Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs OnePlus Nord 2 5G
71
out of 100
VS
67
out of 100
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.4-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 ) that was released on January 4, 2022, against the OnePlus Nord 2 5G, which is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 1200 5G and came out 5 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Handles wireless charging up to 15W
- Delivers 26% higher peak brightness (797 against 634 nits)
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
- Reverse charging feature
- 11% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1174 and 1061 points
- The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
Reasons to consider the OnePlus Nord 2 5G
- Shows 21% longer battery life (32:08 vs 26:34 hours)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
- Supports higher wattage charging (65W versus 25W)
- 11% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (695K versus 625K)
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Size | 6.4 inches | 6.43 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 401 ppi | 410 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 90 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 420 nits | 450 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1200 nits | 650 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 89.6% | 85.8% |
| Display features |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 97% | 128.2% |
| PWM | 247 Hz | 119 Hz |
| Response time | 6 ms | 8 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 155.7 mm (6.13 inches) | 159.12 mm (6.26 inches) |
| Width | 74.5 mm (2.93 inches) | 73.31 mm (2.89 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) | 8.25 mm (0.32 inches) |
| Weight | 177 g (6.24 oz) | 189 g (6.67 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | No |
| Advanced cooling | - | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Plastic | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Plastic |
| Colors | White, Gray, Green, Purple | Gray, Blue, Green |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 | MediaTek Dimensity 1200 5G |
| Max clock | 2840 MHz | 3000 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 680 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 3 cores at 2.42 GHz: Kryo 680 Gold (Cortex-A78) - 1 core at 2.84 GHz: Kryo 680 Prime (Cortex-X1) |
- 4 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 3 cores at 2.6 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 3 GHz: Cortex-A78 |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 6 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 660 | Mali-G77 MP9 |
| GPU shading units | 1024 | 576 |
| GPU clock | 792 MHz | 886 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1622 GFLOPS | ~979.2 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 140597 | 181329 |
| GPU | 209723 | 241109 |
| Memory | 134992 | 136131 |
| UX | 139479 | 136255 |
| Total score | 625671 | 695947 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 39.1 °C | 50.7 °C |
| Stability | 69% | 70% |
| Graphics test | 34 FPS | 25 FPS |
| Graphics score | 5703 | 4197 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 10889 | 6831 |
| Video editing | 7079 | 5352 |
| Photo editing | 28541 | 15029 |
| Data manipulation | 10075 | 9115 |
| Writing score | 14461 | 10578 |
Memory
| RAM size | 6, 8 GB | 6, 8, 12 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256 GB | 128, 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | One UI 5.0 | OxygenOS 13 |
| OS size | 17.5 GB | 14 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4500 mAh | 4500 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 65 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | No |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (51% in 30 min) | Yes (98% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:15 hr | 0:31 hr |
| Web browsing | 07:42 hr | 12:29 hr |
| Watching video | 13:05 hr | 13:49 hr |
| Gaming | 05:29 hr | 05:27 hr |
| Standby | 91 hr | 94 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 8700 x 5800 |
| Zoom | Optical, 3x | Digital |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | 119° |
| Lenses | 3 (12 MP + 8 MP + 12 MP) | 3 (50 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.76", Sony IMX555 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 50 MP
- Aperture: f/1.9 - Focal length: 24 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/1.56", Sony IMX766 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens |
- 8 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 76 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/4.5", Hynix Hi847 (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- |
| Ultra-wide lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/3.0", Sony IMX258 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
- 8 MP
- Aperture: f/2.3 |
| Monochrome lens | - |
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G from DxOMark | Photo samples of OnePlus Nord 2 5G from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 32 megapixels | 32 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 6464 x 4864 | 6528 x 4896 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.5 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | - |
| Pixel size | 0.8 microns | 0.8 microns |
| Sensor type | Exmor-RS CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/2.74" | 1/2.8" |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5.2 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 2 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, NAVIC, SBAS |
| NFC * | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM * | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support * | No | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat * | 19 | 18 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Mid-range |
| Announced | January 2022 | July 2021 |
| Release date | January 2022 | July 2021 |
| SAR (head) | 0.95 W/kg | - |
| SAR (body) | 1.48 W/kg | - |
| Sensors |
- Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Yes, 65 W |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the display, camera, gaming, connectivity, and design are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G . But if the battery life is more of a priority – go for the OnePlus Nord 2 5G .
