The OnePlus 13R is a selected sort of midrange telephone for a selected sort of particular person.
It’s a pared-down model of the OnePlus 13 — which is a full-on flagship and a very good one at that. And despite the fact that it shares lots of the flagship DNA, the 13R lacks peace-of-mind options current on the Google Pixel 9A, like full water resistance and new OS variations for seven years. It’s additionally not precisely low-cost, with an MSRP of $599. But when all that reduces its mass attraction, the 13R makes up for it in two key locations: battery life and display screen. Is it value shopping for over the $499 Pixel 9A? That depends upon the actual sort of particular person you’re.
$499
The OnePlus 13R is a pared-down model of the corporate’s flagship telephone, and it provides glorious battery life and an excellent display screen for the worth.
The 13R provides a giant 6.78-inch OLED panel with a variable refresh fee as much as 120Hz, and its 1264 x 2780 decision is sufficient to hold issues sharp. You’ll have a tough time discovering one other display screen this huge and fancy on a midrange telephone, not less than one offered within the US. It’s lots shiny in direct solar, and it maintains its peak brightness nicely. The always-on show is difficult to see within the solar with out waking the display screen, however that’s a minor criticism.
The 13R has an IP65 score, that means it’s absolutely mud resistant and may face up to some critical splashes. Nevertheless it’s not assured to resist full immersion in water, and loads of fashionable telephones on this worth bracket are. The iPhone 16E and Pixel 9A supply IP68 water resistance, as does the pricier OnePlus 13. Most 13R house owners in all probability received’t have an issue with this, nevertheless it doesn’t sit tremendous nicely with me that the entire main competitors at this worth provides higher water resistance.
OnePlus made compromises to maintain the 13R’s worth down, however efficiency isn’t one among them. It comes with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, final 12 months’s top-tier chipset, which continues to be a banger in 2025. There’s additionally 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage within the base mannequin. That’s loads of energy to maintain it operating easily, and nothing I might throw at it in my day-to-day gave it hassle. It by no means a lot as flinched doing my little day by day chores and scrolling, and it barely warmed up throughout an prolonged free roam session in Pocket Metropolis 2.
I used the telephone with the always-on show and high-performance mode enabled, plus a beneficiant display screen time-out setting as a result of generally I would like to have a look at a recipe 20 occasions earlier than I bear in mind what number of teaspoons of sesame oil it requires. All these issues drain the battery quicker, however I by no means bought decrease than 50 % by the tip of the day, even on days with lengthy bike rides tracked on Strava and prolonged TikTok scrolling periods. This can be a two-day battery for most individuals, and that’s in all probability one thing that folks need proper now greater than gimmicky AI options, that are blissfully minimal on the 13R.
OnePlus has promised 4 main OS upgrades and 6 years of safety updates for the 13R, which is best than the corporate has executed up to now and can in all probability be sufficient for most individuals who purchase this telephone. However Google provides seven years of OS upgrades on the 9A on high of frequent safety updates. In the event you’re trying to squeeze as a few years out of your system as potential, the 9A could be a more sensible choice, even at its $100 decrease MSRP.
One thing else the 9A provides that the 13R doesn’t? Wi-fi charging. The OnePlus 13R provides speedy wired charging — as much as 55W with the included charger. That’s useful for those who want a fast high off in the course of the day or wish to cost your telephone whilst you deal with your morning routine. However you’ll get 0 for those who drop it on a wi-fi charger stationed in your nightstand, which I did, and couldn’t determine why it wasn’t charging till I remembered. Not everybody cares about wi-fi charging, and quick charging can turn out to be useful, however for $599 you must not less than have the choice to cost wirelessly.
The 13R consists of three rear cameras: a 50-megapixel f/1.8 stabilized important, 50-megapixel f/2.0 2x telephoto, and an 8-megapixel ultrawide. Photograph high quality is nice general, and the 2x telephoto digital camera is an enchancment over the low-res macro digital camera on final 12 months’s mannequin. Photos have a tendency towards a shiny aesthetic that I discover a little bit a lot at occasions, and high quality element is fairly crunchy for those who look shut. However for those who give it good lighting and a photogenic topic, it’ll do them justice.
“How a lot does this telephone price?” is a query I’m continuously attempting to reply. On this case, the reply is simply as sophisticated as all the time. The 13R’s MSRP is $599, however proper now it’s marked all the way down to $499 from OnePlus and Greatest Purchase — no limited-time deal or something, only a straight up hundred greenback low cost. Is {that a} without end worth? What occurs if tariffs truly hit? Unclear!
Truthfully, $499 looks like the proper worth for this telephone and $599 looks like only a bit an excessive amount of for a telephone missing wi-fi charging and an IP68 score. The 13R provides sturdy battery life and an excellent display screen for its class, and if these are your high priorities, then it is a strong decide. However for everybody else, I believe there’s a greater possibility within the Pixel 9A.
Images by Allison Johnson / The Verge
Comply with Proceed: OnePlus 13 and 13R
Each sensible system now requires you to conform to a sequence of phrases and situations earlier than you need to use it — contracts that nobody truly reads. It’s inconceivable for us to learn and analyze each single one among these agreements. However we began counting precisely what number of occasions you must hit “agree” to make use of units after we evaluate them since these are agreements most individuals don’t learn and undoubtedly can’t negotiate.
To make use of the OnePlus 13 and 13R, you want to conform to:
- OnePlus’ Finish Person License Settlement and Privateness Coverage
- Google’s Privateness Coverage and Phrases of Service
- Google Play Phrases of Service
- Set up updates and apps: “You agree this system might also mechanically obtain and set up updates and apps from Google, your service, and your system’s producer, presumably utilizing mobile information. A few of these apps might supply in-app purchases.”
There are additionally a number of optionally available agreements that you want to get previous throughout setup:
- Participation in Co-Creation Person Applications, which incorporates built-in app updates, push notifications for surveys and product updates, and system stability reporting
- Assistant Voice Match
- Backup to Google Drive: “Your backup consists of apps, app information, name historical past, contacts, system settings (together with Wi-Fi passwords and permissions), and SMS.”
- Use location: “Google might gather location information periodically and use this information in an nameless manner to enhance location accuracy and location-based companies.”
- Enable scanning: “Enable apps and companies to scan for Wi-Fi networks and close by units at any time, even when Wi-Fi or Bluetooth is off.”
- Ship utilization and diagnostic information: “Assist enhance your Android system expertise by mechanically sending diagnostic, system and app utilization information to Google.”
In complete, that’s six necessary agreements and 6 optionally available agreements.