Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs OnePlus 9 Pro

76 out of 100

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (with Exynos 2100) that was released on January 14, 2021, against the OnePlus 9 Pro, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 and came out 3 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Differences
Review
Specs
Benchmarks
Battery life
Camera
Comments (2)

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone

Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

The rear camera has a 10x optical zoom
Comes with 500 mAh larger battery capacity: 5000 vs 4500 mAh
Delivers 17% higher peak brightness (1023 against 878 nits)
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
The front-facing camera can record video at 4K

Reasons to consider the OnePlus 9 Pro

Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
Supports higher wattage charging (65W versus 25W)
Weighs 30 grams less

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and OnePlus 9 Pro crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	Dynamic AMOLED	AMOLED
Size	6.8 inches	6.7 inches
Resolution	1440 x 3200 pixels	1440 x 3216 pixels
Aspect ratio	20:9	20:9
PPI	515 ppi	525 ppi
Refresh rate	120 Hz	120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	Yes	Yes
Max rated brightness	1500 nits	500 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR	-	1300 nits
HDR support	Yes, HDR10+	Yes, HDR10+
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass Victus	Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Screen-to-body ratio	89.8%	90.3%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming

RGB color space	-	97.8%
PWM	-	192 Hz
Response time	-	41.5 ms
Contrast	-	∞ Infinity

Height	165.1 mm (6.5 inches)	163.2 mm (6.43 inches)
Width	75.6 mm (2.98 inches)	73.6 mm (2.9 inches)
Thickness	8.9 mm (0.35 inches)	8.7 mm (0.34 inches)
Weight	227 g (8.01 oz)	197 g (6.95 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Rear material	Glass	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	Black, Silver, Gray, Blue	White, Black, Green
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in-display	Yes, in-display

Chipset	Samsung Exynos 2100	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
Max clock	2840 MHz	2840 MHz
CPU cores	8 (1 + 3 + 4)	8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture	- 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 3 cores at 2.81 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X1	- 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)
L3 cache	-	4 MB
Lithography process	5 nanometers	5 nanometers
Graphics	Mali-G78 MP14	Adreno 660
GPU shading units	896	1024
GPU clock	854 MHz	840 MHz
FLOPS	~1530.4 GFLOPS	~1622 GFLOPS

CPU	236566	201729
GPU	255535	243518
Memory	157504	159120
UX	183564	194264
Total score	833650	805198

Max surface temperature	40.8 °C	45.6 °C
Stability	69%	58%
Graphics test	31 FPS	34 FPS
Graphics score	5221	5707

Web score	-	8580
Video editing	-	6053
Photo editing	-	28299
Data manipulation	-	9712
Writing score	-	15802

RAM size	12, 16 GB	8, 12 GB
Memory type	LPDDR5	LPDDR5
Memory clock	2750 MHz	2750 MHz
Channels	2	4

Storage size	128, 256, 512 GB	128, 256 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.1	UFS 3.1
Memory card	No	No

Operating system	Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)	Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)
ROM	One UI 5.1	OxygenOS 13
OS size	26.4 GB	16 GB

Capacity	5000 mAh	4500 mAh
Max charge power	25 W	65 W
Battery type	Li-Ion	Li-Po
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes (15 W)	Yes (50 W)
Reverse charging	Yes, (wireless)	Yes, (wireless)
Fast charging	Yes (54% in 30 min)	Yes (100% in 32 min)
Full charging time	1:11 hr	0:32 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	10:13 hr	11:19 hr
Watching video	15:32 hr	12:04 hr
Gaming	05:26 hr	04:57 hr
Standby	98 hr	113 hr

Main camera
Matrix	108 megapixels	48 megapixels
Image resolution	12000 x 9000	8000 x 6000
Zoom	Optical, 10x	Optical, 3.3x
Flash	Dual LED	Dual LED
Stabilization	Optical	Optical
8K video recording	Up to 24FPS	Up to 30FPS
4K video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 120FPS
1080p video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
Slow motion	960 FPS (720p)	480 FPS (720p)
Angle of widest lens	120°	140°
Lenses	4 (108 MP + 10 MP + 10 MP + 12 MP)	4 (48 MP + 8 MP + 50 MP + 2 MP)
Wide (main) lens	- 108 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.33", Samsung S5KHM3 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Laser autofocus - Optical stabilization	- 48 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 23 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/1.43", Sony IMX789 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Laser autofocus - Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens	- 10 MP - Aperture: f/4.9 - Focal length: 240 mm - Pixel size: 1.22 micron - Sensor: 1/2.65", Samsung S5K3J1 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization	- 8 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 77 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/4.4", Omnivision OV08A10 (PureCel) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization
Ultra-wide lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX563 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)	- 50 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 14 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/1.56", Sony IMX766 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus
Depth lens	-	- 2 MP - Aperture: f/2.4
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support
Samples	Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra from DxOMark	Photo samples of OnePlus 9 Pro from DxOMark

Selfie camera
Megapixels	40 megapixels	16 megapixels
Image resolution	7864 x 5200	4920 x 3264
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.0
Focal length	26 mm	-
Pixel size	0.7 microns	1 microns
Sensor type	ISOCELL CMOS	Exmor-RS CMOS
Sensor size	1/2.65"	1/3.06"
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS	1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS

Wi-Fi standard	Wi-Fi 6E (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 Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version	5.2	5.2
Bluetooth features	LE, A2DP	LE, A2DP
USB type	USB Type-C	USB Type-C
USB version	3.2	3.1
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG
GPS	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, 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 *	Yes	Yes
Hybrid slot	No	No
LTE Cat *	24	20
5G support	Yes	Yes

Speakers	Stereo	Stereo
Headphone audio jack	No	No
FM radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	January 2021	March 2021
Release date	February 2021	March 2021
SAR (head)	0.71 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)	1.58 W/kg	1.21 W/kg
Sensors	- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs OnePlus 9 Pro

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs OnePlus 9 Pro

Key differences

Review

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Display

Design and build

Performance

Benchmarks

Memory

Software

Battery

Camera

DxOMark camera tests

Connectivity

Sound

Other