OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R review: Fast and smooth

I have been using it OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R over the past month — until the 2024 holiday season and CES 2025—meaning I gave them some of the lightest and busiest workloads. There’s not much to complain about with these new products Android phonepeople who are proficient in a little bit of everything. The premium OnePlus 13 has all the features you would expect in a modern flagship smartphone.

the OnePlus 13 starts at $900 for the base 12GB RAM and 256GB storage version, which is a bit cheaper than competitors, while the OnePlus 13R priced at $600—it has lower specs than its sibling and misses out on some features. The updates for this generation are all about refinement. The software is smoother, the battery lasts longer, the screen is brighter, and the phone is more water-resistant. If you’re looking to switch phone brands and battery life is number one on your list, then these OnePlus phones are worth considering.

Seeing double

OnePlus 13 (left) and OnePlus 13R (right)

Photo: Julian Chokkattu

The OnePlus 13 and 13R look identical but there are some slight differences in size – the flagship phone has a 6.82-inch display 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 more curved edges around the display. The OnePlus 13R has flat edges, which I prefer because they are easier to hold.

There’s a fun marble-like pattern on the OnePlus 13 and a sleek look on the 13R, but neither is as pretty as last year’s OnePlus 12 and 12R—emerald and ice blue are Chef’s kiss. There To be this year, there’s a beautiful “Midnight Ocean” colorway for the OnePlus 13, which features a luxurious-looking microfiber vegan leather, but I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet.

OnePlus has finally upgraded the water resistance on its flagship device. You now get a combined IP68 and IP69 rating, which means the OnePlus 13 can be submerged underwater for 30 minutes at a maximum depth of 1.5 meters and can withstand heavy rain. That finally puts it on par with its peers. The screen uses Ceramic Guard, the glass used by OnePlus is based on Apple’s ceramic glass and is said to be stronger than the Gorilla Glass Victus found on other phones. Glass is still glass and you should use a screen protector—mine iPhone 16 Plus The screen cracked during testing.

Talking about the display, the 120 Hz OLED display is sharp, colorful and smooth. The only difference besides size is sharpness, although by default the OnePlus 13 is set to a lower resolution to save battery. Both look gorgeous, but my only gripe is that I have to manually adjust the brightness slider more often than I do on most other Android phones—these devices keep dimming the brightness. too much for me.

The OnePlus 13R gets an IP65 rating, which is acceptable in the rain but may not survive a dip in the pool. It was also one of the first companies to use Corning’s Gorilla Glass 7i tempered glassThis is a mid-range offering from the glass maker, so don’t expect the same durability, although it’s comparable if not a little better than phones at this price point. The rest of the hardware is perfect, and the OnePlus Notification Slider makes me wish every phone had a slider switch to toggle between Mute, Vibrate, and Sound (ahem, Apple). I don’t mind the camera protrusion being too large.