OnePlus 13 Vs Pixel 9 Pro: Does OnePlus’s New Telephoto Lens Beat Google’s Camera Magic?

The OnePlus 13 is sporting mostly the same camera setup as the OnePlus 12, except for the telephoto lens which has been swapped out for a new Sony lens. So, we were wondering, how does the OnePlus 13 stack up to the Pixel 9 Pro? Well, we’ve been testing the two out side-by-side for a few days to see the differences, and they are quite telling.

A lot of this comparison was done on the cruise that OnePlus took North American media on back in December. It’s important to note that while OnePlus did pay for the cruise and flights to Miami, this is not sponsored, and neither is any of our OnePlus 13-related content. This is all our own experience, and OnePlus did not see any of these OnePlus 13-related articles before they were published.

So what are we seeing with the OnePlus 13 versus the Google Pixel 9 Pro? Mostly, Google is struggling with pictures that have some shade in them. In the gallery below, you will see a few examples of just this, with side-by-side pictures taken on the Pixel 9 Pro and the OnePlus 13.

OnePlus 13 outperforms at night, too

Outside of just regular shots outdoors with sunlight, the OnePlus 13 also performs really well at night. I took quite a few shots with loads of different colors, that generally makes it pretty tough to get a good and accurate photo. However, the OnePlus 13 did outperform the Pixel 9 Pro here too.

What I really noticed with the Google Pixel 9 Pro is that it tends to be on the warmer side. While the OnePlus 13 looks more natural. Here are a bunch of side-by-side shots of the Pixel 9 Pro and OnePlus 13, let us know which one you think is better. Now, the first image, Pixel 9 Pro does look better, however the OnePlus 13 looks more natural as to what the environment looked like in real life. A lot of the images on the boardwalk really show how much warmer the hues are on the Pixel 9 Pro camera versus the OnePlus 13.

Portrait mode works on more than just people

Typically, portrait mode works on just people with these phones, instead of acting like a sort of macro-mode type setting. But that’s no longer the case with the OnePlus 13. The company has said that the Portrait mode will work on a lot of other objects and even pets, which is a big deal. So I put that to the test. Below are a few samples of portrait mode on the Pixel 9 Pro versus the new OnePlus 13.

Which phone camera should you choose?

Obviously, both cameras are pretty good, and have different features that will get different people’s attention. The Pixel 9 Pro looks great, but when you compare it to the OnePlus 13, it really puts things into perspective. And to be honest, a lot of the complaints I’ve had with the Pixel 9 Pro are pretty nit-picky. However, when you’re paying nearly a thousand dollars for a phone, you should be nit-picky about things like the camera. Not to mention, as a reviewer, that is literally my job.

What it comes down to for me is, the Pixel 9 Pro struggles with shadows, and it also doesn’t look quite as natural as it should. For example, the sky is usually much more blue than it is in real life. Both of which are things that you could likely get around.

In the end, the choice is up to you, as far as which phone you want to buy. Both have their strengths and weaknesses of course.