The OnePlus 13R is a midrang3 version of the OnePlus 13 but still feels premium with a 120Hz OLED display, Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, a 6,000mAh battery. These features were pretty much flagship standards last year. So even though it doesn’t have the wireless charging and periscope zoom on the OnePlus 13, there’s still a lot to love about the phone.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S25 is a minimal upgrade over its predecessor. It sticks to a familiar design with small refinements. If the OnePlus 13 already beats it, the 13R could be on the same level for a much lower price. Let’s find out which phone is the more worthy purchase.
Specs overview: OnePlus 13R Vs Galaxy S25
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| Components | Samsung Galaxy S25 | OnePlus 13R |
| Display | 6.2″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 1080 x 2340 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate | 6.78″ LTPO 4.1 AMOLED, 1264 x 2780 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| RAM & Storage | 12GB RAM; 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB storage (UFS 4.0) | 12GB or 16GB RAM; 256GB or 512GB storage (UFS 4.0) |
| Main Camera | Triple: 50MP (wide, OIS) + 10MP (telephoto, 3x optical zoom, OIS) + 12MP (ultrawide) | Triple: 50MP (wide, OIS) + 50MP (telephoto, 2x optical zoom) + 8MP (ultrawide) |
| Front Camera | 12MP | 16MP |
| Battery | 4000mAh; 25W wired charging, 15W wireless charging | 6000mAh; 80W wired charging |
| Software | Android 15 with One UI 7; up to 7 major Android upgrades | Android 15 with OxygenOS 15; up to 4 major Android upgrades |
| Build & Extras | Glass front and back (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame, IP68 dust and water resistance | Glass front and back (Gorilla Glass 7i), aluminum frame, IP65 water resistance |
| Price | $799.99 | $599.99 |
Design
The OnePlus 13R looks similar to the original OnePlus 13, but there are no design variants. On the latter, you get either a vegan leather back or a glass back. On the budget model, you only get the model with an aluminum frame sandwiched between a glass front and back. There’s no Hassalbland branding, which already hints that you’ll live without the advanced color tuning and camera optimizations that the flagship model.
That aside, it has a comfortable size with an 8mm thickness, although it does weigh 206g. It’s a bit on the heavy side, but not so noticeable that you can’t manage it. Its Gorilla Glass 7i front material is durable, and it supports an IP65 rating to handle dust and low-pressure water jets. But it’s not fully waterproof. There’s also support for dual Nano-SIMs and an eSIM option.
On the other hand, the Galaxy S25 is much smaller and lighter than the OnePlus 13R. It’s 7.2mm thick and weighs 162g. Gorilla Glass Victus 2 covers the front and back, and the Armor Aluminum 2 frame surrounds it. It also has an IP68 rating and a mix of Nano-SIM and eSIM options.
Now, Gorilla Glasses are quality materials. But Victus 2 is more potent than Glass 7i, designed to withstand drops up to two meters on rough surfaces. Corning is mainly intended for the Glass 7i to protect budget and mid-range devices, and it can survive one-meter drops only. Considering that, and the higher IP68 rating, Samsung’s phone is the more durable.
Related: OnePlus 13 vs Galaxy S25+: What’s the difference?
Display
The OnePlus 13R has a 6.78-inch LTPO 4.1 AMOLED display with a near-bezel-less design and a 91.2% screen-to-body ratio. It also has a 1264 x 2780 resolution with a 450 ppi density, support for one billion colors, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and HDR Vivid, and a peak brightness of 4500 nits. As mentioned before, the screen is made of Corning Gorilla Glass 7i.
Samsung’s 6.2-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X panel is smaller, with a 1080 x 2340 resolution and reduced 416 ppi density. The brightness peaks at 2600 nits, but there’s no support for Dolby Vision and HDR Vivid. Overall, the display is not as sharp as the OnePlus 13R’s, which is amusing.
Samsung is known for making some of the best smartphone displays and even supplying panels to OnePlus. At least, they did until OnePlus ditched them for BOE panels. The OnePlus 11 was the last flagship to use their technology. The redeeming factor here for the S25’s display is that it uses the stronger Victus 2 glass and has an Always-on Display that the OnePlus 13R doesn’t have.
Performance, memory, and battery
Hands down, the Galaxy S25 performs better than the OnePlus 13R. The advantage of the new Snapdragon 8 Elite puts it ahead. The CPU has higher clock speeds and uses custom Oryon V2 cores that make it quicker, and it has the Adreno 830 GPU GPU to match.
OnePlus 13 uses the 8 Elite’s predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, and the lower Adreno 750. Samsung is also more generous with memory options; you get more than the OnePlus 13R offers. You can choose from 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB, all with 12GB of RAM.
The OnePlus 13R starts at 256GB with 12GB RAM, with no 128GB option. But it gives you 16GB RAM in the 512GB model. More RAM would’ve been the obvious choice. But remember that the S25’s processor is already faster, so the difference isn’t huge.
Samsung has more than compensated for the limited RAM in all models. Overall, both phones use UFS 4.0 storage, which is fast for loading apps and transferring files.
We can talk about performance all day, but we want to ensure the phone lasts long enough for you to make the most of it. That’s one central selling point of the OnePlus 13R. If you’re familiar with Galaxy phones, they max out at around 5,000mAh. In this case, they’ve dropped to 4,000mAh, which isn’t enjoyable.
OnePlus’ phone reaches 6,000mAh, and the difference is significant. The 13R also charges faster, reaching 50% in just 20 minutes and a full charge in about 52-54 minutes with 80W wired charging. The S25 takes 30 minutes to hit that 50% and lacks ultra-fast charging speeds. They threw in wireless and reverse wireless charging, which OnePlus doesn’t offer.
Cameras
A triple-camera setup sits on the back of the OnePlus 13R. More particularly, it sits slightly to the left and teases my OCD. Given the round design, it should’ve been more centered, but I’ll survive. The 50MP main sensor has optical image stabilization (OIS) and multi-directional Phase detection autofocus (PDAF), which will come in handy if you have shaky hands and struggle to take clear shots in darkened conditions.
There’s a second 50MP telephoto lens complementing it with 2x optical zoom and an 8MP ultrawide camera with an 112° field of view. You can record videos in 4K at 60fps with gyro-EIS and OIS. On the front is a 16MP front camera in a punch-hole cutout with a fixed f/2.4 aperture and support for video recording in 1080p resolution.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S25 has a more advanced camera setup with a 50MP primary camera similar to the OnePlus 13R’s. However, it supports dual-pixel PDAF instead of multi-directional PDAF. Dual-pixel PDAF splits every pixel into two photodiodes so that the entire sensor autofocuses properly.
Multi-directional PDAF will only detect phase differences from multiple angles, which improves tricky lighting conditions. But dual-pixel PDAF is generally better if you are tracking your lightning-fast pet or quickly snapping that selfie in dim lighting. The second camera on the S25 is a telephoto lens with a 10MP sensor and 3x optical zoom. The third one is a 12MP ultrawide camera with a wider 120° field of view and larger 1.4µm pixels.
Video recording reaches 8K at 30fps, HDR10+ recording, and stereo sound recording. The selfie camera is a 16MP lens. If it’s unclear, the Galaxy S25 drags the OnePlus 13R through the mud in every aspect: zoom, autofocus, ultrawide shots, and video recording.
Software and features
Android 15 just launched, and both phones come with it out of the box. But Samsung is clearly playing the long game by offering seven major Android updates on the S25. That means you’re getting new OS and security features until Android 22. If there is an Android 22, eventually. OnePlus 13R gets only four significant updates, which is still decent.
Software experience also differs. The One UI 7 on the S25 is feature-rich, deeply customizable, and integrates seamlessly with Samsung’s ecosystem. OxygenOS 15 is much closer to stock Android if you don’t want all the distractions.
The verdict
The OnePlus 13R excels in display and battery, but the Galaxy S25 scores more points in design, performance, cameras, and software. Putting your budget aside, it’s the obvious choice if you want the best your money can buy. But if you’re conscious of your wallet, go for the OnePlus 13R.
It all comes down to the compromises you can live with because each phone has something the other could use. If you could swap the batteries for one, the S25 would be perfect. At the same time, if you could give the OnePlus 13R the S25’s cameras and longer software support, it would be an unbeatable value.
