Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs OnePlus 9 Pro
58
out of 100
VS
63
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.4-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 ) that was released on January 4, 2022, against the OnePlus 9 Pro, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 and came out 9 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
- More recent OS version: Android 16 versus 14
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Weighs 20 grams less
- The phone is 9 months newer
- The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
Reasons to consider the OnePlus 9 Pro
- Shows 18% longer battery life (21:58 vs 18:37 hours)
- 30% higher pixel density (525 vs 403 PPI)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
- The rear camera has a 3.3x optical zoom
- Supports higher wattage charging (65W versus 25W)
- Has a 0.3 inch larger screen size
- Delivers 10% higher peak brightness (864 against 786 nits)
- Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
- Ready for eSIM technology
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
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Size | 6.4 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 1440 x 3216 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 403 ppi | 525 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | Yes |
| Max rated brightness | 800 nits | 500 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1200 nits | 1300 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Touch sampling rate | - | 240 Hz |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 86.7% | 90.2% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
| RGB color space | 97% | 97.8% |
| PWM | 247 Hz | 192 Hz |
| Response time | 6 ms | 41.5 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Screen space comparison
OnePlus 9 Pro
6.7″ (20:9 ratio) = 16.8 in2
Galaxy S21 FE 5G
6.4″ (19.5:9 ratio) = 15.6 in2
~7% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 155.7 mm (6.13 inches) | 163.2 mm (6.43 inches) |
| Width | 74.5 mm (2.93 inches) | 73.6 mm (2.9 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) | 8.7 mm (0.34 inches) |
| Weight | 177 g (6.24 oz) | 197 g (6.95 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Plastic | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Gray, Green, Purple | White, Black, Green |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 |
| Max clock | 2840 MHz | 2840 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 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 | 4 MB |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Hexagon 780 | Hexagon 780 |
| Graphics | Adreno 660 | Adreno 660 |
| GPU shading units | 768 | 768 |
| GPU clock | 840 MHz | 840 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1290.2 GFLOPS | ~1290.2 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 4514 | - |
| Single-core score | 1481 | 1537 |
| Multi-core score | 3173 | 3989 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 415282 | 437275 |
| GPU | 207688 | 236949 |
| Memory | 174461 | 195660 |
| UX | 341497 | 315921 |
| Total score | 1138928 | 1185805 |
| Samples | [17 tests] | [9 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 71% | - |
| Graphics test | 3 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 390 | - |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | 68% | 56% |
| Graphics test | 9 FPS | 9 FPS |
| Graphics score | 1666 | 1527 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 13606 | 10265 |
| Video editing | 7043 | 6204 |
| Photo editing | 28743 | 26249 |
| Data manipulation | 10563 | 9595 |
| Writing score | 14216 | 14324 |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-08-08 -> AlicanTuTu | AnTuTu 11 | 1198886 |
| 📘 2026-07-21 (Psycho0Dream) | AnTuTu 11 | 1157836 |
| 📘 2026-07-06 (Puzatik) | AnTuTu 11 | 1118460 |
| 📘 2026-05-10 -> AlicanTuTu | AnTuTu 11 | 1197004 |
| 📘 2026-05-10 (Alican TuTu) | AnTuTu 11 | 1197004 |
OnePlus 9 Pro
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-08-14 (Marchi1962) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 1537 / 3989 |
| 📘 2026-08-14 (Marchi1962) | AnTuTu 11 | 1253342 |
| 📘 2026-02-21 (Mete kaan) | AnTuTu 11 | 1207152 |
| 📘 2026-02-07 (Zayrex4ch) | AnTuTu 11 | 1224607 |
| 📘 2025-12-29 (Buick) | AnTuTu 11 | 1220080 |
Memory
| RAM size | 6 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 3200 MHz | 2750 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 4 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 16) | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 14) |
| ROM | One UI 8.0 | OxygenOS 13 |
| OS size | 17.5 GB | 16 GB |
| OS updates | 4 years | - |
| Security updates | 5 years | - |
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) | Yes (50 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | Yes, (wireless) |
| Bypass charging | No | - |
| Fast charging | Yes (51% in 30 min) | Yes (100% in 32 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:15 hr | 0:32 hr |
| Web browsing | 06:11 hr | 08:24 hr |
| Watching video | 11:05 hr | 12:07 hr |
| Gaming | 04:48 hr | 04:56 hr |
| Standby | 100 hr | 116 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 48 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 8000 x 6000 |
| Zoom | Optical, 3x | Optical, 3.3x |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | 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 | 123° | 140° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Telephoto: 8 MP 3) Ultrawide: 12 MP |
1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Telephoto: 8 MP 3) Ultrawide: 50 MP 4) Depth: 2 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 48 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 23 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX555 | Sony IMX789 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.76" (≈ 0.57 inch) | 1/1.43" (≈ 0.7 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.8 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Laser autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 8 MP | 8 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.4 |
| Focal length | 76 mm | 77 mm |
| Sensor | Hynix Hi847 | Omnivision OV08A10 |
| Sensor size | 1/4.5" (≈ 0.22 inch) | 1/4.4" (≈ 0.23 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1 micron | 1 micron |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 13 mm | 14 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX258 | Sony IMX766 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.0" (≈ 0.33 inch) | 1/1.56" (≈ 0.64 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | 1 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | - | 65 |
| Preview | - | 60 |
| Zoom | - | 110 |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G from DxOMark | Photo samples of OnePlus 9 Pro from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 32 megapixels | 16 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 6464 x 4864 | 4920 x 3264 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | - |
| Sensor | Sony IMX616 | Sony IMX471 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.74" (≈ 0.36 inch) | 1/3.06" (≈ 0.33 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | No | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
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 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 | 3.1 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | - | Yes |
| 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* | No | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 19 | 20 |
| 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 | Flagship |
| Announced | January 2022 | March 2021 |
| Release date | January 2022 | March 2021 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $790 | $970 |
| Successor | - Samsung Galaxy S25 FE | - OnePlus 15 |
| SAR (head) | 0.95 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.48 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 |
| Bundled charger | Not included | - |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the OnePlus 9 Pro is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 305
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