Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs OnePlus 13
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is perhaps the most complete version of a smartphone you can get right now running Android, offering competent cameras, plenty of performance, solid battery life and display experience, all of the AI, and, of course, an S Pen. Not everyone needs all that, however, and if you're willing to sacrifice a feature here and there, a OnePlus 13 may be the more sensible option for you and perhaps even the better one in some ways. Let's compare.
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For starters, you can compare the complete specs sheets or directly continue with our editor's assessment in the following video or in the text below.
Size comparison
Samsung took the chisel out this year and managed to make the S25 Ultra a little narrower and a little thinner than the previous model and conversely, easier to handle. The OnePlus 13 is also a little bit shorter and thinner than the previous one, but a hair wider than before. The two phones are equally tall, but the OP's 1.1mm advantage in width and its overall more fluid shapes make it feel notably more compact than the sharp-edged Galaxy. Each has its own appeal, but only the OnePlus 13 can try and claim to be considered remotely compact.
The Galaxy's screen is covered by Gorilla Armor 2, while the back is made of Gorilla Glass Victus 2. It's got a titanium frame all around.
The OnePlus 13, meanwhile, has a Ceramic Guard display cover (who knows how that compares to Armor 2) with an aluminum frame. One of the OP colorways features a leather-like back, the other two are glass.
The Galaxy carries an IP68 rating so it should survive immersion in water down to a depth 1.5m for as long as 30 minutes. The OP13 adds an IP69 on top of that, making it certified to withstand high-temperature water jets - maybe that makes it better?
The Galaxy's color choices are pretty subdued with relatively pale hues all around, even if you get one of the Samsung.com-exclusive options. The OnePlus has a bit more personality even though it only comes in three colorways - the leatherette-clad Midnight Blue is the hero color, and the glass-backed black and white options also have some character.
Display comparison
The two phones feature great OLED displays that tick a lot of boxes, though some of the boxes are different. Both are on the larger end of the spectrum, the Galaxy's 6.9 inches being that one bit more than the OP's 6.82-inch diagonal. Both have 1440p resolution with a pixel density around 500ppi, and you get dynamically adjustable refresh rate up to 120Hz (and down to 1Hz).
The Galaxy doesn't support Dolby Vision - the OnePlus does, for what that's worth. The S25 Ultra is a little bit brighter at full blast, the 200-ish nits worth of a difference being almost perceptible. In manual mode, either phone can go up to around 800nits.
Of course, one of the Galaxy's major advantages is the lower reflectivity of its front glass, making it more easily legible in particularly bright environments. There's also the fact that the panel has the layers for the S Pen pressure sensing. The OP 13's is just a really nice display.