The Upcoming OnePlus 13R Could Be the Best Phone Under INR 40000

In 2021, OnePlus announced a new series titled ‘R’, with the 9R being the first smartphone in the lineup. According to the brand, the R-series focuses on making flagship specifications accessible to all, i.e., at a cheaper price. The R-series was exclusive to India for the first three years, with OnePlus launching the 9R, 10R and 11R, which changed last year when the brand announced the 12R for North America and Europe.

The R-series received an overwhelming response in the sub-INR 40,000 segment, as there are very few smartphones available in this price range. The OnePlus 12R, launched last year, is still one of the best-selling smartphones under INR 40,000 on Amazon India.

The brand has now announced launching the 12R's successor, the OnePlus 13R. This will debut alongside the OnePlus 13 on 7 January 2025. The brand has already revealed a lot about the device, which we discuss in this article. Read till the end to find out more.

How much will the OnePlus 13R cost?

The R-series has always been priced under INR 40,000 in India, with all generations starting at either INR 38,999 or INR 39,999 for the base variant. We speculate that the OnePlus 13R will also be priced under INR 40,000. The brand may introduce card offers to make the deal more attractive when it retails on Amazon India.

OnePlus 13R confirmed details

At first glance, the OnePlus 13R resembles a budget Realme smartphone. Personally, I would still prefer the premium 12R's glass back design in the Cool Blue colour. The OnePlus 13R retains the same circular camera module as the 12R but omits the connecting camera island. It will be available in two colours: Astral Trail (which resembles gold) and Nebular Noir (which is just another marketing term for black). Wish they could keep it simple!

The highlight of the device is its large 6,000mAh battery and AI features, according to a microsite on Amazon India. The OnePlus 13R runs Android 15-based OxygenOS 15 out of the box, bringing several AI features like Intelligent Search, AI Writing Notes and AI Imaging Power.

The teaser image confirms the presence of the company's iconic Alert Slider, a feature OnePlus fans enjoy using.

OnePlus 13R: What else to expect?

Recent teasers from OnePlus have revealed that the 13R will be a rebranded version of the upcoming Ace 5, which itself is launching on 26 December in China. Based on this, the OnePlus 13R will feature a 6.78-inch flat BOE X2 OLED display with a 1.5K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate support. This marks the return of a flat display to OnePlus flagship phones.

OnePlus is offering a lifetime warranty on the 13R for any issue related to the green line on the display. For context, OnePlus has faced criticism for green line issues on its smartphone displays.

The device will be powered by last year’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset paired with up to 16GB LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB UFS 4.0 storage. While the variants for the Indian market are not yet confirmed, we speculate that the brand will launch the variant with 16GB RAM with 512GB storage in India. It will support 80W fast charging.

In terms of optics, the 13R will feature a 50-megapixel triple rear camera setup accompanied by an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens. The third sensor is rumoured to be either a 50-megapixel telephoto or a 2-megapixel macro lens. We will know for certain once the brand confirms. On the front, it will house a 16-megapixel sensor for selfies and video calls.

The brand is also launching the Buds Pro 3's new Sapphire Blue colour alongside the 13 series. Read about it here.