OnePlus 9 vs Samsung Galaxy S21: Which should you buy?

OnePlus drives into true flagship territory with the OnePlus 9 series, and the OnePlus 9 Pro is its most expensive smartphone yet. The OnePlus phones take on the best of 2021, including Samsung’s 2021 flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S21 series. We take a quick look at the OnePlus 9 vs Samsung Galaxy S21! How do the two compare?

Our verdict: OnePlus 9 Pro review | OnePlus 9 review

OnePlus 9 vs Samsung Galaxy S21

Specs

Design

OnePlus has refined the design language it introduced with the OnePlus 8 series, and the OnePlus 9 Pro looks the part of a top-of-the-line flagship. Curved glass panels seamlessly blend into a thin metal frame, and the beautiful new colorways (Morning Mist is a winner!) make the phone stand out.

The OnePlus 9 is a less premium version of the 9 Pro in almost every way, including the design and build quality. It’s a good-looking phone though, with a design that will feel familiar to OnePlus fans. Glass panels still sandwich a metal frame, but you get a flat display with the regular OnePlus 9, which some may prefer. Both phones retain OnePlus staples like the handy alert slider and stereo speakers.

OnePlus has also seriously upped its camera game with the OnePlus 9 series. That means a noticeable camera module on the back that houses the OnePlus 9 Pro’s four cameras or the OnePlus 9’s three cameras. Both cameras also come with Hasselblad branding to show off OnePlus’ collaboration with the storied camera company for the color tuning, in case you needed a reminder about how serious OnePlus is about its cameras this time around. It’s not unpleasant to look at, and OnePlus has tried its best to make it flow as much as one can with a setup that includes two huge sensors. I still prefer a more minimalistic approach, but as the smartphone camera wars continue, I can’t really blame OnePlus for the new design.

The Galaxy S21 series comes with a cleaner, more polished look. The “contour cut” camera is far sleeker and more aesthetically pleasing than what we got with its predecessors. There’s still a significant camera bump, especially with the S21 Ultra, but it flows a lot better at first glance.

Our verdict: Galaxy S21 Ultra review | Galaxy S21 Plus review | Galaxy S21 review

The regular Galaxy S21 comes with a “glasstic” build that is less premium but more durable than the all-glass bodies of the Plus and Ultra. A punch-hole to house the front-facing camera is the only blemish on the near bezel-less front. While you do miss out on the OnePlus alert slider, the Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra switch to Gorilla Glass Victus on the front and back, while the OnePlus 9 series adopts the older Gorilla Glass 5 standard.

As for color options, the OnePlus 9 series is available in Winter Mist, Arctic Sky, Astral Black (OnePlus 9), or Morning Mist, Pine Green, Stellar Black (OnePlus 9 Pro). The Galaxy S21 series has a huge number of color options, though some are exclusive to certain models and carriers. Check out the full list in the specs table at the top of this article.

Features

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor powers the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro, with 8 or 12GB of RAM, 128GB or 256GB of storage, and the same 4,500mAh battery with OnePlus’ 65T warp charging. This new 65W charger will fully charge the battery in just under half an hour. If performance is your only criteria, you can save a decent chunk of money with the regular OnePlus 9.

For true flagship features, you’ll have to splurge on the 9 Pro instead. It comes with a QHD+ screen with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. You get the same refresh rate with the OnePlus 9, but it’s not adaptive, and the resolution maxes at FHD+. The OnePlus 9 Pro also gets flagship extras like an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance and super-fast 50W wireless charging (with a proprietary dock).

Sure, OnePlus has added wireless charging to the standard OnePlus 9 as well, but with only fast, not super-fast, wireless charging capped at 15W. It should be noted that the T-Mobile version of the OnePlus 9 does have an IP rating, so if you want that guarantee you may want to buy through the carrier in the US.

The Galaxy S21 series follows a similar pattern. The Samsung Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus are quite similar, with the display size and battery capacity the only differences. Flat Full HD+ displays, the Snapdragon 888 (or Exynos 2100 in global markets) processing package, 8GB of RAM, up to 256GB of storage, and an identical camera setup completes the picture.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra is the one you want to kick things up a notch. The display is curved and with a higher QHD+ resolution. It’s the same processor, but you can max out at 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The Galaxy S21 Ultra is also the first Galaxy S phone to offer S Pen support. Nevertheless, you won’t get a built-in slot for the stylus, and unlike the Galaxy Note series, you’ll have to buy it separately.

As for charging, all three phones support 25W Power Delivery, but you won’t get an adapter in the box (check out our guide for more on what adapter you need). They also all support 15W wireless charging.

If fast charging is important to you, then the OnePlus 9 series is the obvious choice. Unfortunately, the battery life falls short when compared to the Galaxy S21 devices that comfortably last a couple of days, if not longer. When the display is set at QHD+ with a 120Hz refresh rate, Eric found that the OnePlus 9 Pro barely lasted a day with average usage in his review. The OnePlus 9 wasn’t as bad, but super-fast charging is certainly a saving grace with these phones.

However, it’s important to note that OnePlus has released a bunch of software updates since the phones launched that brought some improvements to battery life. It’s still not as good as the Samsung flagships, but definitely better than what it was when the phones were released.

Let’s talk about the cameras, because OnePlus really wants you to. And with good reason, at least in the case of the OnePlus 9 Pro. In the past, our biggest issues with OnePlus’ phones have always been in the camera department. It was a compromise that was easier to accept during its “flagship killer” days, but OnePlus really needed to step up its game to take on the big boys. The OnePlus 9 Pro delivers.

Related: The best camera phones you can get

A high-quality 48MP Sony lens is joined by an excellent 50MP wide-angle shooter and a serviceable 8MP telephoto unit. There’s also a 2MP depth sensor to help with portrait mode. Boosting this hardware is Hasselblad’s software tweaks to provide accurate and fantastic-looking photos. The camera isn’t perfect (no smartphone camera is), but OnePlus finally has a winner on its hands that it can be proud of, especially if you like pristine color accuracy in your snaps.

Check out our shootouts below for more:

• OnePlus 9 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro Max camera shootout
• Camera shootout: OnePlus 9 Pro vs Google Pixel 5

The OnePlus 9’s camera setup isn’t nearly as impressive, which is unfortunate. It makes sense though, considering the price difference between the two. There’s no telephoto lens here, and even though the primary lens has the same specs, it’s older hardware. You still get Hasselblad’s software to handle the final touches, so you can expect to get excellent color accuracy and great-looking shots here as well.

On the other hand, Samsung is one of the best in the smartphone camera game right now. The Samsung Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus come with a 12MP wide-angle lens, a 12MP ultra-wide angle shooter, and a 64MP telephoto lens. These are the same as found on the Galaxy S20 series, but they still hold up surprisingly well.

In contrast, the Galaxy S21 Ultra bumps the primary telephoto to 108MP and tacks on a second 10MP telephoto as well. Unsurprisingly, the entire lineup can shoot excellent photos and videos. The Galaxy S21 Ultra is the most versatile of the lot, and its telephoto lens is truly impressive. The cameras run into usual issues with low-light photography, but overall, these are among the best camera phones around. Check out our shootouts below for more.

• Camera shootout: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Google Pixel 5
  Camera shootout: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

Price

• OnePlus 9: $729 / £629 / €699 / Rs. 49,999
• OnePlus 9 Pro: $969 / £829 / €899 / Rs. 64,999
• Samsung Galaxy S21: $799 / £769 / €849 / Rs. 69,999
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus: $999 / £949 / €1,049 / Rs. 81,999
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra: $1,199 / £1,149 / €1,249 / Rs. 105,999

The OnePlus 9 series might smash OnePlus’ price ceiling thanks to the OnePlus 9 Pro, but it still manages to be cheaper than the Galaxy S21 series overall, while offering similar features and specifications. The OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro started at $729 and $969, respectively, but you can get them for quite a bit cheaper right now. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S21 launched at $799, the S21 Plus at $999, and the S21 Ultra at $1,199. There’s a small discount now, but that will change with the launch of the Galaxy S22.

OnePlus 9 vs Samsung Galaxy S21: Which should you buy?

The OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro still undercut the Galaxy S21 series in price, but the difference is getting smaller and smaller every year. Comparing specific phones, the OnePlus 9 takes on the standard Galaxy S21. You get similar specs and features across the board, so it’s a toss-up between the two, at least on paper. The S21 has the benefit of dust and water resistance and a better overall camera experience, but the OnePlus 9 gets you those blazing-fast charging speeds and OnePlus’ elegant Oxygen OS software.

The OnePlus 9 Pro is a better option than the S21 Plus. You get a higher resolution display, arguably better camera setup, more RAM if you want it. On the other hand, it fails to match the sheer overkill that is the Galaxy S21 Ultra. If you can afford it, Samsung’s top-of-the-line phone is the best of the lot. However, for all the S21 Ultra offers, the more than $200 saved with the OnePlus 9 Pro is difficult to ignore.