When it comes to flagship smartphones, Oppo and OnePlus are often compared—especially since both brands share the same parent company, BBK Electronics.
But how do their premium devices, the Oppo Find X3 Pro and OnePlus 9 Pro, stack up against each other?
From cutting-edge design to powerhouse performance, both phones bring their own strengths to the table.
Whether you're after a stunning camera, smooth software, or all-day battery life, this detailed comparison will help you decide which one is worth your money.
One Plus or Oppo
Build Quality and Design
I was about to begin the reviewing process, so I had just taken the two phones out of their boxes and set them on the table in front of me. And for a second there, I was confused which is which because of how similar they look from the front. Both have punch hole cameras located in the far top left, both have bezel and edges and give a skinny feel to them when they’re held.
But that’s it, the similarities end there. Turn them over and you’ll see why this comparison makes sense. Let’s talk about their bodies.
I personally am of the opinion that Oppo has done a better job of capturing the “premium” sense in terms of design. It has a matte finish and the body curves up to the camera casing, which is also made of the same glass. It gives the phone a smooth, seamless look.
One thing that did err me was that the camera housing in the Oppo phone protrudes out of the body, exposing the cameras to slight risk, but it shouldn't be a problem, considering the cameras inside the casing are slightly deep.
In contrast to that, OnePlus has maintained the long rectangular camera casing that is flat in the 9 Pro as it had in the older models. Each camera has a metal ring sound its circumference to make sure that each stands out on its own. The rectangular spaces that house the cameras are the same color as the phone but of a different finish.
The dimensions of both the phones are practically the same, but when held in hand, I found that the OnePlus 9 Pro felt heavier than Oppo Find X3 Pro. An unexpected drop of both phones shouldn’t be a problem as both the phones are encased with gorilla glass of their aluminum frame.
Perhaps if you’re video calling your mother while grooming in front of a bathroom mirror in a rush, your phone might fall into a sink filled with water — but now, your mother can’t taunt you with a “this is what happens if you don’t give me time”, because thanks to the IP68 rating on both the phones, you’re safe. But, seriously, call your mom.
Processor and Storage
| Hardware | Oppo Find X3 Pro | OnePlus 9 Pro |
| Processor | Snapdragon 888 processor | |
| Battery | 4500mAh battery (2x 2250mAh) | |
| Storage | 8GB/256GB or 12GB/256GB RAM | 8GB/128GB or 12GB/256GB RAM |
| Charging | 30W Air VOOC wireless charging/ 65W Super VOOC 2.0 wired charging | 50W Warp wireless charging/ 65W Warp Charge wired charging |
Let me just say this and get it out of the way — since we’re discussing flagship phones, it’s needless to say that they are both 5G enabled. So if you live in a 5G area, hurray!
Both the phones have the same Snapdragon 888 processor as can be displayed in the table I summarized for you. In addition to that, both the phones bank their speed on the LPDDR5 RAM that keeps the ship running smoothly, everything from apps and games to installations.
Despite the same RAM, I have to say that I found the OnePlus 9 Pro to be speedier than Oppo’s Find X3 Pro. This could be because OnePlus’ cooling chamber works more extensively, therefore preventing overheating, ultimately increasing efficiency.
Even though both the phones have a battery life of 4500mAh, upon testing and use I found that the Oppo lasted a few hours longer. My suspicions are that the background task management of OnePlus is not at par with that of Oppo. Regardless of this, you can rely on this battery for a whole day even if you're using it vigorously.
With wired charging, both phones can be charged with 65W speeds, albeit with different technologies. Oppo uses VOOC and OnePlus uses the Warp technology. How fast can they be charged though? The OnePlus phone needs only 30 minutes to go from 1 to 100%, whereas Oppo can take just a few minutes longer.
The interesting part comes here. Both the phones support wireless charging, but the OnePlus phone can give you a full battery in less than 45 mins. With Oppo, be ready to spare an hour if your phone is about to die and you want to charge wirelessly.
As you can see in the table above, the storage options in both are many, but the minimum you’ll find in Oppo is a 256GB internal storage. You can find one with lesser storage with the OnePlus phone.
Display
Let’s talk about what's similar on these phones. Both these phones possess the same 6.7 inch AMOLED display with LTPO technology. Both the phones claim that they reach refreshing rates that go up to 120 Hz depending on the use.
But I have also found in the brand claims that the OnePlus 9 Pro can bring its refresh rates down to 1Hz while Oppo Find X3 Pro can do it upto 5Hz. This breakthrough by OnePlus is one that is made by no one else in the industry. In OnePlus’s words — “The display intelligently and effectively scales power requirements resulting in power consumption being significantly reduced at lower refresh rates.”
Both the phones also have the same, stellar resolution of 1440 x 3216 pixels set at QuadHD+. Couple it with a peak brightness of 1300 nits, and you have a 525 pixels per inch density display at its best!
More on the frame rates — if you happen to come across a page that is slow-moving, the adaptive frame rate technology in both phones will adapt to what is needed and optimize the power consumption that would have otherwise been wasted trying to refresh the said slow-moving page.
In addition to that, the ‘vivid’ display modes on both are also starkly different. Oppo’s vivid display is leaning more towards exaggerated but cool colours that can be adjusted, whereas the OnePlus is simply bright. Although, both phones do comprise the capability to fully display the 1 billion colours of the DCI-P3 colour gamut.
Software
At a base level, they both run on Android 11. It is their own individual software that makes them different. The OnePlus phone runs on Oxygen OS and the Oppo runs on ColorOS.
Hands down, I'd prefer OxygenOS, owing to its fast pace, stylish minimalism and simple UI. ColorOS would be attractive to those who, well, prefer colour. It is also the more customizable of the two.
Besides, the software on both phones enables comfort lighting on the phone, depending on the current ambience around you.
When it comes to the Always on Display feature, both have a different approach. With OnePlus’ AOD feature, you can choose to either have it on all day or schedule it when you need it, for example when you go to bed. One the other hand, with Oppo Find X3 Pro, while scheduling isn’t possible, the phone does give you many options and themes to choose from, one that fits your vibe. You can even design your own.
This was pleasantly surprising for me, solely because I remember OxygenOS as the one that was more customizable. But since Oppo’s advent into the customization department, it stole the show with all the fingerprint animation options it offers.
Speaking of fingerprint sensors, in both the phones they can be found within the display itself. In terms of convenience, I do wish that they had located it slightly more above where it is now.
Camera
| Camera | Oppo Find X3 Pro | OnePlus 9 Pro |
| Front Camera | 32 MP, f/2.4, 26mm (wide) | 16 MP, f/2.4, (wide) |
| Rear Cameras | 50MP f/1.8 wide camera with OIS13MP telephoto zoom (2x optical) + 3MP micro lens50MP f/2.2 ultrawide | 48MP f/1.8 wide camera with OIS8MP telephoto zoom (3.3x optical) + 2MP monochrome50MP f/2.2 ultrawide |
| Video | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, HDR | 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, Auto HDR |
I think I left the most clear-cut and striking features for the end so your decision process is not blinded by just which has the better camera.
While you can see from the specs that both have excellent quality ultrawide and wide cameras, it is attractive to know that Oppo used 50MP sensors on both wide and ultrawide cameras. That ensures rich and accurate photos in both modes. Some inconsistency was seen with OnePlus’ cameras. At times it seemed cool and leaning blue, and sometimes warm, while Oppo maintains a warm consistency.
Even though both the phones have a telephoto lens, the one in Oppo possesses a 2x optical, whereas the one in the OnePlus phone goes up to 3.3x. That is only when it comes to clarity. One plus can go upto a 5x optical, but the shots tend to get blurry. Seeing as it is, Oppo had dropped the 5x feature that was previously found on the Oppo X2 Pro.
When it comes to the Nightscape mode, I found that the Oppo camera took much brighter, sharper and detailed pictures than the one in OnePlus. So, you decide.
Some background information
Only lately has it become common knowledge that OnePlus and Oppo are from the same parent company BBK Electronics. It has come to light because a lot has changed in the way OnePlus started to function and release phones. From being a company that made phones for real enthusiasts, it became one that made listicles of phones.
In late 2020, it went through a huge redesign of the OxygenOS that started to resemble a lot like the one that Oppo had. Initially, OnePlus had maintained its image as a commodity for the premium users, but as the R&D teams for the two teams merged as OPLUS, it is becoming harder to distinguish the features, even though the companies claim they work differently. They claim that they did this solely to optimize resources for BBK.
I suppose that the move has been justified, considering how OnePlus has moved from being solely premium to one for all.
