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

When OnePlus launched its latest duo of premium smartphones earlier this yr, 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 nicely.

The 13R prices a full $300 lower than the usual 13, and OnePlus has managed to hit this value level with out sacrificing the necessities. At a base asking value of $600, the 13R competes immediately 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 actual world, listed here are 5 elements of the cellphone that I admire every day.

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1 It does not skimp out on construct high quality

The 13R is machined out of aluminum and tempered glass

In relation to cellular devices, I am keen on a well-executed exterior {hardware} design. Happily, regardless of its mid-range price ticket, the OnePlus 13R contains a premium match and end, with a stable aluminum aspect rail, and back and front panels product of Gorilla Glass 7i.

After all, there is not 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 notably 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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2 It options cutting-edge silicon

The 13R comes with a robust flagship Snapdragon chipset

In relation to delivery 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 a lot of final yr’s finest Android flagships, together with the OnePlus 12 and all the Samsung Galaxy S24 sequence.

Qualcomm has since launched the all-new Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which gives 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 presents greater than sufficient efficiency headroom to final a number of years into the longer term.

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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 yr’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 yr’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, nevertheless it’s greater than serviceable for informal pictures.

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4 Its battery pack is (comparatively) huge

There’s numerous battery packed into the 13R’s comparatively skinny chassis

Regardless of the OnePlus 13R’s fairly svelte 0.31-inch (8 mm) thinness, the cellphone manages to squeeze in a reasonably huge 6,000mAh battery pack beneath 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 images, 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 could possibly attain most capability in beneath 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 yr, OnePlus hyped up its OxygenOS 15 software pores and skin that runs atop of Google’s Android 15 working system. In line with the corporate, one of many major 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 easy as another premium smartphone I’ve ever encountered. Every little thing 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 when it comes to its feature-to-simplicity ratio than, say, Samsung’s OneUI different.

This system was supplied to Pocket-lint by OnePlus.

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