We just gave the Samsung Galaxy S21 our “Most Wanted” award, but this week OnePlus started selling a worthy competitor: The OnePlus 9. Both phones are very similar in size, hardware and price, with their own pre- and cons, so deciding between the two can be a bit difficult. But we are here to help and will guide you through the nuances and differences in this post.
Hardware
On the face of it, the two phones can no longer be similar. Both have the latest high-end Qualcomm processor, the Snapdragon 888, and they start with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. The screens are both OLEDs and have a refresh rate of 120Hz, although the S21 screen is only 6.2 inches, while the OnePlus’ is 6.55. While both support Wi-Fi 6, OnePlus saved some money on Bluetooth by switching to version 5.0 over 5.2. This is a raid due to some enhanced audio stream improvements for earbuds. No phone has a headphone jack or expandable storage, and unfortunately both SIM phones are in the US.
Samsung Galaxy S21.
Things differ slightly in the battery and charging section. The OnePlus 9’s 4500mAh battery charges up to 65W with the included brick, allowing for a full charge in less than an hour. The S21 has to cope with a 4,000mAh power supply that charges a maximum of 25W. Charging overnight anyway will not bother you too much, but extremely fast charging is always good to have if you need to charge shortly before you do – and unlike Samsung, OnePlus offers a boot in the box. .
Unlike Samsung, OnePlus has an excellent alert slider bar above its on / off button, which allows you to switch between silent, vibrate and ring without first unlocking your phone. You can also choose between an extremely well-made matte plastic back with a metal frame on the S21 and a glass back with a metal-mimicking plastic frame on the OnePlus 9.
| OnePlus 9 | Samsung Galaxy S21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Snapdragon 888 | Snapdragon 888 |
| RAM | 8 / 12GB (LPDDR5) | 8 GB (LPDDR5) |
| Storage | 128/256 GB (UFS3.1) | 128/256 GB (UFS3.1) |
| Show | 6.55 inch OLED, 2400×1080, 120Hz | 6.2 inch OLED, 2400×1080, 120Hz |
| Battery and charge | 4500mAh, 65W Warp Charge, 15W Qi wireless, reverse wireless charging | 4,000mAh, 25W fast charging, 15W Qi wireless, reverse wire charging |
| Rear Cameras | 48MP primary, 50MP ultra wide, 2MP monochrome | 64MP telephoto, 12MP wide, 12MP ultra wide |
| Front cameras | 16MP | 10MP |
| Connections | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, 5G sub-6 | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, 5G sub-6 |
| Headphone jack | No | No |
| Colours | Astral Black, Artic Sky, Winter Mist | Phantom Violet, Phantom Gray, Phantom White, Phantom Pink |
| Dimensions | 160 x 74.2 x 8.7mm | 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm |
| Weight | 192g | 171g (for US mmWave model) |
| Software | OxygenOS 11 / Android 11 | A UI 3.1 / Android 11 |
| Price | $ 730 (8/128 GB), $ 830 (12/256 GB) | $ 800 (128 GB), $ 850 (256 GB) |
OnePlus phones have historically been rather mediocre in the camera department, but thanks to the company’s new collaboration with Hasselblad, the tide is turning a bit. In our review, we noticed that the image processing of OnePlus is still not quite as desired, with polished edges and aggressive smoothness of details, and the camera also suffers from ambiguity and questionable white balance in low light. However, things have gotten a lot better, and the new OnePlus flagship range is almost on par with Samsung’s image processing. The inclusion of an ultra-wide ‘free-form lens’ is ideal for macro shots, though we were surprised by the decision to add a mostly useless 2MP monochrome sensor.
OnePlus 9.
Meanwhile, our biggest problem with the Galaxy S21 camera is Samsung’s tendency to oversaturate colors and destroy mud in low light situations, but overall the camera is still more reliable and versatile than the OnePlus 9, thanks to a better choice of lenses (wide, ultra-wide, telephoto). You can read more about it in our full Galaxy S21 review.
Software
Both phones come with Android 11 at launch, and both have their own software issues to contend with. Although Samsung’s software has become incredibly good over the years, the company has some annoying default settings that you may want to change once you get the device. Samsung also has a bad habit of pushing ads into your notifications, which is hard to eliminate. Once you have set everything up the way you want it to, things should go smoothly, and you will find almost everything you can ask for and more. The manufacturer has also become incredibly good with software updates over the years, promising up to three years of software updates and four years of security solutions – currently the only (mainstream) Android manufacturer to do so.
Samsung UI.
Things are a little different for OnePlus. We used to praise the company for its amazing, almost Pixel-like experience with relatively fast updates, but over the years, OnePlus has lagged behind with release schedules and the software has failed with Android Auto and system navigation crashes on our review unit. . However, the experience is mostly smooth, and there are some thoughtful additions to Android, such as scrolling screenshots, screen gestures, parallel apps (to run two instances of the same app with different accounts side by side) and more.
OnePlus UI.
If you rely heavily on background apps, both phones will not necessarily make you happy – Samsung and OnePlus are incredibly aggressive when it comes to killing background activities. You need to bypass the restrictions by releasing apps in the system settings of any phone, and even then, some apps will have more problems.
Pronunciation
Although the Galaxy S21 is a bit more expensive than the OnePlus 9 ($ 800 versus $ 730), the Samsung phone can serve you well over a longer period of time due to its extensive software update policy if you plan to keep it. for years to come. And despite OnePlus’ Hasselblad collaboration, Samsung’s camera game is still unobtrusive and often better than OnePlus. All in all, it makes the Galaxy S21 the best choice for most people, although the OnePlus 9 can still entice you with its smaller price up front, the excellent 65W charging brick in the box and some unique features such as the alert slider and the ad-free interface. You will not really go wrong with any phone, so make sure you make the choice better.
Left: OnePlus 9. Right: Samsung Galaxy S21.