OnePlus created their own biggest competition: 13R Review

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Choice is a beautiful thing - and OnePlus is giving Canadians two stellar options when it comes to smartphones in 2025. The OnePlus 13 is the powerful smartphone with all the bells and whistles you could want in a new phone (with three beautiful new finishes).

The OnePlus 13R is the little brother device. But unlike a younger sibling who falls short when trying to copy their older and more capable sister or bro, the 13R knows how to keep up! After using the phone for nearly a month, side-by-side with the OnePlus 13, I'm excited to share my thoughts on why this phone, with only a few limitations, is such a great Android device!

Pros

Excellent cameras
High quality display
Optimized for mobile gaming

Cons

Can't buy through carriers
No wireless charging
Oxygen OS

Meet the OnePlus 13R

If you're buying a phone outright rather than going the subsidized carrier route, you want to make sure every penny you spend on that device counts.

Since OnePlus 13R can only be bought outright, it's not subsidized through carriers, it's important to make sure this phone has everything (and more) that you're going to need today, and a bit of headroom to grow for future security, performance, and feature updates that roll out in the coming years.

All indications in my testing so far with the OnePlus 13R is that this phone is designed to last.

Here's a quick rundown of what makes the OnePlus 13R so special:

Performance: It's powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, so you can expect lightning-fast speeds and smooth performance.
Gaming: The OnePlus 13R is a gaming beast! It supports 120fps gaming on BGMI, and it's the first phone to feature the OnePlus CPU Scheduler for even better performance (don't worry, you don't need to know how to use this, your phone will figure it out on it's own when you launch a game).
Display: The 1.5K 6.78-inch ProXDR display is shockingly good! This is NOT a budget display, even though this is, in theory, a budget phone.
Battery: With a massive 6,000mAh battery, this thing will last all day between charges.
Camera: The triple camera setup takes amazing photos and videos. It's got a 50MP primary sensor, a 50MP portrait sensor, and an 8MP ultrawide sensor.
OxygenOS 15: The latest version of OxygenOS is noticeably improved creating a very fluid experience - instead of being different for the sake of being different, the choices unique to OxygenOS over other Android experiences genuinely improve how you use the device

Because I have been going back and forth between the 13R and the 13, I expected my time on the 13R to feel limited in comparison, but truly this hasn't been the case. Yes, the OnePlus 13 is better than the 13R, but the differences are things that are in the "nice to have" rather than the "need to have" department.

Here's a couple things I've noticed while testing out the OnePlus 13R.

Stellar Performance

The OnePlus 13R is a powerhouse of a phone. It's got a superfast Snapdragon processor, plenty of RAM, and tons of storage space.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor: This is one of the fastest processors on the market, so you can expect smooth performance even when you're running demanding apps.

12GB of RAM: This is more than enough RAM for even the most demanding users, and still gives breathing room for more demanding apps and games down the road.

256GB of storage: This is a decent amount of space for your apps, photos, and videos. If you're using this phone for the long-haul, I could see needing to take advantage of some cloud storage for things like photos and videos.

Dual Cryo-Velocity Vapor Chamber: This keeps the phone cool when doing demanding processing like gaming (which we're about to dig into).

Is the OnePlus 13R good for gaming?

The OnePlus 13R is shockingly good for gaming! It's one of the first phones to support 120fps gaming on BGMI, and it does it without sacrificing picture quality. It's still tough to find mobile games that even run at 120fps, so this is definitely a future-proof display for gaming for many years.

The high performance is made possible thanks to the new frame interpolation technology, which creates the next frame with no latency.

The OnePlus 13R is also the first phone to feature the OnePlus CPU Scheduler. This allocates CPU resources more efficiently, so you can get even better gaming performance while trying to preserve your battery.

A great gaming experience also hinges on an excellent display, something which the OnePlus 13 has.

The 1.5K 6.78-inch ProXDR display is very easy on the eyes with incredibly sharp images.
ProXDR: This technology delivers amazing contrast and color accuracy.
AquaTouch 2.0: You can use the touchscreen even when it's wet or when you're wearing gloves.
Glove Mode: You can use the phone with gloves on, which is perfect for cold weather.

Outside of gaming, the movie-watching experience on this phone is very good. I tested it out on an airplane watching Bad Boys 3 - don't judge - and was impressed by the contrast and details.

Shredders Revenge Oneplus 13r Elo Controller

The audio quality is fine to good if you're using the device's built-in speaker system. I had an audiobook playing in the background for several hours off this phone while I was building a new standing desk and setting up my PC gaming station.

For your AV/gaming/entertainment needs, the 13R meets all expectations, except with gaming it far exceeds what I would've thought I would get from a phone that costs $849 Canadian.

Does the OnePlus 13R have good battery life?

The OnePlus 13R has a massive 6,000mAh battery. It's not exactly the same as the battery in the OnePlus 13 (which charges faster and is actually a dual 3,000mAh system), but it's very good overall.

You can expect to get a full day of use out of this battery, even if you're a heavy user.

Oneplus 13 And 13 R W Various Accessories

When it's time to charge, you can use the OnePlus fast charging tech to get a full charge in just 54 minutes. This does require a faster charger than the one included in the box, but hey! How exciting is it that you actually get a charging brick included with your phone, period?

Astral Trail Sidenote:

If you choose the Astral Trail colour for your OnePlus 13 and buy an official case. There's going to be a weird looking plastic sleeve with the case that kinda looks like a door hanger you'd put on your hotel room when you don't want to be disturbed. Keep this thing.

It somehow (I can't find a meaningful answer why) improves the charging connection with JUST the white version of the phone when it's in a case. This must have to do with the different materials used to achieve this finish.

OnePlus 13R Cameras

The OnePlus 13R has an amazing camera system. It's got a 50MP primary sensor, a 50MP portrait sensor, and an 8MP ultrawide sensor.

Here are some of the key camera features:

Sony LYT-700 sensor: This is a flagship sensor that delivers amazing image quality.

2x optical zoom: You can get closer to the action without sacrificing image quality.

Dual Exposure Algorithm: This captures sharp outlines and fills in extra light and color details.

Live Photo mode: This makes it easy to capture irreplaceable moments.

High Quality Video: Shoot up to 4K at 60fps

Additional Settings: Within the camera app, you'll find a document scanner, a retouch feature, and Pro Mode to dial in very precise camera settings.

There's a little bit of AI processing happening as you take your photos to adjust lighting and blur.

After you snap your photos, you can dig into a variety of AI photo editing tools to boost detail, remove unwanted objects and people, further reduce blur, or remove reflections.

Results vary a lot with these tools. Generally removing people was perfect. Drawing over certain objects to remove had more inconsistent results (sometimes to the point where they weren't usable, so I just reverted to the original).

Overall, I'd say the AI tools are on par with the experience of other phone makers who have been implementing these - it's early days. You can see the possibility, it just needs a bit more refinement.

Meet OxygenOS 15

OnePlus phones run on OxygenOS The OnePlus 13R runs on OxygenOS 15. It's built on Android but adds customizations and features to make your phone feel more personal.

Alongside the new phones, the new version of the OS, OxygenOS 15, also launched and includes:

Parallel processing: This makes the OS more responsive and smoother.

Smaller footprint: The OS takes up less storage space. This is important if you're keeping your phone for many years - there will be room for future updates

Redesigned user interface: The UI feels a bit more intuitive and user-friendly. Overall, less busy than previous versions of OxygenOS.

New Design & Style

Style is subjective, but I think the OnePlus 13R is a beautiful phone. It's made with Gorilla Glass 7i and has an aluminum frame. It comes in two colors: Astral Trail and Nebula Noir.

Here are some of the key design features of the OnePlus 13R:

Gorilla Glass 7i: This is a new type of glass that's more resistant to scratches.
Aluminum frame: This gives the phone a premium look and feel.
Firewall design: This helps to keep the phone cool during gaming.
IP65 water resistance: The phone can withstand dust and water.

What's the catch with the OnePlus 13R?

As far as budget-friendy Android phones go, OnePlus is delivering excellent value for your hard-earned cash. The power per penny ratio is extremely impressive.

But there's a few things that might deter you from picking up this phone:

No wireless charging If you've grown used to the convenience of wireless charging, and acquired a charger or two to place around the house, this will be a step back.

No expandable storage While 256 GB is a lot of storage, this phone is conceivably for people who upgrade very infrequently, so if you're storing 3+ years of photos, videos and apps, your device will fill up

OxygenOS This is also a matter of taste. OxygenOS is very easy to use, but if you've never seen it before, there's some "extra" things that might seem a bit confusing. While you can keep everything as-is "out of the box" this OS is really meant to be customized for the way you specifically use your phone. To get the most out of it, you need to spend a bit of time getting the appearance and navigation set up for your personal preferences.

Price To me, this is a very good deal for buying a smartphone outright. However, if you're used to buying through your carrier where the device is subsidized or financed over many bills, it could be an initial shock to drop $900+ after taxes on a new cell phone.

OnePlus 13R The Bottom Line

If you're in the market for a new Android phone and the OnePlus 13 is (understandably) out of your budget, then the OnePlus 13R is going to give you a very similar experience with very few compromises.

Smartphones

OnePlus13R

The OnePlus 13R is featured-packed. It doesn't have every bell and whistle that the OnePlus 13 has, but it has the features that count most in daily use. Plus it's one of the few phones that still comes with an included power adapter and free screen protector.

$849 at OnePlus

While the OnePlus 13 has a better professional camera array, arguably cooler finishes, and a ludicrously over-the-top water resistance (see video), most of these things aren't noticeable in your everyday use when comparing between the 13 and 13R

Many features are just shockingly good for a phone in this price category like the beautiful display, the exceptional performance for gaming, and the perks like an included charging adapter and screen protector.

If you're due for an upgrade to your Android phone and want to make sure the money you're spending on it goes a long way, the OnePlus 13R is an excellent choice!

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