a large screen and a battery for less than 770 dollars

When we think of high-end in Europe, we usually think directly of the best devices on the market, such as the Google Pixel 9 Pro, the OnePlus 13 or the future Samsung Galaxy S25. However, it is a large space in which a large number of devices coexist.

The new OnePlus 13R is one of them. This is the company's new mobile phone that arrives alongside the OnePlus 13, although located a little below. It is undoubtedly a high-end mobile, although We could say that it belongs to the entry segment of this range. And this is in no way negative.

At EL ESPAÑOL – El Androide Libre we have been able to test this device for a few weeks, and the truth is that This could be one of the most interesting purchases of the year.. It is an extremely balanced mobile phone, with a good screen, a very powerful processor and a superb camera.

In many of these sections there is a small step backwards, but Its price drops to 769 dollarsallowing you to enjoy a premium experience for a very reasonable price for these devices. After all, not everyone needs the best features on the market on their mobile.

This can make it an incredibly attractive option, because does not require excessively high expenses for the devicebut it allows you to enjoy a smartphone almost on par with the best devices on the market, but for practically half the price that these usually have.

Design Guarantee

When talking about its design, the first thing to keep in mind is that it is a device quite similar to the OnePlus 13although with enough differences to be able to correctly distinguish each of the models. In this case, we are looking at a slightly smaller and squarer device.

Its back is entirely flat, and is made from a single piece which can be white or black depending on the model. When the light hits it is possible to see a concentric circles pattern which gives it a good look. The camera module is circular – also a bit smaller – and is on the left side.

This rear has a matte feel, and since the front also has no curved finishes, you get completely flat edges. On the left is the Alert sliderare switch to activate silent modethat is growing up in this generation so that it is easier to find and activate even if we are not looking.

The device has protection against water and dust IP65it will therefore be possible to use it even if it rains. In fact, it has a screen that can perform very well when wet. One of the great positive points of its design is that despite the integration of a large battery, its thickness is only 8.02 mm.

More than enough power

We can't fault its power section, since it is on par with other high-end devices. Its processor is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and although it is not the most powerful of the brand, it offers very good performance in all situations. And the fact is that few people will benefit from the presence of a Snapdragon 8 Elite compared to this other model.

The cell phone works perfectly, and that too 12 GB of RAM helps which includes, thanks to which multitasking will be very comfortable. As for the storage, it has 256 GB with UFS 4.0 technology, so in addition to having enough space, reading and writing to the storage is quite fast.

Of course, this is a mobile phone that works great when playing games and doing heavy tasks. And it moves very well and still maintains that feeling of fluidity offered by its parallel processing which debuted with Oxygen OS 15. Beyond that, we must highlight the good capabilities that the device has thanks precisely to its layer of personalization. The most remarkable is your AI image editorwhich is capable of eliminating elements such as reflections, or even increasing the level of detail after performing a crop.

It also includes a game mode with which it allows better management of resources, giving priority to this activity. He has 4 years of Android updates and 6 years of security patches that will help the device last well over the years.

Bright screen

The panel of the OnePlus 13 is also one of the best things it can boast of. It has a size of 6.78 inches, at 1.5K resolution and with a refresh rate of 120 Hz, which makes the combination of size, quality and fluidity perfect for the smartphone.

The experience it offers is very good, both for playing games and for performing other tasks, such as watching a movie or a video on YouTube. Its peak brightness of 4,500 nits allows it to look great in absolutely any situation, even on the sunniest of days. He has Aqua Touch 2.0 technologywhich not only makes it waterproof, but also allows you to continue using it with a wet screen, but without ghost touches.

There is a hole in the screen to locate the front camera, but the truth is that beyond that there is no element that interferes with reading. East compatible with the use of gloves, although these are not specific to mobile phonesalthough they cannot be very thick gloves if we want them to work with the device.

The battery also does quite well thanks to its 6,000 mAh, although it must be said that these do not last an exaggeration. It will be easy to achieve a day and a half of battery life with moderate use, but it may be difficult to achieve two days. Thanks to its 80W fast charging, the device can be fully charged in just under an hour.

Good camera

In the photographic section the mobile takes a small step back compared to the OnePlus 13. Here you can clearly see the company's strategy with these mobiles, because if its older brother has everything the company has to offer , This OnePlus 13R is a little more soberbut offering good performance.

In this case, the main sensor has a 50 MP resolutionjust like the optical zoom sensor, which in this case only has two magnifications, and is designed more for taking portraits than for capturing images at very distant distances. Finally, it has an 8 Mpx ultra-wide sensor in which, as it is the least important, the company has made savings in terms of resolution. A correct decision, since it is the one who can benefit the least from it.

In daytime photos, there is no denying that the OnePlus 13R is of high quality. Everything looks pretty good, with a good level of detailalthough with a little excess saturation in the colors compared to what we actually see. This gives him a more appealing touch, but a little less realistic, which happened less frequently with his older brother.

At night, the photographs are also quite good thanks to the processing carried out by the device. Logically, they lose some details, and the quality of the photo will also depend on how the scene is lit.

Should I buy it?

This is perhaps one of the most interesting launches we see this year at the high end. And, even though it doesn't have the best processor on the market, All of its characteristics place it in the lower part of this segment.and that's good news.

For a starting price of 769 dollars, we will be able to enjoy a very good set of features, which rivals its brother, the OnePlus 13, remaining a notch below, but also being considerably cheaper. The device is now available for purchase and will begin shipping next January 14.

For a price of less than 800 dollars, it is possible to have a high-end device with a very good processor, capable of running absolutely any game. Its screen is also worth mentioning, all the same. firstly, for its 1.5K resolution, which will allow you to have a very good experience while reading any content. The best thing is that it reaches a generous brightness of 4,500 nits, so it will be extremely easy to see what appears on it even if we are in the sun.

This camera is a little less versatile than that of the OnePlus 13, but despite this, the results it offers are quite good, and thanks to the double optical zoom you can really enjoy taking photos in all types of situations. In the end, it is a highly recommended high-end mobile for anyone who wants to enjoy the features of this segment, but without having to buy a high-end price above a thousand dollars.