On the surface, the Sony Xperia 1 III and the OnePlus 9 Pro are two flagship phones for 2021 that are competing for the same position. When you get down to the nitty-gritty, though, they're really different.
In the current smartphone industry, both Sony and OnePlus have carved out different niches. That, in and of itself, is fascinating in a scene that can get a little boring.
So, which of these unique solutions is more widely appealing? Is it truly all about getting the most bang for your quick profit?
Sony Xperia 1 III vs OnePlus 9 Pro Price and Availability
The Sony Xperia 1 III was announced on April 14, 2021, however it was not released until August 19 (at least in the United States and the United Kingdom). If you think that's awkward, just wait till you see the price: The only 256GB variant available in those areas is $1,299.99 / £1,199.
The OnePlus 9 Pro was introduced on March 30, 2021, with pricing starting at £829 for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, although that version was not available in the United States. Upgrading to 12GB / 256GB will set you back $1069 / £929.
Sorry, Australia, but none of these phones appears to be coming your way anytime soon.
Design
Despite technically using the same glass-and-metal sandwich design, these two phones appear to be substantially different.
The Sony Xperia 1 III has a significantly more square and straight-edged design, as well as a completely flat display. The selfie camera is packaged into a somewhat broader forehead, and the display is likewise notchless. There's even a chin to go with it.
The inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone port, as well as Sony's design, harkens back to earlier, more practical handsets. With a pair of real front-firing speakers taking use of the extra bezel space, the Xperia 1 III is quite the audiophile's delight.
The Sony Xperia 1 III's back finish is also one of our favorites. Its frosted, somewhat matte glass is considerably better to look at and feel than the OnePlus's shinier version. With a fogged-up finish (at least in the headlining Morning Mist color choice), OnePlus has attempted to shake things up, but it's not quite effective.
The Sony Xperia 1 III's back finish is also one of our favorites. Its frosted, somewhat matte glass is considerably better to look at and feel than the OnePlus's shinier version. With a fogged-up finish (at least in the headlining Morning Mist color choice), OnePlus has attempted to shake things up, but it's not quite effective.
Don't get us wrong: the OnePlus 9 Pro isn't a very attractive device. Indeed, if you want a more curved chassis, you could prefer it. But, in our opinion, it's a little more general and hence uninteresting.
The Sony uses harder Gorilla Glass Victus on the front, rather than the OnePlus 9 Pro's older, weaker Gorilla Glass 5. It also boasts a harder Gorilla Glass 6 on the back, whereas the OnePlus has Gorilla Glass 5. Sony also receives an IP65/68 rating, however the OnePlus only receives an IP68 rating.
Both phones come with additional physical control, or two in the case of the Xperia 1 III. The Sony has a dedicated shutter button as well as a Google Assistant button, whilst the OnePlus 9 Pro has the company's signature tactile alert slider. Except for the Google Assistant button, which feels extraneous on every phone that has one, we're great fans of all of them.
The right side of the Sony phone is especially crowded since it also has an expanded power button with a fingerprint sensor. OnePlus chooses a more traditional in-display solution. Both are sufficiently speedy and dependable, so it is primarily a question of personal choice.
Display
When it comes to displays, the disparities are much more pronounced.
The display of the OnePlus 9 Pro is a perfect illustration of the 2021 flagship form factor. We're talking about a 6.7-inch 20:9 AMOLED panel with 1440 x 3216 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate.
It's worth noting that OnePlus has devised a technology that allows its LTPO display to scale from 1Hz to 120Hz depending on the job. As a result, it is extremely efficient.
The Sony Xperia 1 III features a 6.5-inch 4K (1644 x 3840) OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Sony has been certain that the display is theoretically capable of handling 4K and 120Hz at the same time, but the vast majority of applications and workloads would not benefit from this. We suppose that's the cost of being unique and cutting-edge.
In practice, it makes no difference. On this screen, 4K movies and videos appear incredible, especially with the super-wide 21:9 aspect ratio and no-notch to get in the way. Meanwhile, those faster refresh rates pay benefits when it comes to gaming or general navigation.
Under normal circumstances, we'd give the OnePlus 9 Pro's display the advantage. It is somewhat more expansive and balanced for day-to-day work because of its more uniform aspect ratio, bigger size, and brighter 1300 nits peak brightness.
However, make no mistake: they are two great displays in their own right. Both are colorful, extremely customizable, and completely compliant with HDR standards, and they adjust to the work at hand with ease.
Camera
In recent years, both Sony and OnePlus have had something to prove in the camera business, although for quite different reasons.
As a well-known name in photography, there's a common perception that Sony's phones don't take full use of the company's skills. On the other hand, OnePlus' inexperience has led to the assumption that it has the serious photography chops to compete with the best.
Both of these phones take a direct shot at such preconceptions.
The Sony Xperia 1 III comes with a slew of pro-style capabilities, including the fastest and most sophisticated focusing system we've ever seen on a phone. It can even lock onto your pet's eyes and fire off a series of rounds quickly.
With a balanced triple–12MP set-up, Sony has adopted an old-school approach to camera architecture. Rather than cramming as many pixels as possible onto the primary lens, it opts for a huge 1/1.7" sensor that captures chunky 1.8m pixels.
When you add in optical image stabilization, you get quick, crisp photos with very little visible image processing. Indeed, Sony's super-involved camera software gives you complete manual control. Even point-and-shoot photos taken in Auto mode appear flattered and more natural than most of their competitors.
OnePlus has partnered with expert Hasselblad to address critiques of its own camera inadequacies. The color science of the OnePlus 9 Pro has been fine-tuned, and the camera UI has been revamped by the famed Swedish business.
The variations between these two phones are largely due to color tweaking. Both shoot natural-looking photos, but the OnePlus's are more vibrant and less subdued than its competitors. Sony prides itself on portraying scenes as they were in real life, often to an excessive level.
Surprisingly, the OnePlus 9 Pro has a Sony primary image sensor that is even bigger than the Xperia 1 III. It's a proprietary Sony IMX789 camera with a resolution of 1.12 million pixels, yet pixel-binning methods keep the image quality good.
Digital Overlap HDR technology in the OnePlus 9 Pro, on the other hand, reduces ghosting in HDR pictures by shooting long and short exposures in fast succession.
With a single 1/2.9" 12MP sensor and a unique dual-lens technology that can switch between 3x and 4.4x optical zoom, the Xperia 1 III is the more sophisticated telephoto option. The OnePlus 9 Pro's 8MP 3.3x telephoto lens, on the other hand, appears small, albeit it's far from poor.
OnePlus responds with what is likely the greatest ultra-wide camera on the market: a 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor with a freeform lens that captures images with nearly as much pop, detail, and clarity as to the main sensor. By comparison, Sony's 12MP ultra-wide camera appears to be a touch underwhelming, though it's still not awful.
On the video front, both phones can record in 4K at 120 frames per second, while the OnePlus 9 Pro can also record in 8K at 30 frames per second. However, we must point out that this is only of limited utility. In 2021, who has an 8K display?
In comparison to the OnePlus phone's 1/3.06" 16MP front camera, Sony's 1/4" 8MP front camera isn't all that amazing. However, neither is a world-class performer in this area.
Performance
Both of these phones include a Snapdragon 888 CPU with 12GB of RAM, while the OnePlus 9 Pro's starting variant only has 8GB.
In any case, they are about as fast as an Android phone can get at the moment. Both presently have multi-core Geekbench 5 scores of approximately 3,600, which is high and hence good.
On high settings, both devices will blast any game you throw at them, even Genshin Impact. Sony's screen is more uniform, broader, and unbroken, giving games a more cinematic feel. However, the OnePlus display boasts a quicker 360Hz touch sampling rate (the Sony's is 240Hz), making it more responsive in competitive gaming.
The OnePlus 9 Pro also gets serious gaming brownie points for its massive vapor chamber cooling mechanism, which allows it to operate at full blast for longer without risking overheating.
The Sony Xperia 1 III offers either 256GB or 512GB of storage (though only the smaller of these is accessible in most markets), whereas OnePlus offers 128GB or 256GB. However, Sony wins this round since it also has a microSD card slot for expansion.
The Sony Xperia 1 III offers either 256GB or 512GB of storage (though only the smaller of these is accessible in most markets), whereas OnePlus offers 128GB or 256GB. However, Sony wins this round since it also has a microSD card slot for expansion.
OnePlus' OxygenOS is very speedy and attractive, and it's undoubtedly more enticing right away than Sony's UI. You might argue that it's less stock-looking these days than Sony's software, but it still has a certain charm that sets it apart from other bespoke UIs. There's also less bloatware than there is on the Sony.
Battery
Both phones feature 4,500mAh batteries that will last a full day in normal use. However, we think the OnePlus has the upper hand.
With all of its settings maxed up, the Xperia 1 III can get you through a full day of use, but just. We discovered that after a full day of moderate use, the phone would be left with roughly 10% battery life, which isn't optimal.
On the other hand, we only had to give the OnePlus 9 Pro a brief boost of juice at approximately 10 p.m. on a few occasions. It would often last a full day of moderate use with room to spare, compared to the Sony.
When it comes to charging, the OnePlus also comes out on top. While Sony included a 30W charger with the Xperia 1 III, the OnePlus includes a significantly quicker 65W charger.
Both phones will be able to charge wirelessly, albeit the OnePlus will be quicker at 50W. Sony doesn't say how fast their own standard is, but it appears to be equivalent to the 15W of the Xperia 1 II.