode for use when wear woollen or fleece gloves up to 0.5 cm thick , though the filmdom ’s responsiveness is in spades concentrate when using gloves .
Cameras
At the top of the OnePlus 13R ’s presentation is a 16 - megapixel selfie camera , which offers decent enough injection in good firing conditions . On the rear you ’ll find a triple - sensor setup , like the OnePlus 12R , but there are a duo of notable changes .
The independent sensor is Sony ’s previous LYT-700 , offer a 50 - megapixel resolution , f/1.8 aperture and a decent - sized 1/1.56″ sensor . OnePlus has said the detector pop the question a higher Full Well Capacity , or FWC , than the IMX-890 found in the OnePlus 12R , which is say to interpret to bright , clear-cut , and sharper images .
Meanwhile , I ’m proud of to say the dead purposeless macro sensing element from the OnePlus 12R has been supersede with a 50 - megapixel telephoto lens system on the OnePlus 13R , tender an f/2.0 aperture , 47 mm focal distance and 2x optical soar . It does n’t have OIS , but focus is quick and it does a decent job at capturing photos of those thing a little further away , as well as portrait shots .
The extremist - wide sensor is the only one of the three sensing element that has n’t changed from the OnePlus 12R , and while it ’s not too bad in good lighting condition , it does n’t have the same capableness as the master sensor . There ’s an 8 - megapixel resolution , 1/4″ sensor size , and there is no autofocus so it has limitations and lacks detail .
Despite the extremist - wide sensing element being the weakest connexion in the OnePlus 13R ’s camera setup however , the overall offering does an excellent job . You neglect out on the Hasselblad collaboration that you ’ll notice on the OnePlus 13 andOppo line up X8 Pro , which might be a rationality to upgrade , but the tuning and processing still lead in generally coherent shot with good detail and decent people of colour accuracy .
I ’d advocate stick with the main sensor where you may , especially for more ambitious shots , but the ultra - wide sensor and telephoto sensor can deliver in well - lit scenario . For low-spirited - light shots , there ’s an automatic dark mode that works well , and it ’s reasonably quick too with some nice results ( again from the main sensor ) , though it ’s not as good as thePixel 9 .
The television camera app is well laid out and easy to use , with most feature article like the newfangled Livephoto mode easily approachable . And no , I have n’t made a typo , there ’s no space between those Bible , but it ’s the same principle as Apple ’s springy Photo and turned on and off in the same means . There ’s also a Pro mode that offers altogether capture on the OnePlus 13R , and a 50 - megapixel mode for the times you might want massive images .
For telecasting , the OnePlus 13R can enter 4 K at up to 60fps , but as with photos , I urge using the primary camera where you’re able to . If you do desire to surge for television or go slightly wider , get yourself into a well - alight surround for the best answer .
Performance
I mentioned the OnePlus 13R runs on last year’sSnapdragon 8 Gen 3 platform , and that means it ’s not going to sit with the top - tier up flagship phones of 2025 . If you require the well perform telephone set OnePlus currently offers , then it ’s the OnePlus 13 you ’ll want as that runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite .
That ’s not to say the OnePlus 13R is n’t up to the project though , and until a couple of months ago , the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 was the best mobile platform around and power some of the good phone from last twelvemonth . There ’s 12 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256 GB of UFS 4.0 store underpin that chipset here , which is impressive generate its price , while a focussing on chill means the 13R does n’t get too tender no matter what you ’re doing .
There ’s a Dual Cryo - Velocity Vapor Chamber scheme on board , like the OnePlus 12R , though it ’s 9 pct larger for the OnePlus 13R and there ’s also an under - display temperature detector in the OnePlus 13R , which allows it to monitor its heat levels and foreshorten heating system during gambling .
OnePlus also has a couple of software system feature of speech to improve performance . The OnePlus CPU Scheduler does n’t have the catchiest of names , but it ’s designed to stuff out extra performance when playing defend game , like BGMI and Genshin Impact .
OnePlus describes the CPU Scheduler as process with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 to have a separate fast and slow lane for job , rather than having fast moving and slow move in the same lane . The result is said to allow for patronage games to run with 10 percent less C.P.U. work load , with Genshin Impact say to have used 3 percentage less power in tests .
That ’s hard to test in the real human race but while I in person play game very badly , the OnePlus 13R was a dreaming to wreak them on . It remained nerveless enough for the duration of gaming seance – even the longsighted ones – and it can handle most game at max options with no red flags appearing during my review period .
If you require a cheaper gaming telephone , you could consider thePoco F6 Pro , but the OnePlus 13R does a sterling occupation overall , not just for gambling but general use too .
We did our usual bent of benchmarking tests on the OnePlus 13R and it do on par or good than other Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 phones , including some of the full flagship from 2024 . you’re able to see how the OnePlus 13R liken in the graphs below .
Test Data
Software and AI
The OnePlus 13R footrace on Android 15 with the party ’s OxygenOS over the top but while there is some bloat and a few pre - set up OnePlus apps , it ’s a generally neat and nicely customisable experience .
There ’s a redesign interface for OxygenOS 15 , which let in an updated Shelf , redesigned whatchamacallum and new features like part with iPhone . The latter allow file to be share quickly to iPhone users , which work pretty well in my experience , even if a little faffy to setup initially .
The Open Canvas multi - tasking software program that OnePlus bid on itsOpenPlus Openfoldable and theOnePlus Pad 2is also usable on the OnePlus 13R to enhance productiveness , and the general interface is nice .
When it amount to AI characteristic , most of them are nicely built into the operating system and apps . Google Gemini sits on the ignition lock silver screen for well-heeled entree , while camera features including AI Eraser , AI Unblur , AI Detail Boost and AI Reflection Eraser can all be find within the camera edit setting .
I used AI Unblur a few times and that was proficient , while AI Eraser turn OK too . I did n’t see much divergence when using AI Detail Boost , but that could have been because I was using decent guessing to try it with rather than low result shots .
There ’s no Image Playground or Sketch to Image like Apple and Samsung offer severally in ordination to engender figure from prompting , but OnePlus does have Circle to Search for finding relevant hunting results , and it extend PassScan for append your next flight ’s boarding pass in Google Wallet .
Elsewhere , there is AI Notes for summarising and formatting quarrel , while Magic Compose permit you rewrite school text and Intelligent Search let you explore inside all your files at once using lifelike linguistic process .
Some of the AI features feel a lilliputian like AI for AI saki , but the biggest issue on the software front is the lack of guaranteed update . You get four years of software package updates and six years of security update but with Samsung and Google both entrust to seven years of bone update , four is well below average .
Battery life
When it comes to battery life , the OnePlus 13R dead nails it . And when I say it nails it , I really mean it – it is brilliant . There ’s a immense 6,000mAh battery power this twist and check Netflix or acting game barely make a dent – we ’re babble out single - figure percentage drop in an hour for each .
You ’ll easily get a twenty-four hour period out of it , and reckon on what you do , I ’d go as far as to say you could get two years . After expend days testing the camera , playacting games , watch Netflix and doing day - to - mean solar day labor like emails , WhatsApp and messages , I finished most days at over 40 percent .
There ’s fast charging too , with OnePlus claim you’re able to charge it from 1 - 100 % in 52 proceedings when in smart speedy charge mode thanks to sustenance for 80W SuperVOOC . The job here is that you will need a compatible OnePlus or Oppo adapter for get those speeding and one does n’t fare in the box seat , so factor that into the cost of this twist if you do n’t have one and need to buy one separately .
I also did n’t attain 52 minutes – the fastest I managed was 90 minutes but that was with a non - OnePlus 96W charger as that was the big adapter I had at home . That said , that ’s still debauched and the OnePlus 13R did n’t get the flimsy bit warm during charging either .
There is also no radiocommunication charge available here , which is n’t a mountain breaker but it is something to regard . If you need a machine with wireless charging and similar operation , you could consider theXiaomi 14 T professional .
Should you buy it?
The OnePlus 13R has some excellent specs for its price , from a great screen and self-coloured operation , to a big battery that live on all daylight and dark .
If you ’re after the expert tv camera experience from OnePlus , or even the best camera experience at this price , then the OnePlus 13R is n’t that , even if it does have a nice main camera .
Final Thoughts
The OnePlus 13R might not have the up-to-the-minute fluid platform under its hood , but it ’s still an exceptionally able twist that propose cumulus of magnate , superb battery life-time and very fast charging .
There ’s a brilliant display too , an amend innovation and software experience , and you ’ll get firm results from the main camera as well , making this sound a gravid all - debauchee . I ’d like the Alert Slider to do more , the oxygen update committedness necessitate to be longer , and not all the camera detector are as unassailable as the main sensing element , but they are minor qualms overall .
The OnePlus 13R is a super sub - flagship twist that ’s splendid for gaming , public presentation , and battery life , whilst also feature a brilliant screen and a mix of other feature to make it one of the best phones of 2025 so far .
Trusted Score
How we test
We try out every mobile telephone we brush up soundly . We expend manufacture - received tests to compare features properly and we utilise the phone as our primary machine over the review full stop . We ’ll always differentiate you what we find and we never , ever , bear money to review a merchandise .
Find out more about how we examine in ourethics insurance policy .
FAQs
No , the OnePlus 13R does n’t number with a fast battery charger in the box , which is a shame as the OnePlus 12R came with a 100W SuperVOOC USB - A to USB - C charger in the box .
Yes , the OnePlus 13R is water - resistant . It has an IP rating of IP65 , though that does make it somewhat less debris insubordinate than other flagships .
No , the OnePlus 13R does n’t support wireless charging .
Full Specs
