Google Pixel 6 vs OnePlus 9: Which should you buy?

Google swung for the fences when it decided to launch its newest Pixel phone lineup this year. The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro represent a total revamp of the lineup, offering flagship smartphone specs at affordable prices. But just how do they stack up against the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro, which also come with high-end hardware and relatively affordable prices. Let’s find out in this Google Pixel 6 vs OnePlus 9 comparison.

Our thoughts: Google Pixel 6 Pro hands-on | Google Pixel 6 hands-on

Google Pixel 6 vs OnePlus 9

Specs

The Google Pixel 6 series is a page-one rewrite of the Pixel smartphone lineup. Design-wise, Google has ditched the rear square camera module found on previous Pixel phones. Instead, there’s a raised black horizontal row placed near the top of the smartphones that holds the camera sensors. Also, Google has gotten rid of its old-school rear-mounted fingerprint sensor in favor of a more modern in-display fingerprint scanner. The front camera sensor has also been moved from the upper-left side to the top center of the Pixel 6 displays.

The OnePlus 9 series also looks a bit different than previous phones in the OnePlus family. Both handsets have a rectangle-shaped vertical camera housing bump at the back, while the front-facing cameras are placed in the upper-left corner of the displays. Like the Pixel 6 models, both phones also have in-display fingerprint scanners.

The standard Pixel 6 has a 6.4-inch flat OLED display with FHD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate, while the Pixel 6 Pro has a curved 6.71-inch OLED screen with QHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. Both the OnePlus 9 and the OnePlus 9 Pro have 120Hz refresh rates displays. The OnePlus 9 is bigger than the Pixel 6, with a flat 6.55-inch AMOLED display and FHD+ resolution. The OnePlus 9 Pro uses a curved 6.7-inch AMOLED screen with QHD+ resolution.

All phones in the Pixel 6 and OnePlus 9 series feature glass on the front and back, while the frames are made of aluminum. However, the OnePlus handsets use the older Gorilla Glass 5, while the Pixel 6 phones use the more recent and tougher Gorilla Glass Victus on the front. The standard Pixel 6 has Gorilla Glass 6 on the back, while the Pixel 6 Pro’s back is also covered by the Gorilla Glass Victus.

Related: The best Google Pixel 6 cases | The best Pixel 6 Pro cases

You get an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance on the Pixel 6 phones as well as on the OnePlus 9 Pro. The standard OnePlus 9 has an IP68 rating as well, but only if you get the T-Mobile version of the device. None of them have a headphone jack. But on the other hand, the OnePlus 9 phones do have a charger included in the box, while Google decided not to include it with the Pixel 6 phones.

Hardware and cameras

The biggest new addition inside the Pixel 6 phones is Tensor. This is Google’s first in-house designed smartphone processor, and it’s supposed to offer flagship-style performance. However, the jury is still out on how it compares to the current Android champion, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 that powers both OnePlus 9 phones.

Read more: Google Tensor vs Snapdragon 888 series

If you buy the standard Pixel 6, you get a phone with 8GB of RAM and the option of either 128GB or 256GB of unexpandable storage. The Pixel 6 Pro boosts the RAM to 12GB and offers 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options. In the US, the standard OnePlus 9 has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of unexpandable storage, while the OnePlus 9 Pro has 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Other regions have different RAM and storage options for both phones.

After a few years of mostly using the same camera hardware, the Pixel 6 phones finally get a major upgrade in the camera department. The standard Pixel 6 includes a 50MP main rear sensor, along with a 12MP ultra-wide sensor and an 8MP front-facing camera. The Pixel 6 Pro throws in a third 48MP rear telephoto sensor and boosts the resolution of the front camera to 11.1MP. The Pixel 6 phones have some nice exclusive photo features as well including Magic Eraser, which gives users the option of removing unwanted people or objects from their images.

The camera software on the OnePlus 9 series was developed in collaboration with Hasselblad to help boost the performance compared to the somewhat lackluster cameras on previous OnePlus phones. The standard OnePlus 9 has a 48MP main rear camera, a 50MP ultra-wide camera, and a 2MP monochrome sensor. There’s also a 16MP front-facing camera. The OnePlus 9 Pro adds an additional 8MP rear telephoto lens to the mix.

Related: The best camera phones you can get

The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro both ship with Android 12. Both will get three years of OS updates, along with five years of security updates. The OnePlus 9 phones shipped with Android 11, and the company has pledged to offer three years of OS updates and four years of security updates.

Related: Android 12 update tracker

One of the biggest differences between the Pixel 6 phones and the OnePlus 9 handsets is in the battery department, more specifically the charging speeds. The standard Pixel 6 has a 4,614mAh battery and supports up to 30W wired charging if you have a Power Delivery PPS charger. It also supports up to 21W wireless charging speeds and has reverse wireless charging support.

The Pixel 6 Pro has a 5,003mAh battery, again with 30W wired charging, and up to 23W wireless charging speeds if you get the new 2021 version of the Pixel Stand wireless charger. There’s reverse wireless charging support as well. Google claims that the phones will last up to a day on a single charge, and up to two days if the new battery-saving feature is used. We will have to check to see if those claims are true in our own testing.

The OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro both have 4,500mAh batteries, but they support faster 65W wired charging. You also get a charger in the box regardless of the model you go for. But while the standard OnePlus 9 supports 15W wireless charging, the OnePlus 9 Pro has Warp Charge 50 wireless charging hardware. However, like the Pixel 6 Pro, you will have to buy the OnePlus-made wireless charger separately to get those 50W speeds. Both phones also support reverse wireless charging. In our testing, we were lucky to get a day’s worth of battery life out of the OnePlus 9 phones, so it’s good they support super-fast charging.

The Pixel 6 Pro supports both sub-6Ghz and mmWave 5G support, but the unlocked version of the standard Pixel 6 only supports sub-6GHz 5G networks in the US. Verizon does offer the same phone with mmWave support, but it adds $100 to its price. The OnePlus 9 only supports sub-6Ghz 5G carriers, while the OnePlus 9 Pro adds mmWave 5G support as well for Verizon and T-Mobile networks.

Price and colors

• Google Pixel 6: $599 / £599 / €649
• Google Pixel 6 Pro: $899 / £849 / €899
• OnePlus 9: $729 / £629 / £929
• OnePlus 9 Pro: $969 / €719 / €919

Google has priced the Pixel 6 starting at just $599 at launch for the unlocked version ($699 if you get it from Verizon). The Pixel 6 Pro has a starting price of $899. The OnePlus 9 had a starting price of $729 in the US when it launched earlier this year, while the OnePlus 9 Pro initially went for $969. However, just after the Pixel 6 announcement, OnePlus slashed the prices of the OnePlus 9 down to $599 on Amazon and the OnePlus 9 Pro way down to $799.99. While this is supposed to be just a holiday promotion, it’s possible that these promo prices could remain for some time.

You can buy the Pixel 6 in Kinda Coral, Sorta Seafoam, and Stormy Black colors, while the Pixel 6 Pro has Sorta Sunny, Cloudy White, and Stormy Black colors. The OnePlus 9 comes in Winter Mist, Arctic Sky, and Astral Black (depending on your region) and the OnePlus 9 Pro is available in Morning Mist, Stellar Black, and Pine Green.

Google Pixel 6 vs OnePlus 9: Which should you buy?

The standard Pixel 6 is a very impressive phone for $599. You get a powerful new processor inside, great new camera hardware and software, and lots more. The phone will also get updated all the way up to Android 15, while Android 14 will be the end of the road for the OnePlus 9.

But on the other hand, the OnePlus 9 comes with a charger in the box and supports faster charging. It also features a powerful and proven chipset, has a bigger screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, and can be had with more RAM. The decision of which of the two phones is better comes down to the specs and features you value more.

The story is similar with the Pixel 6 Pro and OnePlus 9 Pro. Both have curved displays that are basically the same size, but the Pixel 6 Pro comes with more base RAM, has a tougher body due to Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus, and comes with as much as 512GB of storage. It also has a bigger battery. But the OnePlus 9 sports an extra camera on the back and has a higher-res selfie camera, in addition to the already mentioned faster charging and the charger that’s included in the box.

Which series do you think comes out on top in the Google Pixel 6 vs OnePlus 9 battle? Let us know in the comments or via the poll above.