Currently, there’s two flagships that have been released in 2025. That’s the OnePlus 13 and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Which means, they will be compared against each other quite a bit. While both are great phones and will be a tough decision to make between the two, there are 5 things that the OnePlus 13 has that the Galaxy S25 Ultra doesn’t have. And that might be enough to help you choose between the two.
We have another article telling you 5 ways that the Galaxy S25 Ultra beats the OnePlus 13. So if you’re looking for a reason to get the Galaxy S25 Ultra instead, then that will be a good one to check out.
Price
Of course, the biggest difference between the two is price. The OnePlus 13 starts at $899 for the 12GB/256GB model, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra starts at $1,299 for the same 12GB/256GB storage variant. That’s a pretty significant gap between the two, even though the OnePlus 13 did get a price increase this year – though Samsung increased the Galaxy S24 Ultra last year. That’s almost the cost of a Pixel 8a, to put things into perspective.
So keep the price of the OnePlus 13 in mind as we talk about the other features it has, the Samsung didn’t add to its Galaxy S25 Ultra. Because this is a pretty big deal, and could be the selling point that gets you across the finish line in making your decision.
IP69 Waterproofing
Given OnePlus’ history, this is actually fairly surprising. But the OnePlus 13 does offer IP68 and IP69 ratings for waterproofing. Meanwhile the Galaxy S25 Ultra is only offering IP68. The difference here is, the OnePlus 13 can survive high-temperature water jets. Basically, the OnePlus 13 can be tossed into the washing machine or dishwasher and survive, coming out nice and clean. In fact, we’ve done it.
OnePlus isn’t the only one offering IP69 ingress protection either. Surprisingly, a lot of the Chinese phones are adding it, which is surprising since they usually don’t both with paying to get the IP certification. But Samsung did not add IP69 to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and while that might not seem like a big deal, seeing it on a phone that is $400 less, makes it a bigger deal.
16GB of RAM is an option
Leading up to the Galaxy S25 Ultra launch, there was a lot of talk about Samsung not offering a 16GB of RAM option. And that is true, at least in most of the world. There is said to be a 16GB version of the Galaxy S25 Ultra that will be available in a few Asian countries very soon. That will likely be Korea and possibly China. However, OnePlus is offering 16GB as an option in all of its markets.
You see, OnePlus offers a 12GB/256GB version of the OnePlus 13 for $899. However, for $100 more (and the unit that OnePlus loaned to all reviewers) is the 16GB/512GB model. Which is a pretty incredible deal. And with all of the AI features that Samsung is running on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, that extra RAM is necessary. Hell, Google added 16GB of RAM to its “Pro” Pixel phones (the regular Pixel 9 is 12GB). Hopefully, next year Samsung will get the message and opt for 16GB on the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Battery size and Charging
You’ll notice that this was titled “Battery size” and not “battery life” and that’s because, so far in our early testing of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the battery life is pretty similar to the OnePlus 13. Despite the much larger battery in the OnePlus 13. Samsung is once again using a 5,000mAh capacity battery, the same size battery as the Galaxy S20 Ultra. While OnePlus 13 is using a 6,000mAh capacity battery, which is huge, especially considering the thickness difference between the two phones is only 0.3mm.
Charging, however, is where things really differ. OnePlus is offering 80W (or 100W in Europe, due to the 220V architecture over there), and another point for OnePlus is that it is being included in the box. Samsung, on the other hand, is maxing out its charging at 45W, and the charger is not included in the box. However, on the plus side, Samsung’s charging is very efficient. In our charging test, which you can see below, the Galaxy S25 Ultra charged just a bit slower than the OnePlus 13.
Since the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung has been very conservative with its charging speeds, and have added in all sorts of protections to charging their batteries. And it shows how efficient it’s 45W charging actually is.
Software
This is perhaps the most subjective feature of the two phones, as some will prefer One UI 7 over OxygenOS 15. But there are some really great features in OxygenOS 15, that OnePlus has brought over from its foldable phone actually, like OpenCanvas. One of my favorite software features from the OnePlus Open, has now made its way to OnePlus’ slab phones, and it’s a beauty.
OpenCanvas really takes multi-tasking to the next level. The best way to explain this is, it allows you to have more screen real estate than you actually have. You can resize two apps, and even have one taking up most of the display. It makes it so much easier to swap between different apps, and while it is better on a foldable, OnePlus did implement it quite well here on the OnePlus 13 (and other OxygenOS 15 devices).
Of course, Samsung is known for its multi-tasking. The entire Galaxy Note series was essentially built for multi-tasking. But Samsung hasn’t really changed its multi-tasking suite of features for quite some time, and it’s just not as smooth as what OnePlus has built. Of course, a big advantage that Samsung has here is the S Pen – despite removing Bluetooth. While not specifically for multi-tasking, the S Pen does make it easier for precision taps in different apps.
Which will you choose?
Ultimately, the decision is up to you. And while you wait for our full review of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, you can check out our review of the OnePlus 13. Another thing to note here is that the Galaxy S25 Ultra is going to be available from virtually every carrier and retailer you can think of. While the OnePlus 13 is only available from OnePlus, Best Buy and Amazon – meaning you can only see it in person at Best Buy.
Both are great phones, and I said as much on X recently. Some will prefer what the OnePlus 13 offers, while others will prefer what the Galaxy S25 Ultra offers. At the end of the day, it’s all up to you, the one that is actually spending their hard earned money on these phones.
2025-01-28 15:05:33