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OnePlus 13R review: Two-minute review

The OnePlus 13R builds on the winning formula of its predecessor, the OnePlus 12R, by delivering prolonged battery life, a dazzling display, and plenty of power in a slick, premium package.

Its price is not as competitively low as the brand’s earliest ‘flagship killers’, but if you’re after a flagship phone without the quite frankly eye-watering price tags that come with them, the OnePlus 13R delivers plenty while only compromising in a few small areas.

This is only the second time an R-Series handset has launched internationally; the initial ‘R’ branded devices (of series 9, 10, and 11) did not reach European or North American shores.

The OnePlus 13R is a less tricked-out – and thus more affordable – version of the flagship OnePlus 13 which launched alongside it. Think of this phone like Samsung’s ‘FE’ variants of its high-end S series and Google’s ‘A’ line of its Pixel phones.

(Image credit: Future)

The 6.78-inch display is colorful and sufficiently bright, making it easy to use even in direct sunlight. The screen is flat, and flush with the phone’s aluminium frame, which results in a pleasing viewing experience.

Meanwhile, the sizable 6,000mAh battery lasted me two days on a single charge, and even power users will get more than a day’s use from the OnePlus 13R before needing to reach for the charging cable. But reach for the cable you will, as there’s no wireless charging.

There’s plenty of power under the hood, with the previous flagship generation Snapdragon chipset at its heart, ably assisted by 12GB of RAM. It means the 13R can handle pretty much anything you throw at it.

While the trio of cameras on the rear may not have the very latest features of the current-gen flagships, it’s a great point-and-shoot camera that holds its own in most scenarios.

Holding the 13R may be a little tricky for those with smaller hands though, as this is a large phone. And you’ll want to be careful around water, as this handset isn’t protected against submersion. It’s merely splash-proof, which does mean it’ll be okay in the rain.

The OnePlus 13R is an accomplished smartphone that borrows many of the features from the brand's previous flagship phone, while being kept just out of reach of some of the very latest tech which has been reserved for its non-R, numerical twin.

OnePlus 13R review: price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• OnePlus 13R price is $599 / £679
• Available with 12GB RAM + 256GB ROM in North America and Europe
• India also has the option of a 16GB + 512GB variant

When it comes to buying the OnePlus 13R, things are kept simple with just one storage configuration of 256GB ROM + 12GB RAM available in North America and Europe.

For those in India, there’s a beefier 512GB + 16GB additional configuration, which may have some in Western markets looking enviably over to Asia.

The OnePlus 13R price is $599 / £679, matching the launch price of its predecessor (the OnePlus 12R) in the US, but coming in at £30 more expensive in the UK.

With the same launch price in the US as last year’s 256GB OnePlus 12R, the 13R is well positioned in the market, offering a big screen, big battery, and plenty of performance at a price point that undercuts Apple. Meanwhile, for UK buyers the £30 price increase is a little frustrating, but OnePlus has improved on its predecessor and the 13R still offers a solid all-round experience.

This price point sits the OnePlus 13R towards the top end of the ‘affordable flagship’ market, and unlike the OnePlus 12R, the US only gets the 256GB ROM + 12GB RAM. There’s no cheaper variant with 8GB/128GB of RAM and storage this time round.

That means it’s more expensive than the smaller, more palm-friendly Pixel 8a – Google’s own take on an affordable flagship – yet similarly priced to the AI-loaded Samsung Galaxy S24 FE and alternative Nothing Phone (2), although the latter is now a year and a half old at the time of writing.

One of the big draws of the OnePlus 13R will be its supreme battery life, but if battery life is the most important focus in a big-screened phone for you, then you may want to look at the Honor Magic 7 Lite. It’s a chunk cheaper and boasts an even bigger battery (6,600mAh), although it has less power and storage and isn’t available in North America.

• Value score: 4 / 5

OnePlus 13R review: specs

The OnePlus 13R comes with a trio of headline specs. There’s the big, bright, and bold 6.78-inch display boasting a maximum brightness of 4,500 nits, the huge 6,000mAh battery that can keep you going for two days, and slick performance thanks to the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset as the brand’s previous generation flagship, the OnePlus 12.

There’s also a trio of cameras around the back, fast 80W wired charging, and 256GB of storage which will keep all but the most prolific power users happy.

OnePlus 13R review: design Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Future)

• Wonderfully premium aluminum and glass frame
• A little large for small hands, and can’t be submerged in water

The OnePlus 13R is a slick piece of hardware, with a sleek aluminum frame wrapping around the circumference of the handset, which is sandwiched on either side by glass.

The flat sides are reminiscent of Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro and 16 Pro series, as well as the Oppo Find X8 range – the latter of which shares various design cues with the OnePlus 13 series, as the two brands are part of the same overarching company.

To complete the premium package the screen and rear of the phone are covered in Gorilla Glass 7i, the first OnePlus phone to harness this new glass type, which maker Corning claims is “specifically engineered to address the need for improved drop protection and scratch resistance.”

This means the 13R should be able to resist the odd drop and knock, but during my review time with the phone, I didn’t really put this to the test.

While the aesthetics may not be entirely unique, the OnePlus 13R has a premium look and feel; it’s built solidly and outperforms its price tag.

Those with smaller hands will find the size of the device overbearing – especially for one-handed use – while I’d have liked the power and volume buttons on the right of the 13R placed lower down.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Future)

The volume rocker especially was a stretch for my thumb, resulting in awkward shuffles in the hand to turn the volume up. If OnePlus placed these a few millimeters lower the buttons would fall naturally under the thumb, making for easier manipulation.

OnePlus’ now iconic alert slider is present on the OnePlus 13R, providing an easy way to toggle between silent, vibrate, and ring modes – although it suffers the same placement affliction as the volume and power – it’s placed just a little too high up on the left of the phone for my taste.

While this was a novel addition in the early days of OnePlus, its inclusion now feels a little superfluous as user habits have evolved over the years resulting in fewer people switching regularly between ring states. Former OnePlus co-founder, Carl Pei, even tweeted to say “most people never use it” in regards to the alert slider.

The USB-C port sits centrally on the bottom edge of the phone, flanked by the SIM tray (which supports two cards) and the speaker. On the back, the smooth, minimalist finish of my Nebular Noir-colored device is interrupted only by the enormous circular camera housing.

It’s aligned to one side of the handset – providing a small point of differentiation to the centrally placed camera bump on the Find X8 devices – which does displace the weight slightly, but isn’t an issue during daily use. OnePlus has managed to keep the weight of the 13R to a reasonable 206g, which allows it to sit comfortably in the hand.

One disappointing feature is the handset’s IP65 water resistance rating. It’s an improvement over the IP64 rating of its predecessor and protects against jets of water, but an IP68 rating (water resistance for submersion) is not uncommon in this price bracket.

• Design score: 4 / 5

OnePlus 13R review: display

(Image credit: Future)

• The 6.78-inch display is big, bright and colorful
• A peak brightness of 4,500 nits makes it great for use in the sun

OnePlus makes a big deal about the display on this phone, and the good news is it lives up to the billing. It’s big, bright and colorful.

At 6.78 inches, it’s a sizable offering, much larger than the 6.1-inch screen on the Pixel 8a, a hair bigger than the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE (at 6.7 inches), while it’s the same size as the Honor Magic 7 Lite – another big-battery competitor.

There’s plenty of real estate for apps, and the slender uniform bezels all the way around give it a premium appeal. The only interruption on the screen is the circular cutout at the top of the display for the 16MP front-facing camera.

The 1264 x 2780 (1.5K) resolution – which gives you a pixel density of 450 ppi – is par for the course. OnePlus says the 13R can deliver a maximum brightness of 4,500 nits, but you won’t actually see that level of brightness in real-world use.

In my time with the phone, the OnePlus 13R’s screen performed very well in bright light, whether indoors or outdoors. If you’re fortunate enough to find yourself in a particularly sunny climate, you can be confident you’ll be able to see what’s on-screen in direct sunlight.

(Image credit: Future)

And when the weather turns and rain starts to fall, the OnePlus 13R continues to perform thanks to Aqua Touch 2.0. Taking the phone into the rain, the screen continued to respond well when my use was uninterrupted by the conditions – rain can cause issues on other phones, where the screen is confused by water droplets leading to unregistered taps or erroneous inputs.

Another nice inclusion for the OnePlus 13R is Glove Mode, allowing you to interact with the screen while wearing woolen or sheepskin gloves (up to 0.5cm thick). This mode isn’t on by default, you need to dive into the accessibility menus in the Settings apps (you can search “glove” in Settings to find the mode quicker) to enable it.

Once enabled, I was impressed by just how responsive the screen was when wearing a pair of woolen gloves. With the mode switched off, there was zero response from the screen when wearing gloves, so the difference is stark.

Interactions do require a little more force to be applied compared to non-glove use, but that’s not a surprise. OnePlus does note that glove mode does not support gameplay, so if you’re planning to have a round of PUBG while vacationing in Lapland, Finland, you may want to wait until you’re inside and gloveless before parachuting into battle. Opening and closing apps, moving around the interface, scrolling social, and tapping out messages are all easily done, however.

• Display score: 4.5 / 5

OnePlus 13R review: software

(Image credit: Future)

• OxygenOS 15.0 offers plenty of customization options
• OnePlus guarantees four years of OS updates, but rivals offer more

The OnePlus 13R is an Android 15 smartphone, with the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system underpinning the software you see on the screen.

It’s not pure Android, as OnePlus has applied its OxygenOS 15.0 interface on top, providing the handset with a familiar look and feel for users of the brand’s previous generation of devices.

What this gives you is a slightly different look and feel to the stock Android platform (found on Pixel handsets). My OnePlus 13R also arrived pre-loaded with additional apps on top of the default system offerings.

These included Netflix, Amazon Music, Booking.com, LinkedIn, Facebook, Lyft, and AliExpress. You may find some of these pre-installed apps useful, but if you don’t the good news is they can be uninstalled entirely from the phone – leaving you with more of the apps you want.

I have seen phone manufacturers pre-install many more apps than on the OnePlus 13R, and also forbid users from uninstalling them, so what OnePlus has done isn’t cause for concern.

OnePlus says it has reduced the overall size of OxygenOS 15 by 40%, meaning it takes up less of the 256GB of internal storage space, leaving you more room for apps, games, photos, videos, and more.

OnePlus’ overlay also provides a wide range of customization features, allowing you to make the OnePlus 13R personal to you. From a range of home screen widgets and the ability to tweak the size, shape, and design of app icons, to different options from the drag-down motion to access the notifications bar and quick settings – there’s plenty to explore.

The Open Canvas feature from the OnePlus Open and OnePlus Pad 2 is present here, so I could have two apps side-by-side on screen. A horizontal bar divides the screen, and I could drag it up and down to resize the two apps.

There’s also the option to open an app in a floating window, and I could move around the rest of the phone’s interface while keeping the selected app open in a small area of the screen. Useful if you’re watching a video or part of a busy group chat and want to look up information in other apps.

I could even drag and ‘pin’ up to two of these floating windows to the edge of the screen, minimizing them to a transparent app logo tucked off the side of the display. A quick tap on the logo opened it back up as a floating window.

These multitasking features work well on the OnePlus 13R, and while it’s a little fiddly to enable split screen or floating window (and to pin these), it’s impressive when you get multiple apps all working at once – especially if you have two apps on split screen and then a third in a floating window.

The OnePlus 13R comes future-proofed too, with OnePlus committing to four years of software updates and six years of security updates for the device. While this is a good offering, it’s not industry-leading. Apple has offered five years of updates for some time, while Google and Samsung offer seven years of software and security updates on their latest devices.

And this wouldn’t be a 2025 smartphone without a mention of AI. In the Photos app (the OnePlus version, not Google’s Photos app) you’ll find the AI Editor option with four tools for you to use. More on these in the camera section.

Google’s Gemini AI assistant also comes pre-loaded on the OnePlus 13R, giving you access to features such as Circle to Search and Magic Compose (for help writing text messages).

• Software score: 4 / 5

OnePlus 13R review: cameras

(Image credit: Future)

• A capable all-round camera delivers great images in most conditions
• Plenty of modes and settings for avid photographers

The OnePlus 13R packs a trio of cameras in the sizable, circular camera housing, headlined by a 50MP Sony LYT-700 main sensor alongside a 50MP telephoto sensor, providing support for the 2x zoom. The sensor array is completed by an 8MP ultra-wide sensor with a 112-degree field of view. There’s also an LED flash to help illuminate dark scenes.

On the front, you get a 16MP selfie camera, but there’s no wide-angle lens to expand the view to fit more faces. You’ll either have to press cheeks together or live with the fact some people may not make it in the frame.

The OnePlus 13R camera app loads swiftly and comes packed with features, with quick access icons for Google Lens, exposure, retouch (beautification mode), and filters ensuring you’re Instagram-ready in no time.

You can move between different camera modes by swiping horizontally above the shutter button – with smartphone staples ‘Video’ and ‘Portrait’ quickly accessible on either side of the default ‘Photo’ mode.

For those who like to fine-tune their shooting experience, ‘Pro’ mode gives granular controls for ISO, Shutter speed, exposure, focus, and white balance – plus there’s the option to shoot in RAW rather than JPG for greater editing flexibility in programs such as Photoshop.

Dive into the ‘More’ section and you’ll find further modes to choose from including night, panorama, slo-mo video, and time-lapse.

In short, the OnePlus 13R camera app gives you plenty of choice and customization options, but the good news is it takes good photos in the default setting – for those who don’t want to have to mess with settings.

In most conditions, the 13R is a very capable smartphone camera. It’s not at the same level as the best camera phones on the market, but that’s to be expected given it sits a tier below the true premium flagship offerings.

• Camera score: 4 / 5

OnePlus 13R review: camera samples Image 1 of 10

Portrait mode does an excellent job of keeping the cat in focus while blurring the sofa behind (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 10

Macro mode is automatically enabled when you get close to your subject (Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 10

In bright daylight, the OnePlus 13R is a great point-and-shoot camera (Image credit: Future)Image 4 of 10

The default 1x zoom (Image credit: Future)Image 5 of 10

Tap to the 2x optical zoom and you’ll get closer to your subject while maintaining image quality (Image credit: Future)Image 6 of 10

The 13R can zoom all the way to 20x digitally (Image credit: Future)Image 7 of 10

At night, the OnePlus 13R captures detailed shots (Image credit: Future)Image 8 of 10

And does impressively well close-up in lowlight (default shooting mode) (Image credit: Future)Image 9 of 10

The selfie camera produces bright, clear shots – although they can be a little overexposed (Image credit: Future)Image 10 of 10

Switch to Portrait mode when using the selfie camera and you get a more natural result and decent blurring around the subject (Image credit: Future)

As with its predecessor, the advice for those who want to take their smartphone photography seriously on the OnePlus 13R is to stick to the main 50MP camera. It benefits from both EIS (electronic image stabilization) and OIS (optical image stabilization) to improve results.

You can use the phone as a reliable point-and-shoot to capture outdoor and indoor shots, both during the day and at night. The OnePlus 13R camera particularly impressed me during a nighttime walk through a light trail, with the default settings handling the variable lighting conditions very well.

I was able to take a series of striking low-light images with minimum effort as I walked through the trail, and this is exactly what I want from a smartphone camera. Something that can quickly and easily generate great results for social and group chats.

The OnePlus 13R also offers solid editing tools, allowing you to tinker with pictures way after you’ve taken them. As mentioned earlier in this review, OnePlus has included a number of AI-powered editing tools in its own gallery (the 13R has two photo galleries, the default OnePlus app, and the Google Photos app – the latter of which has its own editing tools as well).

AI Unblur, as the name suggests, can take your blurry photographs and reduce the lack of focus. It can be applied to any image, not just ones taken on the 13R, although I found the difference made – while an improvement – was minimal.

What I found more useful was AI Detail Boost. This enhances busy images to provide better clarity and contrast throughout your shots – again, working on any image.

Then there’s AI Eraser and AI Reflection Eraser. The former you’ll likely be familiar with as it’s a tool most smartphones offer, allowing you to remove people/animals/objects from your shots. It works well here, although it can struggle with busier scenes and complex backgrounds.

Reflection Eraser takes things a step further by, yup you’ve guessed it, attempting to remove reflections on windows, glass, or screens. I tried this on a number of images, with varying success. Generally, improvements were made, but I didn’t manage to completely remove reflections in any of the images I tested it on.

In all, the AI tools are a nice addition to the OnePlus 13R, but they don’t deliver an experience that stands out over similar tools available on other phones.

OnePlus 13R review: performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Powerful chipset provides flagship-grade performance
• Hyperboost performance settings are great for mobile gamers

The OnePlus 13R comes packed with power, ensuring it keeps up with pretty much anything you can toss its way.

While the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset isn’t the latest top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite offering from Qualcomm, it’s the same flagship chipset that featured in the OnePlus 12. What this means is the 13R still packs a punch, backed up by a capable 12GB of RAM.

The interface flows well, and the performance along with the 120Hz displays makes for slick, smooth scrolling on social media. Apps load quickly, although for more demanding titles the OnePlus 13R doesn’t feel quite as fast under the finger as the true flagships on the market.

That’s not really an issue, and considering the price point of this phone I was more than happy with the performance I was getting, whether that was browsing social, streaming video, checking emails, doing work (including writing parts of this very review) or taking a well-earned gaming break.

I ran a number of benchmark tests from 3DMark, Geekbench, CrossMark, JetStream, and WebXPRT 4 to really push the capabilities of the OnePlus 13R. It performed admirably with flagship-level (or close to flagship) results, reinforcing the fact there’s plenty of power available in this phone.

Fire up a game and you’ll notice the handset’s Hyperboost performance settings are automatically engaged, giving you live data on the phone’s condition during your gaming session.

From the drop-down panel, you can easily keep an eye on your fps (frames per second), latency, and how hot the OnePlus 13R is getting thanks to a temperature sensor embedded under the display.

There are three modes to choose from, with ‘Balanced’ being the default setting. You can alternatively switch to ‘Low power’ which will help extend your gaming session when the battery is running low by reducing screen refresh and lowering touch response.

(Image credit: Future)

Then there’s ‘Pro Gamer’ which channels all power to your game resulting in increased temperature and battery drain. A pop-up even warns you to consider only using this mode during ambient temperatures.

There are even more tools to play around with in the Hyperboost menu, including tweaking the GPU settings, toggling key features on and off, and screen recording controls to capture epic battles. In short, if you’re big into mobile gaming, the OnePlus 13R has plenty to offer.

The OnePlus 13R comfortably handled Genshin Impact at 60fps and its highest graphics setting (at 30fps). Load screens took a beat longer to process compared to the high-end flagship phones, but it didn’t detract from gameplay. While the handset did get warm it never reached an uncomfortable temperature.

Something else that impressed me during testing was the performance of the biometric scanners. Located under the display close to the bottom of the screen, the fingerprint scanner is well placed for your thumb to land on it every time when unlocking.

It performs well too, with great responsiveness and no read failures experienced during my time with the phone.

You can also choose to enable face unlock. It’s quick to register your face, and in daylight, the OnePlus 13R is able to instantly recognize you and unlock, even from awkward angles such as sneakily looking at your phone from under a desk.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

OnePlus 13R review: battery

(Image credit: Future)

• TA huge 6,000mAh battery delivers two-day use on a single charge
• 80W charging sees 1%-100% in 52 minutes, but no wireless charging

One of the biggest selling points for the OnePlus 13R is its huge 6,000mAh battery, providing the handset with excellent longevity and giving you the peace of mind of truly all-day battery life without the need to even consider reaching for a charger.

During our heavy-usage days, we found we’d still be getting into bed at the end of the day with the battery at least 20%, and on days where we curbed our gaming and video watching, we could easily unplug at 7am and then plug in at 11pm with 50% still left in the tank.

With slightly more thoughtful use (i.e. no gaming and videos and limited social media) the OnePlus 13R is capable of delivering two days of battery life from a single charge without the need to switch to a battery-saving mode.

The SUPERVOOC charging speed has been reduced from 100W on the OnePlus 12R to 80W on the new OnePlus 13R, as the firm looks to preserve the overall life of the mammoth power pack inside.

(Image credit: Future)

The 80W charging still delivers a good amount of juice in a short amount of time, and with the right fast-charging plug adapter (you only get a USB-C cable in the box in the UK) the OnePlus 13R can go from 1% to 100% in as little as 52 minutes.

Using a fast 60W charging block, the OnePlus 13R replenished from 15% to 31% in 15 minutes, and the battery got back to 48% after 30 minutes (increasing 33 percentage points in half an hour). Respectable top-up times, especially if you need to swiftly add charge before stepping out of the house.

These charging times will improve if you have an 80W charging block to take advantage of the maximum supported charging speed.

The only blemish in the OnePlus 13R’s battery story is the fact it doesn’t have wireless charging. This feature has been reserved for its pricier sibling – the OnePlus 13, so you’ll need a cable to top up the 13R.

• Battery score: 4.5 /5

Should you buy the OnePlus 13R? Buy it if...

You want a brilliant balance of battery power and performance
With a 6,000mAh battery and punchy Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, the OnePlus 13R delivers excellent battery life along with flagship-level performance (even though the chipset is a year old).

You’re after a big screen that won’t break the bank
Forget the Pro Max and Ultra devices, the OnePlus 13R delivers a big screen experience at a lower price point, and it does it really well. The 6.78-inch display is brilliantly bright and colorful, making whatever you do on it look great.

You want a slick mobile gaming machine
Add together the battery life, performance, and display, and the OnePlus 13R has all the hallmarks of a fantastic gaming device. The Hyperboost performance settings are the icing on the cake.

Don't buy it if...

You’re looking for the best update longevity
OnePlus has made positive strides by announcing its OnePlus 13 series handsets will receive four years of OS updates and six years of security updates, but it still lags behind the competition. Apple, Google, and Samsung all offer more years of OS updates.

You want the biggest battery for your buck
If battery life is your core focus for buying a new phone, the OnePlus 13R and its 6,000mAh power pack certainly makes a good case, but the Honor Magic 7 Lite has a bigger battery (6,600mAh) at a lower price – although it’s not as powerful, and not available in North America.

You’re after proper water resistance
The OnePlus 13R carries an IP65 dust and water resistance rating, which translates to the phone being able to cope with droplets and jets of water (such as rain), but isn’t protected if you were to accidentally drop it in the bath/sink/swimming pool.

OnePlus 13R review: also consider

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
The Galaxy S24 FE isn’t the cheapest of the rivals, but it comes stuffed to the brim with Galaxy AI features, excellent battery life, and decent performance.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S24 FE review

Google Pixel 8a
This Galaxy is about to be replaced, but it still hits hard with amazing cameras, the water-resistant S Pen camera remote, and tons of other features.

Read our full Google Pixel 8a review

How I tested the OnePlus 13R

I used the OnePlus 13R as my daily device for more than two weeks, testing it in a wide range of daily scenarios.

From night-time photography walks around illuminated festive trails and trips to live sporting events, to hours spent playing games (including Pokemon Go, Clash Royale, and Genshin Impact) and streaming videos (via Netflix, DAZN, YouTube, and Disney+), the 13R experienced high-usage and demanding applications to push the screen, chipset and battery to their limits. I braved the storms, taking the phone outside during heavy downpours to test the screen resistance, while also chasing the sun to put the 4,500 nits display through its paces.

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There were quieter days too, where I was checking emails, scrolling social media, and listening to music without the demands of gaming or video, to get a true feeling of how the battery and interface work. I even wrote some of this very review on the OnePlus 13R, to see how it coped as a work device – as life isn’t all pleasure. At least, not for me.

Alongside daily use, I ran numerous benchmarking tests from the likes of Geekbench, CrossMark, 3DMark, and more, to find out if the OnePlus 13R lived up to its performance billing – which it certainly did.

First reviewed January 2025

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• Nintendo has finally commented on the latest Nintendo Switch 2 leaks
• It described the mockup shown off by Genki at CES 2025 as "unofficial"
• The company has also backtracked on its claim that the mockup was based on an actual unit

Unless you’ve been living under a particularly resilient rock for the last few weeks, you’re going to have inevitably seen at least a couple of the recent Nintendo Switch 2 leaks.

It seems like we know almost everything about the console in advance of its official reveal, including its alleged overall design, name, and even some of its potential features.

It’s an unusual situation and I certainly can’t remember the last time that there was this much information out in the wild about an upcoming hardware release. If all that wasn’t enough, third-party accessory manufacturers have been brazenly posting their own Nintendo Switch 2 renders.

Case maker Genki was even showing off a mockup of the system on the CES 2025 show floor which, if accurate, gives us a good idea of the dimensions to expect. It seems like this is what it finally took for Nintendo to issue a statement though, but its words have honestly just left me with even more questions.

In a comment provided to CNET Japan which we have machine translated, a Nintendo representative stated that “the gaming hardware that Genki claims to be Nintendo hardware at CES 2025 is unofficial and not provided to the company by Nintendo”.

On the face of it, this is a pretty unremarkable answer. It was already very obvious that the mockup was unofficial, though Genki did claim that it was based on an actual Nintendo Switch 2 unit. According to IGN, the company has now backtracked by admitting that it was created with rumors and leaked information rather than anything more concrete.

Still, this statement doesn’t touch on the abundance of other information out there today. It also doesn’t suggest that Genki’s mockup was in any way inaccurate, which could be quite revealing. Either way, we’re going to have to wait for the console’s official reveal, or at least some more reliable leaks, in order to find out.

The company has previously confirmed that it will unveil the system before the end of its fiscal year (that's March 31), so there might not be that long to wait.

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• Nvidia's RTX 5090 laptop GPU shows inconsistent Geekbench 6 performance scores
• Fails to score higher than the RTX 4080 or 4090 laptop GPUs in Vulkan
• It hasn't launched yet, and there aren't any official drivers available

CES 2025 finally gave us a look at Nvidia's new RTX 5000 series of graphics cards, and the flagship RTX 5090 GPU's performance capabilities compared to the last generation's RTX 4090 - but early benchmarks for its laptop GPU don't look very promising.

This comes from BenchLeaks on X, which claims to have leaked Geekbench 6 results of Nvidia's RTX 5090 laptop GPU using Vulkan (graphics API used in plenty of games), with its highest score of 114,821. Tom's Hardware highlighted this as the fourth benchmark among five different tests, with the lowest score sitting at 51,831 and the final test scoring 77,989.

Each benchmark score points towards wildly inconsistent performance for Team Green's flagship laptop GPU, which failed to score higher than the RTX 4080's 145,067 and the RTX 4090’s 167,655 Geekbench scores in Vulkan (both of which are for the laptop versions of those GPUs). While these results might be cause for concern, it's far too early to draw any conclusions.

(Image credit: Nvidia) Should we be worried about these early benchmarks?

While these tests are almost certainly not great to see, it's absolutely not a reason to panic. Aside from the fact that these benchmarks are not official, but are claimed to be leaked, the RTX 5000 series hasn't even officially launched yet (the RTX 5090 will be available at the end of the month), which means the necessary drivers and optimizations have not been made yet.

It's also important to note that in-game benchmarks are what matter most - while Geekbench 6 can be accurate for measuring the performance capabilities of a GPU, scores are never going to be the same as each test will often vary drastically or closely. Despite the inconsistent scores here, we should wait to see how the RTX 5090 laptop GPU fares across multiple games once Nvidia makes the necessary adjustments and official drivers have been released.

We should be getting both the desktop RTX 5090, alongside gaming laptops with the mobile version, in for review, so make sure you check out our full reviews when they are live for reliable and independent verdicts on just how good (or not) these new GPUs from Nvidia really are.

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• Model Y receives many of the updates seen on recent Model 3
• Faster acceleration and improved range among the upgrades
• Exterior styling is cleaner, with a full-width light bar at the front and rear

Tesla has responded to leaked images of the updated Model Y surfacing on Chinese social media recently by revealing full details of the refreshed EV, which has long been codenamed ‘Juniper’.

As with the Model 3 last year, the new Model Y receives a fairly major exterior overhaul, complete with front and rear full-width light bars, as well as a subtle but easily spotted refresh to the front and rear bumpers.

The sleeker exterior has improved the vehicle’s drag co-efficiency that, alongside improved sound-proofing, new acoustic glass, greater insulation and the latest casting methods, has reduced the number of body gaps and will lead to a quieter cabin. It will also have a positive effect on battery range.

Inside, Tesla has introduced ventilated seats and myriad ambient interior lighting extras to the refreshed Model Y, while the turn signals are now activated via a traditional stalk on Asia-Pacific models, rather than buttons on the steering wheel.

However, it is yet to be seen whether the controversial button controls will remain on vehicles that make their way to other markets.

There is also a new eight-inch touchscreen in the rear, in addition to the 15.4in touchscreen on the dash, which allows occupants to play games and binge their favorite movies and television while on the move.

(Image credit: Tesla China)

Currently, only the Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) and Long Range All Wheel Drive (LR AWD) models have received the ‘Juniper’ updates and, as a result, have also received reworked estimated range and acceleration specification.

But bear in mind that the WLTP cycle tests are typically more generous in their range estimations than the EPA figures used in North America.

The 2025 Long Range AWD model is said to be capable of 551km / 342 miles on a single charge, while 0.7 seconds has been shaved off the 0-60mph sprint time, so it can now manage it in just 4.3 seconds. Tesla claims it also charges slightly faster.

A cheaper Rear Wheel Drive model (RWD) is also on offer, which can manage 466km / 289 miles on a single charge and a 0-60mph acceleration time of 5.9 seconds. Customers will likely have to wait for a Long Range RWD model, as well as the top spec Performance versions to arrive.

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(Image credit: Tesla China)

Currently, customers in China can order a Launch Series Model Y in either a RWD or Long Range AWD variant, with the former costing ¥263,500 – or around $36,000 / £29,000 / AU$58,000. The more expensive AWD model costs ¥303,500, which converts to around $41,300 / £33,600 / AU$66,900 at the current exchange rates.

There has been no word on European and North America specification and pricing, but with the outgoing Model Y starting at $31,490 in the US and £46,990 in the UK, it is likely to be more expensive than the aging model. Electrek claims the figures equate to a 5% increase on the previous Chinese pricing, for example.

It is highly likely that Australia will be the next market to receive the refreshed Model Y, with key European markets likely following soon thereafter. However, current uncertainty around tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles in the US will impact the speed at which the North American market receives refreshed cars.

Arguably, the updated model can’t be rolled out fast enough for Tesla, seeing as the company posted its first sales drop since 2011 at its recent Q4 2024 earnings call, according to CNBC. Musk predicted earlier in the year that this would likely happen, citing ageing models as one of the key reasons for slowing sales.

The recent refresh of Model 3 has highlighted just how staid Model X and Model Y now look, while the range offered by their respective battery packs, which was once the talk of the EV industry, now lags behind rivals from the Volkswagen Group, Hyundai, Kia and Peugeot.

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• The Galaxy S25 Slim has leaked again
• A Snapdragon 8 Elite CPU and 12GB of RAM are expected
• The phone could launch later in 2025

Among the many Samsung Galaxy S25 leaks we've heard over the past few months, there have been consistent rumors of a fourth 'Slim' model that's joining the range – and benchmark scores for said phone have just appeared online.

As spotted by well-known tipster @Jukanlosreve, the phone is listed as having a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and 12GB of RAM. The stated operating system is Android 15 – which will be Samsung's One UI 7.

The single-core and multi-core scores for the handset are somewhat underwhelming, but that's to be expected: work on software and hardware optimization is likely still ongoing, so the phone's actual performance will be several levels above what's shown here.

There's no doubt the Snapdragon 8 Elite is an impressive piece of silicon, and will be powering numerous flagship Android phones this year – head to our OnePlus 13 review to read about the first of them.

How slim is slim?

S25 Slim Geekbnech (US version)SD 8 Elite12GB RAM pic.twitter.com/X47mAIHSAnJanuary 9, 2025

As the name suggests, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim is expected to be slimmer than the other models in the range. Previous leaks have suggested we're looking at something between 6-7mm in thickness, front to back.

That's significantly thinner than the 7.6mm thickness of the Samsung Galaxy S24, though of course we don't know the dimensions of the standard Galaxy S25, the Galaxy S25 Plus, or the Galaxy S25 Ultra just yet.

Despite the thinness, the phone could well pack some high-end specs: we've heard that the phone could have a better rear camera setup than the standard Galaxy S25, while this benchmark leak hints at a very decent processor and RAM combination.

Samsung has confirmed its next Unpacked event will be happening on Wednesday, January 22, and the invite shows four phones – though there have been rumors that the Slim model will go on sale later than the others.

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• The Linux Foundation launches new initiative to look after Chromium browsers
• It’s meant to give a “neutral space” for developers to contribute without barriers
• Google, Meta, Microsoft and Opera have already joined

The Linux Foundation has declared its support for open-source Chromium-based browsers with the launch of a new initiative.

The ‘Supporters of Chromium-Based Bowsers’ program is designed to help support open source contributions and improve the sustainability of Chromium projects to “drive technological advancement.”

Its goal is to create a “neutral space” where industry leaders, academia, developers, and the broader open source community can come together to contribute to open-source browsers without barriers.

Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers

“This project will provide much-needed funding and development support for open development of projects within the Chromium ecosystem," Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin commented.

Google, Meta, Microsoft and Opera have already committed to supporting the initiative, which is hoped to foster collaboration and distribute resources across Chromium projects.

Like other Foundation initiatives, the Chromium program will focus on transparency, inclusivity and community-driven development to “[meet] the needs of the wider Chromium community.”

The Foundation, which of course supports the Linux operating system, has been spreading its support and positive messaging across the entire tech industry since its inception as a nonprofit in 2000.

In late 2022, it launched the Overture Maps Foundation to create an interoperable mapping data set for the likes of autonomous driving and data visualization, with founding partners including AWS, Meta, Microsoft and TomTom.

Then, in April 2024 it announced the LF AI & Data Foundation to improve the state of generative AI for enterprises.

Speaking about the Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers initiative, Chrome VP Parisa Tabriz commented: “We believe the Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers is an important opportunity to create a sustainable platform to support industry leaders, academia, developers, and the broader open source community in the continued development and innovation of the Chromium ecosystem.”

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• ESR has launched an Apple Pencil alternative that costs $30
• The Geo Digital Pencil can fast charge and has Find My support
• It lacks many Apple Pencil features, but costs less than half the price

The Apple Pencil is a superb accessory for all the best iPads, but it doesn’t come cheap thanks to its $79 / £79 / AU$139 starting price (which stretches up to $129 / £129 / AU$219 if you want the Apple Pencil Pro). If you’re looking for an alternative pen for your iPad that won’t break the bank, ESR has just introduced a much more wallet-friendly option.

The ESR Geo Digital Pencil is a $30 pen for the iPad that can replicate many of the Apple Pencil’s features. For instance, it comes with tilt sensitivity that lets you easily adjust the thickness of your output by adjusting the pencil’s angle.

As well as that, you can tap the Geo Digital Pencil to quickly interact with your iPad and see the pen’s battery level. That’s similar to the Apple Pencil Pro’s ability to change tools when you tap it and is something that isn’t available on the entry-level Apple Pencil.

ESR says the Geo Digital Pencil is compatible with a range of iPads, including the iPad Air with M2 chip, the M4 iPad Pro, the 10th-generation iPad, and the iPad mini with A17 Pro chip.

What's missing?

(Image credit: ESR)

One of the Geo Digital Pencil’s most useful features is its Find My integration. This will allow you to connect it to you iPhone and locate it using the Find My app. Find My is an incredibly useful tool for Apple devices, so it’s encouraging to see ESR built it into its iPad pencil.

To charge the pen, you can connect it to a power outlet using a USB-C cable. This enables fast charging, which will get it to full battery power within 30 minutes. You can also magnetically snap the pencil to your iPad, but doing so will not charge it, which is something you can do with the Apple Pencil Pro (but not the regular Apple Pencil).

At $30, it’s unsurprising that ESR’s device lacks some of the Apple Pencil’s features, and it also goes without the hover feature that lets you preview a pen mark before you make it with Apple’s device. You also don’t get the barrel roll, haptic feedback or squeeze functionality of the Apple Pencil Pro, although that pen does cost over four times the price of the ESR Geo Digital Pencil.

Still, at less than half the price of the standard Apple Pencil, you might decide that it’s worth taking a punt on ESR’s alternative – we've certainly had some joy previously with more affordable rivals.

We don’t yet know how it compares to the Apple Pencil in terms of precision and latency, but if it turns out to be a solid device, it could take its place among the best Apple Pencil alternatives.

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