Far from cut and dry

• 

  Most affordable Google flagship

  Google Pixel 9

  The Pixel 9 is Google’s 2024 budget flagship. It packs the Tensor G4 chip, a 4,700mAh battery, and a beautiful OLED display.

  Pros

  • Impressive cameras
  • Seven years of software updates
  • Relatively compact

  Cons

  • No telephoto shooter
  • Slower charging speeds

• 

  The OnePlus flagship

  OnePlus 12

  The OnePlus 12 leads the company’s smartphone lineup and has impressive internals, including the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, an LTPO OLED screen, and a sizeable 5,400mAh battery.

  Pros

  • Impressive performance
  • LTPO OLED enables a 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rate
  • Excellent battery life and superfast charging

  Cons

  • No availability through carriers

Google’s new Pixel 9 lineup is making quite a buzz, and for good reason. The Pixel 9, the company’s new value flagship, has much to like, from a refined design to an improved Tensor chip. Like other recent Pixels, it will also get Android updates for seven years. But how does it stack up against OnePlus’s similarly-priced OnePlus 12, which packs a bigger battery with faster charging, a fantastic display, and a trusted Qualcomm Snapdragon chip? Let’s find out.

Price, availability, and specs

The Pixel 9 is $100 more expensive than its predecessor, so it starts at $799 for the base 128GB model and $899 for the 256GB model. The OnePlus 12 has the same starting price of $800 for its 256GB model and $900 for the 512GB model.

Both smartphones are widely available, and you can purchase them from Amazon and Best Buy. However, unlike the OnePlus 12, you can get the Pixel 9 through all three major carriers.

Here’s a look at the raw specifications of the Pixel 9 and the OnePlus 12.

• 	Google Pixel 9	OnePlus 12
  SoC	Google Tensor G4	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
  Display type	OLED, 120Hz	LTPO AMOLED, 1-120Hz
  Display dimensions	6.3″	6.82″, 19.8:9
  Display resolution	1080 x 2424	3168 x 1440
  RAM	12GB	12GB or 16GB
  Storage	128GB or 256GB	256GB or 512GB
  Battery	4,700mAh	5,400mAh
  Charge speed	27W wired, 15W wireless	80W wired (100W international), 50W wireless
  Charge options	Wired, wireless, reverse wireless	USB-C SuperVOOC wired, AirVOOC wireless, reverse charging
  Ports	USB-C	USB-C
  SIM support	Nano-SIM and eSIM	Dual nano-SIM slot
  Operating System	Android 14	Android 14 with OxygenOS 14
  Front camera	10.5MP, f/2.2	32MP, f/2.4
  Rear camera	50MP, f/1.7, OIS main; 48MP, f/1.7 ultrawide	50MP, f/1.6, OIS main; 48MP, f/2.2 ultrawide; 64MP, f/2.6, OIS, 3x telephoto
  Cellular connectivity	5G, LTE	Sub-6 5G, LTE
  Wi-Fi connectivity	Wi-Fi 7	Wi-Fi 7
  Bluetooth	5.3	Bluetooth 5.4
  Dimensions	152.8 x 72 x 8.5mm	164.3 x 75.8 x 9.2mm
  Weight	198g	220g
  IP Rating	IP68	IP65
  Colors	Obsidian, Porcelain, Wintergreen, Peony	Flowy Emerald, Silky Black
  Price	From $799	From $800

Design and display

Glass sandwiches, but different

The Pixel 9 sports a refreshed design, and it’s one of the better-looking phones by Google. You still get a large, horizontal camera bump, but it doesn’t go edge-to-edge. Like other modern flagships, it’s a glass sandwich, with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 present on the front and the back. Plus, you get flat sides and rounded corners.

While the OnePlus 12 is also a glass sandwich, it has curved sides. The rear camera module’s appearance is another big difference between the phones’ designs. OnePlus has kept the same design as the OnePlus 11 with a circular camera module that spills over to one edge of the phone.

One durability advantage the Pixel 9 has over the OnePlus 12 is the higher IP certification , IP68, compared to IP65. So, essentially, the Pixel has better water resistance.

As far as the display go, Google has packed a 6.3-inch 1080p OLED panel with up to 120Hz refresh rate and 2,700 nits peak brightness. On the other hand, the OnePlus 12 has a larger 6.82-inch 1440p LTPO OLED panel with up to 120Hz refresh rate and 4,500 nits peak brightness. Since it’s an LTPO panel, the OnePlus offering’s display can go from 1Hz to 120Hz, whereas the Pixel 9 display is limited from 60Hz to 120Hz. So, the OnePlus 12 certainly has an edge over the Pixel on the display front. And since the OnePlus 12 has a larger display, the OnePlus 12 is bigger and heavier than the Pixel 9.

Software

How many updates do you want?

Unlike previous Pixel phones , the Pixel 9 doesn’t have a brand-new Android version. It runs on Android 14 , which was released last year. This may seem disappointing, but it isn’t a big deal, as it’ll be among the first phones to get Android 15 . Google has packed a lot of exclusive AI features in the phone to differentiate it from older Pixels. These AI-infused features and apps include the new Pixel Screenshots app , Pixel Weather app , and Call Notes.

You’ll also get Android 14 in the OnePlus 14 but in the form of OxygenOS 14 . As you can expect, OxygenOS has its quirks that require a bit of getting used to, but nothing is particularly troublesome. However, the phone will only get four major Android updates and five years of security updates, which, although decent, falls short of what Google is promising.

Performance and battery life

It’s Tensor vs. Snapdragon

As flagship smartphones, the Pixel 9 and the OnePlus 12 pack powerful processors and plenty of RAM to deliver excellent performance. While you get the new Tensor G4 chip with 12GB RAM on the Pixel, the OnePlus phone packs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 with up to 16GB RAM.

Both phones are responsive and snappy; you won’t notice any lag or slowdowns in day-to-day usage. That said, the Tensor G4 has some heating issues, but far less than the chip’s predecessors, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is a much better processor for gaming than the Tensor. The OnePlus offering also includes a new Dual Cryo-velocity Cooling System. It provides impressive cooling power to keep the device from overheating or even feeling warm when being pushed.

The OnePlus 12 also has an advantage in battery and charging as the phone has a bigger 5,400mAh battery and faster charging than the Pixel 9. However, the Pixel 9 does well on the battery front with its relatively smaller 4,700mAh battery.

While you are almost certain to get through a day on a single charge with the OnePlus offering, even with heavy usage, the same can’t be said for the Pixel 9. The Google phone does get through the day without trouble with medium usage. The Pixel is also limited to 27W fast wired and 15W wireless charging, whereas you get 80W wired charging and 50W wireless charging on the OnePlus phone.

The smartphones also offer Wi-Fi 7 , dual-frequency GPS, and a USB 3.2 Type-C port.

Camera

Top-notch camera performance or a telephoto shooter?

This is one category in which Pixel phones are hard to fault, and the Pixel 9 is no exception. It packs a dual rear camera setup, with a 50MP primary shooter and a 48MP ultrawide camera. The phone captures some great shots, even without any kind of tinkering. If you’re someone who prefers point-and-shoot, you’ll be pretty happy with the Pixel 9. You’ll get good exposure, plenty of detail, and lovely colors in good lighting conditions. The low-light shots are also pretty good, but you may notice some loss of detail in very low lighting.

There’s also a 10.5MP front shooter, which produces clear and detailed photos with pleasing skin tones. Autofocus support is a welcome addition, providing more freedom in framing your selfies.

OnePlus has stepped up its camera game in the OnePlus 12. It has a triple rear camera setup that features a 50MP primary camera, a 48MP ultrawide shooter, and a 64MP telephoto shooter. The presence of the telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom is a clear advantage over the Pixel 9. But even the other cameras offer pretty good results. As mentioned in our review, we were impressed by the depth of field and light balance.

The 32MP selfie shooter also takes good shots in regular and portrait modes. One thing to note is that the image preview doesn’t always match the final results, but that doesn’t mean you get bad photos.

One big difference between the Google and OnePlus camera apps is the presence of many AI-backed features in the Pixel 9. For example, you get features like Magic Editor , Best Take , and Add Me on the Pixel. OnePlus keeps things simple and doesn’t push these often gimmicky features.

Which should you buy?

Choosing between the OnePlus 12 and the Pixel 9 is not easy. Both smartphones do many things right but are outdone by the other in some departments. So, you’ll have to consider your priorities carefully and choose the phone that best meets them. For example, if camera performance, software experience, and physical compactness are vital to your phone usage, the Pixel 9 is a better choice.

In typical Pixel fashion, the Pixel 9 has excellent cameras that do well with little to no tweaks. You also get a relatively clean Android version with tons of AI tweaks that may or may not come in handy for everyone. But most importantly, it will get updates for seven years, which is more than enough for any smartphone. And while it’s not particularly small, it’s smaller than the OnePlus 12.

Let’s not forget that the Pixel 9 is no slouch in other departments. It delivers solid performance, has a beautiful display, and a respectable battery. Moreover, you can buy it directly from all major carriers.

However, if you want a big, beautiful LTPO OLED screen with a trusted Snapdragon processor and superfast charging, the OnePlus 12 is an equally impressive alternative. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor that delivers top-notch performance, and you’ll be hard-pressed to make it sweat. Unlike Tensor chips, it has no heating issues and is perfect for mobile gaming.

Battery life is also a plus point; you get considerably faster wired and wireless charging than the Pixel 9. Plus, you get a telephoto shooter, a feature missing from the Pixel, and the phone is a capable performer in other departments.