OnePlus 9 Pro vs Google Pixel 6a
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.7-inch OnePlus 9 Pro (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888) that was released on March 23, 2021, against the Google Pixel 6a, which is powered by Google Tensor and came out 13 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the OnePlus 9 Pro
- The rear camera has a 3.3x optical zoom
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Has a 0.6 inch larger screen size
- Handles wireless charging up to 50W
- Supports higher wattage charging (65W versus 18W)
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Slow-motion recording at 480FPS
- Has 2 SIM card slots
- Thinner bezels – 7.3% more screen real estate
- 22% higher pixel density (525 vs 429 PPI)
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 6a
- 14% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (914K versus 805K)
- The phone is 1-year and 1-month newer
- Weighs 19 grams less
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | AMOLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.7 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3216 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 525 ppi | 429 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes | No |
| Max rated brightness | 500 nits | 500 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1300 nits | 1100 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 90.3% | 83% |
| Display features |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 97.8% | 96.9% |
| PWM | 192 Hz | 240 Hz |
| Response time | 41.5 ms | 3 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 163.2 mm (6.43 inches) | 152.2 mm (5.99 inches) |
| Width | 73.6 mm (2.9 inches) | 71.8 mm (2.83 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.7 mm (0.34 inches) | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 197 g (6.95 oz) | 178 g (6.28 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP67 |
| Rear material | Glass | Plastic |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Green | White, Black, Green |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 | Google Tensor |
| Max clock | 2840 MHz | 2800 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (2 + 2 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 680 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 3 cores at 2.42 GHz: Kryo 680 Gold (Cortex-A78) - 1 core at 2.84 GHz: Kryo 680 Prime (Cortex-X1) |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex A55
- 2 cores at 2.25 GHz: Cortex A76 - 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | 4 MB |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 660 | Mali-G78 MP20 |
| GPU shading units | 1024 | 1280 |
| GPU clock | 840 MHz | 848 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1622 GFLOPS | ~2170.9 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 201729 | - |
| GPU | 243518 | - |
| Memory | 159120 | - |
| UX | 194264 | 913000 |
| Total score | 805198 | 914585 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 45.6 °C | 41.4 °C |
| Stability | 58% | 56% |
| Graphics test | 34 FPS | 37 FPS |
| Graphics score | 5707 | 6194 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 8580 | 6177 |
| Video editing | 6053 | 5806 |
| Photo editing | 28299 | 17969 |
| Data manipulation | 9712 | 9425 |
| Writing score | 15802 | 15432 |
Memory
| RAM size | 8, 12 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 3200 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 4 |
| Storage size | 128, 256 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | OxygenOS 13 | Stock Android |
| OS size | 16 GB | 14.3 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4500 mAh | 4410 mAh |
| Max charge power | 65 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (50 W) | No |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (100% in 32 min) | Yes (42% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 0:32 hr | 1:51 hr |
| Web browsing | 11:19 hr | 10:54 hr |
| Watching video | 12:04 hr | 16:44 hr |
| Gaming | 04:57 hr | 06:05 hr |
| Standby | 113 hr | 91 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 12.2 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8000 x 6000 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Optical, 3.3x | Digital |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 30FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 120FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 480 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 140° | 114° |
| Lenses | 4 (48 MP + 8 MP + 50 MP + 2 MP) | 2 (12.2 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 48 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 23 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/1.43", Sony IMX789 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Laser autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- 12.2 MP
- Aperture: f/1.7 - Focal length: 27 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX363 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens |
- 8 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 77 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/4.4", Omnivision OV08A10 (PureCel) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- |
| Ultra-wide lens |
- 50 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 14 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/1.56", Sony IMX766 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 17 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/2.9", Sony IMX386 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
| Depth lens |
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 |
- |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of OnePlus 9 Pro from DxOMark | Photo samples of Google Pixel 6a from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 16 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4920 x 3264 | 3840 x 2160 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | - | 24 mm |
| Pixel size | 1 microns | 1.12 microns |
| Sensor type | Exmor-RS CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.06" | 1/2.8" |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.2 | 5.2 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.1 | 3.1 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, SBAS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC * | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM * | 2 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | - |
| eSIM support * | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat * | 20 | 20 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | March 2021 | May 2022 |
| Release date | March 2021 | June 2022 |
| SAR (head) | 0.99 W/kg | - |
| SAR (body) | 1.21 W/kg | - |
| Sensors |
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | - | Not included |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the OnePlus 9 Pro is definitely a better buy.