There's exciting news in the world of phones, as the OnePlus 13 has launched in China, and details are emerging about the version that's going to ship to the rest of the world, presumably at some point in early 2025. While there's plenty of reason to be excited for the latest OnePlus flagship — on the Android side of things, premium devices from OnePlus rival the best phones from Samsung and Google — it's another upcoming OnePlus release that I'm paying attention to.
I want to see what OnePlus has planned for the OnePlus 13R.
The R series devices from OnePlus are scaled-back versions of the phone maker's flagships. Much like the Pixel 8a has some, though not all of the features of Google's Pixel 8, an R series device sacrifices some of the more premium features of a OnePlus flagship to deliver a still very capable midrange phone. The difference is, that Google staggers the release of the A series phone and the flagship it mimics — OnePlus releases its two models simultaneously.
I reviewed the OnePlus 12R, and it was one of my favorite phones to come out in the past year. I'm very eager to see if the OnePlus 13R can capture lightning in a bottle for the second consecutive year.
What makes the OnePlus 12R so great
The OnePlus 12R marked the first time a R series device had shipped outside of China or India, and it turned out to be quite a revelation. While OnePlus scaled back some of the features on the OnePlus 12 to deliver the 12R at a lower price, the changes weren't too much of a hardship to endure.
For instance, the OnePlus 12 runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which was the best available Android silicon at the time delivering performance that could match the iPhone 15 models in many cases. While the OnePlus 12R didn't enjoy the benefits of that top chipset, it took only a modest step back to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 released in 2022. That meant still-impressive performance that easily topped other midrange Android device as well as more efficient power management — the OnePlus 12R current sits at No. 2 on our best phone battery life list.
The cameras on the OnePlus 12R turned out to make the biggest sacrifice from OnePlus' flagship. The midrange phone lacks the Hasselblad partnership that has elevated camera performance for premium OnePlus phones. The 12R also drops the OnePlus 12's telephoto lens for a macro sensor. As a result, the OnePlus 12R's pictures don't look quite as good quite as consistently, but I found the cameras to be serviceable in my testing.
At the end of the day, the OnePlus 12R proved to be a great addition to the smartphone market, giving bargain-conscious shoppers another option. I said at the time that 12R may have been the first R series to reach the wider world, but I certainly hope it wouldn't be the last. And with the OnePlus 13R, it sounds like I'm getting my wish.
OnePlus 13R: What's coming
While OnePlus launched the OnePlus 13 in China at the end of October, the 13R was nowhere to be seen. Yet I'm pretty confident we're going to get a OnePlus 13R whenever the phone maker holds its global launch for its new flagship, which would likely happen in early 2025, if OnePlus sticks to the timing of the OnePlus 12 launch.
It's a good sign that OnePlus 13R rumors have emerged, and to date, they've been pretty encouraging. With the OnePlus 13 set to feature the new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, a report has the OnePlus 13R running on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 that powered the OnePlus 12. That would suggest OnePlus is sticking with the last-year's-toop-silicon strategy it used with the OnePlus 12R.
While OnePlus launched the OnePlus 13 in China at the end of October, the 13R was nowhere to be seen. Yet I'm pretty confident we're going to get a OnePlus 13R whenever the phone maker holds its global launch for its new flagship, which would likely happen in early 2025, if OnePlus sticks to the timing of the OnePlus 12 launch.
It's a good sign that OnePlus 13R rumors have emerged, and to date, they've been pretty encouraging. With the OnePlus 13 set to feature the new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, a report has the OnePlus 13R running on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 that powered the OnePlus 12. That would suggest OnePlus is sticking with the last-year's-toop-silicon strategy it used with the OnePlus 12R.
If so, that's great news. Phones powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 routinely best even the latest iPhones in graphics benchmarks, and the scores on general performance tests like Geekbench aren't that far off. Imagine, getting a midrange Android phone that's only a step or two behind the iPhone 16.
Running on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 would also put the OnePlus 13R in a great position to top the 12R's 18-hour time on our battery test. (The gaming-focused Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro is the only other phone we've tested lately to last more than 18 hours.) Also a potential boost to battery life: the same report that tips the OnePlus 13R to run on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 also has the phone powered by a 6,000 mAh batter life. The OnePlus 12R had a beefy 5,500 mAh power pack.
Not all the OnePlus 13R rumors have been encouraging. One that emerged last week suggested the new phone would have 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. While that sounds great on paper — who wouldn't want that kind of memory and on-board capacity — it's worth remember that the OnePlus 12R featured two different storage configurations in the U.S. And that 128GB model was the one that cost less than $500; otherwise, you had to pay $599 for the 256GB version. In the UK, you didn't even have the option of the cheaper model with less storage.
I'm not suggesting that the 256GB model was a bad deal, but a large part of the OnePlus 12R's appeal was tied up in the fact that you could pay $499 and get a high-performing phone that lasted a very long time on a charge. I'm hopeful OnePlus recognizes that when it's setting prices for the 13R.
OnePlus 13R outlook
We'll find out soon enough whether the OnePlus 13R can live up to the high standards — and low starting price — set by the OnePlus 12R. I'm optimistic that it will because I think OnePlus realizes it had a pretty good thing going with last year's model, and it'll be inclined to keep a lower-cost alternative around to bring in the bargain hunters who might not otherwise be inclined to pay up for a flagship phone.
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