The OnePlus 13R has been announced to arrive on the global stage in less than a month, along with the OnePlus 13, on January 7. But a pre-release Amazon India page for the phone (still live at the time of writing) has spoiled a few currently unannounced features, including the 13R using a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset.
With the OnePlus 12R using a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, it makes sense that OnePlus would update to the next newest model in the lineup. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is a great piece of silicon, and the best chipset of this year in terms of Android phones. But the Snapdragon 8 Elite is already here to replace it, and has already been confirmed to power the OnePlus 13.
But that's all okay, as the OnePlus 13R is designed to be a cheaper phone. Losing out on some performance is a fair trade for a phone that's presumably going to be several hundred dollars cheaper than the 13. In fact, using the older chip could be partly responsible for that lower price. As long as the other specs aren't too much lower than the standard 13, the OnePlus 13, losing out on the latest chip will be easy to forgive.
More leaks than just the chipset
The Amazon listing also seems to reveal a couple of other features coming the OnePlus 13R. It mentions the presence of OnePlus AI on the phone, which includes AI Notes — with the option to tidy, rephrase or add more text. Other mentions include AI image processing and on-device Intelligent Search to help look through your files.
The listing also details a highlight on photo snapshot mode. This suggests OnePlus has made some changes to the speed of the 13R's cameras to make it better at capturing quick-moving subjects.
OnePlus already confirmed that the 13R will contain a huge 6,000 mAh battery, new display material in the form of Gorilla Glass 7i, a slightly smaller profile, two star-themed color options and three rear cameras. These are all encouraging-sounding ingredients for a great value phone, so we can't wait to test this one out once it launches.
Arguably there are no secrets left to reveal about the OnePlus 13, since it launched in China a couple of months ago already. But we can't guarantee the 13's features will be identical between regions, so be careful not to make assumptions based on the Chinese spec sheet.
