Hello everyone, Pratima here! So for the past 10 days, I have been testing OnePlus’s latest phones – the 13 and the 13R. I will be coming up with the OnePlus 13 Review next week because it has just received new camera-focused updates so I am taking my time, and so, let's get into the OnePlus 13R Review!

Before stepping in, let's have a look at the specifications of the OnePlus 13R.

OnePlus 13R Specifications:

• Display: 6.78-inch ProXDR AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, LTPO 4.1 (1-120Hz)
• Resolution: 1.5K (2780 x 1264 pixels), 450 PPI
• Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 5G (TSMC 4nm)
• GPU: Adreno 750
• Memory: 12/16GB LPDDR5X RAM
• Storage: 256/512GB UFS 4.0 storage
• Software: Android 15-based OxygenOS 15
• Front Camera: 16MP, f/2.4 (punch-hole)
• Rear Camera: Triple (with LED flash)
  • 50MP Sony LYT-700 primary (OIS), 1/1.56″, f/1.8
  • 50MP Samsung JNU telephoto, 2x optical zoom
  • 8MP ultrawide, 112° FOV, f/2.2
• Battery: 6000mAh with 80W SuperVOOC charging (wired)
• Expected Price in Nepal: NPR 74,999 (12/256GB)

OnePlus 13R Review:

A New Design

For some INR 40,000 (NPR 64,000), Just like the 11R and 12R, I think the OnePlus 13R is also a solid upper midrange phone –. But I think OnePlus missed a Big opportunity this time to make this phone Perfect!

If I were Oneplus’s product manager, I would have looked at last year’s OnePlus 12R and said okay, so what improvements can I make with the 13R? And the first thing that I would do is NOT fix things that aren't broken.

But sadly, that's exactly what OnePlus did. They changed the whole design of the 13R. For me, this flat side frame feels uncomfortable to hold, whereas the OnePlus 12R felt more premium in my hands. And as soon as I switched to the more expensive OnePlus 13, it just felt so good.

The IP rating is not that appealing

Plus, the OnePlus 13R also only has an IP64 rating and coming in 2025, I just wish OnePlus had maybe included IP67 or 68 dust and water resistance! These days even 20,000 (Indian rupee) phones like the Moto Edge 50 Neo have IP68.

Another thing that's bugging me is the position of the fingerprint scanner. The OnePlus 12R had a perfect location in the middle, which we appreciated a lot last year, but now it is placed down below here, which is slightly difficult to reach. So, again why change if ain't broken?

Display 

Likewise, the OnePlus 13R has an inferior Gorilla Glass 7i display protection Versus the more robust GG Victus 2 we had with the 12R! Anyway, negatives aside, I absolutely love the display experience here. This is an easily A+ Flagship level display. It's super bright, it has 10-bit color depth, high PWM dimming, and both HDR 10+ and Dolby Vision support on OTT platforms.

Plus, the touch response is superb, and we get good color calibration out of the box. And, this is an LTPO 4.1 panel too, and I found it to be working quite well in the auto-refresh mode.

And I like how OnePlus will now be offering a lifetime screen warranty and free replacement if you get a green line issue on the OnePlus 13 series. OnePlus says that they have done a lot of tests and are investing a lot in R&D, so chances are the newer models won't be getting these green line issues.

And when I was buying this phone from the OnePlus store, one of the OnePlus representatives told me to register for “180 days of Phone replacement” from the setting over here. This means if my OnePlus 13 or 13R has any faulty hardware issues in the next 6 months, OnePlus will replace it for free. So, this is genuinely a Class Act from OnePlus. Really appreciate this effort!

Software

Ok, Another A+ aspect of the OnePlus 13R is the performance & the software experience. Although the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in here is last year’s flagship, it still is plenty powerful and should feel fast for the next 3 to 4 years for sure! I also like the base variant now comes with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

And this time, OnePlus is indeed offering UFS 4.0 storage, unlike the whole marketing disaster we saw with the OnePlus 12R where they said they were using UFS 4, but it had UFS 3.1. The UFS 4.0 storage on the OnePlus 13R is fast, but let me tell you that it's not as fast as the UFS 4.0 we get on the OnePlus 13, especially the Random Read and Write speeds, which are the metrics to look at for faster app installation and app opening.

Regardless, the OnePlus 13R feels very fast for a phone that costs just 40,000 Indian Rupees! One thing I instantly noticed is the animation feels very smooth this time.

Gaming

Even in terms of gaming, this is the best phone for the price right now. You can play PubG at 120fps with almost zero lags, and even high-GPU-intensive games like Genshin Impact run at smooth 60pfs with excellent stability at the highest graphics setting.

The only difference I found while playing PuBg on the OnePlus 13R Vs the OnePlus 13 are: No.1 the OnePlus 13 stays slightly cooler by at least 3 or 4 degrees, and No.2 during classic events when there are multiple players, the OnePlus 13 is slightly more optimized and it renders slightly faster so it feels less laggy than the 13R. So, if you are a pro gamer, you will notice this difference between a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and an 8 Elite.

Other than that, the software experience is really good here and we get up to the Android 19 update commitment too. Yes you do get some bloatware apps here & there, but you can disable them with just 2 taps, so it wasn't a big issue for me.

Haptics

What I am a little sad about is that the OnePlus 13R's haptics are not as good as the OnePlus 13. This is an X-axis vibration motor with o-haptics, but the feedback is not as sublime as you get on the OnePlus 13. Same with its speaker! It's super loud with plenty of bass, but the trebles aren't that great.

Battery

The OnePlus 13R also gets an easy A+ in battery endurance. That's pretty much the case with most Chinese phones in 2025 since all of them are using this new Silicon Carbon tech which allows for bigger 6000, 6500mAh, and even 7000mAh batteries to fit in a thinner form factor.

The 13R gets a 6000mAh unit and as you can see from these screenshots, I was easily getting 8 to 9 hours of SOT in my typical usage where I usually spent my time playing games for at least an hour, took a lot of camera samples, and watched at least 2 episodes of Shark Tank on Sony LIV, so easy 24-hour backup!

Thankfully, OnePlus does provide a free 80W fast charger inside the box here in India, unlike elsewhere where you don't get a charger inside the box. This 80W brick is technically a downgrade over the 100W brick we got with last year’s 12R, but as long as a free fast charger is there inside the box, I don’t want to complain.

Camera

Ok, let's go back to my earlier statement where I said OnePlus missed a Big opportunity this time to make this phone Perfect! And the main reason why I said this is they didn't improve the camera experience with this phone.

The cameras in here are just a “B” if I am being completely honest. OnePlus has used a Sony LTY 700 sensor which you see on plenty of 20 to 30K phones. And since there is no Hasselblad optimization like on the OnePlus 13, the photos I am getting from the main lens are inconsistent.

Sometimes, the images come out great like on these samples, they have plenty of detail, look sharp and have a wide dynamic range, but on many occasions, I found the whites and exposure levels are not very good. Highlights are not maintained properly.

I think OnePlus should have either included a Sony LTY 800 sensor or Hasselblad optimisation here like the OnePlus 13. But since there is neither of those, the OnePlus 13R camera is more like what you get with 30,000 phones!

Ultrawide

And that’s especially true when you switch to an Ultra-wide camera! It uses the same Sony IMX355 camera we first saw on OnePlus 10R 3 years ago. This 8MP Ultrawide camera is just so disappointing. The photos come out soft with limited dynamic range and details.

Plus, this Ultra-wide lens can't do 4K recording. So, when I am clicking videos from its main camera at 4K and I want to switch to an ultra-wide mode in the middle of recording, I just can't. For that, I have to click videos in 1080P, which feels like I am time-traveling to the past.

2x Telephoto

The third camera here is a 2X zoom lens from Samsung. And since the other two lenses are from Sony, the color science between all these 3 lenses is wildly different. So, it seems like OnePlus clearly wants you to upsell the OnePlus 13 if you want a better camera experience.

Fortunately, this 2X lens is somewhat useful while taking portraits. It's much sharper and has better subject focus and blur than what we got from last year.

But here too, I genuinely feel like instead of this 2X lens, they should have gone with a 3X lens. That in my opinion is a better focal length to take portraits. I am also currently testing the Realme 14 Pro+ – that phone has a 3X lens and clicks amazing portraits.

Selfie

Other aspects of the camera like the selfie is pretty nice though. It's vibrant, and has great dynamic range There is a caveat in the selfie camera though, you only get 1080p video recording support here, no 4k. The 1080p videos are decent, but having 4k would have been great!

OnePlus 13R Review: Conclusion

Ok, so let’s conclude the OnePlus 13R review, and let's imagine for a minute, that we are in a parallel universe, and I am the head of product for OnePlus. My ideal OnePlus 13R would look something like this.

I wouldn't have changed the design from last year. The display improvement is excellent, OnePlus has done great work with performance & software experience and the battery life is also top-notch. And I am somewhat fine with the IP64 rating, and speaker quality too. There are exactly 4 things I would change. First, I would have included the OnePlus 13’s vibration motor for a more refined typing experience. Second, I would have optimized the main camera by either including Hasselblad optimization like we get the OP13 or including a better bigger sensor. Third, I would have definitely given a 50 MP Ultrawide lens with autofocus that can also do 4K recording and take macro photos. And 4th, instead of the 2X zoom camera, I would have given a proper 3X periscope zoom lens. The same one we get on Realme midrange phones. That, in my opinion, would have made the OnePlus 13 “The perfect Premium Midrange Phone of 2025”. So, yeah, it's a real shame they have missed this opportunity!

OnePlus 13R Review: Conclusion

Pros

• Fast performance from SD 8 Gen 3
• Excellent display
• Terrific battery endurance

Cons