Nothing Phone (4a) vs OnePlus 13

Nothing Phone (4a)

A genuine highlight for the price — a big 6.78-inch 120Hz AMOLED that's bright, sharp and HDR-capable, beating similarly priced rivals.

• 6.78-inch AMOLED, 120Hz, 2160Hz PWM, HDR10+, 800 nits typical / 1,600 nits HBM / 4,500 nits peak at 1224x2720 (440ppi).
• The 6.78-inch display is 23% brighter than the 3a, reaching 1,600 nits outdoors with a 4,500-nit HDR peak.
• Brightness goes up to 4,500 nits peak, remaining easily readable outdoors — the display is very strong for this price range and one of the standout features.
• In the real world it hits around 700 nits peak SDR and ~1,550–1,600 nits in HDR, with 460ppi and dynamic 120Hz.

OnePlus 13

Every reviewer calls this one of the best smartphone screens of 2025: a 6.82-inch LTPO AMOLED that peaks at 4,500 nits, supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+, and earned DisplayMate's first-ever A++ rating. The new ultrasonic fingerprint reader is faster and stays reliable when wet, and PWM dimming runs at 2,160 Hz for eye-sensitive users. The only ongoing nitpick is the gently curved glass edges.

• The 6.8-inch OLED panel hits a peak of up to 4,500 nits — even brighter than Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra at 2,600 nits.
• 1,600 nits in high brightness mode and 4,500 nits peak brightness make this the world's first display to earn DisplayMate's A++ rating.
• 120Hz OLED displays are sharp, colorful, and smooth, though the default lower resolution save-battery setting kept lowering brightness a little too much in testing.
• The display is in the upper echelon of smartphone screens — beautifully tuned, incredibly bright, smooth, and easier to use without aggressive curves.
• The new ultrasonic fingerprint reader plus Aqua Touch 2.0 keeps the screen responsive even when wet — old optical readers struggled with that.
• At 510 PPI the display is incredibly sharp and content absolutely pops, with a glove mode for thin gloves up to 0.5cm thick.
• Trusted Reviews calls this 'the best (and only) flagship in the US for PWM-sensitive folks' thanks to 2,160 Hz high-frequency PWM dimming.

Nothing Phone (4a)

A capable mid-range chip that handles everyday use and casual gaming well — not a powerhouse, but appropriate for the price.

• Gaming is absolutely possible on this device, with solid everyday performance for the class.
• There's no shortage of substantial hardware upgrades over the 3a, even if the design doesn't stand out as much as the Pro.
• After 24 hours the home screen is extremely customisable and feels massively more functional than iOS, with no responsiveness complaints.
• Gesture-based navigation is fully supported and the overall experience is good thanks to Nothing's optimisations.

OnePlus 13

The OnePlus 13 was the first non-gaming flagship globally to ship with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and reviewers report a generational jump in both CPU and GPU. Multi-core Geekbench scores rival the Galaxy S25 Ultra and beat the iPhone 16 Pro on GPU benchmarks. Thermal management is exceptional — Dave2D ran Genshin Impact at max settings indefinitely without throttling — and 12-16GB of RAM keeps multitasking buttery smooth.

• The Snapdragon 8 Elite delivers a 31% higher CPU clock speed, 36% higher AnTuTu, 44% higher single-core Geekbench and 14% higher 3DMark over last year's best — Wilt Chamberlain numbers.
• Both the OnePlus 13 and ROG Phone 9 Pro ran Genshin Impact at max graphics indefinitely at 60fps without throttling — never seen before on stock devices.
• Geekbench 6 multi-core hits 9,267 on the OnePlus 13 — only about 5% behind the Galaxy S25 Ultra at 9,828, with 16GB RAM versus Samsung's 12GB.
• Snapdragon 8 Elite single-core CPU performance is practically spitting distance from the A18 Pro while it actually surpasses the iPhone 16 Pro in multi-core and 3DMark Wild Life Extreme.
• Even when heavily used, the phone doesn't get unreasonably hot, doesn't stutter or lag, and doesn't unreasonably suck up battery life.
• The Snapdragon 8 Elite overtaxes the cooling system of normal smartphones under high sustained load — pronounced throttling was the OnePlus 13's main weakness in lab testing.
• Image processing is basically instant — edit a video and render out and it's done in seconds, with no signs of slowdown after seven months.

Nothing Phone (4a)

A ~5,080mAh cell with 50W wired charging — reviewers call endurance strong, but a notable group of owners report disappointing screen-on time.

• The Nothing Phone (4a) features a ~5,080mAh cell which delivers very strong endurance in everyday use.
• The battery grew slightly — about 80mAh in most markets but a more meaningful 400mAh in India — with a 50W PD unit recommended on the box.
• Several owners report only 4–6.5 hours of screen-on time with moderate use — worse than other phones with similar ~5,000mAh batteries.
• Battery life on this phone is excellent in everyday use.

OnePlus 13

The OnePlus 13's signature feature: a 6,000 mAh silicon-carbon battery (vs the 5,000 mAh ceiling rivals are stuck at) that delivers genuine two-day endurance, paired with 100W wired SuperVOOC and 50W AirVOOC wireless charging that refills the phone in 36 minutes. Engadget's video rundown clocked 30h 18m — almost an hour longer than the S25 Ultra. The catch: top wireless speeds require OnePlus's proprietary magnetic puck.

• With average use the phone easily lasts two full days; with heavy use you can go from morning to night without a top-up, thanks to OnePlus's Silicon NanoStack battery tech.
• 30 hours 18 minutes on Engadget's local video rundown — nearly an hour longer than the Galaxy S25 Ultra (29:27) and almost three hours better than a Pixel 9 (27:32).
• Two full days of WhatsApp, Discord, Chrome, Instagram and Android Auto without worrying about where the charger is — silicon-carbon is a real generational leap.
• Even with high brightness, multitasking, GPS navigation and Bluetooth streaming, the OnePlus 13 ends the day with six hours of screen-on time and 35% battery left.
• 80W wired charging refills the phone from zero to 100 in 36 minutes, with 50W wireless charging via the AIRVOOC puck — the OP13 recharges twice as fast as a Galaxy S25 with cable and three times faster wirelessly.
• The Snapdragon 8 Elite drives a 25-30% (conservatively) jump in battery life over Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 — possibly closer to 40% on like-for-like workloads.
• Hitting maximum wireless charging speeds requires the proprietary 50W AIRVOOC puck — universal Qi chargers throttle dramatically.
• Reddit r/Android: 'I'm jealous of that battery life' — the most-upvoted user reaction in the OnePlus 13 megathread.

Nothing Phone (4a)

Near-stock Nothing OS is repeatedly singled out as one of the best, cleanest and most customisable Android experiences at any price.

• The UI is pretty much stock Android, which is the best Android experience — Nothing and Pixel offer the best Android experience.
• While hard to compare to Samsung's far more customisable One UI, Nothing's OS is one of the best ways to experience Android.
• The in-house gallery, voice recorder and weather apps have wonderful design consistency, with everything else left as Google's clean defaults.
• The home screen is extremely customisable with built-in and user-made widgets — fresher, clearer and bolder than iOS.

OnePlus 13

OxygenOS 15 on Android 15 has matured into a fast, customizable Android skin with deliberately restrained AI — Gemini and Circle to Search are present, plus a Notes assistant and AI Reflection Eraser, but OnePlus has explicitly chosen not to chase Galaxy AI. The Live Alerts feature mimics Apple's Dynamic Island, with limited third-party support. The catch: four OS upgrades and six years of security patches still trails Samsung and Google's seven.

• OnePlus is keeping AI refreshingly low-key — Google Gemini and Circle to Search plus a smarter Notes app, but AI is nothing like the big focus it is on the Galaxy S25 family.
• OxygenOS 15 is very, very good — animation speed improvements and extra attention to detail make this version of Android 15 feel uniquely tunable.
• OxygenOS 15 has taken back control after years of ColorOS-style bloat creep — 'I'm not simply tolerating it, I like it.'
• Software support is bumped to four Android OS upgrades and six years of security updates — better than before, but still not as long as Samsung and Google's seven years.
• AI Reflection Eraser did a respectable job removing window glare on a hotel photo, but most AI features only work with an internet connection.

Nothing Phone (4a)

Aggressively priced below the Pixel 10a with a more distinctive design and a real telephoto — the standout budget pick for buyers who want personality.

• It's a good chunk of change cheaper than the $500 Pixel 10a.
• It fits the perfect budget for buyers who can't afford the ~$1,000 needed for an entry-level iPhone 17, with good hardware and excellent battery.
• A very strong mid-range smartphone that stands out with unique design, great display, solid performance and surprisingly capable cameras — definitely worth a closer look.
• Nothing stands out among the crowd with a brand identity strong enough to turn consumers into fans.

OnePlus 13

At $899 starting (often discounted to $799 via OnePlus's perpetual trade-in deals), the OnePlus 13 is consistently called the best Android value of 2025. The S25 Ultra costs $400 more, the S25+ $100 more, the iPhone 16 Pro $100 more — and the OnePlus matches or beats all three on battery, brightness and charging while landing a half-tier behind on cameras and falling short on update commitment. Reddit sentiment is more mixed: a vocal r/gadgets minority argues a $900 phone isn't a 'flagship killer' anymore.

• For $899 you get longer battery life, a brighter screen, more RAM, greater storage and the same 3x zoom as a base Galaxy S25+ — all for $100 less. That's just a good deal.
• The 12GB/256GB OnePlus 13 costs $400 less than the cheapest Galaxy S25 Ultra — the difference between getting a new phone or getting a new phone and a smartwatch.
• This is the best OnePlus phone to date, and at $899, arguably the best Android phone period.
• The OnePlus 13 cameras, display and battery life all compete handily against the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Galaxy S24 Ultra — but the phone is priced like an iPhone 16 or Galaxy S24.
• It's nice to see OnePlus continuing to stick to its roots by offering everything you need at a slightly lower price than Samsung, Google and Apple flagships.
• OnePlus offers a perpetual $100 discount on the upgraded model plus a guaranteed $100 trade-in — effectively making the OnePlus 13 a $799 flagship.