OnePlus 8 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S20 FE: Is the S20 FE Good Enough?

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Photo by Dimitri Houtteman from Pixabay

Luis Silva (October 2020, updated: February 2021)

Introduction

I could bet that the OnePlus 8 Pro was one of the reasons Samsung released the Galaxy S20 FE (also known as S20 Fan Edition or S20 Lite). So the logical question here is: Where do they differ? Before we check that out, let me just mention that even if you find a 4G version of the Galaxy S20 FE on sale, just ignore it, even if it's cheaper. Trust me.

Samsung introduced its Galaxy S20 FE model in October of 2020. Meanwhile, OnePlus's 8 Pro started to sell in April of 2020.

Here you can look at the 8 Pro and the Galaxy S20 FE, compare each other's features, and decide which one is best for you. Let us delve into the finer details.

If you have the time, click here to skip the spoilers and continue to the full comparison.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE and the OnePlus 8 Pro are about the same price, but you'll usually find the Galaxy S20 FE at a lower price. That is something worth considering when comparing them.

While scrolling down, you'll see a "Tek-Score" for each phone in every section. All the specifications were examined to allow you a faster discerning of the variation between the phones. There's also a global rate for you to compare them to other phones if you're willing to consider other phone suggestions.  ? 

That score is research-based. It's from Globalwebindex.com about the most wanted features from people looking to buy new smartphones.

For additional information regarding our smartphone comparisons, check this FAQ.

You're going to find a red or green bar next to some features. That's so you can see how they compare with other smartphones with similar prices.  ? 

Here's our contestant panel: i  but we only include smartphones with price tags from -20% to +20%.

You can click on any underlined feature to check the top 10 phones for that feature for every budget.

Price*			vs.
Device	8 Pro	Galaxy S20 FE
Release Date	2020, April	2020, October	0y.
OS Updates	2 years	3 years	1y.
Security Updates	3 years	3 years	0y.

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Performance

This isn't a performance contest because the two of them went for the same chipset: the Snapdragon 865.

They also share the same graphics chipset: last year's Adreno 650.

Wondering who's quicker on Geekbench 5? Well, keep wondering. None of them is. On daily usage, you wouldn't be able to notice any real differences here.  ? 

Are you looking for the quickest phone around? The Galaxy S20 FE is clearly above the average for its price range. The average rate is 2618, but it got 3296.

It's safe to say that both of them can be tagged as high-end.

The 8 Pro carries out Android 10 and OxygenOS 10 OS, and the Galaxy S20 FE has Android 10 and OneUI at its core.

The 4G variant of the S20 FE comes with the Exynos 990 and the Mali-G77.

There's a performance decrease of about 15% on the Exynos 990 for the Galaxy S20 FE.

Performance*			vs.
Features	8 Pro	Galaxy S20 FE
SoC	Snapdragon 865	Snapdragon 865
Graphics	Adreno 650	Adreno 650
Geekbench 5 Score	3255	3296	41
OS	Android 10 and OxygenOS 10	Android 10 and OneUI
Tek-Score	7.4	7.5	0.1

*Reference: Apple iPhone 12.

Display

The Galaxy S20 FE features a 6.5" AMOLED display, while the 8 Pro has a larger 6.7" AMOLED display. It all comes down to personal preferences for both the display type and size. Me, I'd go for an AMOLED screen, but a remarkable LCD is honestly as good.

The 8 Pro has a higher-resolution 1440x3168 Quad HD display, and the Galaxy S20 FE makes do with a 1080x2400 Full HD panel.

Just a small drop may shatter your phone, so you need to know about their glass protection. The 8 Pro has a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection, while the Galaxy S20 FE display has a Corning Gorilla Glass 3. I was hoping for a newer version from Samsung. After all, Corning released this version in 2013.

There's an Always-On display on both phones. That's a must-have feature for me.

When it comes to outdoor visibility, the 8 Pro can do 888 nits, but the Galaxy S20 FE can go up to 65 nits below that.  ? 

Both phones support HDR10+ media.

If you value a smooth display, the Galaxy S20 FE can go up to 120hz and the 8 Pro up to 90hz.

As you can see, the 8 Pro's display does stand out.

Bearing in mind the 8 Pro, you should know that 89% of its rivals can play HDR content, 96% have an AMOLED screen, and 93% of them have an Always-On display.

Considering the Galaxy S20 FE, 86% of its rivals can play HDR content and have an Always-On display, and 91% of them have an AMOLED screen.

Display Density (DPIs)*			vs.
Features	8 Pro	Galaxy S20 FE
Size	6.7	6.5	-0.2
Screen Type	AMOLED	AMOLED
Resolution (px)	1440x3168	1080x2400	-1969920
Refresh Rate	90hz	120hz	30
Dots per Inch	519.39	404.89	-114.50
Always-On-Display	Yes	Yes
Notch	Hole	Hole
Peak Brightness	888 nits	823 nits	-65
HDR	HDR10+	HDR10+
Sub Tek-Score	9.5	9.1	-0.4
Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 5	Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Tek-Score	6.9	4.4	-2.5

*Reference: Sony Xperia 1.

Cameras

Let's delve into their cameras. OnePlus's 8 Pro features a whopping 48 MP camera with an aperture of f/1.8, a 25mm wide-angle lens, two flash LEDs, HDR capabilities, and Optical Image Stabilization. It can record videos at up to 2160p.

As if that wasn't enough, it also has three more sensors: an 8 MP (with f/2.4 plus a 74mm telephoto lens), another 48 MP (f/2.2) with a 14mm ultra-wide-angle lens, and another 5 MP that works as a depth sensor.

For your information: If you zoom in and crop a 48 Megapixels photo, you can get the same results as you'd get on a 12 Megapixels 2x optical zoom camera.

There's also a 16 MP selfie camera with an aperture of f/2.5 and a 1/3" sensor.

DxOMark has rated this camera with a score of 120. If you add the telephoto and wide-angle lenses, you'll end up with a score of 133. For a thorough review, click here.

Before moving on, all of its rivals can record videos in 4K or more, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization. Yet, only 15% of them feature a macro lens.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, in its turn, features a 12 MP camera with an f/1.8 aperture and a 26mm, wide-angle lens. Then it has one flash LED, HDR capabilities, and Optical Image Stabilization. It records videos at up to 2160p. It also has a secondary dual-lens camera. One of them features an aperture of f/2.4 plus a 76mm telephoto lens and 8 MP, and the other 12 MP (f/2.2) with a 13mm ultra-wide-angle lens.

Samsung included a generous 32 MP (f/2.2) sensor for selfies and a 26 mm wide-angle lens.

The guys over at the DxOMark labs rated this camera with 119 points. And by adding the telephoto and wide-angle lenses, we end up with a rate of 131 points. If you want to know more about it, click here.

PS: This Dxo score is for the 4G variant, but this variant should be close enough.

Furthermore, if you must know, just like the other device, all of its rivals can record videos in 4 or 8K, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization. Additionally, only 23% of them feature a macro lens.

Be aware that the 8 Pro's picture quality is, on average, 48% above other smartphones for the same budget. But between these two, it doesn't matter.

If you're not a numbers person, we can tag these two as high-end.

The one thing I love about these cameras is their telephoto zoom of about 3x. As soon as you get used to it, you'll know what I mean.

Picture Quality*			vs.
Primary Camera	8 Pro	Galaxy S20 FE
Megapixels	48	12	-36
Aperture	1.8	1.8	0.0
Lens	25mm	26mm	1
Lens Type	Wide-Angle	Wide-Angle
Flash	2	1	-1
HDR	Yes	Yes
OIS	Yes	Yes
Video	2160	2160	0
Score	133	131	-2

*Reference: Huawei Mate 40 Pro.

Extra Camera(s)	8 Pro	Galaxy S20 FE	vs.
Megapixels	8	8	0
Aperture	2.4	2.4	0.0
Lens	74mm (3x zoom)	76mm (3x zoom)	2
Lens Type	Telephoto lens	Telephoto lens
Megapixels	48	12	-36
Aperture	2.2	2.2	0.0
Lens	14mm	13mm	-1
Lens Type	Ultra-wide-Angle	Ultra-wide-Angle
Score	13	12	-1

Selfie Camera	8 Pro	Galaxy S20 FE	vs.
Megapixels	16	32	16
Aperture	2.5	2.2	-0.3
Lens	-	26mm

	8 Pro	Galaxy S20 FE	vs.
Tek-Score	7.8	7.7	-0.1

Body

These phones have different heights (165 mm / 6.50 inches vs. 159 mm / 6.26 inches), but they share about the same width (74 mm / 2.92 inches).

Both have about the same thickness: 8 mm (0.32 inches).

If you prefer a full glass body, the 8 Pro is the one for you. If not, its rival is a nice-looking phone too. It is 9 g. (0.32 oz) heavier than its rival, which sits at 190 g. (6.70 oz). If you're curious, I've come up with an adapted "display size to phone weight ratio" rate. The 8 Pro got 4.7, which means it has an acceptable score for a 6.7 inches screen. The Galaxy S20 FE, however, has 5.0, so nothing to state here.  ? 

You can have the 8 Pro in Glacial Green, Onyx Black, and Ultramarine Blue. And you can compare that with the Cloud Lavender, Cloud Navy, Cloud Mint, Cloud Orange, Cloud Red, and Cloud White, which comes with the Galaxy S20 FE.

If you like to keep your phones small, consider getting the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE. If not, you should check other phones.

What about a fingerprint scanner? It doesn't matter because both have one.

The 8 Pro is rated IP68, which means it's water-resistant in up to 1 to 3 meters, on par with the Galaxy S20 FE. That shouldn't last over half an hour, on standby, and freshwater only.

Looks*			vs.
Body	8 Pro	Galaxy S20 FE
Size	165 x 74 x 8 mm (5.82 x 2.61 x 0.28 in)	159 x 74 x 8 mm (5.61 x 2.61 x 0.28 in)	-3552
Weight	199 g. (7.02 oz)	190 g. (6.70 oz)	-9
Build	Front and back glass	Front glass
Colors	Glacial Green, Onyx Black, and Ultramarine Blue	Cloud Lavender, Cloud Navy, Cloud Mint, Cloud Orange, Cloud Red, and Cloud White
Screen To Body Ratio	89.35%	86.69%	-2.66
Disp.Size To Weight Score	4.7	5.0	0.3
Looks	9.1/10	6.6/10	-2.6
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Biometrics	Under Display Fingerprint	Under Display Fingerprint
Tek-Score	7.1	6.8	-0.2

*100% = 4+ colors + front and back glass + S2BR: 86+%.

Battery

In theory, they should have about the same battery life because they have the same capacity: about 4510 mAh. But how would both perform in a real-world scenario? If you do a full charge and run these tests, this is how the 8 Pro comes out of it:  ? 

• If you do 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll still have 83% left.
• From 1 hour of talking, 3 hours of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll probably have 67% left for the rest of the day.
• By talking for 1 hour, browsing the web for 1 hour, and playing videos for 3 hours, you'll likely end up with 71% of the battery charge.

And this is how the Galaxy S20 FE handles these tests:

• After 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll still have 85% left.
• For 1 hour of talking, 3 hours of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, the battery charge will be about 71%.
• For 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 3 hours of video playback, this is where your battery will be: 74%.

It's a draw. You shouldn't expect notable differences here.

You should know that the Galaxy S20 FE also does overcome pretty much every phone out there. You can check here if it still is on our top 10 list.

The 8 Pro features quick-charging at up to 30w, but the Galaxy S20 FE does it too, at 25w.

If you value wireless charging, they can do 30w vs. 15w.

These phones can also act as wireless power banks to wirelessly charge other devices. Cool, right?

You'll likewise get quick wireless charging on the 8 Pro. That's uncommon in its class.

The 4G variant of the S20 FE also has lower battery efficiency (about 10% less screen-on-time).

Battery*			vs.
Features	8 Pro	Galaxy S20 FE
Capacity (mAh)	4510	4500	-10
1h Talk + 1h Web + 1h Video	83% left	85% left	2
1h Talk + 3h Web + 1h Video	67% left	71% left	4
1h Talk + 1h Web + 3h Video	71% left	74% left	3
Bat. To Phone Size Score  ?	3.5	5.1	1.6
Sub Tek-Score	7.4	7.7	0.3
Fast Charging	30w	25w	-5
Wireless Charging	30w	15w	-15
Reverse Charging	3w	4.5w	1.5
Tek-Score	7.5	7.4	-0.2

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy A31.

Storage

The 8 Pro has 256GB of internal storage and 8GB of RAM. There's no expandable storage, but it's OK. I should also mention that most rivals have less storage but more RAM. They have 8GB of RAM and 149Gb of storage on average, but you can find better options.

The Galaxy S20 FE, in its turn, has 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM. If you ever run out of free space, you can add a MicroSD card.

The 4G variant of the S20 FE may start at 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

Storage*			vs.
Features	8 Pro	Galaxy S20 FE
RAM (GB)	8GB	6GB	-2
Internal (GB)	256GB	128GB	-128
Micro SD	No	microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot)
Tek-Score	8.5	7.5	-1.0

*Internal Storage + 256GB Memory Card (Max: 512GB).

Connectivity

The 8 Pro has Bluetooth 5.1, while the Galaxy S20 FE has Bluetooth 5.0. Both devices feature the standard NFC module.

Do you still favor wired headphones? None of them will help you with that. You may go for an adapter as a last resort, but it really isn't the same. There also are other options out there if you're not really leaning towards any of these. Perhaps you don't mind settling with the Galaxy S10 Plus or the Sony Xperia 1 II.

The Galaxy S20 FE has two network variants: LTE or (LTE and) 5G. You can get an Exynos 990 and a Mali-G77 GPU on the 4G variant of the Galaxy S20 FE.

Connectivity			vs.
Features	8 Pro	Galaxy S20 FE
Network	5G	5G (also available in LTE)
Bluetooth	5.1	5.0
NFC	Yes	Yes
3.5mm jack	No	No
Tek-Score	5.1	4.6	-0.5

Price

You're likely not considering the Galaxy S20 FE to make all your pennies count. That, of course, depends on the place and the deals that you'll eventually find. On the other hand, you'll likely find the 8 Pro at a higher price range, but if it's worth it or not, it's up to you to decide. At least it may be easier to sell if you consider selling it afterward.

Let's see if it really worths it or not.

Here are the prices that we've come across recently:

Reference: $800

$924.99

$599.95

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$748.99

Reference: $680

$681.48

$540.00

$649.99

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I earn a small fee from qualifying purchases. It doesn't affect the price you pay nor my opinions, but it will mean a lot if you click on one of these buttons before purchasing your next phone. You'll be helping to take this to the next level.

Prices on eBay are in $US but Europe-based. You can click to check the prices in your country.

Prices marked with ! are from renewed/refurbished/carrier-locked phones (except eBay prices that, as a last resort, can be from bids or used devices).

How much of a "phone" can your money buy?
That's how much "score" you can get with $100 based on the global score that you'll see in the next section (higher is better).

Have you found better prices elsewhere? The formula is simple: score/price*100.

Value for money	8 Pro	Galaxy S20 FE	VS
Amazon	0.82	1.01	0.19
eBay	1.26	1.27	0.01
Best Buy	-	1.06	-
Wallmart	1.01	-	-

And this is the "The Best Smartphones On A Budget" list.

The 4G variant of the S20 FE should be about 20% cheaper.

Are you ready for that final score? We're almost there. Let me point out the average of its competitors. It's 6.9 for the 8 Pro and 6.7 for the Galaxy S20 FE.

Verdict: What Makes the OnePlus 8 Pro Stand Out?

Like you just saw, this isn't about performance nor display, and nor even cameras at all. It's about the looks (the 8 has a full glass body), the storage (the 8 Pro starts at 256GB but lacks an expansion slot), and that's about it. You can argue that the S20 FE also has a slightly better camera and battery life, but it loses on charging speeds, RAM, glass protection, and Bluetooth 5.0. So, in the end, while you shouldn't ignore their price, I believe that you should pick the one you like the most.

Pros	8 Pro	Galaxy S20 FE
#1	Performance	Performance
#2	AMOLED	AMOLED
#3	Always-On-Display	Always-On-Display
#4	Cameras	Cameras
#5	Battery Life	Battery Life
#6	Fast Charging	Fast Charging
#7	Wireless Charging	Wireless Charging
#8	Storage	MicroSD Slot

Cons	8 Pro	Galaxy S20 FE
#1	MicroSD Slot	Weight
#2	Weight	3.5mm Jack
#3	3.5mm Jack	Price
#4	Price	Glass Protection

Relative Score*			vs.
Global Score	8 Pro	Galaxy S20 FE
Gaming Score	8.1	7.5	-0.6
Tek-Score	7.57	6.86	-0.71

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

For suggestions and bug reports, click here. Your help is appreciated. Thank you.

If you want to know more about them, click here:

All About The OnePlus 8 Pro - Specs, Scores, Rivals, Price, Info, and more

All About The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE - Specs, Scores, Rivals, Price, Info, and more