OnePlus 13 vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Which one should you buy?

The year 2024 is nearly coming to a close and it's amazing to see that flagship smartphone launches are still going strong. In an effort to be one of the first out there with the most powerful processor on an Android phone, the OnePlus 13 has already launched in China. The new phone comes with a host of upgrades, built on the strengths of the OnePlus 12. We should expect the global launch to be sometime in January, if not sooner.

One of the best flagships of 2024 is easily the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. This $1,000+ smartphone is now a bit cheaper than when it launched and should be good competition to the OnePlus 13. It might not look it, but both phones have roughly the same screen size and share many features. If it's the OnePlus 13 vs. Galaxy S24 UItra, which flagship do you choose?

OnePlus 13 vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Design and display

OnePlus is finally breaking away from its typical design language for its flagships and is embracing the flat-frame mania. We now have a flat aluminium frame running along the sides of the OnePlus 13, with a 2.5D curve for the back and front panels. We haven't held the phone yet, but it looks like it should be a comfortable fit. There's a new blue colour which looks striking, especially against the silver camera dial. This shade is said to have a vegan-leather back panel. The black variant is supposed to have a wood-grain texture on the glass, while the white has a smooth glass finish.

Going by the specs of the Chinese model, the blue variant of the OnePlus 13 is 8.9mm thick and weighs 210g, while the glass variants are 8.5mm thick and weigh 213g. Both variants are actually slimmer and lighter than the OnePlus 12 and match the S24 Ultra in thickness.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is noticeably heavier at 232g, and appears larger due to the almost rectangular design with sharper corners. The display is completely flat though, which some might prefer over a slight curve along the edges. The Ultra is also a bit wider than the OnePlus 13 as it stores the S Pen stylus within the body. The Ultra comes in more colors than the 13, including three exclusive shades if you buy it via Samsung's website.

The S24 Ultra has a distinctive design for sure, and there's no mistaking it for any other phone (other than its predecessor perhaps). Similarly, the OnePlus 13 is unmistakably a OnePlus phone with its massive camera dial on the back.

Both phones have the same display size. The OnePlus 13 has similar display specs as the 12, which includes a 6.82-inch QHD+ AMOLED display with an adaptive 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rate. It has a typical brightness level of 800 nits, but can go up to 4,500 nits (peak). The display can do Dolby Vision HDR playback and is said to be DisplayMate A++ certified. The 13 uses DC dimming at all brightness levels, which should make it more pleasant to view for those who are PWM flicker-sensitive.

We've said in our review of the S24 Ultra that is has the best display in any Samsung phone to date. The new anti-glare screen coating is a game-changer and it makes a huge difference when using the phone under the sun, outdoors. The 6.82-inch AMOLED panel has 2,600 nits of peak brightness and 120Hz LTPO refresh rate tech. It uses PWM dimming but the rate is high enough to not be an issue if you have sensitivity issues.

Most flagships in 2024 topped out with an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, the S24 Ultra included. The OnePlus 13 though features a dual IP68/IP69 rating, which helps protect it against jets of water (both hot and cold). This is quite impressive and we should be seeing many more flagships like the Vivo X200 series, also follow suit.

OnePlus 13 vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Hardware and specs

As of publishing this article, the OnePlus 13 hasn't launched globally yet and is only available in China. We're using the specs of the Chinese variant in this comparison as it should be similar to what we'll get with the global variant too, with the exception of the OS and some storage variants. Doing a direct conversion of the Chinese pricing, the 13 costs roughly $630 for the 12GB/256GB variant. The 12GB and 16GB RAM variants, both with 512GB of storage, cost a converted $688 and $744 respectively. The top-end variant with 24GB RAM and 1TB storage will most likely be a China-exclusive yet again, and this costs roughly $842.

Considering the global variants have generally cost $100 more than the China pricing, we could be looking at a higher starting price of around $750 or more for the global variant in the U.S.. I'm sure OnePlus will have exchange offers at launch to offset this price increase, so that would be a good time to get the 13 at a cheaper price.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra's official starting price is $1,299.99, although you can find it for a bit less in places like Amazon. The 512GB variant costs $1,419.99 and the 1TB variant costs $1,659.99. All variants come with 12GB of RAM. Even with the 13's price increase, it's still going to be cheaper than the S24 Ultra. You'll even be getting plenty more RAM in the higher variants.

The biggest advantage of the OnePlus 13 is the new Qualcomm SoC. It's the recently announced Snapdragon 8 Elite which promises huge gains across performance, power efficiency, and AI processing. The Xiaomi 15 is the other phone sporting this new chip, which is slated for a global launch before the year ends. In terms of benchmark numbers and certain real-world usage scenarios, the OnePlus 13 should be able to outperform the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

The Ultra is no slouch though as the custom 'Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy' SoC it uses can still run laps around even Google's latest Tensor G4 chip when it comes to sustained performance. In our review, the phone didn't break a sweat ploughing through even the most graphically demanding games.

Battery life is another strong point of the S24 Ultra, as we consistently managed two full days on a single charge even with the brightness set to 100% most of the time. It is highly possible though that the OnePlus 13 could comfortably beat the Ultra's marathon run thanks to its larger 6,000mAh capacity and more efficient 3nm processor. Given the OnePlus 12's amazing battery life, we're sure the 13 is going to be just as great, if not better.

OnePlus still rules when it comes to charging speeds, and the fact that you get the charger in the box is a massive bonus. The 13 supports 100W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. This is miles ahead compared to the paltry 45W wired and 15W wireless for the S24 Ultra.

Finally, the cameras are going to be a major differentiating factor between the OnePlus 13 and Galaxy S24 Ultra. The 13 uses the same 50MP main sensor as the OnePlus 12, but the telephoto and ultrawide cameras also get 50MP sensors. The telephoto still has 3x optical zoom and the same aperture, but with a slightly longer focal length. The ultrawide has a wider field of view, a wider aperture for more light capture, and retains autofocus for macro photography. OnePlus says it has improved the Hassleblad tunning for all its cameras on the 13.

One feature that the company is highlighting is the phone's incredibly fast shutter speed of 1/10,000 of a second which is supposed to let you capture really fast motion with great clarity. We'll definitely be putting this to the test once we get our hands on the OnePlus 13. This is also one area where Samsung has typically struggled with, capturing fast-moving subjects without blurring.

Samsung flagships have typically had reliable cameras and apart from the shutter lag issue, all the cameras are highly serviceable. The Ultra model has been known for its incredible zoom performance, and that holds true for the S24 Ultra too. You can go up to 100x with it, although sharpness and details take a massive hit at this extreme. The Ultra even has autofocus for its 12MP selfie camera which should be able to deliver better depth in photos compared to the 13's 32MP camera.

OnePlus 13 vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Software

The Galaxy S24 Ultra currently runs One UI 6.1.1 which is based on Android 14. This should soon change early next year when One UI 7 rolls out, which is based on Android 15. This new version is expected to get a host of new features, including an AI-driven notification summary feature similar to Apple Intelligence on iPhones. We can also expect more Galaxy AI and parental features too, going by a recent leak. If this is your first time with One UI, then there would be a small learning curve, especially given the amount of gestures, shortcuts, and features that Samsung packs in it.

The OnePlus 13 will ship with OxygenOS 15 which is based on Android 15. If you're curious to know what you can expect, then we're happy to say that it's mostly positive so far. We used OxygenOS 15 for a week and came away impressed with some of the new additions, especially the AI features. Tools like AI Unblur, AI Detail Boost, and Reflection Eraser did a good job in our limited testing, and were on par in some cases with Pixel's AI features.

One thing that remains to be seen is whether OnePlus will match Samsung's seven-year commitment to OS upgrades. The OnePlus 12 is promised four years, so we should expect the 13 to have that too at the very least.

OnePlus 13 vs. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: Which one should you buy?

Everything points to the OnePlus 13 being yet another banger of a flagship, and it's priced very well (going by our estimation) compared to the Samsung S24 Ultra. I would recommend the 13 over the Ultra once it launches globally, provided you are okay with paying the full price upfront and don't really need a stylus. Compared to the Ultra, you're getting a more powerful smartphone, better water-proofing, a larger battery and faster charging, the latest software on day one, and some impressive camera capabilities — all for well under $1,000.

The S24 Ultra will be succeeded by the Galaxy S25 Ultra in early 2025, which is when it should hopefully get a permanent price cut. It's also more affordable if you buy it via a carrier, as you'll be paying a small monthly fee rather than the full price. Unlike the OnePlus 13, the S24 Ultra should also have better 5G compatibility with U.S. carriers, with support for mmWave 5G.