Apple’s pocket dynamo takes on Samsung’s seasoned S Pen slate in a spot of asymmetrical warfare.
The world of high-end smartphones is a fast moving one. Today’s champion is tomorrow’s forgotten also-ran. Thankfully, the OnePlus 9 Pro is good enough that it remains relevant months after its release. Still, the arrival of the iPhone 13 Pro has undoubtedly taken a good portion of the attention of late. So how does the OnePlus 9 Pro compare to the iPhone 13 Pro? Is this even a competitive fight between equals, or are we looking at a vast generational divide? Let’s take a look at how these two ‘phone of the year’ contenders compare. The iPhone 13 Pro arrived on September 24,2021. Apple’s pricing starts at $999 / £949 / AU$1,699 for the entry-level 128GB model of the iPhone 13 Pro, while the 256GB model costs $1,099 / £1,049 / AU$1,869, and the 512GB model costs $1,299 / £1,249 / AU$2,219. There’s also a new 1TB model this time, which costs $1,499 / £1,449 / AU$2,569. The OnePlus 9 Pro hit shops on March 30,2021 with prices starting from $969 / £829 for 8GB of RAM / 128GB of storage. Moving to 12GB/256GB costs $1,069 / £929. Australian readers can’t get the OnePlus 9 Pro, for whatever reason. OnePlus wins on price, then, especially given that you can probably obtain a OnePlus 9 Pro for even cheaper if you shop around. Apple changed tack with its iPhone design last year, so it’s understandable that there are few changes this year. Or, to put it another way, the iPhone 13 Pro looks an awful lot like the iPhone 12 Pro. There’s the exact same flat-edged shape and surgical-grade stainless steel rim, with only the larger camera module really standing out as different. The OnePlus 9 Pro’s curvier, more generic design goes back even further. It’s not all that different to the OnePlus 7. It still looks and feels premium, though, with aluminum edges and glass surfaces. It’s a lot bigger than the iPhone 13 Pro, at 163.2 x 73.6 x 8.7mm. Apple’s phone is quite a bit smaller in every way, in fact, at 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.65mm. Curiously, however, the iPhone 13 Pro is the heavier phone of the two at 204g. The OnePlus 9 Pro weighs in at 197g. You can probably thank the iPhone 13 Pro’s stainless steel rim for that, which is a heavier (but sturdier) material than aluminum. Apple reduced the size of the iPhone 13 Pro’s display notch by 20%. It’s not a massive change, and the OnePus 9 Pro’s compact hole punch notch is much more elegant. Just as divisive will be the matter of display edges. Do you like yours flat (iPhone) or curved (OnePlus)? The tide of public opinion appears to be shifting back toward the former, but the OnePlus 9 Pro certainly looks stylish in its own way. All in all, we’d say that the iPhone 13 Pro has the more premium, eye-catching design of the two phones. There are some intriguing differences between these two displays, and also some intriguing commonalities. The OnePlus 9 Pro’s 6.7-inch screen is much larger than the iPhone 13 Pro’s 6.1-inch display. It’s also quite a bit sharper, thanks to a QHD (3216 x 1440) resolution. The iPhone 13 Pro only hits 2532 x 1170, though you’d struggle to see the difference side by side. Both are extremely crisp. Both are vibrant OLED displays, so color accuracy, contrast, and HDR support isn’t an issue. The iPhone 13 Pro screen can hit 1,200 nits, while the OnePlus 9 Pro display can hit 1,300 nits.
