The Pixel 3 is Google’s marquee phone and starts at Rs. 71,000. Meanwhile, the OnePlus 6T’ price is notably cheaper starts from Rs. 37,999, and is made by a darkhorse of a company whose inexpensive and powerful phones have garnered a loyal fan base.

But recently, OnePlus launched a OnePlus 6T which packs in a lot of the things people look for in a smartphone – a bigger battery, blazing processor and decent camera. Though the new phone from OnePlus matches the feature list of many leading flagships, it costs a couple hundred dollars less than the best phones from Apple, Google, and Samsung.

These two terrific options go head to head in design, camera, software, and performance. See which one comes out on top. It turns out the competition between these phones is a lot closer than you might think.

Pixel 3 vs OnePlus 6T: Which Android Phone is Best?

Display

The OnePlus 6T comes with a display of 6.41-inch AMOLED panel having 19.6:9 aspect ratio. Thanks to its 85.6% screen to body ratio, the phone doesn’t feel large in hand despite the big screen size. The device has a full HD (2340 x 1080pixels resolution) display with 402ppi pixel density. The device is covered in the latest Corning Gorilla Glass 6 for the best durability.

The Pixel 3 sports a 5.5-inch AMOLED panel having a resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixel and an aspect ratio of 18:9 (443 ppi density),  77.2% screen-to-body ratio. On the top, the Pixel 3 has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for the protection.

Winner – OnePlus 6T

Camera

If you just looked at the numbers here, then the OnePlus 6T would blow away the competition with its dual camera setup, but there’s more to camera performance than hardware. What Google is able to do on the software side to squeeze the best from a single lens main camera is nothing short of amazing. Both of these phones can take great photos, but in some scenarios, Google Pixel 3 clearly wins.

Google’s Pixel range is the undisputed king of smartphone photography, but while 2018 saw almost every major smartphone maker move to dual cameras the Pixel 3 still comes with a Single 12-megapixel on the rear and an 8-megapixel camera on the front.

The OnePlus 6T features a dual rear camera made up of a 20-megapixel main sensor and a secondary 16-megapixel sensor and the OnePlus 6T offers the same hardware, though it has improved algorithms for portrait mode and night shots. There is a new feature called Night Scape that can capture handheld photos at night, stabilizing the picture and bringing in lots of light.

Winner – Google Pixel 3

Software

The Pixel 3 comes with Android 9 Pie fresh out of the box. While the OnePlus 6T ships Oxygen OS based on the latest Android 9.0. The Oxygen OS gives near stock experience with highly customization options unlike Pixel 3. In both cases, they run Android 9 Pie and both phones should get Android updates on or near day one, though of course the Google Pixel 3 will be supported with updates for longer.

Winner – Tie

Performance

While both of these phones rely on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 processor, which means they offer similar performance in terms of speed. Both the phones feel lightning fast and is capable of running the latest games and the most demanding apps. Where the Pixel 3 falls down is the RAM department. Moreover, in terms of raw power, the OnePlus 6T has a slight edge and racks up the highest scores in benchmark testing.

As for the battery, the Google Pixel 3 has a 2,915mAh one whereas the OnePlus 6T is equipped with a 3,700 mAh battery. Google has added wireless charging support on both Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, whereas in OnePlus 6T you won’t find wireless charging support. The OnePlus 6T comes with the company’s proprietary Fast Charging (aka Dash charging) which charges the device quickly.

Winner – OnePlus 6T

In-Screen Fingerprint Reader Vs Water Resistance

The new Pixel 3 is IP68 water and dust resistant. Coming to the OnePlus 6T, even though there’s no IP rating, the OnePlus 6T is still water resistant. But with the OnePlus 6T, OnePlus has opted to remove the rear scanner for this budding new technology and the new OnePlus 6T comes with an in-display fingerprint scanner and. So, this is the first device from the company to offer this unlocking option instead of a fingerprint scanner.

Winner – OnePlus 6T

OnePlus 6T And Pixel 3 Specs

	OnePlus 6T	Google Pixel 3
Display size, resolution	6.41-inch AMOLED; 2,340×1,080 pixels	5.5-inch OLED; 2,280×1,080 pixels
Pixel density	402ppi	443ppi
Dimensions (Inches)	6.20×2.94×0.32 in	5.7×2.7×0.3 in
Dimensions (Millimeters)	157.5×74.8×8.2 mm	145.6×68.2×7.9 mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams)	6.53 oz; 185g	5.2oz; 148g
Mobile software	Android 9 Pie	Android 9 Pie
Camera	16-megapixel standard, 20-megapixel telephoto	12.2-megapixel
Front-facing camera	16-megapixel	8-megapixel standard, 8-megapixel wide-angle
Video capture	4K	4K
Processor	2.8GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845	2.5GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Storage	128GB, 256GB	64GB, 128GB
RAM	6GB, 8GB	4GB
Expandable storage	None	None
Battery	3,700 mAh	2,915 mAh
Fingerprint sensor	Underneath display	Back cover
Connector	USB-C	USB-C
Headphone jack	None	No
Special features	In-display fingerprint sensor, dual-SIM, Dash Charging, notifications toggle	Water resistant (IPX8), wireless charging, Pixel Buds USB-C headphones included