Here’s our first official look at a phone believed to be the OnePlus 13R

An official photo of the OnePlus Ace 5 (Image credit: OnePlus)

OnePlus has shared two photos showing the front of the OnePlus Ace 5
This is expected to launch as the OnePlus 13R outside China
It looks almost identical to the OnePlus 13

OnePlus loves to show off its devices before fully announcing them, and the upcoming OnePlus 13R is no exception, as the company has just posted photos showing the front of the phone.

Or rather, a OnePlus exec has posted photos of the OnePlus Ace 5 on Weibo (via NotebookCheck), but based on past form, it’s expected that the Ace 5 will launch outside China as the OnePlus 13R.

In any case, the images – one of which you can see above, and another below – were accompanied by text noting that this phone has a metal frame and slim bezels. You can also see that it has a flat screen, a punch-hole selfie camera, what appear to be power and volume buttons on the right edge, and an alert slider on the left edge.

High-end design paired with a mid-range chipset

In all, this phone looks exactly like the device we previously saw in a leaked OnePlus 13R image, and it looks very much like the standard OnePlus 13, too.

Visually, then, it might be hard to tell that this isn’t a high-end phone, but in fact, the OnePlus 13R will be a mid-range alternative to the flagship OnePlus 13.

For one thing, we’re hearing that it will be powered by the year-old (but still powerful) Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, previously found in the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and OnePlus 12. The OnePlus 13, meanwhile, has the latest model – the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

That could be one of the very few spec compromises here, though, with previous leaks suggesting the OnePlus 13R will also have a 6.78-inch 1264 x 2780 AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 6,000mAh battery with 80W charging, 12GB of RAM, and a triple-lens rear camera, with two 50MP sensors and an 8MP one.

Most of that sounds quite impressive, so if the price is right, then the OnePlus 13R could give the likes of the iPhone SE 4 and Google Pixel 9a – both of which are also expected next year – a run for their money.

We should find out exactly how good the OnePlus 13R is soon, as it will probably launch in January or February based on past form, and knowing OnePlus, the company will likely reveal more details about it before then.

Best OnePlus phones: the top flagship, budget, and foldable models
OnePlus 13: everything you need to know
OnePlus 12 review: the coolest phone you can buy, if you dare

See more News about Phones

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.