Oppo Reno4 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus: Which to Pick?

Introduction

Samsung introduced its Galaxy S21 Plus model in January 2021. Meanwhile, Oppo's Reno4 Pro started to sell in June 2020.

In this article, we see how the Reno4 Pro and the Galaxy S21 Plus compare to each other to help you decide and see which one of these is the right one for you.

Warning: Please, refrain from purchasing the Reno4 Pro, as it will stop receiving security updates in the meantime.

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

 Click here  to check who their rivals are.

Price*			vs.
Device	Reno4 Pro	Galaxy S21 Plus
Release Date	2020, June	2021, January	1y.
OS Updates	2 years	3 years	1y.
Security Updates	2 years	4 years	2y.

*Reference: 100: Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Which One Has The Best Performance?

As for performance, Geekbench 5 scores the Galaxy S21 Plus 72% ahead of its competitor in the multi-core ranking. Speed isn't everything, but in this case, it's a lot!  ? 

When it comes to performance, the Reno4 Pro is way under the average against similarly priced phones. It got a score of 1805, compared to the usual 2705, or close to that.

We can classify the Reno4 Pro as an upper mid-range and the Galaxy S21 Plus as high-end.

Performance*			vs.
Features	Reno4 Pro	Galaxy S21 Plus
SoC	Snapdragon 765	Exynos 2100
Graphics	Adreno 620	Mali-G78 MP14
Geekbench 5 Score	1805	3113	1308
OS	Android 10 and ColorOS 7	Android 11 and OneUI
Tek-Score	4.9	7.0	2.1

*Reference: 100: Apple iPhone 13.

Which Phone Has The Best Display?

The Galaxy S21 Plus is the title-holder here, but this is pretty much a tie.

Bearing in mind the Reno4 Pro, 89% of its rivals can play HDR content and have an Always-On display, and 96% have an AMOLED screen.

Concerning the Galaxy S21 Plus, I should say that 84% of its rivals can play HDR content and have an Always-On display, and all have an AMOLED screen.

Display Density (DPIs)*			vs.
Features	Reno4 Pro	Galaxy S21 Plus
Size	6.5	6.7	0.2
Screen Type	AMOLED	AMOLED
Resolution (px)	1080x2400	1080x2400	0
Refresh Rate	60hz	120hz	60
Dots per Inch	404.89	392.81	-12.09
Always-On-Display	Yes	Yes
Notch	Hole	Hole
Peak Brightness	845 nits	883 nits	38
HDR	-	HDR10+
Sub Tek-Score	8.4	9.0	0.6
Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 5	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
Tek-Score	6.6	9.6	3.1

*Reference: 100: Sony Xperia 1 II.

Which Phone Has The Best Cameras?

If you value quality photos, you should know that the Galaxy S21 Plus is about 58% above its adversaries from its price range. And it should be your option today.

About the Reno4 Pro: This camera came out of DXOMARK's labs with a score of 109. If you add the telephoto and wide-angle lenses, you'll end up with a score of 120. For a thorough review, click here.

Last (but not least), you should know that all of its rivals can record videos in 4K or more and have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and 93% feature Optical Image Stabilization. Although only 21% of them feature a macro lens.

About the Galaxy S21 Plus: DXOMARK evaluated this camera, and here's the score: 123. By adding its wide-angle lens, that score goes up to 137. You can click here to check it out.

Last (but not least), all of its rivals can record videos in 4 or 8K and have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and 92% feature Optical Image Stabilization. Moreover, only 20% of them feature a macro lens.

We can classify the Reno4 Pro as an upper mid-range and the Galaxy S21 Plus in the high-end ballpark.

Picture Quality*			vs.
Primary Camera	Reno4 Pro	Galaxy S21 Plus
Megapixels	48	12	-36
Aperture	1.7	1.8	0.1
Lens	26mm	26mm	0
Lens Type	Wide-Angle	Wide-Angle
Flash	1	1	0
HDR	Yes	Yes
OIS	Yes	Yes
Video	2160	4320	2160
Score	120	137	17

*Reference: 100: Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra.

Extra Camera(s)	Reno4 Pro	Galaxy S21 Plus	vs.
Megapixels	13	64	51
Aperture	2.4	2.0	-0.4
Lens	52mm (2x zoom)	29mm	-23
Lens Type	Telephoto lens	Regular
Megapixels	12	12	0
Aperture	2.2	2.2	0.0
Lens	16mm	13mm	-3
Lens Type	Wide-Angle	Ultra-wide-Angle
Score	11	14	3

Selfie Camera	Reno4 Pro	Galaxy S21 Plus	vs.
Megapixels	32	10	-22
Aperture	2.4	2.2	-0.2
Lens	26mm	26mm	0

	Reno4 Pro	Galaxy S21 Plus	vs.
Tek-Score	7.1	8.1	1.0

Who has the best frame?

I'd go for the Galaxy S21 Plus for its water resistance.

The Galaxy S21 Plus is 28 g. (1.10 oz) heavier than the other, weighing about 172 g. (6.07 oz). But because this is a bit relative, the Reno4 Pro has a "weight to screen size" score of 7.2, which suggests a pretty nice weight for a 6.5 inches display. Having said that, the Galaxy S21 Plus has 4.6, so nothing to state here.  ? 

The Galaxy S21 Plus truly is water-resistant. It can be submerged 1 to 3 meters deep. That shouldn't last over half an hour, on standby, and freshwater only.

Looks*			vs.
Body	Reno4 Pro	Galaxy S21 Plus
Size	159 x 72 x 7 mm (5.61 x 2.54 x 0.25 in)	161 x 75 x 7 mm (5.68 x 2.65 x 0.25 in)	4389
Weight	172 g. (6.07 oz)	200 g. (7.05 oz)	28
Build	Front and back glass	Front and back glass
Colors	Galactic Blue, White, Space Black, Pink, and Green	Phantom Black, Phantom Violet, Phantom Silver, Phantom Red, Phantom Gold, and Phantom Pink
Screen To Body Ratio	89.10%	89.75%	0.65
Disp.Size To Weight Score	7.2	4.6	-2.6
Looks	10.0/10	10.0/10	0.0
Waterproof	-	IP68
Biometrics	Under Display Fingerprint	Under Display Fingerprint
Tek-Score	3.2	7.2	4.0

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

Which has the best battery?

The Reno4 Pro does have a battery capacity of 4000 mAh versus the 4800 mAh of the Galaxy S21 Plus. And as claimed by GSMArena, the latter is the one that stands out.

For the record, the Galaxy S21 Plus also does overcome pretty much every phone out there. Just check out our best-of listing.

Fast charging on the Reno4 Pro does stand out. Other devices from this price range rarely exceed 29 watts.

Battery*			vs.
Features	Reno4 Pro	Galaxy S21 Plus
Capacity (mAh)	4000	4800	800
1h Talk + 1h Web + 1h Video	82% left	84% left	2
1h Talk + 3h Web + 1h Video	64% left	70% left	6
1h Talk + 1h Web + 3h Video	71% left	74% left	3
Bat. To Phone Size Score  ?	4.3	3.6	-0.7
Sub Tek-Score	7.2	7.6	0.4
Fast Charging	65w	25w	-40
Wireless Charging	No	15w	15
Reverse Charging	No	4.5w	4.5
Tek-Score	6.9	7.3	0.4

*Reference: 90: Samsung Galaxy A42.

Which has more storage?

None of them has.

Storage*			vs.
Features	Reno4 Pro	Galaxy S21 Plus
RAM (GB)	8GB	8GB	0
Internal (GB)	128GB	128GB	0
Micro SD	No	No
Tek-Score	6.0	6.0	0.0

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

Which is the most connectivity-friendly?

You can only get Bluetooth 5.1 with the Reno4 Pro.

If you love good-old wired headphones, you're out of luck because none of them included a 3.5mm headphone jack. You can buy an adapter, but the wireless buds are your only option. You can have it anyway if you don't care that much about them. The Find X3 Lite can help you with that.

You can find the Reno4 Pro in the LTE or (LTE and) 5G variants. You can get a headphone jack, a plastic back, a MicroSD slot, a macro lens, a Snapdragon 720G, and a GeekBench 5 score of 1781 on the 4G variant of the Reno4 Pro.

Connectivity			vs.
Features	Reno4 Pro	Galaxy S21 Plus
Network	5G (also available in LTE)	5G
Bluetooth	5.1	5.0
NFC	Yes	Yes
3.5mm jack	No	No
Tek-Score	5.1	4.6	-0.5

Which is more affordable?

Here are the best prices that we've found:

Reference: $594

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Oppo Reno4 Pro

Reference: $999

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$650.00

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Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus

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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.

Also, don't forget to check the latest deals from these four stores, and the state of the art on mobile technology, if you don't want to overpay on your next smartphone.

Related articles:

Best smartphone deals

The Best Unbiased Smartphones For All Budgets

Smartphone Specs Statistics: The State Of The Art (Q1 2021)

So, what about that global score? We'll get there. But first, let's see where its rivals are. They're usually close to 6.9 for both of them.

Verdict: What Makes the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus Stand Out?

What can the Oppo Reno4 Pro give you that the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus can't:

- More affordable

- A telephoto lens (+23 mm)

- Lighter (28 g./0.99 oz less)

- Faster charging speeds (65w vs. 25w)

- Bluetooth 5.1

What can the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus give you that the Oppo Reno4 Pro can't:

- Better performance (+93%)

- Higher refresh rates

- Better glass protection

- Better display

- A larger display (+0.2")

- Better cameras

- Water-resistant

- Better battery life

- More OS updates (2 additional years)

- Wireless charging

- Reverse wireless charging

Pros	Reno4 Pro	Galaxy S21 Plus
#1	AMOLED	Performance
#2	Always-On-Display	AMOLED
#3	Cameras	Always-On-Display
#4	Fast Charging	Cameras
#5		Battery Life
#6		Fast Charging
#7		Wireless Charging
#8		Glass Protection

Cons	Reno4 Pro	Galaxy S21 Plus
#1	Wireless Charging	MicroSD Slot
#2	MicroSD Slot	Weight
#3	3.5mm Jack	3.5mm Jack
#4	Price	Price

Relative Score*			vs.
Global Score	Reno4 Pro	Galaxy S21 Plus
Gaming Score	5.4	7.6	2.1
Tek-Score	6.06	7.43	1.37
Your Score

*Reference: 100: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Scroll the sliders down below to get your own personalized score. Let's suppose you value performance and battery life, and you don't really care about anything else. Then, just set the "Performance" and the "Battery" sliders up to 5 (5+5=10), and then the other sliders down to 0. You'll know what's the best phone for you.

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