Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. OnePlus 13R: The results may surprise you

If you’re looking for a premium Android device, you may think that brands like Samsung and Google are the only options in town. But they aren’t. When you compare the Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. OnePlus 13R, you might actually be surprised at how close they are to one another. There’s a compelling reason to look beyond what’s most familiar to you. Here, I’ll compare these two phones so you can make an informed decision versus just going with what you already know.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. OnePlus 13R: How they look and basics

The Samsung Galaxy S25 is the latest entry-level phone in the brand’s line. Available in Icyblue, Navy, Mint, and Silver Shadow. It has a 6.2-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x display with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate.

With a screen made of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, the frame is constructed or Armor Aluminum, so the phone is durable. It’s also IP68 rated to protect it against dust and water.

Equipped with a 4,000mAh battery, it supports Super Fast Charging, Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, and Wireless PowerShare.

The phone comes with either 128GB or 256GB storage. Since this is not expandable, you’ll want to choose the larger option, which costs a bit more. And if you tend to download a lot of apps and games and shoot lots of photo and video, you’ll probably have to factor cloud storage into the cost, or offload content to a separate drive when it gets full.

Out of the box with Android 15 and Samsung One UI 7, the phone is supported for seven OS upgrades and seven years of security updates. You get an ultrasonic fingerprint reader and face recognition for security.

One of two new phones OnePlus just launched, the OnePlus 13R is the more affordable, scaled down variant, similarly to how the Samsung Galaxy S25 is the entry option in its new line. The phone, which Harish Jonnalagadda calls “the definitive value flagship of 2025” in his review, comes in Nebula Noir or Astral Trail with a large 6.78-inch Aqua Touch 2.0 display. This refers to the ability to comfortably use the screen even if your hands are wet from things like drops of rain or snowflakes. This phone also has a feature called Glove Mode that allows you to manipulate the screen while wearing thin gloves.

The screen supports a 1-120Hz dynamic refresh and offers 2,780 x 1,264 pixels with 1,600 nits brightness and 4,500 nits peak brightness. Jonnalagadda isn’t a fan of the boxier design, finding that the sides dig into his palm. But he likes the clean, camera housing and the sturdier feel when compared to last year’s OnePlus 12R.

Speaking of which, the phone only has an IP65 rating, which isn’t quite as high as the Samsung Galaxy S25, but still protects it against some dust and water exposure. The screen is made of Corning Gorilla Glass GG7i.

OnePlus phones are known to have incredible battery life and the OnePlus 13R is no exception. It has a massive 6,000mAh battery that supports 55W SUPERVOOC charging, up to 80W with a OnePlus SUPERVOOC dual-port GaN power adapter or up to 100W with a OnePlus dual-port power adapter. Bottom line: not only does this phone last for days, you can plug it in and recharge it to full in the same time it takes you to grab a Starbucks coffee. Jonnalagadda says he got about two days per charge, a day and-a-half with heavy use, but he found that it took longer to charge than the OnePlus 13.

You’ll only get 256GB storage, a bummer given how much this phone can do so. So, consider a cloud storage platform or a means to offload images and other content. Otherwise, you may have to keep your downloads tight to just the most important apps, games, and other content you need.

The phone comes loaded with Android 15 alongside OnePlus’ own OxygenOS 15 OS for a smart, intuitive, snappy experience. You’ll get an optical fingerprint sensor, though Jonnalagadda isn’t a fan of its positioning low on the screen, along with face unlock NFC, and Bluetooth 5.4.

OnePlus supports the phone for four years of Android updates and six years of security updates, through 2031. This isn’t quite as long as with the Samsung Galaxy S25. But considering the much lower starting price, you might be OK with that.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. OnePlus 13R: The specs

Let’s look at the specs of these two phones in a side-by-side comparison.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. OnePlus 13R: Features and functions

The Samsung Galaxy S25 comes loaded with the new Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor, impressive as this is the same you’ll find in the top-line Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra model as well as the larger Galaxy S25+ variant. This processor is smoother, faster, and better able to accommodate all the new AI features of the phone, including on-device processing so you don’t have to rely on cloud connectivity.

With 12GB RAM, stand out features include not only Android 15 but also Samsung’s One UI 7. This affords lots of Galaxy AI features, like cross-app action with AI Agent: long-press the power button and Gemini instantly opens app with native app integration, regardless of what you’re doing at the moment and what app you’re in. In his hands-on, Nicholas Sutrich loved trying out this feature and found that it worked well: he was even able to search for specific recipes he wanted in an hour-long YouTube video.

There are also features like the Now Brief that shows you sleep, weather, and schedule data thanks to AI-powered insights. Multimodal Search can be used to search in various ways, including even humming a song to get help identifying it by name and artist.

Circle to Search has been enhanced, now able to recognize phone numbers and e-mail addresses to automatically call someone or open a messaging window, as well as URLs to open a web page. The phone also boasts better natural language understanding and can better understand context of requests.

This phone has an improved cooling system, something multitaskers, content creators, and especially gamers will appreciate. Overall, Sutrich says you’ll notice huge speed boosts with this phone, especially when compared to older models like the Samsung Galaxy S23.

The OnePlus 13R has its share of AI features as well, thanks to Android 15, Google and Gemini integration, and its own OxygenOS 15 AI functions. These include features like intelligent search for blazing through files, notes, and photos quickly and efficiently, AI Notes, and more. “The interface is fast and doesn’t have any slowdowns or bugs,” says Jonnalagadda, who calls it “refreshing to be able to say that about a new version of the OxygenOS.” He loves the customizability options as well, and the various lock screen styling options.

Running on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, the OnePlus 13R might not be as snappy as the Samsung Galaxy S25 based on specs alone, but the phone will more than suffice for most users. Jonnalagadda did not encounter any gaming challenges at all while playing various titles. Combined with the 12GB RAM, you get an impressive user experience for everything from content creation to multitasking, video watching, and gaming.

Gamers will love the PUBG Mobile gaming experience that leverages the 120 frames-per-second gameplay capabilities. The phone also has plenty of AI features like Circle to Search, just as the Samsung Galaxy S25 does.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. OnePlus 13R: The camera experience

What about the cameras? The Samsung Galaxy S25 has a 50MP wide AF OIS main camera along with a 12MP ultra-wide camera, 10MP 3x tele AI OIS camera, 30x Space Zoom, and 12MP wide AF front camera.

You can enjoy features like the ProVisual Engine, HDR Portraits, Selfie AI ISP, Nightography, and more. There’s also the typical photo editing features you were able to enjoy with the Samsung Galaxy S24 along with new ones like improved Audio Eraser for removing background noises and isolating sounds in videos. This feature, Sutrich notes, works on-device, and is super-fast and effective. Auto Trim even lets you remove certain words (think “ums” and “ahs”) or use AI to intelligently remove sound bites that aren’t necessary.

We’ll need more time to play around with the cameras in the Samsung Galaxy S25 to provide more feedback on their pluses and minuses.

As for the OnePlus 13R, it has a similar 50MP wide main camera, 8MP ultra-wide, 50MP telephoto with 2x optical zoom, and 16MP front camera. Most notably, it uses a Sony LYT-700 imaging sensor for the main camera, and the results show. You get stunning images of all kinds, including great motion, detail when zooming, and more.

There are unique photo editing features, too, that let you do things like remove distracting options (something you can do in the Samsung Galaxy S25 as well), unblur photos (also in the Galaxy S25), and even remove or reduce reflections in images.

Jonnalagadda found that images he took with the OnePlus 13R were just as good as ones with the OnePlus 13 suggesting that you aren’t downgrading any camera-related functions if you opt for this more affordable option versus its more premium sister device. He did admit, however, that you don’t get the same level of vibrancy and details with photos when using the wide-angle lens. He also noticed some visible noise when snapping photos in low-light scenarios.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. OnePlus 13R: Which should you buy?

It’s decision time! Years ago, we might have had a tough time recommending anything as one of the best Android phones beyond Samsung Galaxy devices, along with a few other notable brands. But the Android space has been heating up of late, and some of those brands you might not be as familiar with are delivering incredible devices. That’s precisely why we’re making the comparison between the Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. OnePlus 13R.

And we can confidently say that you might actually be better off with the OnePlus 13R. Not only is it significantly cheaper, it’s also a premium phone with cameras that match or even exceed the Galaxy S25. It has incredible battery life, a bright and bold screen, and a fast processor that can keep up with most anything you throw at it.

If you wanted to step up, even going with the OnePlus 13 could be a better option since it sells for about the same price. What’s odd is that as you move up the line to the Samsung Galaxy S25+ and even Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, there’s still no truly compelling reason to get one of those phones instead of OnePlus’ latest entry. Considering the OnePlus 13 is bafflingly durable with both an IP68 and IP69 rating, it’s worth it for that price alone. But it’s also a darned good phone.

Back to the core two devices at hand: if you’re looking for affordable premium and deciding between the Samsung Galaxy S25 and OnePlus 13R, I’d actually suggest forking out a bit more and going with the OnePlus 13. You’ll still be paying the same you would for the Samsung Galaxy S25 and getting a more durable phone with a much bigger battery, Sony cameras, and a similar set of AI features, including some amazing photo editing ones.