Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus vs. OnePlus 8 Pro: Which Flagship Is Better?

Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus is a more reasonably priced flagship phone that it seems like everything is just perfect with this year’s S series. However, you might be wondering, how does it hold up against other high-end phones, like the OnePlus 8 Pro? Let’s find out:

Design, Display, And Durability

Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus is among the best-looking handsets under the brand name Samsung. The edge-to-edge display occupies most of the front, disrupted only by the punch-hole notch.

On the other side, the camera module has been redesigned to incorporate better with the frame. There is no denying that the phone is gorgeous and while the OnePlus 8 Pro is stunning too, it still falls short.

Display-wise, the OnePlus 8 Pro has an advantage here with a 3168x1440 resolution and a 6.78-inch Fluid AMOLED screen, offering a very high level of clarity, detail, and color. On the other hand, Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus’s display can’t measure up to this standard. It features a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED screen. They both have a 120Hz refresh rate but all in all, the OnePlus 8 Pro still has a more superior screen.

The S21 Plus is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus which is a bit more durable than the Gorilla Glass 5 of the 8 Pro.

Winner: Tie

Performance, Battery Life, And Charging

Under the hood, the S21 Plus is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 which beats the Snapdragon 865 of OnePlus 8 Pro in benchmark tests. The only difference here is that the former comes with only 8GB of RAM compared to 12GB of OnePlus 8 Pro. However, most users won’t even recognize the missing 4GB, uncles they decide to juggle resource apps extensively.

One thing you should bear in mind here is neither of these two phones has a microSD card slot so you will have to be careful with your choice of what to keep and what not.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus’s 4,800mAh battery can fuel the phone for a whole day even when you throw a lot at it. OnePlus 8 Pro isn’t bad itself. Its 4,510mAh lost only 25% of juice after a moderate day. So we think when it comes to battery life, these two phones are a tie.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus for its more capable processor.

Camera

The S21 Plus sports a 12MP wide, a 64MP telephoto, and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera. On the other hand, the OnePlus 8 Pro features a 48MP wide, a 48MP ultra-wide, an 8MP telephoto, and a 5-megapixel color filter lens.

The S21 Plus gets itself an excellent camera setup, providing a color saturation balance and a good dynamic range. Its night mode does an excellent job in low light situations. Its zooming ability is also better than the OnePlus 8 Pro.

Plus, the Samsung’s flagship also adds some exciting new modes like Director’s View and Vlogger’s View, making the phone more versatile than ever.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus

Software And Updates

Both Samsung’s One UI 3 and OnePlus’s OxygenOS 11 have their own advantages. The former offers a high level of customizability while the latter is known for its uncomplicated experience.

Users of the OnePlus 8 Pro will likely get software update before those using S21 Plus

Winner: OnePlus 8 Pro

Special Features

Both phones have 5G support but while the S21 Plus has two bands, mmWave is missing on the OnePlus 8 Pro. Since 5G isn’t exactly what everyone has access to right now, it’s hard to compare the two phones in this respect.

OnePlus 8 Pro does have special features to woo customers, like the Zen mode which limits the user’s access to the handset itself, and the Fnatic mode that diverts RAM, CPU, and GPU to gaming.

Winner: Tie

Price And Availability

Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus is retailed for around $1,000, or Rs. 81,999 in India. It’s available from most major retailers.

OnePlus 8 Pro’s price starts at $899 and Rs. 54,999 in India.

Overall winner: Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus

So overall, those who want the best performance will surely favor the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus. But on the off chance that you want the quickest update possible, OnePlus 8 Pro is for you.

OnePlus 8 Pro is still a solid flagship with a better screen and a good all-around performance. The only aspect it falls short of is that it has support for mmWave 5G. The OnePlus phone is also cheaper

>>> Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Hands-On: Samsung Has Finally Done A Right 'Ultra' Phone