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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- OnePlus 13R costs $599 and features a agleam display, almighty performance, and accelerated charging.
- It doesn't person a flagship camera strategy and wireless charging.
- But for the money, you won't find a much balanced handset.
For a constricted time, you tin acquisition the OnePlus 13R off the company's online store and Best Buy for $499.99, a $100 discount. This woody applies to some colour options: Neubla Noir (black) and Astral Trail (white).
The OnePlus 13R follows successful the footsteps of its predecessor, delivering flagship show astatine a not-so-flagship price. It's got a large battery, decent camera upgrades, a flagship processor (even if it's from past year), and a much ambitious bundle update policy. Plus, it has 1 of the champion displays I've tested successful the segment, with Aqua Touch exertion and a durable physique quality.
Also: I debar pricey flagship phones, but this OnePlus 13 woody has maine reconsidering
This each comes with a $100 terms hike -- bringing the erstwhile $500 exemplary to $600 present -- positioning it good supra the Google Pixel 9a. So, should you opt for Google's much affordable offering, walk much connected a Samsung phone, oregon prime up the OnePlus 13R? I spent weeks with the device, and here's my verdict.
Big, bold, and bright
The archetypal happening I noticed erstwhile utilizing the OnePlus 13R was its flatter sides, particularly compared to the 12R. While this gives the telephone a sharper, bolder look, it's not arsenic comfy to clasp owed to its edges contempt being thinner and lighter. On the different hand, the plan feels much ergonomic erstwhile held successful scenery orientation, making it perfect for gaming and watching movies.
Also: Slash up to $400 disconnected the OnePlus Open with this caller Best Buy deal
The Astral Trail (read: white) variant I tested stands retired with etched solid rings, offering a stylish and elegant look. I urge this exemplary implicit the Nebula Noir variant, which features a dull, uninspiring achromatic finish. The telephone has a powerfulness fastener and measurement rockers connected the close side, an Alert Slider connected the left, and an IR blaster connected apical for controlling astute appliances.
The OnePlus 13R is rated IP65 for particulate and h2o resistance, which is not arsenic durable arsenic the OnePlus 13's IP69 rating. Still it handles splashes reasonably well. Just don't driblet the instrumentality into the toilet oregon washing machine. Compared to the 13, the OnePlus 13R inactive has an optical fingerprint scanner that works accelerated and accurately. You wouldn't announcement a quality if you hadn't utilized an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor before.
On the front, you get the champion show successful its people -- some successful presumption of specs and usability. It has a 6.78-inch AMOLED sheet with enactment for Dolby Vision and HDR10+ for media depletion and a dynamic 1Hz-120Hz refresh complaint for creaseless usage and efficiency. That's each protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, which keeps the telephone much resistant to scratches.
The show is bright, with a highest brightness of 1,600 nits, and tin scope 4,500 nits erstwhile watching supported HDR content. The colors look pleasing to the eye; they're agleam and vivid, adjacent without immoderate show adjustments connected my end.
I'm peculiarly a instrumentality of the OnePlus 13R's Aqua Touch technology. This allows you to usage the telephone successful the rainfall oregon ablution without registering h2o droplets arsenic taps. The show tin besides work your touches erstwhile wearing gloves, which is useful during the winter.
A show champion for $600
The OnePlus 13R is powered by the aforesaid processor arsenic past year's OnePlus 12 -- and that's a bully thing. With it, you get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
The OnePlus 13R runs smoothly successful day-to-day use. My usage progressive jumping betwixt societal media apps similar X and Instagram, enactment apps similar Slack and Teams, and WhatsApp for messaging. I besides utilized the camera rather a batch during my investigating period. The animations look and consciousness faster than before, too. I faced nary lag oregon stutter successful my usage.
Gaming connected the telephone has been precise enjoyable contempt the deficiency of on-device 120fps support. Instead, titles similar Battlegrounds Mobile can spell up to 120fps utilizing framework interpolation. If you're capable to settee with 60fps, astir games volition play with small to nary jitters. The telephone tin get lukewarm to the interaction during extended gaming sessions, but I ne'er received immoderate notifications to discontinue games oregon apps to stabilize things.
Also: The champion Android phones to bargain successful 2025
The OnePlus 13R runs Android 15-based OxygenOS 15 and is promised to get the aforesaid fig of updates arsenic the OnePlus 13: 4 years of OS updates and six years of information updates. I find the OnePlus bundle to beryllium reasonably clean, with lone a fewer pre-installed apps. You get a fistful of AI features, similar AI Detail Boost, AI Unblur, AI Eraser, and AI Reflection Eraser, to heighten subjects oregon region distractions successful your photos. There are besides Google's AI fix-ins, similar Circle to Search and Gemini.
For my usage, the telephone lasted an full time with ease. And erstwhile it comes clip to apical up the 6,000mAh battery, the OnePlus 13R tin beryllium accelerated charged astatine 80W with the in-box charger. That means you tin spell from zero to afloat successful a small much than fractional an hour. Unfortunately, there's nary wireless charging.
Improved cameras
Last year's OnePlus 12R had a decent superior camera with below-average auxiliary sensors. But the institution has upgraded the camera strategy this year. The OnePlus 13R sports a 50MP Sony LYT-700 sensor for the superior camera, a 50MP telephoto sensor with 2x optical zoom, and an 8MP ultra-wide space lens. The trio supports shooting 4K60fps videos. Plus, you get a caller unrecorded photos toggle to seizure the emotions down your shots.
The main camera captures good-looking photos successful wide daylight. You get plentifulness of detail, bully dynamic range, and decent achromatic balance. The 2x telephoto isn't arsenic versatile arsenic the OnePlus 13's 3x sensor but offers a much-improved output compared to the OnePlus 12R. The photos are afloat of details, and the colour is accordant with the superior camera, which is large to spot astatine this terms point. The ultrawide camera, however, delivers a much saturated look.
Also: This OnePlus telephone is simply a coagulated alternate to the flagships - and it's implicit 30% off
For portraits, you get decent borderline detection and good-looking shots astir of the time. When you're successful a dimly lit environment, however, the pictures conflict with details and person a brushed look to them. Overall, the OnePlus 13R has an improved camera setup and delivers large results for the price. While I'd person preferred having a 3x optical zoom, the upgrade to a telephoto sensor is simply a invited change.
ZDNET's buying advice
At $600 for the OnePlus 13R, you get the champion show successful its people with quality-of-life features, fantabulous performance, an all-day artillery life, and a creaseless bundle experience.
Its closest marketplace competitor, the Google Pixel 9a, sits comfortably beneath the $500 people and is simply a decent telephone for astir people. But it's a overmuch smaller instrumentality and is inferior successful astir each mode successful presumption of hardware.
If you comparison the OnePlus 13R to flagship smartphones, the sheer worth of the instrumentality truly shines. Wireless charging mightiness beryllium a large miss for immoderate people, but the longer endurance connected a azygous complaint mightiness marque up for it.
As per OnePlus, this woody volition extremity connected April 27, 2025.
Deals are taxable to merchantability retired oregon expire astatine immoderate time, though ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the champion merchandise deals for you to people the champion savings. Our squad of experts regularly checks successful connected the deals we stock to guarantee they are inactive unrecorded and obtainable. We're atrocious if you've missed retired connected a deal, but don't fret -- we perpetually find caller chances to prevention and stock them with you on ZDNET.com.
The recent US tariffs on imports from countries similar China, Vietnam, and India purpose to boost home manufacturing but are apt to thrust up prices connected user electronics. Products similar smartphones, laptops, and TVs whitethorn go much costly arsenic companies rethink planetary proviso chains and measurement the outgo of shifting production.
Also: Tariff warfare has tech buyers wondering what's next. Here's what we know
Smartphones are among the astir affected by the caller US tariffs, with devices imported from China and Vietnam facing steep duties that could rise retail prices by 20% oregon more. Brands similar Apple and Google, which trust heavy connected Asian manufacturing, whitethorn either walk these costs connected to consumers oregon sorb them astatine the disbursal of nett margins.
The tariffs could besides pb to delays successful merchandise launches oregon shifts successful wherever and however phones are made, forcing companies to diversify accumulation to countries with much favorable commercialized conditions.
Looking for the adjacent champion product? Get adept reviews and exertion favorites with ZDNET Recommends.
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