Google Pixel 9 Pro vs OnePlus Open: The Battle of Foldable Smartphones

Pixel 9 Pro Fold vs. OnePlus Open: How Foldables From Google and OnePlus Compare

Google's Pixel 9 Pro Fold has arrived. Priced at $1,799, it's the company's second-gen book-style foldable phone. It comes in a larger yet lighter design than the preceding Pixel Fold and it has more RAM, new screens, and a bevy of additional AI features. However, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, announced at the Made by Google event, enters an increasingly crowded foldable phone market. One of its many rivals is sure to be the OnePlus Open, which debuted last year for $1,700. The OnePlus Open isn't due for a refresh until 2025, according to rumors. While the OnePlus Open does come $100 cheaper than the 9 Pro Fold prior to carrier discounts (and offers double the internal storage of 512GB among other advantages), it's important to keep in mind that the OnePlus Open was launched in 2023, which means it offers flagship specs from last year. For instance, it runs on the then top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. You also lose out on a year of software upgrades since you're buying a phone from 2023. The OnePlus Open offers four years of Android OS updates, compared to the seven years of Android OS updates on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. If you buy the OnePlus Open in 2024, you're only eligible for three years of software updates, which stretches until 2027. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold should ideally last you till 2031. This is perhaps the biggest differentiator, at least on paper, between the foldable phone offerings from OnePlus and Google. The Pixel 9 Fold Pro also stepped up its hardware game. It's Google's lightest foldable phone yet, shedding nearly an ounce of weight from last year: the Pixel 9 Pro Fold weighs 257 grams, compared to 283 grams in 2023. But the OnePlus Open is even more lightweight, measuring just 239 grams. However, the Pixel Fold 9 Pro does have the edge in terms of thinness. It outslims the Z Fold 6 by roughly 1.7 millimeters. Along with a thinner design, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold has a better IP-rating of IPX8 compared to the Open's IPX4 rating. The IPX8 rating means it can withstand submersion under 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes, the same as the Galaxy Z Fold 6. While the IPX4 rating means the Open isn't rated to be submerged in water, it should still be able to handle light rain or accidental splashes. Neither phone offers protection against dust ingress, which is common for foldables. In fact, no other folding phone is rated to fully keep out dust particles -- aside from the 2023 Motorola Razr Plus, which is protected against dust with an IP54 rating. The Galaxy Z Fold 6, is protected against solid objects larger than 1 millimeter but still susceptible to sand and smaller particles. Each of the two phones have a total of five cameras apiece: three rear cameras including a telephoto camera as well as two front-facing cameras (one above the external cover display and one on the inner screen). The OnePlus Open's telephoto is capable of 3x optical zoom (this camera is also found on the OnePlus 12), while the 9 Pro Fold can do 5x zoom. Read more: Pixel Fold vs. OnePlus Open: A Very Expensive Camera Phone Comparison Both devices also each have large batteries, but the OnePlus Open's has a slightly larger battery capacity of 4,805 mAh compared to the Pixel 9 Pro Fold's 4,650 mAh -- with more capacity sometimes (but not always) correlating with longer battery life. Unlike the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, the OnePlus Open lacks wireless charging support. But in a break from the new normal the OnePlus Fold includes a 67-watt charger in the box (albeit one that is USB-A to USB-C), which should recharge faster than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold's 45-watt charger. A majority of smartphones sold in the US don't ship with a charging brick inside the box. For more details on how the phones differ, take a look at our specs chart below.

Google Pixel 9 Pro vs OnePlus 12: The Definitive Android Experience? - Phandroid

There was a moment in time when Google's Nexus phones and OnePlus' earlier models were held in high standards by Android enthusiasts, in addition to more wallet-friendly prices which factored into their cult status. That being said, times have changed and both companies now compete mainly in the premium market segment, as seen with devices like the OnePlus 12, and the newly-launched Pixel 9 Pro. With that in mind, maybe you're in the market for a new flagship Android phone, in which case you might be considering these two smartphones. Let's take a quick look at what the Pixel 9 Pro and OnePlus 12 offer users - read on below! If you watched the Made by Google launch event, you'll see a lot of mention about AI, particularly Google's Gemini model. It's baked into nearly every corner of the Pixel 9 series, allowing users to generate images, pinpoint lost emails, and more. Additionally, new AI-based photo features such as Magic Editor and Add Me also bring a layer of uniqueness to the Pixel 9 pro's already-impressive camera hardware, which consists of a 50MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide and telephoto cameras, and a 42MP front camera with autofocus. Of course, having newer hardware doesn't hurt either - in fact, the phone now comes with a brighter (and more compact) 6.3-inch LTPO OLED which houses an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. This is surrounded by a newly-revamped design with a more polished look, falling in line with recent trends of flat sides and more minimalist smartphone designs. This minimal look is a perfect reflection of the Pixel 9 Pro's software, as Google keeps it simple and practical with its overall UI choices. Features like call screening, spam message filters, and Circle to search (to name a few) might come off as gimmicks for some, but prove to be rather useful for everyday smartphone usage. With seven years of software and security updates, Google is targeting users who just want a reliable daily smartphone that can take outstanding photos. On the other hand, there's no beating around the bush with the OnePlus 12 - right off the bat, the phone's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset means serious business. Like a lot of other Android flagships this year, OnePlus wants to impress users with the 8 Gen 3's performance, and the fact that the phone comes in a 24GB RAM variant is further proof of this. It's also ideal for gaming, as the gorgeous-looking 2K-resolution display shows; it also gets impressively bright at 4,500 nits of peak brightness. The OnePlus 12's camera system is no slouch either - you're getting a 50MP main camera, aided by a 64MP periscope telephoto sensor and 48MP ultrawide sensor, rounded out by a 32MP sensor in front. While OnePlus says that the 12's cameras have been developed alongside Hasselblad, there's still a bit of ways to go when compared to the Pixel 9 Pro's camera which comes with an added boost of computational photography. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. It's clear that the OnePlus 12 is more of a power user's phone, and this distinction extends to the phone's battery setup. It's larger at 5,400 mAh (versus the Pixel's 4,700 mAh), and charges much faster as well with 100W charging speeds. For context, a quick 26-minute charge gets your battery back all the way to 100%, versus 55% on the Pixel. The OnePlus 12 is clearly meant for buyers who want a phone that they can also regularly use for gaming, without sacrificing battery or overall efficiency.