OnePlus 13 vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: What does the future hold?

The OnePlus 13 and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra are two of the most highly-anticipated phones launching early in 2025. Both pack premium features that place them among the best Android phones. Both are powered by Qualcomm’s reenergized Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset for mobile that is much more powerful than previous generations.

While the OnePlus 13 benefits from the company’s legacy in superfast charging and exceptional value for money, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is expected to be the best phone if you want a long-term and reliable solution.

While a lot of this is speculation at this point, if you plan to buy one of these devices, our comparison below will help you prepare to make the right decision when the phones launch in January 2025. As more details become available, we’ll keep this article updated so you know what to expect.

OnePlus 13 vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: specs

Before we start with our comparison, we must clarify that the specifications of the OnePlus 13 are based on the Chinese model. We may see some minor differences when the phone launches globally next month.

Meanwhile, the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra are based purely on speculation, rumors, and leaks. Some of this might not be entirely true. We will be sure to update the post when we have official confirmation from Samsung.

OnePlus 13 vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: design

The OnePlus 13 is a big phone, due mainly to its large 6.8-inch display. While the design has changed from last year, remnants of the OnePlus 12 can be seen, especially with the round camera module shifted toward the left of the back panel.

OnePlus has flattened out the OnePlus 13’s frame, following what Apple and Samsung did to their flagship phones. The curves along the back have also been reduced, though not eliminated entirely. The frame is made of aluminum, unlike the OnePlus Open. Buttons on the sides also appear wider and flat, complying with the changes to the frame. Their positions, however, remain unchanged.

OnePlus offers three color options — black or white in glass and a blue with a faux leather finish. The color and finish of the frame varies with the color of the OnePlus.

OnePlus has been able to shave off a few grams compared to the OnePlus 12, despite the 13 housing a roughly 9% bigger battery. The OnePlus 13 finally also gets proper protection against dust and water with an IP69 rating, as well as IP68. IP69 isn’t an upgrade over IP68, but does signify that the phone is resilient against heated and/or high-pressure water jets, as well as submersion in water.

Meanwhile, the design of the Galaxy S25 Ultra has yet to be officially confirmed, but leaks lend us a great deal of insight into what it could look like. Firstly, Samsung could be doubling down on the flat aesthetic and going for a flat frame, as well as a completely flat back panel. Instead of curves along the length of the frame, Samsung is expected to round off the corners. Once again, we can expect Samsung to use titanium for the frame.

Instead of nesting the four cameras and a laser autofocus module inside a single confined space on the back, Samsung will place each one individually — the way it has been since the Galaxy S22 Ultra. However, the rings surrounding each lens are now rumored tobe getting denser, with concentric circles around them.

The dimensions of the Galaxy S25 Ultra are likely to remain mostly unchanged, but the phone is rumored to eb getting lighter at about 220 grams (7.7 ounces), or almost 15 grams less than the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Samsung is expected to narrow down the bezels on the display, which could help chisel the width by a fraction of a millimeter, but not significantly. Even with the reduction, the Galaxy S25 Ultra will be a significantly large phone.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is rumored to come in a host of color options, including black, blue, gold, and silver — all with a titanium finish. Recent rumors also point to colors such as jade green and pink gold that will be sold exclusively via Samsung’s online store.

For yet another generation, Samsung is expected to retain the S Pen on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, based on a series of leaked and seemingly authentic hands-on images. The slot for the same is expected to stay on the left side of the phone, as was the case with the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

As with older generations, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is expected to come with at least an IP68 rating; an additional IP69 rating hasn’t been reported in any rumors or leaks so far. These attributes might change as we draw closer to the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s launch, which can be expected to happen in January — around the same time that the OnePlus 13 launches globally.

OnePlus 13 vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: display

With the OnePlus 13, the company moves away from the curved display we saw on the OnePlus 12. Despite the change, the size and resolution remain unchanged. According to official specs, the OnePlus 13 has a 6.82-inch screen with a 1440 x 3168 pixels resolution. The display is rated for 4,500 nits of peak brightness (or brightness per pixel) and a global brightness of 1,600 nits (when measured across the display), and these figures remain unchanged from last year. This is an LTPO display that supports a variable refresh rate ranging from 1Hz to 120Hz.

The display also supports Dolby Vision for viewing HDR content. You can still use the display with wet hands — as you could with the OnePlus 12. The display also features an upgraded ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, which is believed to be faster than an optical scanner and does not require the screen to be lit up for scanning the fingerprint.

OnePlus claims there is a new sun mode and it took measures to protect eyes while using the phone at night. The Chinese model notably ditches Gorilla Glass for a “Ceramic” protective shield, though we’re unsure if it will appear on the global model as well.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is also reported to have only a few changes to the display. First off, the dimensions and the resolution, just like those of the OnePlus 13, remain unchanged from last year. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is rumored to feature a 6.86-inch display with a 1440 x 3120 pixels. However, Samsung is expected to trim down the bezels, which could reduce the overall width marginally.

Confirmed with materials suppliers that the S25 Ultra will use M13 rather than M14 materials for cost reasons.

— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) October 25, 2024

This is also an LTPO display with a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz. Samsung is said to be using the same panel for the Galaxy S5 Ultra as it did with the S24 Ultra, which means we may not see a significant jump in brightness. That, however, isn’t a reason for remorse as the Galaxy S24 Ultra also offers fairly bright displays, with a tested peak (global) brightness of nearly 1,500 nits and peak (over a small section) of 2,600 nits.

These displays also had weird issues last year, so we hope Samsung fixes any glitches proactively instead of relying on a software update delivered after the phone’s launch.

You will unlikely see any difference unless viewing Netflix or HBO Max. This is because Samsung phones only support HDR10+ and not Dolby Vision, and the content downgrades to just HDR10. We have a technical explainer if you are intrigued to learn more. However, apps besides Netflix should work equally well on both displays, since major providers like Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney Plus support both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.

Lastly, Samsung may stick with Gorilla Glass Armor as its choice of protection since Corning, the company behind Gorilla Glass, has yet to announce a new version.

OnePlus 13 vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: performance

Both the OnePlus 13 and the Galaxy S25 Ultra are expected to feature Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. While the non-Ultra models of the Galaxy S25 series may be powered by Samsung’s own Exynos 2500 processor in certain regions, the Ultra is highly unlikely to follow suit.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite is more than a mere successor to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Firstly, because it is a 3nm chip instead of a 4nm chip (which is actually a more efficient form of 5nm), the 8 Elite is expected to be far more efficient. Secondly, this is the first time Qualcomm is pulling an Apple move and allocating Oryon cores, previously limited to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X series chips meant for laptops. The latest chipset also lacks any low-power efficiency cores and solely packs eight Oryon cores — in clusters of two and six at varying clock speeds.

The actual difference in performance between the two devices, therefore, will depend on the software optimization from the companies and any additional hardware they add to reinforce performance and/or efficiency.

OnePlus has been using measures such as a multilayer vapor cooling chamber to keep heat generation under check for several generations now. This year, OnePlus claims the total surface area of the mechanism has been increased by almost 13%, which, along with a better microarchitecture of the chipset, should lead to improved heat dissipation.

Samsung, on the other hand, has been less bullish on touting numbers like OnePlus, but it upgraded the vapor chamber on the Galaxy S24 Ultra to be twice as big as that of the previous generation. This year, it might increase the surface area some more, though this is purely supposition and we have yet to hear any solid rumors on this matter.

While OnePlus has paired 12GB RAM with the base 256GB storage variant and 16GB RAM with 512GB, Samsung is expected to offer 16GB RAM as standard across all storage options — 256GB to 1TB. OnePlus also has a 24GB RAM option with 1TB storage, but that model could be excluded from the global release.

OnePlus 13 vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: battery and charging

OnePlus has already upped the battery capacity from 5,400mAh on the OnePlus 12 to 6,000mAh on the OnePlus 13 — while managing to reduce the weight of the phone. We have yet to test the real-life impact of the battery that’s around 10% larger, but we expect it to deliver a few extra hours.

For charging, OnePlus is set to retain 100 watts of fast wired charging, which is likely to be limited to 80W in North America due to the 120V supply. The charging speed is fast enough to refuel the battery in about 45 minutes. However, for these speeds, you will need to use the OnePlus charger included in the box, or a charger for any other previous OnePlus device you owned.

The OnePlus 13 will also support 50W wireless charging through OnePlus’ own AirVOOC chargers. With a standard Qi charger, the phone could be charged anywhere between 5W and 10W. There’s no Qi2 support, which means OnePlus 13 will also lack support for magnetic attachments, like the iPhone’s MagSafe accessories allow.

Samsung is rumored to stick to the 5,000mAh battery pack. The charging speed is also the same as last year, which means Samsung will support charging speeds up to 45W. Despite slower speeds, it does get an advantage due to the fact that it uses a universal charging standard — PPS — and can accept current at faster rates from a wider range of chargers, which is a boon since Samsung does not include a charger in the box.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra also gets wireless charging and is rumored to support the Qi2 standard, which should translate to faster wireless charging speeds (up to 15W) with the right charger and support for magnetically attaching peripherals.

OnePlus 13 vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: camera

The OnePlus 13 rocks triple rear cameras, of which the primary camera remains the same from the previous generation. It has a 50-megapixel Sony LYT-808 sensor with an f/1.6 aperture. Meanwhile, the other two rear cameras have been upgraded. Both the ultrawide and the 3X telephoto cameras now use 50MP sensors, which are physically bigger than those of the previous generation, which should allow for slightly better lighting in pictures in different scenarios. Meanwhile, OnePlus sticks to a 32MP selfie camera instead of changing it.

All the cameras get colors inspired by the camera brand Hasselblad. Because of the improved processor, the primary camera can now shoot videos at 8K resolution and 30 frames per second (fps) instead of 24 fps previously. Meanwhile, the front camera gets 4K recording at 60 fps.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is also slated to get updated cameras. While the primary camera’s resolution remains unchanged at 200MP, it is rumored to have better image processing. The ultrawide camera gets a significant upgrade from 12MP to 50MP, while the 3x telephoto is expected to gain a new “1/3-inch” sensor while offering the same 10MP resolution. The 50MP periscopic telephoto with a 5x optical zoom and the front camera are likely to remain unchanged from last year.

Like the OnePlus 13, the Galaxy S25 Ultra should also gain the ability to shoot 8K videos at 30 fps. The Galaxy S24 Ultra already allows 4K videos at 60 fps, so the S25 Ultra should have it too. Both phones can shoot videos with their respective supported HDR codecs that we discussed in the display section above.

One thing to point out is that while Samsung’s selfie camera comes with autofocus, OnePlus uses a fixed-focus camera, which may lead to Samsung getting better selfies.

OnePlus 13 vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: software and updates

OnePlus 13 comes with ColorOS 15 based on Android 15 in China. The global models, however, will run on OxygenOS 15, also based on Android 15. We are sure of this since older phones, including the OnePlus 12, the Open, and a few other Nord phones, have already started receiving the update.

With OxygenOS 15, OnePlus brings several visual improvements to phones, including better theming options, iPhone-style lock screen wallpapers, quick settings customizations, and more fluid animations. OxygenOS 15 also frees up some of the space previously used by system files and brings Open Canvas to candy bar phones.

Although the OnePlus 12 was promised to get four major Android updates and five years of security updates, we aren’t sure what OnePlus plans for the global model of the OnePlus 13.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is expected to come with One UI 7, also based on Android 15. The interface has just been released in a limited beta only for the Galaxy S24 series, and is expected to be announced officially upon the launch of the Galaxy S25.

One UI 7 also brings a host of new visual changes, including new icons, an improved Camera app, and a multipurpose “Now Bar,” which offers controls similar to the iPhone’s Dynamic Island, but sits at the bottom of the lock screen.

Along with these features, Samsung has a vast suite of AI features. Even though many of them, such as Circle to Search, are now reaching other Android devices, Samsung still has an advantage. Samsung offers features such as AI-assisted writing tools and live translations during calls, which have yet to become mainstream among all Android devices.

In addition, Samsung promises longer software support than OnePlus, offering seven years of software updates across its flagship lineup. Samsung also supports DeX, which lets you enjoy a PC-like experience by plugging your phone into a screen. If you value experience over hardware, the Samsung may be a better choice.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. OnePlus 12: verdict

With each passing year, OnePlus has convincingly become more premium. With the OnePlus 13, it feels like it belongs to the same clique as other high-end flagships, including the iPhone 16 Pro and the Galaxy S24 Ultra. With features such as an IP69 rating, an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, a massive 6,000mAh battery and superfast charging, the OnePlus 13 appears to be a highly compelling choice. Despite these features, we expect it to be priced under $1,000.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S25 Ultra could be a better choice if you want an S Pen, travel with multiple devices, but use the same charger, or can’t do without a more capable telephoto setup than a now-typical 3x telephoto. Samsung also gets an edge in terms of the number of updates.

Despite these factors, it is too soon for us to give you a verdict on which is a better phone. The intention of this article is to prime you for the competition between these upcoming devices. We shall update this article when the two phones launch globally and we have a deeper understanding of how they perform in real life.