OnePlus 15 vs Pixel 10 Pro XL: When brute power meets sophisticated AI
OnePlus has just unveiled the global version of its flagship phone for 2025, and the OnePlus 15 is one pretty exciting device. Aside from debuting the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip on the US market, it also comes with a fresh, flat new design language, one of the smoothest displays around, and an exceptional battery that surpasses 7,000 mAh in capacity.
But there is some strong competition here. The Pixel 10 Pro XL can't match the specs, but it has one thing going on for it –– the more familiar name.
Google's flagship is a device that builds upon the exciting foundation laid out by the Pixel 9 Pro XL, but with an improved camera and a new 3nm Tensor chipset, as well as the same strong Gemini AI suite of features.
Should you pick the OnePlus 15 or the Pixel 10 Pro XL? We ran both devices through the paces of our display, camera, performance, and battery life tests to try and find an answer to this important question.
OnePlus 15 vs Pixel 10 Pro XL expected differences:
| OnePlus 15 | Pixel 10 Pro XL |
|---|---|
| Design | |
| New flat design with redesigned camera bump | The same aluminum design as the Pixel 9 Pro XL |
| Mostly the same size at 8.1 mm | Slightly thicker at 8.5 mm |
| Potentially lighter at 210-215 grams | Heavier at 232 grams |
| Display | |
| 6.78-inch OLED | 6.8-inch AMOLED |
| 1-165 Hz refresh rate | 1-120 Hz refresh rate |
| Performance | |
| Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, 3nm | Google Tensor G5, 3nm |
| 12/256GB 12/512GB 16/256GB 16/512GB 16/1TB | 16/256GB 16/512GB 16/1TB |
| Camera | |
| Triple camera (50MP + 50MP ultra + 50MP 3.5X) | Triple camera (50MP + 48MP ultra + 48MP 5X) |
| 32MP front | 42MP front |
| Battery & charging | |
| Significantly larger 7,300 mAh silicon-carbon battery | A 5,200 mAh battery |
| 120W wired charging, 50W proprietary wireless | 40W wired, 25W Qi2 wireless charging, Pixelsnap |
Table of Contents:
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Design and Size
The OnePlus 15 scores a new design language
With the OnePlus 15, we're getting an exterior redesign that's in tune with the rest of the industry as far as aesthetics come and go. It will utilize a completely flat design language, with a flat frame, display, and all. Pretty cool, and finally bringing OnePlus in line with the times.
The phone is made of an "aerospace-grade nano-ceramic metal," said to be stronger than titanium, aluminum, or stainless steel, and will boast a camera island reminding us of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL, on the other hand, looks pretty much identical to the preceding Pixel 9 Pro XL, with a flat frame, rounded corners, and the signature Pixel camera strip at the rear. It's an acquired taste, but one that doesn't take too long to get used to. It looks as if Apple suddenly started making Android phones.
| OnePlus 15 | Pixel 10 Pro XL |
|---|---|
| Thickness 8.1 mm | Thickness 8.5 mm |
| Dimensions 161.4 x 76.7 mm | Dimensions 162.8 x 76.6 mm |
| Weight 211/215 grams | Weight 232 grams |
We expect that the two devices will be mostly similar in terms of size, though the OnePlus 15 will be thinner and lighter. That's a miracle considering the OnePlus 15 packs a 7,300 mAh battery in the back.
The OnePlus phone will also deliver better water and dust resistance, with an IP69K rating, which will protect it against even the strongest of water jets and pulses. That's definitely reassuring, to say the least. The Pixel 10 Pro XL scores just a standard IP68 water- and dust-resistance rating.
The OnePlus 15 will be available in purple, titanium, black, and the signature color for the lineup, Sand Storm. The Pixel 10 Pro XL can be yours in Moonstone, Obsidian, Porcelain, and Jade colors.
With the OnePlus 15, the company is giving us a slightly smaller 6.78-inch, a marginal decrease over the OnePlus 13's 6.82-inch screen. The display on the OnePlus 15 will be a BOE-made one, and it will push the boundaries with a super-smooth 1-165 Hz refresh rate. However, most people probably won't be able to tell the difference between that one and a 120 Hz screen, and there's no way of saying in what scenarios the 165 Hz refresh will kick in.
| OnePlus 15 | Pixel 10 Pro XL |
|---|---|
| Size 6.78-inch | Size 6.8-inch |
| Refresh rate 1-165Hz | Refresh rate 1-120Hz |
The Pixel 10 Pro XL comes with a similarly sized 6.8-inch display, this one with an exceptionally high 3,300 nits of peak brightness. As far as OLED displays come and go, it's as great as they come, with saturated colors, contrast, and viewing angles.
In our tests, the OnePlus 15 reaches higher maximum brightness, but the Pixel 10 Pro XL isn't far behind. In fact, at 100% APL, it smokes the OnePlus 15, but let's be honest, how often would you stare at a completely white image at 100% brightness? The Pixel is also more color-accurate out of the box, but you can easily tweak the color temperature of either device.
Both devices get ultrasonic fingerprint scanners. They are fast and accurate, and the OnePlus 15 has the slight advantage here, as it's a bit faster.
Performance and Software
That's one way to beat the Pixel
The OnePlus 15 comes along with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (what a mouthful of a name!), built on a 3nm manufacturing process. This will be the regular variant of the chipset, which probably won't compare well with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 that will be making it into the Galaxy S26 Ultra, for example.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL, on the other hand, comes with the rather humble Google Tensor G5 chip, which is the first truly custom chip by Google made on a 3nm process and manufactured by TSMC. It's still not a performance monster and only performs modestly in synthetic benchmarks but is fine for real-life usage. Graphics performance isn't a strong suit of this phone, so don't get it if you love gaming.
| OnePlus 15 | Pixel 10 Pro XL |
|---|---|
| Chip Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy | Chip Google Tensor G5 |
| Process 3nm | Process 3nm |
| RAM, Storage 12/256GB 16/512GB | RAM, Storage 16/256GB 16/512GB 16/1TB |
Well, let's just say it's a massacre here, and the Pixel 10 Pro XL is the one that gets beaten.
The OnePlus achieves nearly double of what the Pixel can score in both the single- and multi-core Geekbench tests, which is rather indicative of the excessive performance you have with the newer device.
The graphics performance is easily in the OnePlus 15's favor, too, with a very consistent result that can keep your fps stable for a long amount of time.
The OnePlus 15 comes along with 12GB or 16 GB of RAM, while the Pixel 10 Pro XL comes with 16 GB. The OnePlus 15 can be yours with 256 or 512 GB of storage, while the Pixel boasts a 1 TB storage option as well.
Both run Android 16. The Pixel 10 Pro XL relies on stock Android, while the OnePlus 15 runs Oxygen OS, just like all previous OnePlus phones. The latter has some interesting AI chops baked in, but it's the Google device that shines when AI is considered.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL will be supported for seven years going forward, while the OnePlus 15 gets only four (with delay).
Camera
The OnePlus 15 comes with a triple 50MP cameras, with a slightly longer 3.5X telephoto in comparison with the OnePlus 13, which had a 3X telephoto. Nonetheless, we expect improved image quality thanks to software enhancements and improvements.
Meanwhile, the Pixel 10 Pro XL comes with the same camera system as the Pixel 9 Pro XL, just with enhanced features like 100X Pro Res Zoom. The Pixel 10 Pro XL performs very well in our custom camera test, and it remains to be seen if the OnePlus 15 will be able to match that.
PhoneArena Camera Score:
Interestingly, both phones are actually tied in our camera test, achieving a result of 151 points. However, we find the Pixel 10 Pro XL to be better in still photography, while the OnePlus 15 performs better in video-recording.
| OnePlus 15 | Pixel 10 Pro XL |
|---|---|
| Main 50 MP, f/1.8 24 mm | Main 50 MP, f/1.68 24 mm |
| Ultrawide 50 MP, f/2.0 15 mm | Ultrawide 48 MP, f/1.7 13mm |
| Telephoto 50 MP, f/2.8 3.5X zoom | Telephoto 48 MP, f/2.8 5X zoom (111 mm) 100X Pro Res Zoom |
Main camera
Both are trading blows, but the Pixel 10 Pro XL has the upper hand in detail here; it just looks so much crisper. The OnePlus 15 also looks a bit too overexposed and slightly washed out, which isn't something nice.
Zoom Quality
When zooming in, the OnePlus has the upper hand at its native 3.5X zoom, while the Pixel is a bit less impressive there. The same is generally true of the 5X zoom, but the other way around––the Pixel appears slightly more natural.
Ultrawide camera
The OnePlus 15 has one narrow ultrawide camera, not a very great thing to see. The Pixel has a proper one, and it's capable of fitting a lot more in the scene. The Pixel is also crisper and more detailed here.
Selfie
Both trade blows when it comes to selfies. The Pixel has that way more contrasty and dramatic look, while the OnePlus 15 is livelier in comparison. We also love the dynamics on the OnePlus more here, despite the overly warm facial tones.
And no, the OnePlus doesn't make me fall asleep, thank you very much.
Battery Life and Charging
A major difference
The OnePlus 15 will arrive with a major 7,300 mAh silicon-carbon battery, among the largest ones we've seen on a phone available in the US. The Pixel 10 Pro XL doesn't come with a silicon-carbon battery, but a standard 5,200 mAh one, which performs well in our custom battery tests.
| OnePlus 15 | Pixel 10 Pro XL |
|---|---|
| Battery size 7,300 mAh | Battery size 5,200 mAh |
Charging speeds 120W wired 50W wireless charging | Charging speeds 45W wired 25W wireless |
And here's the kicker: the OnePlus 11 easily dominates the Pixel in battery life!
The OnePlus 15 achieves a battery life estimate of 10 hours and 44 minutes, one of the highest we've seen this year. This score is comprised of the exceptional 30 hours in our web browsing test, more than twelve hours in our video streaming test, and above 14 hours in our 3D gaming test, where the Pixel fails gloriously.
PhoneArena Battery and Charging Test Results:
If battery life is important for you, it's OnePlus all the way this year.
In terms of charging speeds, the OnePlus 15 scores 120W wired and 50W wireless VOOC charging, and thanks to that, once again dominates the Pixel, which only supports 45W wired and 25W wireless Qi2 charging. The OnePlus charges fully in just 45 minutes, a feat considering its large battery, while the Pixel takes 77 minutes to do the same.
One thing the Pixel has that the OnePlus doesn't are the Qi2 magnets at the back. Those let you easily attach magnetic attachments, just like Apple's MagSafe. The Pixelsnap on the Pixel is compatible with MagSafe accessories, so you're free to use any MagSafe items you have around.
Specs Comparison
|
|
| OnePlus 15 | Google Pixel 10 Pro XL |
Design
| Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| 161.4 x 76.7 x 8.1 mm | 162.8 x 76.6 x 8.5 mm |
| Weight | |
| 211.0 g | 232.0 g |
Display
| Size | |
|---|---|
| 6.8-inch | 6.8-inch |
| Type | |
| AMOLED, 165Hz | OLED, 120Hz |
Hardware
| System chip | |
|---|---|
| Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SM8850-AC (3 nm) | Google Tensor G5 (3 nm) |
| Memory | |
| 12GB (LPDDR5X)/256GB (UFS 4.1) 16GB/256GB 12GB/512GB 16GB/512GB 16GB/1TB |
16GB (LPDDR5X)/256GB (UFS 3.1) 16GB/512GB 16GB/1TB |
Battery
| Type | |
|---|---|
| 7300 mAh | 5200 mAh |
| Charge speed | |
| Wired: 80.0W Wireless: 50.0W |
Wired: 45.0W Wireless: 25.0W |
Camera
| Main camera | |
|---|---|
| 50 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 24 mm Sensor size: 1/1.56" Pixel size: 1.0 μm |
50 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.7 Focal length: 25 mm Sensor size: 1/1.3" Pixel size: 1.2 μm |
| Second camera | |
| 50 MP (Ultra-wide) Aperture size: F2.0 Focal Length: 16 mm Sensor size: 1/2.88" Pixel size: 0.61 μm |
48 MP (Ultra-wide) Aperture size: F1.7 Sensor size: 1/2.55" |
| Third camera | |
| 50 MP (Telephoto, Periscope, OIS, PDAF) Optical zoom: 3.5x Aperture size: F2.8 Focal Length: 80 mm Sensor size: 1/2.76" Pixel size: 0.64 μm |
48 MP (Telephoto, OIS, PDAF) Optical zoom: 5.0x Aperture size: F2.8 Focal Length: 113 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55" |
| Front | |
| 32 MP | 42 MP |
See the full
OnePlus 15 vs Google Pixel 10 Pro XL specs comparison
or compare them to other phones using our
Phone Comparison tool
Summary
The OnePlus 15 and the Pixel 10 Pro XL look like the perfect rivals. One is a big-name brand with a pretty familiar name, the other one is a company that's still not a household name but is definitely known by any phone geek worth their salt.
The OnePlus 15 triumphs in terms of battery life, charging speeds, and performance, while the Pixel has slightly better software, longer support, and deeply integrated AI features. The cameras are a tie on both devices.
Overall, we'd probably lean towards the OnePlus 15, as it just screams better value.
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