Google Pixel 9 Pro XL vs OnePlus 13T

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

A 6.8-inch LTPO 'Super Actua' OLED at 120Hz with a 3,000-nit peak — one of the brightest, best displays on any phone.

• An improved 6.8-inch Super Actua LTPO OLED, 486ppi, 120Hz, up to 3,000 nits peak with always-on display.
• Peak brightness rose to 3,000 nits (up from 2,400); measured a remarkable 2,365 nits in adaptive mode and 1,300+ nits manually.
• The new Actua-class display is 35% brighter than the Pixel 8 — better than both the iPhone 15 and Galaxy S24.
• The non-typical 1,344x2,992 resolution at 486ppi keeps text and content crisp.

OnePlus 13T

A 6.32-inch 1.5K 120Hz LTPO flat AMOLED with over 90% screen-to-body ratio and 2,160Hz PWM dimming below 50 nits. It's smooth and well-rounded for a compact phone, but its ~800-nit typical / 1,600-nit HBM brightness is modest next to flagship rivals.

• A 6.32-inch AMOLED with 1.5K resolution and 120Hz adaptive LTPO refresh — buttery-smooth scrolling with excellent battery optimisation.
• OnePlus claims peak brightness over 800 nits for typical content with a high-brightness mode up to 1,600 nits for HDR or direct sunlight; it defaults to 2,160Hz PWM dimming below 50 nits to ease eye strain.
• It's a 6.32-inch 120Hz AMOLED with 1,600 nits of peak brightness and over 90% screen-to-body ratio.
• Measured manual brightness can go over 800 nits — plenty bright in practice even if the headline numbers are modest.
• There's also a DC dimming option alongside the 2,160Hz PWM, useful for flicker-sensitive users.
• It has a killer display for the size that holds up for gaming and streaming day to day.

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

A 50MP wide, 48MP ultrawide and 48MP 5x telephoto plus a 42MP selfie. Excellent computational photos, but the hardware was barely updated and it lost a shootout to the iPhone.

• It takes incredible photos, as expected from a premium phone — a class camera system.
• Camera spec: 50MP wide, 48MP ultrawide, 48MP telephoto and a 42MP front camera.
• In an iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Pixel 9 Pro XL shootout, the iPhone won — its images looked brighter and it preserved highlights better.
• Reviewers were surprisingly critical of camera and especially video quality for a Pixel, and noted the camera hardware wasn't noticeably updated this year.
• Some units shipped with a viewfinder bug where the image tilts significantly to one side when using zoom.
• Magic Editor can auto-reframe, suggest the best crop and expand an image — the AI photo tools remain a Pixel standout.

OnePlus 13T

A deliberately cut-down dual system: a 24mm-equivalent 50MP main and a 49mm-equivalent 50MP 2x telephoto — and no ultrawide at all, which reviewers unanimously call the biggest compromise. It's not Hasselblad-branded; output is competent but oversaturated and rated around 7.5/10.

• The 13T sports a dual camera system — a 24mm-equivalent main and a 49mm-equivalent (≈2x) telephoto — with the front camera maxing out at 1080p 30fps.
• OnePlus chose a telephoto over an ultrawide because most people use telephoto more, and space was at a premium — the 13s camera software is closer to the 13R than the Hasselblad-tuned OnePlus 13.
• The biggest miss is the lack of an ultrawide; overall the camera experience is about 7.5 out of 10 and massively oversaturated, though even dialed down it gives a better overall image.
• The 49mm telephoto offers 4x in-sensor lossless zoom with OnePlus's ultra-clear image algorithms — a genuine plus for telephoto-over-ultrawide shooters.
• The camera seems worse than expected, and some buyers feel misled by the name into thinking it's a smaller OnePlus 13 with one less camera rather than a different device.

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

A 5,060mAh battery with new 45W charging — improved over the Pixel 8 Pro, but Tensor inefficiency means the worst endurance among premium flagships.

• A 5,060mAh battery with 45W wired (37W actual, ~70% in 30 min advertised), 23W wireless via Pixel Stand and Battery Share.
• Google introduced a new 45W Power Delivery brick; measured 67% at the half-hour mark with a Samsung 45W charger.
• Still the worst battery life of the premium phones due to the weak Tensor processor.
• Owner battery is ~26–30 hours on normal use, where a OnePlus easily gets ~48 hours.
• Despite the small year-over-year capacity bump (5,060 vs 5,050mAh), one owner found it has significantly more battery life than a Pixel 7 Pro.

OnePlus 13T

The headline feature: a 6,260mAh silicon-carbon 'Glacier Battery' — the largest in any OnePlus and, per a multi-phone drain test, the best battery life of any premium phone, beating the iPhone 16 Pro Max, S25 Ultra, Pixel 9 Pro XL and OnePlus 13. 80W SUPERVOOC wired tops it up in ~52–62 minutes; there's no wireless charging.

• The 6,260mAh silicon-carbon cell took the OnePlus 13T to a record-breaking 13 hours 42 minutes in a drain test, beating the iPhone 16 Pro Max (13h10m), Xiaomi 15 Pro, S25 Ultra and OnePlus 13.
• The OnePlus 13T dethroned the iPhone 16 Pro Max as battery champion — it can be considered to have the best battery life of all premium smartphones on the market right now.
• A 5-hour heavy-usage test left 46% battery; it charged to 56% in 25 minutes and a full charge in about 62 minutes (200 nits, 25°C).
• A 10-minute charge got 0–28% and a full 100% charge took about 52 minutes on 80W, powering the colossal 6,260mAh cell.
• One full day of heavy real-world use (gaming, podcasts, workout, calls) gave 12 hours of use and 5h14m of screen-on time before hitting 2%, with a 12%→100% charge in ~34 minutes.
• There is no wireless charging — one of the OnePlus 13 features sacrificed alongside IP68 and USB 3.0 to hit the price.