Joe Maring / Android Authority
When the rumor mill first prompt that the Google Pixel 9 Professional might be a comparatively compact flagship full with a periscope telephoto digicam, I used to be instantly hooked. An Android cellphone that crams nearly all of the options one expects from a contemporary flagship right into a small-ish physique is simply what I’ve all the time wished. I ordered mine on launch day and have liked it every single day since.
Nevertheless, I can objectively see that my love for the Pixel 9 Professional is tainted by the actual fact that it’s the solely recreation on the town. If I wished a cellphone of comparable caliber and measurement, the best choice can be an iPhone 16 Professional — and I’ve zero need to undertake iOS. Sure, the Samsung Galaxy S25 could be very compact, however its digicam system isn’t near the identical stage because the Pixel 9 Professional, in order that’s not an choice, both. Actually, if you would like the finest Android cellphone within the smallest measurement potential in 2025, your solely choice proper now could be the Pixel 9 Professional.
Fortunately, rumors counsel a brand new contender is on the horizon: a compact flagship that would compete with the Pixel 9 Professional. I’m speaking, in fact, in regards to the OnePlus 13T.
OnePlus 13T: What we all know up to now
On the time I’m scripting this, we solely know two issues in regards to the OnePlus 13T: its title and its April 2015 launch window in China. We have now loads of rumors about specs, design, and options, with a fervent hope that it’s going to ultimately launch exterior of China. However the whole lot I say going ahead is predicated on rumors, not information.
The rumor mill suggests the OnePlus 13T may principally be a OnePlus 13 however in a 6.3-inch physique. The OnePlus 13 is, surely, top-of-the-line Android telephones you should purchase proper now, nevertheless it’s additionally one of many greatest. It’s a 6.82-inch system, which is simply large — large sufficient that it makes me not wish to use it as a every day driver, though it’s so unbelievable. A 6.3-inch counterpart can be excellent for me.
Rumors suggests the OnePlus 13T might be a a lot smaller OnePlus 13, which sounds excellent to me.
I don’t know which specs from the OnePlus 13 would carry over to the OnePlus 13T, however rumors counsel the identical chipset might be on board. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is a monster, so having that may make the OnePlus 13T very compelling, particularly for Pixel 9 Professional customers like myself, who’re caught with the underpowered (however nonetheless absolutely succesful) Tensor G4.
Different rumored specs embody 80W wired charging (which might be anticipated given that is the pace of each different current OnePlus flagship) and a whopping 6,200mAh battery. That battery rumor is basically stunning, contemplating even the a lot bigger OnePlus 13 has a 6,000mAh battery. How will OnePlus cram a bigger battery right into a smaller cellphone with out making too many different compromises? I’m unsure. In fact, this might be an incorrect rumor. Time will inform on that one.
In abstract, the OnePlus 13T is anticipated to be a really succesful Android flagship inside a a lot smaller physique than we often see. That makes it the primary important competitor to the Pixel 9 Professional.
The OnePlus 13 is astounding, which makes the 13T very thrilling
Joe Maring / Android Authority
I can’t overstate how a lot I’d just like the OnePlus 13 if it wasn’t for its large measurement. I was a OnePlus fanboy, however I’ll readily admit that I finished being excited by the corporate’s merchandise when the ho-hum OnePlus 8 dropped. The OnePlus 13, although, jogs my memory of what OnePlus was once. It’s a robust, forward-thinking, ultra-refined flagship cellphone with a jaw-droppingly reasonably priced worth. It may not have the joy of one thing just like the OnePlus One or the still-amazing OnePlus 7 Professional, nevertheless it’s the most effective factor the corporate has made in years.
If OnePlus can convey even a portion of that success to a 6.3-inch cellphone, that may be greater than sufficient to have me take into account dropping the Pixel 9 Professional. I’d nonetheless have to rectify how significantly better Pixel UI is when in comparison with Oxygen OS, however that wouldn’t be not possible to recover from.
If the OnePlus 13T actually is a 6.3-inch flagship, it is going to be the primary OnePlus cellphone in years that I critically take into account shopping for.
OnePlus has been enjoying it protected for in regards to the previous 5 years, releasing units with important compromises designed for a buyer base that I don’t even know really exists. From how the OnePlus 13T is shaping up, it feels like the corporate lastly has a selected goal in thoughts and is gunning for it with gusto, which could be very thrilling.
In fact, we nonetheless don’t know sufficient in regards to the OnePlus 13T to make any closing conclusions. We don’t even know if I’ll have the choice to purchase the cellphone, as it’s completely potential it is going to be a China-exclusive. I hope it’s what the rumor mill suggests it is going to be, and I hope I get to make use of it. There’s no different cellphone launching this yr that I’m extra enthusiastic about — and that features the inevitable Pixel 10 Professional.