If you’re able to’t swing a flagship phone, the 13R may be the next best thing.
TheOnePlus 13Rhas a big challenge ahead of it, and it only has its predecessor to blame.
In the U.K., there is no such ambiguity.
A photo before using AI reflection — note the glare in the upper left corner(Image credit: Future)
The OnePlus 13R costs 679, a 40 increase over what the OnePlus 12R cost.
The phone features an aluminum frame with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 7i providing protection against scratches and other damage.
OnePlus offers a choice of two colors the silver Astral Trail or the black Nebula Noir.
With HDR enabled, the OnePlus 13R’s screen got as bright as 746 nits.
Under similar circumstances, the Pixel 8a reached 1,329.
The Galaxy S24 FE has more accurate colors than either the OnePlus orGooglemodels.
This may be an instance where the numbers don’t tell the story.
I was better able to make out details on the OnePlus 13R screen.
So I wouldn’t dismiss its display as too dim, even with the low light-meter reading.
Color accuracy varies wildly depending on what display setting you use.
(the closer to zero, the more accurate the colors.)
The OnePlus 12R offered a dedicated macro lens, but OnePlus swaps that out for a 50MP telephoto camera.
Otherwise, the general camera specs remain unchanged from the OnePlus 12R.
An 8MP ultrawide shooter rounds out the rear camera setup.
Do these changes make a difference?
This photo of an elaborately decorated bench illustrates the different approaches the camera phones take.
The Pixel 8a favors a more balanced approach that yields more natural-looking shots.
In this case, however, the emphasis on color elevates the OnePlus photo.
So what happens when the light isn’t as abundant?
It’s harder to make out in the OnePlus 13R photo.
It also had a hard time getting all the details of my cat’s right eye.
Otherwise, the entirety of the cat’s body stays in focus.
I especially like how the individual purple lights appear as visible pinpoints in the OnePlus 13R photo.
The right side of my beard also gets caught up in the blur in some places.
And in the case of the Tensor G3-powered Pixel 8a, the OnePlus 13R posts much better Geekbench numbers.
It’s not all good news from our performance testing.
All of these features work together to detect rising heat and cool the phone down before performance falters.
And yet, clear it the OnePlus 13R did.
Nevertheless, both of the latest OnePlus phones have landed at the top of ourbest phone battery lifelist.
Neither of those times are within shouting distance of what the OnePlus 13R can do.
However, the charger that ships with the phone in the U.S. is a 55W SuperVooc Power Adapter.
That includes the OnePlus 13R, which offers the same AI capabilities you’ll find on the OnePlus 13.
I just wish the AI features on the OnePlus 13 series had some more polish.
AI Notes is a perfect example of my frustrations with OnePlus' approach to AI.
But it also started to rewrite my note, using a tone that sounded nothing like my own voice.
It’s a very blunt approach to AI when more exact tools are called for.
A photo before using AI reflection — note the glare in the upper left corner(Image credit: Future)
Other AI offerings on the OnePlus 13R work better.
Circle to Search is here, and it’s as effective as it is on any Android phone.
The Galaxy S24 FE receives seven years of updates, too.
A photo after using AI reflection — the glare is reduced, though not totally going(Image credit: Future)
But look at the changes OnePlus made with the 13R.
The OnePlus 12R lacked a telephoto lens so OnePlus added one to the new phone.
A photo before AI Eraser is used — the green arrow points to the person I’m erasing(Image credit: Future)
A photo after AI Eraser is used — the person is now gone(Image credit: Future)
