Has Google met its match?

It’s that point of 12 months when the race between

the very best flagship smartphones
heats up, and OnePlus kicked off 2025 with its newest entry, the OnePlus 13. As one of many first smartphones to pack in Qualcomm’s newest and biggest Snapdragon 8 Elite, the OnePlus 13 units a brand new efficiency bar. However does it transfer the needle sufficient to carry the fanatic model into the mainstream?

OnePlus has at all times felt like a plucky little upstart in opposition to behemoths like Samsung and Google. With a 6.8-inch display and flagship specs on the OnePlus 13, there’s no higher yardstick to measure it in opposition to than Google’s Pixel 9 Professional XL. Final 12 months, the Android maker’s newest flagship underwent massive design modifications, together with a brand new Tensor G4 chip that gives its personal efficiency increase and a wealth of recent AI options, together with Gemini Dwell to interchange the venerable Google Assistant.

Whereas Qualcomm’s chips supply extra uncooked energy, Google’s Pixel telephones have lengthy dominated in photographic prowess and synthetic intelligence options. Let’s dive in and see how the OnePlus 13 fares in opposition to the very best that Google gives.

• 

  The plucky upstart

  
  OnePlus 13
  

  The OnePlus 13 brings loads to the desk this 12 months. Its refreshed design and Snapdragon 8 Elite energy are joined by unbelievable two-day battery life, ultra-fast charging, and a digicam system that is able to tackle the massive boys.

  Execs

  • Oustanding battery life and charging speeds
  • Fashionable and comfy design
  • Wonderful cameras produce nice outcomes

  Cons

  • Digital camera high quality falls off sharply at greater digital zoom ranges
  • Fake leather-based look is not for everybody
  • AI instruments in OxygenOS 15 are finest ignored

• 

  The dependable workhorse

  
  Google Pixel 9 Professional XL
  

  Google’s Pixel 9 Professional XL is the direct successor to the Pixel 8 Professional. It continues the lineup’s custom of offering highly effective AI options, strong efficiency, and dependable pictures. The brand new flat-edged design provides it a extra severe look, and the Tensor G4 brings Gemini Dwell to the desk for a complete new era of AI capabilities.

  Execs

  • Wonderful efficiency for on a regular basis duties
  • All-day battery life
  • Digital camera system continues to be excellent

  Cons

  • Pricier than final 12 months’s mannequin
  • Nonetheless begins at 128GB of storage
  • Charging speeds have not meaningfully elevated

Worth, availability, and specs

The OnePlus 13 follows its predecessors by providing two storage configurations with restricted coloration choices within the lower-capacity mannequin. The bottom 256GB model with 12GB of RAM prices $900, however you’ll solely get primary black or, as OnePlus calls it, Black Eclipse. You may get 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM for $100 extra, plus the blue Midnight Ocean and white Arctic Daybreak, with the second end being a primary for the North American market. There’s no pre-order section for the OnePlus 13. It’s accessible from Amazon, Greatest Purchase, and OnePlus, though not all retailers have all the lineup of colours.

Google’s Pixel 9 Professional XL has been available on the market for a couple of months, so it shouldn’t be onerous to search out in any configuration. In contrast to OnePlus, it’s offered by carriers, so that you’re extra probably to have the ability to decide one up on contract. It begins at $1,099 for the bottom 128GB mannequin, with 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB variations accessible for $1,199, $1,319, and $1,549. The Pixel 9 Professional XL is out there in 4 colours: Porcelain, Hazel, Rose Quartz, and Obsidian. Nonetheless, the 1TB configuration is simply accessible in Obsidian. In order for you Rose Quartz, you’ll need to go for the 256GB mannequin.

• 	OnePlus 13	Google Pixel 9 Professional XL
  SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite	Google Tensor G4
  Show kind	OLED, 120Hz	LTPO OLED, 120Hz
  Show dimensions	6.82″, 19.8:9	6.8″, 20:9
  Show decision	3168 x 1440	2992 x 1344
  RAM	12GB, 16GB, or 24GB	16GB
  Storage	256GB, 512GB, or 1TB	128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
  Battery	6,000mAh	5,060mAh
  Cost velocity	100W	37W
  Cost choices	USB-C wired, Qi wi-fi	USB-C wired, Qi wi-fi
  Ports	USB-C	USB-C
  SIM assist	Twin SIM and Nano SIM	Nano SIM and eSIM
  Working System	Android 15 and OxygenOS 15.0	Android 14
  Entrance digicam	32MP f/2.4	42MP f/2.2
  Rear digicam	50MP f/1.6 fundamental, 50MP f/2.6 3x telephoto, 50MP f/2.0 ultrawide	50MP f/1.7 OIS fundamental, 48MP f/1.7 ultrawide, 48MP f/2.8 5x telephoto
  Mobile connectivity	Sub-6 5G	Sub-6 & mmWave 5G
  Wi-Fi connectivity	Wi-Fi 7	Wi-Fi 7
  Connectivity	NFC	UWB, NFC, Satellite tv for pc SOS
  Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.4	Bluetooth 5.3
  Dimensions	162.9mm x 76.5mm x 8.9mm	162.8 x 76.6 x 8.5mm
  Weight	210g (leather-based), 213g (glass)	221g
  IP Score	IP69	IP68
  Colours	Arctic Daybreak, Black Eclipse, Midnight Ocean	Obsidian, Porcelain, Hazel, Rose Quartz
  Stylus	No	No

Design

Flat is the place it’s at

It’s honest to say that 2024 can be remembered because the 12 months Android cellphone makers embraced their flat sides, actually. Apple ditched rounded edges on the flip of the last decade with the iPhone 12. Whereas its rivals probably didn’t wish to be seen as aping that design, they’ve seemingly given into the concept that flattened edges are factor. Samsung was the primary main participant to make the leap with the Galaxy S24, and Google rapidly adopted with the Pixel 9 lineup.

If something, OnePlus lags behind solely due to its later launch cycle. Nonetheless, the OnePlus 13 is now on board, though not as starkly. Whereas the closely curved display of the OnePlus 12 is gone, the OnePlus 13 has a slight curve to it with its quad-curved 2.5D glass. It’s a pleasant aesthetic contact that removes the annoying features of a curved display with out going flat on the entrance.

The perimeters are distinctively squared off. With that change, the OnePlus 13 strikes to a extra refined design across the again. The digicam array stands by itself, with out the tangential strains that beforehand blended it into the aspect. The watch-like ring on the skin is extra delicate than earlier than. The stylized “H” representing the corporate’s Hasselblad partnership moved out of the digicam circle, above a horizontal line that bisects the digicam ring.

This ends in a cultured {and professional} look, particularly when blended with the 2 new finishes that OnePlus added this 12 months. Having seemingly run out of inexperienced shades, the OnePlus 13 strikes to a Midnight Ocean blue. There’s extra to that than the colour. It adopts a vegan microfiber end, much like what we’ve seen on Motorola’s Razr. It’s a primary for OnePlus. Whereas it feels nice within the hand and eliminates the potential of smudges, we aren’t followers of the way it seems.

The opposite coloration is Arctic Daybreak, a shiny white that OnePlus says has a particular coating on the glass that makes it silky clean. It’s too early to inform what meaning for grip and smudge resistance, nevertheless it’s good to have a 3rd possibility in North America. OnePlus’ white finishes have historically been restricted to China and limited-edition fashions in a couple of different markets.

Google’s Pixel 9 Professional XL made the identical transition into flatness earlier this 12 months. A lot in order that you possibly can mistake it for an iPhone from the entrance, not less than at first look. It embraces a flat edge-to-edge display, which we predict is a pleasant change that strikes the needle additional away from the times of excessively curvy screens.

Flip the Pixel 9 Professional XL over, and it turns into extra evident that you just’re taking a look at a Google cellphone. That’s not simply due to the distinguished Google brand. The enduring digicam bump continues to be there. Nonetheless, like OnePlus’ digicam ring, it’s honed all the way down to a glance that makes it really feel elegant and prepared for severe photographic motion.

We’ve at all times discovered the digicam bar a delightfully opinionated design selection on Google’s half. This 12 months’s mannequin drops the edge-to-edge design that tries to mix into the edges in favor of a Cyclops-like protrusion. Find it irresistible or hate it, it’s onerous to argue that it doesn’t stand out in a novel means, giving the Pixel 9 Professional XL a severe, no-nonsense look. It is a cellphone that desires you to comprehend it means enterprise.

Regardless of the “XL” moniker, the Pixel 9 Professional XL doesn’t enhance in measurement over its predecessor. As an alternative, Google matched Apple’s iPhone Professional lineup by providing two sizes this 12 months. The bigger 6.7-inch Pixel 8 Professional model applies to a extra pocketable 6.3-inch Pixel 9 Professional, whereas the biggest mannequin grows to six.8 inches and named the Pixel 9 Professional XL to set it aside.

In the meantime, the OnePlus 13 lacks any suffixes. Nonetheless, there’s little doubt it’s a “Professional XL” mannequin in its personal proper. It has the identical 6.8-inch display because the Google Pixel 9 Professional XL and weighs 11 grams extra. Nonetheless, OnePlus modified the sturdiness equation barely. The OnePlus 13 is the primary cellphone to make use of Corning’s newest Gorilla Glass 7i. Whereas that cup could also be newer, it’s not an improve over the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the Pixel 9 Professional XL. As an alternative, it’s an reasonably priced improve to Gorilla Glass 5, designed for midrange telephones moderately than flagships.

Whereas that places the Pixel 9 Professional XL’s drop safety and scratch resistance forward on paper, Corning lists the glass as having comparable specs to Victus, with the power to outlive drops of as much as one meter on tough surfaces like asphalt. For most people, the OnePlus 13 and Google Pixel 9 Professional XL needs to be equally sturdy in opposition to drops, however we advocate slapping a case on you probably have a life-style the place that’s susceptible to occur.

One space the place the OnePlus 13 comes out forward is water resistance. The corporate has gone with an IP68/IP69 ranking this 12 months, with that second set of digits certifying it in opposition to high-temperature and high-pressure water. The double ranking is as a result of IP69 doesn’t routinely embody IP68, which is the widespread certification for immersion. The OnePlus 13 and Google Pixel 9 Professional XL can survive a dunk in as much as 1.5 meters of recent water for as much as half-hour. OnePlus’ newest cellphone will survive a visit right into a scorching tub. You might energy wash it when you wished to (though we don’t advocate it).

Show

Crisp and clear

Moreover the swap to a much less curvy 2.5D glass, the OnePlus 13 display is nearly equivalent to the one within the OnePlus 12. You get the identical 6.8-inch LTPO OLED panel with a 3,168 x 1,440-pixel decision that works out to a pixel density of 510 pixels per inch (ppi). The display has an adaptive refresh charge starting from 1Hz to 120Hz and might attain an eyeball-searing brightness of 4,500 nits. The everyday brightness is 800 nits, a slight however significant enhance over the 600 nits of the OnePlus 12.

Google has equally caught with its Tremendous Actua show know-how for the Pixel 9 Professional XL. Nonetheless, this 12 months’s is brighter and extra vibrant, with 3,000 nits of peak out of doors brightness and a couple of,000 for HDR content material. The transfer to a flatter display gives symmetrical bezels, however they’re sufficiently small to go almost unnoticed. At a decision of two,992 x 1,344 pixels, the pixel density is barely decrease at 482 ppi, however that’s nothing you’ll discover with the bare eye.

Each screens are equally beautiful and crisp, with vibrant and balanced colours. Nonetheless, OnePlus has one other function that provides it a slight edge: an exceptionally excessive 2,160Hz pulse-width modulation (PWM) dimming charge that reduces eye pressure and complications for people who’re delicate to flickering screens. That’s an order of magnitude above even the very best telephones available on the market, which usually prime out round 480Hz. Samsung raised the bar to 492Hz on this 12 months’s Galaxy S24 lineup, however Google has caught with 240Hz. This received’t be an issue for everybody. Should you’re delicate to flickering screens, the OnePlus 13 will make a large distinction over most different smartphones.

Software program

OxygenOS grows up; Google stays principally pure

Should you’ve used a OnePlus cellphone, you could be aware of OxygenOS. OxygenOS 15 has change into higher because it’s continued to march away from the inspiration it drew from ColorOS. The OnePlus 13 nonetheless makes use of ColorOS 15 in China, which looks like an unabashed iOS clone, however OxygenOS 15 is kind of totally different.

OxygenOS 15 is a UI layer. On this case, it sits on prime of Android 15. The perfect a part of this newest model isn’t simply that it’s grown up. It’s additionally simple to disregard when you don’t prefer it. The core UI is fully usable, and the split-screen multitasking is extra useful than what Android gives out of the field. In the meantime, preinstalled apps may be changed with mainstream options, like Google Photographs, whereas different settings may be buried away from sight.

Google retains its Android-purist method with Pixel 9 Professional XL, so that you get a cleaner UI with much less cruft. That doesn’t imply it’s the identical Android expertise you’ll discover outdoors the Pixel ecosystem. Google has been constructing AI options into its Pixel telephones since lengthy earlier than ChatGPT got here alongside and turned it into a classy buzzword, so it had a head begin. The Pixel 9 Professional XL builds on that, ushering it into the “Gemini period.”

Longstanding options like Magic Eraser and Name Display are nonetheless current, together with the current Circle to Search. Magic Editor joins the combo, however essentially the most vital change is changing Google Assistant with Gemini Dwell, bringing a conversational chatbot to the forefront.

Not each AI function within the Pixel 9 Professional XL is a slam dunk. Gemini Dwell works properly. Artistic options like Add Me and Video Increase impressed us, whereas Magic Editor nonetheless looks like “an attention-grabbing however foolish novelty.” In the meantime, Google’s picture era device, Pixel Studio, appears pointless as a preinstalled app and lacks the guardrails to forestall it from being abused for darker and delinquent functions.

OnePlus averted leaping too closely onto the AI bandwagon, nevertheless it gave in barely with the OnePlus 13. It embraced Gemini and a brand new Clever Search function together with a typical set of AI photo-editing instruments for erasing objects and reflections, boosting element, and unblurring pictures. None of those are particular, and most can be ineffective when you go for Google Photographs, however they’re there if you wish to use them.

As for software program updates, Google maintains its seven-year promise of Android updates. It’s used up a type of updates this 12 months because the Pixel 9 Professional XL launched with Android 14. Nonetheless, we’re undecided that issues, as it is going to run Android 21 when it arrives round 2030. The OnePlus 13 isn’t that bold, however the firm raised its bar this 12 months by promising 4 years of Android updates and 6 years of safety patches. Because it shipped with Android 15, it is going to get Android 19 in 2028, plus maintain it securely patched till 2030.

Efficiency

Uncooked velocity or AI efficiency?

OnePlus 13 is the primary main smartphone to ship with Qualcomm’s newest Snapdragon 8 Elite chip underneath the hood. This places it in a efficiency class of its personal, not less than till Samsung launches its Galaxy S25 lineup within the subsequent few weeks.

There’s not a lot to say concerning the efficiency of this chip apart from it’s incredible. We’ve additionally reached the purpose of diminishing returns. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 on final 12 months’s OnePlus 12 was quick. Nothing you threw at that cellphone would make it break a sweat. Whereas the OnePlus 13 raises the bar, you received’t discover the distinction except you’re a hardcore cellular gamer. This efficiency is past what you’ll want within the quick time period, nevertheless it makes assist for future Android updates much more sensible. This cellphone will nearly deal with Android 19 with out severe efficiency points.

The Tensor G4 in Google’s Pixel 9 Professional XL is a blended bag. It’s a welcome and wholesome improve over prior Tensor chips, delivering extra balanced efficiency and energy effectivity than earlier generations. Many leaned so closely into AI that they weren’t optimized for different demanding actions like gaming. The G4 runs cooler than ever and delivers affordable energy effectivity. Nonetheless, it focuses mainly on dealing with Gemini Dwell and Google’s different AI options moderately than uncooked efficiency, one thing Google readily admits to.

That’s to not say the Tensor G4 isn’t a succesful chip. The Pixel 9 Professional XL performs properly at on a regular basis duties and ensures the brand new Gemini options can come up with out lacking a beat. It’s not a gaming powerhouse, however when you’re an informal gamer, it’s greater than quick sufficient, and also you’ll be hard-pressed to note a distinction in efficiency.

Battery life

All-day and past

If there’s one space the place OnePlus kills it this 12 months, it’s battery life. The OnePlus 13 has a 6,000mAh cell, which, mixed with the facility effectivity of Qualcomm’s newest silicon, provides you what we think about the “Energizer Bunny” of smartphones as a result of it retains going and going.

You must run the OnePlus 13 dry in in the future. In our testing, we ran it for over 10 hours of full screen-on time to empty it to three%. That’s longer than most people sometimes use a smartphone in a day, so this could simply get you thru two days or possibly three with lighter use.

With such unbelievable battery life, it’s ironic that the OnePlus 13 nonetheless boasts among the quickest charging speeds of any cellphone. Whereas its child brother, the OnePlus 13R, dropped the wired charging speeds to a good 55W this 12 months, the North American OnePlus 13 caps out at a staggering 80W. After our ten-hour battery torture take a look at, we may take it as much as a full cost in about 34 minutes utilizing the included SuperVOOC charger. There’s additionally ultrafast 50W wi-fi charging, however you have to purchase the cumbersome and fan-equipped AirVOOC charger individually. With such excellent battery life, you’re most likely high quality counting on quieter and extra ubiquitous 15W Qi charging equipment.

How does the Google Pixel 9 Professional XL fare? Surprisingly properly, it seems. The OnePlus 13 is an outlier right here, and it’s nonetheless the cellphone to purchase if you’d like multi-day battery life, however the Pixel 9 Professional XL will get you thru a busy day with out issues. It delivered 5 hours of display time in our testing whereas juggling a number of demanding background duties. We’re certain you possibly can attain six hours with average use. You’ll probably wish to cost it each evening, however that’s change into part of many individuals’s each day routines.

The Pixel 9 Professional XL nonetheless falls quick in charging speeds. The biggest XL mannequin bought a pleasant bump to 37W wired charging, which is a step in the proper route. Nonetheless, it doesn’t match most of its flagship opponents, a lot much less the quick wired charging speeds OnePlus gives. In sensible phrases, this will provide you with a 70% cost in about half-hour, a pleasant enhance over the Pixel 8 Professional, which solely took you to 50% in the identical time. Like most telephones, charging speeds fall off from there, so that you’ll wait over an hour for a full top-up.

Cameras

The outcomes might shock you

OnePlus has steadily improved its cameras over the previous few years, because of its partnership with Hasselblad, which gives many underlying algorithms for issues like coloration tuning. With the OnePlus 13, the corporate might have hit its stride.

The digicam {hardware} consists of three 50-megapixel (MP) sensors. That’s a slight drop from the 64MP telephoto lens on the OnePlus 12, however new sensors and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite picture sign processor (ISP) greater than compensate for that. The telephoto digicam has a modest however affordable 3x optical zoom, whereas the ultrawide lens will increase the sector of view to 120 levels.

Nonetheless, the outcomes, not the {hardware}, are what counts. No matter OnePlus is doing, it’s doing it proper. The digicam system appears to have hit a candy spot for coloration steadiness, vibrancy, and element, leading to photographs that look nice with out the necessity for enhancing. It surpassed our expectations and set a brand new bar for different smartphones. The low-light efficiency can be excellent, partly because of Qualcomm’s newest silicon.

The OnePlus 13 digicam system has distinctive quirks the corporate must iron out. We discovered its digital zoom disappointing past the 25x vary. We have been stunned by the occasional blurry shot ensuing from a number of movement, though these have been uncommon. This digicam system deserves the identify Hasselblad stamped onto it.

The cameras on the Google Pixel 9 Professional XL haven’t modified a lot over the previous few years. You continue to get the identical 50MP sensors as earlier than, however as with prior fashions, Google’s magic lives within the software program and its customized Tensor G4 silicon. It claims to have overhauled the HDR pipeline, leading to cleaner and crisper pictures than earlier than, with a number of distinction. Nonetheless, they endure from lackluster coloration processing, which can depart you reaching for the edit button to punch them up a bit.

The Pixel 9 Professional XL digicam produces constantly dependable outcomes and has not one of the quirks we discovered on the OnePlus 13. OnePlus might repair a few of these in future software program updates, however the Pixel 9 Professional XL provides outcomes which are good each time proper out of the field. You additionally get a 5x telephoto lens for higher optical zoom and a digital zoom that’s extra usable, as a lot as any digital zoom can get.

Which is best for you?

The OnePlus 13 and Pixel 9 Professional XL telephones are wonderful in some ways. They’d be neck-in-neck have been it not for his or her totally different steadiness of strengths and weaknesses.

Leaving aesthetics apart, since these are subjective, each telephones are solidly constructed, with the OnePlus 13 providing higher water resistance because of its further IP69 ranking. For its $900 price ticket, you get the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which runs circles round the rest available on the market, a digicam system that provides Google a run for its cash, and a versatile and customizable consumer expertise in OxygenOS 15.

The OnePlus 13 additionally gives 256GB of storage for its $900 beginning worth. You’ll pay $300 extra to get the identical storage capability because the Google Pixel 9 Professional XL, which begins at 128GB. Add in two-day battery life and extremely quick charging, and the OnePlus 13 delivers unbelievable worth for its worth. The Pixel 9 Professional XL might ship extra in some areas, however OnePlus leaves you questioning whether or not you should pay that premium.

Google is a model you may’t go improper with lately, and that could be motive sufficient to contemplate the Pixel 9 Professional XL. That’s much more true when you’re in search of an AI-forward cellphone with a confirmed and dependable digicam system or when you just like the pure Google expertise of Android 15. There’s nothing improper with this cellphone apart from its greater price ticket. Nonetheless, the Google Pixel lineup is strong and established, and the Pixel 9 Professional XL does an excellent job of constructing on that transition and ushering within the subsequent era.