Cameras in flagship OnePlus 13R are on par with cheap budget phones

The main camera in OnePlus 13R uses the exact same sensor as the 3x cheaper Motorola Edge 50 (2990 SEK / 265 USD / 260 EUR). It is the Sony Lytia 700C in both.

The much cheaper Motorola also happens to have better and larger wide-angle sensor and a telephoto with more optical zoom and OIS.

For whatever reason, cameras in OnePlus 13R are on par with cheap budget phones.

The 13R by definition is not their flagship. The OP13R excels in some areas while falling flat in others, which is pretty in line for many mid-range devices. Those are the trade-offs for its performance along with product differentiation to make people want the OP13 instead of the 13R.

Just 2 generations ago, OnePlus themselves put the exact same sensor in all of their devices across the board—from the budget Nord CE 3 to Nord 3, 11R, and the flagship 11. But the difference in ISP and optimization was clear, and the expensive model’s pics were better.

Even Realme Narzo 70 Pro has the same size sensor, but the quality is not even close. Budget phones use the same sensor but never optimize image processing, and they have bad ISPs too.

Redmi Note 13 Pro is the best example of how sensor size doesn’t matter when your processing and ISP are terrible.

If you look at actual comparisons taking actual photos, the cameras for the 13R seem fine. They can take great shots. Not as good as the best flagships, which cost 3x as much, but beyond usable.

Camera sensor isn’t everything. On mobile devices, software is more important. How many times do we need to go through this? Also, 13R is NOT a flagship.

That’s the sacrifice you make for all the other specs. That’s how OnePlus keeps the price down.

I don’t care what sensors they’re putting in as long as the pictures look good. The fact that you can make any shitty budget phone take good pics with a GCam mod is proof that it’s about software nowadays.