Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority
The OnePlus is slowly making its way into premium territory with its phones, but the new OnePlus 9 series goes even further, offering impressive screens, fast wired and wireless charging and cameras that can finally compete with the best. Want to know what else is there before you buy? Here are some of the best OnePlus 9 alternatives that you should look for.
The best OnePlus 9 alternatives
1. Xiaomi Mi 11
Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority
Much like the OnePlus, Xiaomi is no stranger to offering cheaper flagship phones, although it is also scaling into premium territory. However, the Xiaomi Mi 11 for € 749 (~ $ 889) is a great alternative to the OnePlus 9 vanilla.
The Mi 11 offers some powerful guts like the OnePlus vanilla phone, but it also offers a sharper screen (120 Hz QHD + OLED) if you like the OnePlus 9 Pro screen, but don’t want to pay too much.
Our verdict: Review of the Xiaomi Mi 11
Xiaomi’s flagship also offers features such as a 4,600 mAh battery, 55 W corded charging and 50 W wireless recharges. A 108 MP main camera, 13 MP ultra-wide-angle lens and a 5-inch macro telephoto camera. MP can be found on the back. You’re not buying a telephoto sniper or a super high resolution ultra wide camera, but it does have some sophisticated features like clone mode, night video and more.
2. Samsung Galaxy S21
Credit: David Imel / Android Authority
Samsung is arguably OnePlus’ biggest rival in North America and Europe, and the Galaxy S21 line is the Korean company’s latest and greatest flagship line. The basic Galaxy S21 starts at $ 800, making it $ 70 more expensive than the standard OnePlus 9. You are getting water resistance and a pseudo-telephoto camera by choosing this phone, but you are giving up on one. bigger battery, ultra-wide resolution camera and much faster wired and wireless charging.
Our verdicts: Samsung Galaxy S21 review | Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus Review | Review of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
At the other end of the spectrum is the S21 Ultra, costing about $ 230 more than the OnePlus 9 Pro. For the extra money, you will receive two telephoto cameras (3x and 10x), a larger battery and support for S Pen. However, you lose faster charging wired and wirelessly by choosing the Samsung device instead of the best OnePlus 9 series device.
Samsung has also pledged to offer three years of Android version updates, as well as four years of security patches. OnePlus generally strives to offer the first with some of its flagships, but this is not a formal policy.
3. Apple iPhone 12 series
Credit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Apple’s iPhone 12 devices are the first iPhones to feature 5G silicon, but they are more than faster connectivity. We have four models on offer in this generation, from the $ 699 iPhone 12 Mini to the $ 1,099 iPhone 12 Pro Max.
All of these phones have 60 Hz OLED screens, relatively slow wireless charging, water resistance and that incredibly fast A14 Bionic chipset. You will also have access to the iOS platform and the Apple ecosystem.
Our verdicts: Review of the Apple iPhone 12 Mini | Review of the Apple iPhone 12 | Review of the Apple iPhone 12 Pro
Apple phones miss a number of features seen in the OnePlus 9 series, however. This includes high refresh rate screens, fingerprint readers, 8K recording and fast wired / wireless charging. Non-Pro iPhones also save on telephoto cameras (much like the OnePlus 9 vanilla), offer only 64 GB of basic storage and have small batteries.
Still, these phones are worth considering if you’re curious about iPhones or want to embark on Apple’s service package. They are also great alternatives to OnePlus 9 if you value a long-standing commitment to software updates.
4. Oppo Find X3 Pro
Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority
Do you like the idea of the OnePlus 9 Pro, but want something attractive and unique? That’s where the Oppo Find X3 Pro comes in. Oppo’s premium flagship offers an impressive glass design that our own Eric Zeman compared to a Star Warship, making it one of the coolest designs of the year. But the phone is more than simple hardware.
The Find X3 Pro includes a 50MP IMX766 camera sensor for the main and ultra-wide cameras, providing a similar level of detail and color consistency as a result. You will also receive a 3x telephoto camera, as well as a 3MP micro lens. The latter is capable of taking unprecedented microscope-style photos that a macro camera simply cannot match, even though the resolution is low.
Our verdict: Oppo Find X3 Pro review – Form and function, but not entirely flawless
On the other hand, the Oppo phone offers a first line OLED QHD + 120 Hz panel, Snapdragon 888 SoC, 65 W corded charging, 30 W wireless charging, 4,500 mAh battery and IP68 water / dust resistance. So, you’re getting a lot of features that make OnePlus 9 Pro stand out. One of the biggest drawbacks is the price, however, with € 1,149 (~ $ 1,356) being noticeably more expensive than the OnePlus 9 Pro.
5. Google Pixel 5
Credit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Google’s latest flagship, the Pixel, represents a very different strategy for the company as it abandons the silicon flagship in favor of mid-size 5G hardware. Therefore, you may want to skip this if you plan to play a lot of games on your device.
The Pixel 5 also misses some other features found in the OnePlus 9 series devices, such as fast wired / wireless charging, a high resolution ultra-wide camera and a 120Hz refresh rate. In any case, you still have some interesting features like a 90 Hz OLED panel, IP68 rating, standard wireless charging and a 4,080 mAh battery, all cheaper than even the standard OnePlus 9.
Our verdict: Google Pixel 5 review
Google’s Pixel phones also stand out for their image quality, and you’ll have a 12 MP / 16 MP main ultra-wide rear camera configuration. Other notable features include a clean version of Android and a long-standing commitment to software updates.
6. Poco F3
The latest Poco phone is a great match for the OnePlus 9R exclusive from China and India on paper, being equipped with the same Snapdragon 870 SoC and a very similar 120 Hz FHD + OLED screen. The two phones also have a similar size battery (~ 4,500 mAh) and a 48 MP main camera.
The Poco F3 differs from the OnePlus 9R when it comes to wired charging (33W versus the OnePlus 65W phone) and secondary rear cameras (8MP ultra-wide and 5MP macro telephoto versus 16MP ultra-wide, 5MP macro, 2MP depth). Another differentiating factor is the software, since the OnePlus 9R uses the Oxygen OS 11 skin, while the Poco device uses the MIUI-based Poco initiator.
Finally, the Poco device comes with a standard retail price of € 349 (~ $ 412) for the 6GB / 128GB variant, while the OnePlus 9R starts at 39,999 rupees (~ $ 551).
7. OnePlus 8 Pro
You don’t need to get the best and latest, because OnePlus 8 Pro is still a great alternative to OnePlus 9 too. It offers a number of features that make the OnePlus 9 Pro stand out, such as an OLED QHD + 120Hz screen, IP68 water / dust resistance and fast wireless charging.
You are also getting a genuinely great camera experience here, thanks to a 48 MP main camera and a 48 MP ultra-wide sensor. An 8MP 3x telephoto snapper handles zoomed images, while the 5MP color filter camera is essentially a gimmick.
See too: OnePlus 8 Pro revisited – the good and the bad six months later
The OnePlus 8 Pro is currently available for $ 699 through companies like Amazon and OnePlus Store, making it cheaper than the OnePlus 9. Sure, you lose the newest silicon and faster charging wired, but you get a screen sharper and water / dust resistance as standard.
That’s it for our summary of the best OnePlus 9 alternatives! Are there any other phones that come to mind? Then leave a comment below.