The Feature We’ve All Been Waiting For
The OnePlus 13R marks a significant development in its camera series, introducing a telephoto lens-a feature long overdue for the mid-range smartphone enthusiast. Although it does not stand toe-to-toe with the flagship OnePlus 13, it does soften the usual corners cut in more affordable phones.
Priced at $600/€750 for a 12GB RAM and 256GB storage model, the 13R adds more to last year’s offering. This time around, the OnePlus 12R started from $500 for 8GB RAM and 128GB storage; but OnePlus offers better value regarding the specs on offer. There’s also a 16GB RAM and 512GB storage version, which comes for ₹50,000. The base variant with 12GB of RAM and 256GB storage variant will retail for ₹43,000.
Camera Upgrades: Telephoto Lens and More
OnePlus 13R comes with a 50MP telephoto camera to upgrade the photography game.
Main Camera
The primary camera boasts a 50MP Sony LYT-700 sensor with Optical Image Stabilization and 4K video recording at 60fps. This is an upgrade over the IMX890 sensor on the 12R and should provide better images.
Telephoto Lens
The new 50MP telephoto camera boasts a Samsung JN5 sensor combined with an aperture of f/2.0. It also includes a 47mm optical focal length while offering 2x optical zoom, perfect for portraits. You can even enable 4 times zoom without many quality losses on the device.
Other Cameras
It includes an 8MP ultra-wide camera that displays a 112° field of view along with a 16MP selfie camera fixed focus.
Performance: Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Upgraded Storage
The OnePlus 13R is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, an upgrade to the chip leading the predecessor, which used the Gen 2. It also packs 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage, up from UFS 3.1 storage on the 12R.
The phone ships with OxygenOS 15 based on Android 15, and it has the backing of 4 years of OS updates and 6 years of security patches, though it still doesn’t match Samsung’s, Google’s, and Apple’s support policies.
Battery and Charging: Bigger and Better
The battery on the OnePlus 13R is bigger, a 6,000mAh battery compared with the 12R’s 5,500mAh. SuperVOOC speeds however decrease to 80W here, but that’s enough to charge this phone full in 52 minutes (54 minutes in North America).
Design and Durability: Sleek and Robust
The 13R weighs just 206g despite the bigger battery and is 0.8mm thinner than before, while adding in an IP65 rating to protect against water jets. Adding to that is Aqua Touch 2.0, enabling the screen to work even when wet, with a Glove Mode to further enhance usability in extreme conditions.
The phone’s aluminum chassis comes in two colours: Astral Trail and Nebula Noir, while the screen protection is Gorilla Glass 7i.
Display: Brilliant Display
The LTPO OLED display has retained its 6.78-inch size, but it boasts a refresh rate of 1-120Hz, 10-bit color, support for HDR10+, and Dolby Vision. The peak brightness of 4,500 nits ensures that the screen is a great sight for any lighting condition.
Connectivity and Other Features
The OnePlus 13R also supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, and dual nano-SIM cards. But the USB-C port still utilizes USB 2.0 speeds, which is a real shame. On the bright side, the Alert Slider is still here.
Availability
Pre-orders for the OnePlus 13R are now live worldwide. At this price, this gets pretty great value with upgraded cameras, a powerful chipset, and even better durability-the makings of a great mid-segment warrior.
