OnePlus 13 vs iPhone 16 Pro Max: David vs Goliath
Intro
We all know the David versus Goliath story; it's a metaphor for the improbable victory of the underdog, the outsider, the small kid in the classroom. And even though the OnePlus 13 is far form an underdog, put next to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, it feels like the little David with its tiny slingshot.
Could the OnePlus 13 deal a fatal blow to the iPhone 16 Pro Max and make this a perfect analogy? Today we'll try to find out. We're still a week or so away from the official debut of the OnePlus 13, so some of the info could be a little shaky, but overall we know almost everything about OnePlus' new flagship.
This is our preliminary OnePlus 13 vs iPhone 16 Pro Max comparison.
Could the OnePlus 13 deal a fatal blow to the iPhone 16 Pro Max and make this a perfect analogy? Today we'll try to find out. We're still a week or so away from the official debut of the OnePlus 13, so some of the info could be a little shaky, but overall we know almost everything about OnePlus' new flagship.
OnePlus 13 vs iPhone 16 Pro Max differences explained:
| OnePlus 13* | Pixel 9 Pro XL |
|---|---|
| Smaller size screen, different camera bump, slightly curved screen still | Flat sides, front and back design, bigger size |
| 6.8-inch panel with 120Hz LTPO, 6000 nits max brightness | Bigger 6.9-inch panel, 120Hz, potentially not as bright |
| Triple camera, three 50MP sensors, wide, ultrawide, and telephoto (3x zoom) | Triple camera with 48MP main, 48MP ultrawide, and 12MP telephoto, tetraprism 5x zoom |
| Less memory in the base version (12GB), but a version with 24GB of RAM | Less RAM but not that important (8GB) |
| Equal base storage at 256GB | 256GB base storage here as well |
| Larger 6,000mAh battery that will potentially deliver better battery life | A smaller 4,685mAh battery |
| Faster wired and wireless charging, 120W and 50W respectively | Slower wired charging |
*rumored specs
Table of Contents:
Design and Display Quality
Playing it safe
The iPhone 16 series unveiling was a bit of a downer. We're already accustomed to incremental changes in the smartphone world year on year, but Apple outdid itself with the iPhone 16 and the things that actually stayed the same. Nevertheless, there are some minor changes in the design—a new Camera Control button, a bigger screen, and new cameras but overall, the iPhone 16 Pro Max looks very similar to its predecessors.
The OnePlus 13 also follows in the design footsteps of the previous flagship from the company, and even though the phone is still not official, we have an official teaser video plus some real-life shots from an alleged gaming event. The curvature on the screen is now almost non-existent; the phone looks much flatter and, subsequently, similar to what Samsung and Apple have been doing in the past couple of years.
Where these two phones differ is the materials. The iPhone is, of course, using a Grade 5 titanium frame, while the OnePlus 13 is expected to come with good old aluminum. There's glass on the back of both phones, but the OnePlus 13 is rumored to feature a green faux leather option.
Speaking of colors, here are the hues of both phones.
OnePlus 13 expected colors:
iPhone 16 Pro Max available colors:
The camera housing on the back is in line with what these two brands have been doing design-wise in the past couple of years; in the case of the OnePlus 13, it's a circular camera bump offset to the left. The iPhone relies on the same squarish camera housing we know back from the iPhone 12 series days.
Moving to the display portion of the comparison, we see some differences, but not as many as one might expect.
The OnePlus 13 is likely coming with a 6.8-inch LTPO AMOLED screen that can hit a super bright 6,000 nits, or 1,600 nits in high brightness mode (HBM). But as always, real-life brightness may differ due to the way companies measure these things (usually on a very small patch of the screen for a very short time). The resolution is expected to be 3168 x 1440, giving it a sharp pixel density of around 510 PPI.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the other hand, sports one of the biggest panels out there, a 6.9-inch monstrosity with a 2868 x 1320 pixel resolution, which results in about 460 pixels per inch density. On paper, the OnePlus 13 panel beats the iPhone 16 Pro Max in terms of brightness and PPI, but we need to run our display tests to be sure.
The OnePlus 13 also follows in the design footsteps of the previous flagship from the company, and even though the phone is still not official, we have an official teaser video plus some real-life shots from an alleged gaming event. The curvature on the screen is now almost non-existent; the phone looks much flatter and, subsequently, similar to what Samsung and Apple have been doing in the past couple of years.
Where these two phones differ is the materials. The iPhone is, of course, using a Grade 5 titanium frame, while the OnePlus 13 is expected to come with good old aluminum. There's glass on the back of both phones, but the OnePlus 13 is rumored to feature a green faux leather option.
OnePlus 13 expected colors:
- While Dawn
- Blue Moment
- Obsidian Black
- Green Leather (rumored)
iPhone 16 Pro Max available colors:
- Black Titanium
- White Titanium
- Natural Titanium
- Desert Titanium
The camera housing on the back is in line with what these two brands have been doing design-wise in the past couple of years; in the case of the OnePlus 13, it's a circular camera bump offset to the left. The iPhone relies on the same squarish camera housing we know back from the iPhone 12 series days.
Moving to the display portion of the comparison, we see some differences, but not as many as one might expect.
The OnePlus 13 is likely coming with a 6.8-inch LTPO AMOLED screen that can hit a super bright 6,000 nits, or 1,600 nits in high brightness mode (HBM). But as always, real-life brightness may differ due to the way companies measure these things (usually on a very small patch of the screen for a very short time). The resolution is expected to be 3168 x 1440, giving it a sharp pixel density of around 510 PPI.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the other hand, sports one of the biggest panels out there, a 6.9-inch monstrosity with a 2868 x 1320 pixel resolution, which results in about 460 pixels per inch density. On paper, the OnePlus 13 panel beats the iPhone 16 Pro Max in terms of brightness and PPI, but we need to run our display tests to be sure.
Performance and Software
The Snapdragon 8 Elite is a serious weapon!
This is probably one of the most interesting sections of this comparison, as initial Geekbench results put the Snapdragon 8 Elite up there with Apple's A18 silicon. Leaked Xiaomi 15 and OnePlus 13 scores put the chip ahead of the A18 Pro in multicore performance and very close in single core.
This battle is yet to be fought in our test lab, so we'll wait until we get our own numbers, but it's closer than ever! In terms of RAM, there's an inherited advantage for the Android flagship, due to the way iOS handles apps and optimizes things for RAM usage.
The OnePlus 13 comes with 12GB of RAM in the base 256GB configuration, and according to the latest rumors, there will be a 24GB model as well. The iPhone 16 Pro Max uses 8GB of RAM, but it doesn't affect performance negatively.
Stay tuned for performance benchmarks and the winner of this intense battle soon!
Stay tuned for performance benchmarks and the winner of this intense battle soon!
In terms of software, Apple still polishes and updates its Apple Intelligence, so it's a work in progress. The OnePlus 13 will launch with Android 14 out of the box and receive Android 15 swiftly when it becomes globally available early next year. We expect the company to rely on Google and Gemini for AI magic, which might be the best way to do it.
Camera
Hasselblad branded versus a good old iPhone?
This section is nothing without samples, and we don't have those at the moment, so we'll just list the specs for now. The OnePlus 13 is expected to have a triple camera system with three 50MP sensors—wide, ultrawide, and a conventional telephoto with 3x optical zoom. The iPhone 16 Pro Max features largely the same camera system as last year, with some touches here and there.
The main camera still uses the 48 MP sensor that was an excellent upgrade a couple of years ago but now relies on software magic to stay sharp. The 12 MP zoom camera comes with that 5x tetraprism lens from last year. And now, we get a 48 MP ultra-wide camera to match that main one. It will be interesting to pit the two and show you some side-by-side samples, especially as the OnePlus uses Hasselblad lenses, but you'll have to wait a few more days for that.
The main camera still uses the 48 MP sensor that was an excellent upgrade a couple of years ago but now relies on software magic to stay sharp. The 12 MP zoom camera comes with that 5x tetraprism lens from last year. And now, we get a 48 MP ultra-wide camera to match that main one. It will be interesting to pit the two and show you some side-by-side samples, especially as the OnePlus uses Hasselblad lenses, but you'll have to wait a few more days for that.
Battery Life and Charging
Potentially awesome
The battery inside the OnePlus 13 is rumored to be of 6,000 mAh capacity, which is amazing for a flagship of this size and style. Normally, such capacities are limited to gaming phones and big chunks of smartphone gear.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max comes with a relatively small 4,685 mAh battery, but Apple manages to optimize battery life well, so the phone competes with other flagships with much larger cells. It remains to be seen how those two fare against each other, and the final result could be pretty close.
One thing won't be, for certain, and it's fast charging. Despite the uproar in the past couple of years, Apple still offers a shamefully slow charging on its flagship phones, and the upcoming OnePlus 13 won't have any problems obliterating the iPhone 16 Pro Max, at least in this particular area.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max comes with a relatively small 4,685 mAh battery, but Apple manages to optimize battery life well, so the phone competes with other flagships with much larger cells. It remains to be seen how those two fare against each other, and the final result could be pretty close.
Specs Comparison
Here's a preliminary specs comparison for the number nerds out there.
| Specs | OnePlus 13* | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | - | 163 x 77.6 x 8.3 mm |
| Weight | - | 227 g |
| Screen | 6.8-inch Super AMOLED 120Hz | 6.9-inch OLED 120Hz |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite | Apple A18 Pro |
| RAM, Storage and Price | 12/356GB for $799 | 8/256GB for $1199 |
| Cameras | 50MP main 50MP ultra-wide 50MP telephoto, 3x zoom 32MP front | 48MP main, f/1.8 48MP ultra-wide, f/2.2 12MP 5X zoom, f/2.8 12MP front |
| Battery Size | 6,000 mAh | 4,685 mAh |
| Charging Speeds | 120W wired 50W wireless | 25W wired wireless |
*rumored specs
Which one should you buy?
There's a good chance the OnePlus 13 qualifies to be the first Android flagship that's will be able to challenge the iPhone 16 Pro Max on raw hardware power, thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Elite. This, however, might not be enough to sway hardcore Apple fans to switch and reach for the OnePlus, as there are other things to consider. The camera, software longevity, and AI support are all things that are very important in 2024.
Last but not least, the price is still a major factor (and will remain one) when choosing a smartphone, and the OnePlus 13 could have an advantage here as well. Stay tuned for a final verdict once we finish the review.
Last but not least, the price is still a major factor (and will remain one) when choosing a smartphone, and the OnePlus 13 could have an advantage here as well. Stay tuned for a final verdict once we finish the review.
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