The OnePlus 13R reminds me why I fell in love with OnePlus in the first place. The company has done a fantastic job in 2025 returning to its roots, providing excellent performance at a fair price. In my review, I gave the OnePlus 13R a 9 out of 10, highlighting it as an early leader for the best midrange phone of the year. OnePlus packed the 13R with enough performance to make you forget you’re using a $600 device. Here are my 5 favorite OnePlus 13R features that make it such excellent value.


Read our review


The OnePlus 13R will make you forget you’re using a sub-$600 phone

Impressive performance at great value



2

5

Display

A gorgeous panel at any price

OnePlus 13R showing off cat wallpaper

No matter how many times I pick up the OnePlus 13R, I can’t help but notice how gorgeous its display is. The 13R features a vibrant 6.78-inch LTPO 4.1 AMOLED panel with a resolution of 1264×2780 and a 120Hz refresh rate. Although you’ll rarely test the phone’s 4,500nits max brightness, the OnePlus 13R does provide a pleasant outdoor viewing experience. I love watching movies on the OnePlus 13R, and games look terrific thanks to the saturated colors.

In addition, I found the software settings for the OnePlus 13R display helpful. OnePlus allows us granular control over the display temperature, above and beyond the numerous display profiles you can choose from. It’s an excellent way to fine-tune a panel to your tastes, and it’s a feature I wish more Android manufacturers would adopt. I like the default screen temperature, as it has a slight warmth that reminds me of older OnePlus phones.

4

Performance

The OnePlus 13R plows through with ease

OnePlus 13R displaying soccer game, hands gripping phone tightly

The main highlight of the OnePlus 13R is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 under the hood. It may not be the latest and greatest flagship chipset anymore, but it still screams and provides more than enough horsepower when considering the 13R’s modest $600 price tag. The SD8G3 is a monster, especially with 12GB of RAM and fast UFS 4.0 storage in support. I have no problem playing AAA mobile games with fantastic frame rates at high settings. Genshin Impact runs smoothly, and you’ll enjoy every moment in Pokémon Go.

I love several things about the OnePlus 13R, but the power and performance set it apart from the competition and return OnePlus to its roots. The company was always at its best when offering high-powered smartphones for less than you’d expect. You may not get the same fit-and-finish as the more expensive OnePlus 13, but you save a few hundred dollars.

3

Battery

Glad to see someone increase battery sizes in 2025

OnePlus 13R with its signature red cable

Unlike Samsung, OnePlus felt compelled to increase the battery size in its phones for 2025. Last year’s OnePlus 12R already had an impressive 5,500mAh battery, but OnePlus went a step further this year, fitting the 13R with a massive 6,000mAh cell. Companies always claim two-day battery life from their products, but few deliver on that promise — not the case with the OnePlus 13R. I had multiple occasions when I forgot to charge my phone and made it through the next day without breaking a sweat.

Of course, the OnePlus 13R’s impressive battery size and charging speeds are also noteworthy. As expected, the 13R includes SuperVOOC wired charging, which offers blistering speeds. OnePlus includes a 55W power adapter in the box, but the 13R supports up to 100W charging with an additional power brick — higher speeds than any other midrange phone available in the US.

2

Camera

I can’t complain about the photos

Close-up shot of OnePlus 13R's camera module on table

OnePlus mercifully removed the 2MP macro lens on the 12R in favor of a 50MP 2x optical zoom on the 13R. The 50MP telephoto joins a 50MP primary sensor and an 8MP ultrawide lens to provide a more versatile camera system than I expected from a midrange OnePlus phone. If you’re a shutterbug, you’ll still be served best by a Pixel 8a for less money, but as a compliment to round out an otherwise excellent phone, I’m pleased with the cameras on the OnePlus 13R.

I was surprised by how good night photography is on the phone. I expected photos to be soft, losing detail and color as the lighting worsened, but that wasn’t the case. I wouldn’t confuse the images with anything from Night Sight on your Pixel, but the detail was impressive compared to what I usually get from a OnePlus device. If you’ve previously held back on trying out a OnePlus because of shoddy photography, this is the year you should give the company another look.

1

Software

OxygenOS took a minute, but it’s finally running well

Fluid Cloud running on the OnePlus 13R

I’ve been a vocal critic of OxygenOS ever since OnePlus decided to integrate elements of ColorOS into its software. The initial effort with OxygenOS 12 was a disaster, and I feel OnePlus has been trying to claw back to even par ever since. With OxygenOS 15, I think OnePlus regained the ground it lost and then some. It’s a fantastic experience on the OnePlus 13R. While some may criticize the new aesthetic, borrowing heavily from iOS, I appreciate that OnePlus allows us to turn off many of the changes — reverting to what we had before.

I love that OnePlus upped its game with support software, at least getting closer to the years offered by Google and Samsung with their midrange devices. The company promises four major Android upgrades and six years of security updates, which is close enough for me to look favorably on the OnePlus 13R, especially given its advantages over the Pixel 8a and Galaxy S24 FE.

It’s shaping up to be a good year for OnePlus

If you haven’t considered a OnePlus device before, 2025 is an excellent time to take a closer look. The company made many excellent decisions on its recent smartphones, and the OnePlus 13R is incredible value for $600. I rarely give 9 out of 10 review scores to devices, but the OnePlus 13R made it hard not to appreciate its fantastic blend of power, battery life, and value. You may not get all the fancy software features of something like Galaxy AI, but if you need a phone to be a phone, the OnePlus 13R is the device you want.

OnePlus 13R render

OnePlus 13R

The OnePlus 13R takes one of our favorite midrange phones from last year a step further. It still features a gorgeous 6.78-inch AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. However, OnePlus added a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with 12GB of RAM for 2025, with faster UFS 4.0 storage. The OnePlus 13 is a great performer, all for $600.