When Xiaomi recently released its new flagship, the Xiaomi 13 Pro, a question that was asked by many consumers was "How does it compare with the OnePlus 11?' Some might find the question a little odd, given the wide-ish price gulf between the two devices — the Xiaomi 13 Pro is priced at Rs 79,999, while the OnePlus 11 is priced at Rs 56,999. However, the two phones do have a lot in common as well. 


Both are Android flagships and pack in high-end hardware. What's more, both have camera tie-ups with legendary brands — Hasselblad in the case of OnePlus and Leica in the case of Xiaomi. 


And both phones come from brands that made it big at lower price points and are now trying to grab a chunk of the premium phone market. 


ALSO READ: Google Pixel 7 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, More: 5 Phones That Can Challenge Xiaomi 13 Pro


So if you are looking beyond the Apples and the Samsungs, and want to try phones with great cameras that do not come from Google, you are unlikely to get better options than the OnePlus 11 or the Xiaomi 13 Pro.  


But which of the two should you go for, budget not being a constraint? Let us try and work that out for you:


Xiaomi 13 Pro Vs OnePlus 11: Design and appearance 


The two devices are very different in terms of looks. The OnePlus 11 comes with a tall curved display in front, and a curved glass back with a very distinct circular camera unit with prominent Hasselblad branding. 


The Xiaomi 13 Pro also has a tall, curved display in front but its back is ceramic and the camera unit is a square one with Leica branding. 


Both phones have metal frames and curved sides, avoiding the straight-side trend that the iPhone has made a rage of late. 


The OnePlus 11 is slightly taller and thicker with proportions of 163.1x74.1x8.53mm as compared to the Xiaomi 13 Pro's 162.9x74.6x8.38mm, but is lighter (205 grams as against 229 grams of the Xiaomi 13 Pro). 


Both phones will mainly attract attention because of their camera units, and which one you prefer depends on your own tastes and preferences. We think the ceramic back of the Xiaomi 13 Pro gives it a more premium and distinct look. But we can see folks liking the more conventional glass back of the OnePlus 11 as well. We are handing this to the Xiaomi 13 Pro, but the margin is a slim one.


Winner: Xiaomi 13 Pro


Xiaomi 13 Pro Vs OnePlus 11: Display


Both phones come with high-quality AMOLED displays with 2K resolution and 120 Hz adaptive refresh rates, which changes as per the content being displayed on them. 


Both come with Dolby Vision support, and are almost the same size — the Xiaomi 13 Pro has a 6.73-inch display as compared to the 6.7-inch one on the OnePlus 11. 


Both are superb displays, but we found the Xiaomi 13 Pro's display to be significantly brighter, which makes it better to use in sunlight. Another round for the Xiaomi 13 Pro.


Winner: Xiaomi 13 Pro


Xiaomi 13 Pro Vs OnePlus 11: Processor


This is a tie. Both phones are powered by the current flagship favourite in the Android smartphone world, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. 


Winner: Tie


Xiaomi 13 Pro Vs OnePlus 11: RAM and storage 


Both phones come with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage, ensuring speedy and efficient performance. 


The Xiaomi 13 Pro, however, comes in a single 12GB RAM and 256GB storage option, while the OnePlus 11 has 8GB+128GB and 16GB+256GB RAM and storage options. The 16GB variant wins the OnePlus 11 this round.


Winner: OnePlus 11


Xiaomi 13 Pro Vs OnePlus 11: Cameras


This is where the battle between the phones will be won and lost as per many people. Both phones come with powerful triple camera arrangements on the back, made in collaboration with a legendary camera brand. 


The OnePlus 11 comes with a 50-megapixel Sony IMX890 sensor with OIS, a 48-megapixel ultra wide sensor and a 32-megapixel Tele Portraits lens, all with Hasselblad flavouring. 


The cameras deliver some excellent photographs in terms of colour and details, with slightly saturated colours. The Tele Portrait sensor takes particularly brilliant portrait snaps and attempts to simulate a real Hasselblad camera's performance. 


Videos are not quite in the same class but you are assured of some very good photography with the OnePlus 11's snappers. 


Impressive though the OnePlus 11's cameras are, they are pretty much outgunned by those on the Xiaomi 13 Pro. The Xiaomi 13 Pro features three 50-megapixel sensors on the back and is the first phone in the country to come with a one-inch sensor, a Sony IMX989. Of the other two sensors, one is a telephoto sensor with a floating lens that lets you take portrait shots with different focal lengths and the other is ultrawide. 


All three sensors come with Leica lenses and also a number of special shooting modes that Leica fans will love. And all of them deliver amazing images, rich in detail and with natural or vibrant colours, depending on your inclination (you can tweak the settings).  


The level of detail and kind of colour reproduction we got was perhaps the closest we have seen a phone's cameras come to be the real thing. 


The video quality is very good as well. The OnePlus 11's cameras are good, but the Xiaomi 13 Pro's are at another level, and that goes for the 32-megapixel selfie camera too which outguns the 16-megapixel one on the One Plus 11. 


The OnePlus 11 has very good cameras, but the ones on the Xiaomi 13 Pro are comfortably ahead of them.


Winner: Xiaomi 13 Pro


Xiaomi 13 Pro Vs OnePlus 11: Gaming and multimedia 


Those top-of-the-line processors, speedy RAM and storage make both phones very good in gaming. Both the OnePlus 11 and the Xiaomi 13 Pro can easily handle the likes of Genshin Impact and Call of Duty at maxed-out settings. 


Both phones also come with excellent stereo speakers, making gaming more immersive. We honestly could not tell too much of a difference between the two devices when it came to playing games or watching shows and videos. These are both multimedia monsters. 


Winner: Tie


Xiaomi 13 Pro Vs OnePlus 11: Software 


Both phones run on Android 13, but with their brands' UI on top of them. 


The OnePlus 11 comes with OxygenOS 13 on top of Android 13, while the Xiaomi 13 Pro has the new MIUI 14 interface of top of Android 13. OxygenOS 13 is the more uncluttered of the two interfaces, but MIUI 14 comes with a number of handy features that let you do much more with the device. 


Which one you choose is a matter of personal preference. We are calling this one a tie too. 


Winner: Tie


Xiaomi 13 Pro Vs OnePlus 11: General performance


In everyday work like browsing the Web, handling social networks, messaging and mail, both phones were again neck and neck. Its slightly lighter weight makes the OnePlus 11 a little easier to handle and those who are into crazy levels of multi-tasking are likely to be tempted by its 16GB variant, which OnePlus claims can run up to 44 apps in the background, but in day to day usage, we found very little to separate the two phones. 


This is another tie in our book - the OnePlus 11 is lighter and easier to carry and use at times, but the Xiaomi 13 Pro's brighter display makes it much easier to use in bright sunlight. Both also support 5G right out of the box. Another tie.


Winner: Tie


Xiaomi 13 Pro Vs OnePlus 11: Battery and charging speed


Both phones come with large batteries and can just about see out a day of use with displays set at 2k resolution with adaptive refresh rates, although we found that the OnePlus 11's 5000 mAh battery lasts a little longer than the slightly smaller 4,820mAh one on the Xiaomi 13 Pro. 


Both phones also come with support for super fast charging, and with chargers in the box. The charging speeds are different, though. The OnePlus 11 charges at 100W, while the Xiaomi 13 Pro charges at 120W. 


As a result, the Xiaomi 13 Pro charges from zero to 100 per cent in about 20-22 minutes while the OnePlus 11 gets charged in 25-30 minutes. That is not a significant difference in our books, but what wins the round for the Xiaomi 13 Pro is its support for wireless charging, and 50W fast wireless charging at it. The OnePlus 11 has no wireless charging at all. 


Winner: Xiaomi 13 Pro


Xiaomi 13 Pro Vs OnePlus 11: Price


In terms of sheer price, this is a no contest. 


The Xiaomi 13 Pro is available in a single 12GB+256GB variant for Rs 79,999. 


The OnePlus 11 on the other hand has two variants — 8GB+128GB for Rs 56,999 and 16GB+256GB for Rs 61,999. 


Winner: OnePlus 11


Xiaomi 13 Pro Vs OnePlus 11: Which works better?


Notwithstanding the gap in their prices, both phones are very closely matched in many parameters. In fact, there is very little to separate them in terms of gaming, processor quality, software and everyday performance, and even the differences in display quality and battery are not the greatest. 


It is therefore all going to boil down to the two parameters on which each beats the other very comfortably — the Xiaomi 13 Pro wins the camera battle easily, while the OnePlus 11 is the more able price warrior of the two. 


The choice is simple — if you attach great importance to the camera, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is the phone for you, and if you are on a tight budget but still want a flagship device, then go ahead and grab the OnePlus 11. Either way, you are getting a top-of-the-line device.