I tested the OnePlus 15R vs iPhone 16e vs Pixel 9a in an 11-round camera shoot-out — here’s the winner

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OnePlus 15R(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)iPhone 16e(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)Pixel 9a(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)

There’s one thing I find consistent in the shots from Bryant Park above: the OnePlus 15R, iPhone 16e and Pixel 9a all handle dynamic range very well. One of the biggest challenges here is how the sun behind the building is casting a shadow, but all three phones do an excellent job of keeping the exposure even.

Zooming into the shot more, that’s where I begin to see how the Pixel 9a captures more definition — like the individual bricks in some of the buildings and the textures all around the light pole.

Winner: Pixel 9a

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OnePlus 15R(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)iPhone 16e(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)Pixel 9a(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)

On its own, the OnePlus 15R appears to capture very good color tones — but against the iPhone 16e and Pixel 9a — it looks sort of muted. My eyes instantly gravitate toward the warmer color tones of the iPhone 16e, which also has a much nicer contrast.

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The Pixel 9a and OnePlus 15R are very similar in how they reproduce colors, but I can tell that the yellow colors of the OnePlus 15R appear much duller.

Winner: iPhone 16e

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OnePlus 15R(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)iPhone 16e(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)Pixel 9a(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)

I captured the selfies of myself indoors in the office and all three phones seem to handle the artificial lighting well. I would say that the OnePlus 15R has a much cooler color temperature than the other two phones, but it seems to capture the best details — which I can see with my facial features.

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Surprisingly, the iPhone 16e fares the worst with its much softer looking capture. Meanwhile, the Pixel 9a better captures the textures of my shirt and hoodie.

Winner: OnePlus 15R

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OnePlus 15R(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)iPhone 16e(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)Pixel 9a(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)

All of the shots of the stature were captured at 8x zoom since that’s where the Pixel 9a tops out. Looking at the overall picture, I can instantly tell that the Pixel 9a looks the softest. Both the iPhone 16e and OnePlus 15R look pretty sharp, including when I take a look at the textures.

When I zoom into the shots and inspect the details a bit more, the iPhone 16e manages to retain the texture a smidge better. I’m not sure if the OnePlus 15R is being too aggressive with its processing, but it clearly is smoothening out the textures more.

Winner: iPhone 16e

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OnePlus 15R(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)iPhone 16e(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)Pixel 9a(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)

With the Call of Duty Black Ops 7 billboard by Times Square in New York City, I really like the strong contrast of the iPhone 16e’s shot. As a result, the photo comes across as way more dramatic than the other two shots.

The Pixel 9a has the lowest contrast of the bunch, resulting in an even exposure across the entire scene, but at the expense of looking the dullest. Meanwhile, the OnePlus 15R lies in the middle with its just right contrast.

Winner: iPhone 16e

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OnePlus 15R(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)iPhone 16e(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)Pixel 9a(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)

Apple comes out on top in my opinion with these shots of the Bryant Park Christmas tree. Again, I much prefer how the iPhone perfectly balances out the contrast so that the tree has a more commanding presence in the shot.

The Pixel 9a has the same habit of trying to keep the exposure even, which I’ll say does nicely to draw out details hidden in the shadows around the tree, but the shot just looks flat. OnePlus delivers some nice qualities, but compared to the iPhone, the details look softer.

Winner: iPhone 16e

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OnePlus 15R(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)Pixel 9a(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)

Only the OnePlus 15R and Pixel 9a have ultrawide cameras to capture more of the scene, which gives them an advantage over the single-lens iPhone 16e.

From the same exact position, the Pixel 9a has a wider field of view, but I really like how the OnePlus 15R makes the tree pop out from the scene.

Winner: OnePlus 15R

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OnePlus 15R(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)iPhone 16e(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)Pixel 9a(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)

When the lighting is good, I can affirm that all three photos deliver outstanding results. Case in point, the shots looking up to the sky with the skyscrapers all around. Even as the sun casts a shadow on the building in the foreground, the OnePlus 15R, iPhone 16e and Pixel 9a all work to prevent any areas from being too under or over exposed.

Details are pretty resounding from all three, but upon closer inspection, the iPhone 16e has the edge as the brickwork all around the building is better defined.

Winner: iPhone 16e

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OnePlus 15R(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)iPhone 16e(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)Pixel 9a(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)

I convinced myself to try out Guy Fieri’s chicken sandwich joint, so I ended up getting a quick snapshot of the inside. Clearly the Pixel 9a looks the dullest to me, with the OnePlus 15R adding some much-needed contrast to the shot.

I think the iPhone 16e has the best results here partly because of how the colors pop and its more aggressive contrast.

Winner: iPhone 16e

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OnePlus 15R(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)iPhone 16e(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)Pixel 9a(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)

I’m really interested in the OnePlus 15 R’s low-light performance, because that’s what separates the good camera phones from the greats. Based on the shots in almost pitch darkness of Grogu, I like how the OnePlus 15R brightens up the scene with its dedicated night mode. However, the other two phones do exceptionally well.

The iPhone 16e really accentuates the shot with its contrast yet again, but it also manages to capture the best details from what I can see.

Winner: iPhone 16e

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OnePlus 15R(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)iPhone 16e(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)Pixel 9a(Image credit: Tom’s Guide / John Velasco)

With my second low-light shot, I captured this fake plant in a more secluded area where there was even less light. This time, the OnePlus 15R has the weakest performance of the bunch — largely because of how dark it looks. In contrast, the iPhone 16e and Pixel 9a do a much better job of exposing the plant.

Winner: iPhone 16e

The iPhone 16e took the majority of categories, winning eight categories, though it had to sit out the ultrawide camera comparison. Still, the main point of this exercise was to see how the OnePlus 15R fared against similar camera phones, and the answer is “very well.”

The OnePlus 15R won a couple categories outright, and turned in strong performances in situations where photos benefitted from good contrast. I may not reach for the OnePlus 15R in low-light settings, but from what we’ve seen here, this midrange phone should be able to more than hold its own when it comes to capturing quality photos.

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