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These are most likely the impressive specs of the affordable OnePlus 13R powerhouse

By Adrian Diaconescu

Published: Dec 03, 2024, 9:06 AM

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Android OnePlus

If you're not that excited about the impending global arrival of the OnePlus 13 super-flagship due to those nasty pricing rumors, the time may have come to boost your enthusiasm for the undoubtedly cheaper OnePlus 13R.

This is widely expected to see daylight in China this month under the Ace 5 name, followed by an international launch shortly after the aforementioned OnePlus 13 at some point in January. Very timidly rumored almost two months ago and benchmarked to reveal a couple of key specs just last week, the 13R is flaunting all of its features, capabilities, and upgrades over the 12R today in a detailed and presumably reliable 91mobiles report based on information obtained by none other than Steve Hemmerstoffer, aka @OnLeaks.

OnePlus 13R specifications: pretty much no question left unanswered

6.78-inch AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate technology and 2780 x 1264 pixel resolution;
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor;
12GB RAM;
256GB storage;
50MP primary rear-facing camera with f/1.8 aperture;
8MP ultra-wide-angle secondary camera with f/2.2 aperture;
50MP telephoto sensor with f/2.0 aperture;
16MP single front-facing camera with f/2.4 aperture;
6,000mAh battery;
80W charging capabilities;
Android 15 with OxygenOS 15.0;
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, USB Type-C;
Under-display fingerprint scanner;
Infrared remote control;
161.72 x 75.77 x 8.02mm dimensions;
206 grams weight;
Nebula Noir and Astral Trail color options.

OnePlus 13R vs OnePlus 12R vs OnePlus 12: what's new, what's not

Because it's obviously not fair to compare the upcoming OnePlus 13R with the undoubtedly much pricier OnePlus 13, I feel like it's more important to put the above specs in contrast with what the OnePlus 12 and 12R have to offer.

If the 13R ends up packing a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC (which is not yet a guarantee, but it's extremely likely), that would make it just as powerful as the early 2024-released OnePlus 12 flagship, for instance, as well as considerably speedier than the 12R, which comes with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor under its hood.

This is how the OnePlus Ace 5, aka OnePlus 13R, is expected to look. | Image Credit -- Digital Chat Station on Weibo

Speaking of speeds, it's certainly a little disappointing to hear that the OnePlus 13R could settle for 80W charging technology compared to the (theoretical) 100W ceiling of the OnePlus 12 and 12R. That number was however downgraded to 80 watts for the US versions of the 12 and 12R anyway, so a lot of future 13R buyers are unlikely to notice a difference in real-world charging times.

The battery capacity and camera versatility departments, meanwhile, are where the OnePlus 13R is tipped to bring the most important improvements to the table over its predecessor, reportedly jumping from an already impressive 5,500mAh to a simply mind-blowing 6,000mAh cell and replacing the largely useless 2MP macro lens with a second 50MP snapper.

Interestingly, the OnePlus 13R is also tipped to be shorter, thinner, ever so slightly lighter, and only slightly wider than the 12R despite increasing the battery size and keeping the screen size (and resolution, and refresh rate numbers) unchanged.

Finally, that 256GB storage/12GB RAM combination will probably not be the only OnePlus 13R variant released stateside, which brings me to...

The pricing question: affordable or ultra-affordable?

To be perfectly clear, I don't expect the OnePlus 13R to be as inexpensive as something like the Samsung Galaxy A35. But if it manages to retain its forerunner's $500 starting price with the aforementioned 12 gigs of memory and 256 gigs of internal storage space, it's going to be mighty hard to find a better value proposition in the US.

At $550 or even $600, the bang for buck would still be pretty great... and pretty difficult to beat by an Android phone from a manufacturer like Samsung, Google, or Motorola. Unfortunately, these are just (semi) educated guesses on my part, and the impending Chinese launch of the OnePlus Ace 5 is unlikely to provide much Western clarity as the regional differences are often vast and unpredictable.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.