The OnePlus 13R shows OnePlus still needs to figure out budget phones

“Budget” is certainly a relative term these days. If you’d asked me about

budget phones
in the 2010s, I probably would’ve limited that label to models under $300, maybe even $200. For a lot of people, that’s still valid, given the financial realities they’re coping with. But with flagship devices like the

iPhone 16 Pro
and

Pixel 9 Pro
starting around the $1,000 mark, and some foldables nearing or topping $2,000, the

OnePlus 13R
‘s $600 seems downright cheap by comparison.

I’m a big proponent of people buying budget devices, and the 13R may well be a good choice if you’re into the way OnePlus does things. But at the same time, it also feels like the company can’t quite get budget devices right, despite having some good examples to work from. Or rather, it’s maddeningly close to having a perfect product.

So close, yet so far

Where the OnePlus 13R falls short

Let’s cut to the chase, here. For a lot of people, their smartphone is their only camera, and the OnePlus 13R is merely adequate for photography despite having both a 50-megapixel main (wide-angle) camera and a 50-megapixel telephoto shooter. Even my iPhone 16 Pro lacks a camera sensor over 48 megapixels.

Normally, I would be over the moon about having a telephoto lens on a budget product, since that’s something often reserved for those thousand-dollar phones I mentioned — never mind how important zoom is for subjects like portraits, concerts, and scenery. In practice, though, the 13R’s images are sometimes overly warm, and OnePlus can’t seem to get detail processing right either, with some objects being too sharp, or else too smooth and/or too noisy. There is an AI Detail Boost feature if things lean towards the smooth side, but that can potentially make things feel unnatural.

You’ll be fine if you’re mostly shooting in high, relatively neutral lighting — but you’re going to get a mixed bag in dim and/or tinted conditions. At times, the phone feels like a throwback to phones from a few years ago, when simply being able to shoot a non-blurry photo in dim light felt like a miracle.

As if that weren’t enough, the ultra-wide camera is an 8-megapixel unit. It’s functional, but so low-resolution by modern standards that I would’ve been happier if it had been nixed completely to reduce the phone’s cost. I do frequently wonder why ultra-wides are so universal, anyway — I don’t have much use for photos that are heavily distorted anywhere but the center.

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If you want a phone that can competently replace a dedicated camera, but can’t afford a top-of-the-line device, you’ve got better options. The Google Pixel 9a has top-notching processing, and the

Nothing Phone 3a Pro
is close behind, somehow managing both a telephoto lens and a $459 pricetag.

The 13R also lacks any form of wireless charging whatsoever. I don’t mind that so much myself, but it’s bound to upset other people, given that there are phones under the $400 mark with Qi compatibility. For $600, you’d think there would at least be a slow-speed 7.5W coil people could use for overnight refueling, or offsetting the drain of Android Auto in cars with Qi charging mats. OnePlus does make up for this somewhat with 55W USB charging, but you’ll only be able to take (full) advantage of that with a compatible cable and wall adapter, likely the accessories OnePlus includes in the box.

Credit where credit’s due

Sharing the good news

To reiterate, though, I’m only complaining because OnePlus inevitably seems to do something with its budget phones that puts me off enthusiastic recommendations. The Nord N30 5G, for instance, lacked an

IP rating
. That was inexcusable for a device released in 2023 — anyone spending $300 on a phone shouldn’t have to worry about a light rainstorm or taking photos in a dusty attic.

If photography and wireless charging are minor (or non-existent) concerns for you, the 13R is otherwise an excellent device, by all accounts. It has a huge 6.78-inch screen, with a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate, and even special touch-sensitivity features that make it easier to use when gloves or rain are getting in the way. Its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor isn’t the fastest on the market, but that’s still more than enough for most 3D games, especially when paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It should be capable of running apps — and future versions of Android — for years to come. We’ll have to see how that turns out in practice, of course, but the phone already supports Google Gemini, so it’s doubtful anything except major leaps forward will render it obsolete.

The 13R also has a 6,000mAh battery, which is impressive. If you don’t decide to do something crazy like watch the four-hour version of The Return of the King, it’s legitimately a two-day device, no extra babying required. I’ve long thought that this should be the default for smartphones rather than the exception, given how vital they are to our daily lives. Hopefully it puts some pressure on other companies.

In particular, I mean a certain fruit-themed one that can’t manage two days of real-world use with a 6.9-inch, $1,200 product. It might last you during your all-day trip from Austin to Edmonton, but I guarantee you’ll want to charge when you get to the hotel, no matter how quickly you plan to fly back.

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I’m optimistic that OnePlus will deliver the goods at some point, and the 13R does show signs of progress. In fact, I’m suddenly eager to see what the 14R will be like. I’m betting wireless charging will finally be included in an R-series product, so if the company can get its act together on photography, there won’t be any serious compromises beyond the ones people normally anticipate for a budget phone.

I don’t expect 100W charging, 8K video, or 10X zoom, but I do want my photos to at least match the ones from phones costing substantially less.