I have been utilizing the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R for the previous month—via the 2024 vacation season and CES 2025—which implies I’ve put them via a number of the lightest and busiest workloads. There’s not a lot to complain about on these new Android phones, that are adept at just a little little bit of all the things. The premium OnePlus 13 has nearly all of the options you’d anticipate in a modern-day flagship smartphone.
The OnePlus 13 begins at $900 for the bottom 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage model, undercutting opponents barely, whereas the OnePlus 13R prices $600—it has lesser specs than its sibling and misses out on a number of options. The updates to this technology are all about finesse. The software program is smoother, the batteries last more, the screens are brighter, and the telephones are extra waterproof. Should you’re trying to change telephone manufacturers and battery life is the primary precedence in your record, these OnePlus telephones are price contemplating.
Seeing Double
The OnePlus 13 and 13R look equivalent however have some slight discrepancies of their dimensions—the flagship has a 6.82-inch display screen whereas the cheaper telephone has a 6.78-inch show. The obvious distinction between the pair is the Hasselblad branding on the OnePlus 13, plus the curvier edges across the show. The OnePlus 13R has flat edges, which I desire as they’re simpler to seize.
There is a enjoyable marble-like sample on the OnePlus 13 and a brushed look on the 13R, however neither is as good-looking as final yr’s OnePlus 12 and 12R—the emerald and ice blue have been chef’s kiss. There is a pleasant “Midnight Ocean” shade this yr for the OnePlus 13, which has a luxe-looking microfiber vegan leather-based materials, however I did not get an opportunity to attempt it.
OnePlus has lastly upgraded the water resistance on its top-end machine. Now, you get a mixed IP68 and IP69 score, that means the OnePlus 13 will be submerged underwater for half-hour as much as 1.5 meters and might deal with heavy rain. That lastly places it on par with its friends. The show employs Ceramic Guard, which is OnePlus’ tackle Apple’s Ceramic Glass, and it is purportedly stronger than Gorilla Glass Victus discovered on different telephones. Glass continues to be glass, and it is best to use a display screen protector—my iPhone 16 Plus display screen cracked throughout testing.
Talking of screens, the 120-Hz OLED shows are sharp, colourful, and clean. The one distinction aside from measurement is sharpness, although by default the OnePlus 13 is about to a decrease decision to avoid wasting battery life. Each look beautiful, however my solely gripe is that I needed to manually alter the brightness slider extra usually than on most different Android telephones—these units simply stored decreasing the brightness just a little an excessive amount of for me.
The OnePlus 13R settles for an IP65 score, which is OK with rain however might not survive a dip within the pool. It is also among the many first to make use of Corning’s Gorilla Glass 7i, which is a funds to midrange providing from the glass maker, so do not anticipate the identical degree of sturdiness, although it needs to be comparable if not barely higher than telephones round this value. The remainder of the {hardware} is all spot on, and the OnePlus Alert Slider makes me want each telephone had a sliding change to transition from Mute, Vibrate, and Sound (ahem, Apple). I do not thoughts the egregiously giant digicam bump.
