Joe Maring / Android Authority
When the rumor mill first suggested that the Google Pixel 9 Pro could be a relatively compact flagship complete with a periscope telephoto camera, I was immediately hooked. An Android phone that crams almost all the features one expects from a modern flagship into a small-ish body is just what I’ve always wanted. I ordered mine on launch day and have loved it every day since.
However, I can objectively see that my love for the Pixel 9 Pro is tainted by the fact that it is the only game in town. If I wanted a phone of similar caliber and size, the best option would be an iPhone 16 Pro — and I have zero desire to adopt iOS. Yes, the Samsung Galaxy S25 is very compact, but its camera system isn’t close to the same level as the Pixel 9 Pro, so that’s not an option, either. Really, if you want the best Android phone in the smallest size possible in 2025, your only option right now is the Pixel 9 Pro.
Thankfully, rumors suggest a new contender is on the horizon: a compact flagship that could compete with the Pixel 9 Pro. I’m talking, of course, about the OnePlus 13T.
OnePlus 13T: What we know so far
At the time I’m writing this, we only know two things about the OnePlus 13T: its name and its April 2015 launch window in China. We have plenty of rumors about specs, design, and features, with a fervent hope that it will eventually launch outside of China. But everything I say going forward is based on rumors, not facts.
The rumor mill suggests the OnePlus 13T could basically be a OnePlus 13 but in a 6.3-inch body. The OnePlus 13 is, without a doubt, one of the best Android phones you can buy right now, but it’s also one of the biggest. It’s a 6.82-inch device, which is just massive — massive enough that it makes me not want to use it as a daily driver, even though it’s so incredible. A 6.3-inch counterpart would be perfect for me.
Rumors suggests the OnePlus 13T could be a much smaller OnePlus 13, which sounds perfect to me.
I have no idea which specs from the OnePlus 13 would carry over to the OnePlus 13T, but rumors suggest the same chipset will be on board. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is a monster, so having that would make the OnePlus 13T very compelling, especially for Pixel 9 Pro users like myself, who are stuck with the underpowered (but still fully capable) Tensor G4.
Other rumored specs include 80W wired charging (which would be expected given this is the speed of every other recent OnePlus flagship) and a whopping 6,200mAh battery. That battery rumor is really surprising, considering even the much larger OnePlus 13 has a 6,000mAh battery. How will OnePlus cram a larger battery into a smaller phone without making too many other compromises? I’m not sure. Of course, this could be an incorrect rumor. Time will tell on that one.
In summary, the OnePlus 13T is expected to be a very capable Android flagship inside a much smaller body than we usually see. That makes it the first significant competitor to the Pixel 9 Pro.
The OnePlus 13 is astounding, which makes the 13T very exciting
Joe Maring / Android Authority
I can’t overstate how much I’d like the OnePlus 13 if it wasn’t for its huge size. I used to be a OnePlus fanboy, but I’ll readily admit that I stopped being excited by the company’s products when the ho-hum OnePlus 8 dropped. The OnePlus 13, though, reminds me of what OnePlus used to be. It’s a powerful, forward-thinking, ultra-refined flagship phone with a jaw-droppingly affordable price. It might not have the excitement of something like the OnePlus One or the still-amazing OnePlus 7 Pro, but it’s the best thing the company has made in years.
If OnePlus can bring even a portion of that success to a 6.3-inch phone, that would be more than enough to have me consider dropping the Pixel 9 Pro. I’d still need to rectify how much better Pixel UI is when compared to Oxygen OS, but that wouldn’t be impossible to get over.
If the OnePlus 13T really is a 6.3-inch flagship, it will be the first OnePlus phone in years that I seriously consider buying.
OnePlus has been playing it safe for about the past five years, releasing devices with significant compromises designed for a customer base that I don’t even know actually exists. From how the OnePlus 13T is shaping up, it sounds like the company finally has a particular target in mind and is gunning for it with gusto, which is very exciting.
Of course, we still don’t know enough about the OnePlus 13T to make any final conclusions. We don’t even know if I’ll have the option to buy the phone, as it is totally possible it will be a China-exclusive. I hope it is what the rumor mill suggests it will be, and I hope I get to use it. There’s no other phone launching this year that I’m more excited about — and that includes the inevitable Pixel 10 Pro.
