A $500 Phone That Works Better Than My Pixel 9 Pro

I was having problems with my Pixel 9 Pro. WIFI connections and even connections to the cell towers were dropping frequently. Notifications were ongoingly late - voicemail notifications were not arriving until the next day, in most cases, after I restarted my Pixel.

This became extremely frustrating, not only from a personal perspective, but from a professional standpoint.

My experience with Google's Pixel devices extend all the way back to the Pixel 6, and each year Google promised that the Samsung Exynos (Google Tensor) processor and modem is fixed, improved, and is worthy of an upgrade. I beg to differ. I have had Pixels replaced from the Pixel 6 to the Pixel 8 Pro, but this time around Google is handling their handset repairs and replacements all on their own, much like Apple does with the iPhone, and my carrier does not support or offer help with Google Pixel devices. Asurion has partnered with Google to Fix and diagnose issues, along with Google Pixel support chat.

Being tired of the 'Take my money and give me a broken device' tactics from Google for the past 4 generations of the Google Tensor chip, I wanted to look into getting something else without shelling out another $1000 for a premium handset - not to get off topic, but in my opinion, the Google Tensor chip is not a premium chipset. It's made by Samsung, which Samsung uses similar chips (Exynos) in their B class phones like the Samsung A series devices and A series tablets. Samsung uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite in their current Galaxy Series and has been using Qualcomm chips for years.

I did some research and settled on the OnePlus 13r.

Hear me out. I know this isn't a premium advertised handset, and I was planning on buying the Samsung S24+ refurbished online. But, the decision was made because I need one feature that is only available on the Google Pixel and the iPhone - Voicemail Transcription. Samsung doesn't have it, but to my surprise, OnePlus does. I was not aware of this when I bought the device yesterday and was pleasantly surprised.

The specs for the OnePlus 13r:

Operating System: OxygenOS 15.0 based on Android™ 15
Platform: Snapdragon® 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform
CPU: Qualcomm® Kryo™ 980 CPU @3.3GHz
GPU: Adreno™ 750 @903MHz
RAM: 12GB LPDDR5X
Storage: 256GB UFS 4.0
Battery: 6,000 mAh (single-cell 6,000 mAh, non-removable)

These specs are good enough for me. As a matter of fact, these specs are quite impressive for a non-premium device and the price point was about 30% less expensive than a used / refurbished Samsung Galaxy from Best Buy - in addition, this device has 4GB more ram (memory) than the Samsung S24 (8GB) and is on par with the Samsung S25 (12GB). The OnePlus 13r is also 40% less expensive than the Samsung S25 ($849.00) with the upgraded storage to 256GB.

I think I just found my new favorite phone brand. Oxygen OS delivers a very barebones Google Pixel experience with an overlay of their own personal touches that do not seem invasive as Samsung. In addition, you are able to remove most of the add on (bloatware, which isn't much to begin with) from OnePlus devices - something Samsung only allows you to disable and takes up valuable storage space on your device.

But OnePlus is a Chinese company! Yeah, and Samsung is a Korean company. Just like Samsung, OnePlus has a homebase location in the United States - located in Nevada to be exact. They also have been certified to sell devices in the US based on national and international compliance - just like Samsung.

OnePlus also has features similar to Samsung devices (something the Pixel does not have), virus scanning baked into the OS software, and just like Samsung and Google, they offer a private (additional password) folder to keep your most private documents and apps even more secure.

So what are you missing out on, honestly? Not much except the saving and money in your bank account if you buy another brand.