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I have used the OnePlus 13 and the OnePlus 13R for the past month – through the 2024 holiday season and CES 2025– which means I put them through some of the lightest and busiest workloads. There is not much to complain about these new ones Android phonesthat I am adept at a little bit of everything. The OnePlus 13 premium has almost all the features you would expect in a modern flagship smartphone.
U OnePlus 13 starts at $900 for the base 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage version, slightly undercutting competitors, while OnePlus 13R it costs $600 – it has less specs than its sibling and lacks a few features. The updates of this generation are all finesse. Software is smoother, batteries last longer, screens are brighter, and phones are more water resistant. If you’re looking to switch phone brands, and battery life is the top priority on your list, these OnePlus phones are worth it.
Seeing Double
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The OnePlus 13 and 13R look identical, but they have some slight differences in their dimensions – the flagship has a 6.82-inch screen, while the cheaper phone has a 6.78-inch display. The most obvious difference between the pair is the Hasselblad branding on the OnePlus 13, plus the curved edges around the display. The OnePlus 13R has flat edges, which I prefer as they are easier to grip.
There is a fun marble pattern on the OnePlus 13 and a brushed look on the 13R, but neither is as good as last year. OnePlus 12 and 12R– emerald and ice blue were chef’s kiss. Here is it a nice Midnight Ocean color this year for the OnePlus 13, which has a luxurious microfiber vegan leather material, but I haven’t had a chance to try it.
OnePlus has finally upgraded the water resistance in its flagship device. It now gets a combined IP68 and IP69 rating, which means the OnePlus 13 can be submerged under water for 30 minutes up to 1.5 meters and can handle rain. That finally puts him on par with his peers. The display employs Ceramic Guard, which is OnePlus’ take on Apple’s Ceramic Glass, and is supposedly stronger than Gorilla Glass Victus found on other phones. Glass is still glass, and you should use a screen protector-my iPhone 16 Plus screen cracked during testing.
Speaking of screens, the 120-Hz OLED screens are sharp, colorful and smooth. The only difference apart from the size is the sharpness, although by default the OnePlus 13 is set to a lower resolution to save battery life. Both look amazing. My only complaint is that I had to manually adjust the brightness slider more often than on most other Android phones – these devices kept lowering the brightness a little too much for me.
The OnePlus 13R settles for an IP65 rating, which is fine in the rain, but it can’t survive a dip in the pool. It is also among the first to use Corning’s Gorilla Glass 7iwhich is a budget-to-midrange offering from the glass manufacturer, so don’t expect the same level of durability, although it should be comparable, if not slightly better than other phones around this price. The rest of the hardware is all on point, and the OnePlus Alert Slider makes me wish every phone had a sliding switch to transition from Mute, Vibrate, and Sound (ahem, Apple). I do not mind the egregiously large camera bump.
