5 issues I admire in regards to the OnePlus 13R, the brand new mid-range runner-up

Abstract

Alongside its flagship 13, OnePlus launched a mid-range 13R smartphone earlier this 12 months.
The 13R gives a lot of the flagship cellphone expertise at a decreased value.
Whereas not as high-end as its dearer sibling, there’s quite a bit to like in regards to the 13R, from construct high quality, to software program options, and all the pieces in between.

When OnePlus launched its latest duo of premium smartphones earlier this 12 months, the higher-end 13 mannequin naturally obtained a lot of the eye. When I reviewed the 13, I praised its design, its best-in-class water and dirt resistance, and its performant software program bundle. Whereas I proceed to adore the 13, I can not assist however really feel that its mid-range sibling, the 13R, deserves some love as effectively.

The 13R prices a full $300 lower than the usual 13, and OnePlus has managed to hit this worth level with out sacrificing the necessities. At a base asking worth of $600, the 13R competes straight with the Apple iPhone 16e, and it sits $100 above Google’s Pixel 9a , the present finest mid-ranger. After utilizing the OnePlus 13R in the true world, listed here are 5 features of the cellphone that I admire each day.

OnePlus 13R

The OnePlus 13R incorporates a shiny 6.7-inch AMOLED show, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset with loads of RAM and storage, and an enormous 6,000 mAh battery with 80W quick charging help.

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1 It does not skimp out on construct high quality

The 13R is machined out of aluminum and tempered glass

With regards to cellular devices, I am a fan of a well-executed exterior {hardware} design. Luckily, regardless of its mid-range price ticket, the OnePlus 13R incorporates a premium match and end, with a stable aluminum facet rail, and back and front panels made from Gorilla Glass 7i.

After all, there isn’t any titanium, next-gen Gorilla Glass Armor, or IP69 ingress protection to be discovered on the 13R, however that does not cease the handset from feeling and looking like 1,000,000 bucks. I am significantly keen on the etched glass end on my astral path (white) unit, which catches the sunshine in all the best methods after I’m out and about.

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A person holding the OnePlus 13 against a wooded area.

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2 It options cutting-edge silicon

The 13R comes with a strong flagship Snapdragon chipset

With regards to transport its smartphones with highly effective processing packages, OnePlus continues to By no means Settle. The 13R comes with the identical bleeding-edge Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset that powered lots of final 12 months’s finest Android flagships, together with the OnePlus 12 and the whole Samsung Galaxy S24 collection.

Qualcomm has since launched the all-new Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which gives yet one more step up in efficiency, however the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 stays a performant workhorse for all however essentially the most demanding of workflows. For almost everybody on the market — myself included — the 13R provides greater than sufficient efficiency headroom to final a number of years into the long run.

Black OnePlus 13T smartphone on black cloth.

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3 It does not ship with a lame macro digital camera

All three rear-facing cameras on the 13R are helpful

With final 12 months’s mid-range 12R, OnePlus opted to complement the rear wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle shooters with a measly 2-megapixel macro lens. We have seen this tactic earlier than: the additional optical sensor permits firms to boast of a ‘triple rear digital camera setup,’ regardless of the doubtful utility of a low-res devoted macro shooter.

Sensibly, with this 12 months’s OnePlus 13R, the corporate has elected to kick the unimpressive macro shooter to the curb, in favor of offering a genuinely helpful 2X telephoto lens. This new 50-megapixel f/2.0 sensor does not provide the 3X or 5X optical zoom vary that I’ve come to understand on higher-end smartphones, but it surely’s greater than serviceable for informal pictures.

OnePlus 13 in the woods with a purple/yellow background.

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4 Its battery pack is (comparatively) huge

There’s quite a lot of battery packed into the 13R’s comparatively skinny chassis

Regardless of the OnePlus 13R’s moderately svelte 0.31-inch (8 mm) thinness, the cellphone manages to squeeze in a reasonably huge 6,000mAh battery pack below the hood. In my expertise, this mix of {hardware} capability and software program optimizations makes for a cellphone that at all times lasts me via the day, regardless of taking dozens of photographs, streaming movies, and navigating by way of GPS.

The 13R tops up faster than many higher-end telephones, too: at 80W, the cellphone can cost to half capability in twenty minutes, and it may possibly attain most capability in below an hour. By comparability, the iPhone 16e lands at round 29W, and the Pixel 9a clocks in at 23W.

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5 Its OxygenOS 15 software program pores and skin is prime notch

I am a fan of the 13R’s fluid and feature-rich Android pores and skin

Earlier this 12 months, OnePlus hyped up its OxygenOS 15 software pores and skin that runs atop of Google’s Android 15 working system. In response to the corporate, one of many principal focuses of this software program launch was to supply a smoother interface, full with extra responsive gestures and cleaner animations.

In follow, the OnePlus 13R is about as silky clean as another premium smartphone I’ve ever encountered. The whole lot is snappy and performant, regardless of the pores and skin’s abundance of baked-in tweaks and customization instruments. In my private expertise, I discover OxygenOS to be higher balanced by way of its feature-to-simplicity ratio than, say, Samsung’s OneUI different.

This machine was supplied to Pocket-lint by OnePlus.