The Galaxy S21 Plus comes at a higher price, but it's the best of the two.
It comes with better performance (+72%), better glass protection, a better display, water-resistance, and better battery life.
The Galaxy S21 Plus also has a higher refresh rate, larger (+0.2") display, wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging. But the Reno4 Pro brings a telephoto lens (+23 mm), a lightweight body (28 g./0.99 oz less), faster-charging speeds (65w vs. 25w), and Bluetooth 5.1.
If you're considering a new and unlocked smartphone, you'll have to invest an additional amount close to $405.
Do consider not getting the Reno4 Pro in 2022. It's losing its security updates, and the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max is an overall better phone, as it'll have better performance, better cameras, more security updates, and water resistance.
Of course, I still recommend the Galaxy S21 Plus in 2022. I like its good performance, good battery life, excellent glass protection, and 8K recordings. It doesn't mean you can't take a quick peek at (again) the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, though.
Keep reading to learn more about what sets them apart, how they rival their competition, and how the industry is scoring their specs.
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CONTENTS
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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.
to check who their rivals are.
Price* | vs. | ||
---|---|---|---|
Device | ![]() |
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|
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.
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 | ![]() |
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|
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 | 2.1 |
*Reference: 100: Apple iPhone 13.
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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 | ![]() |
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|
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 | 0.6 | ||
Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus | |
Tek-Score | 3.1 |
*Reference: 100: Sony Xperia 1 II.
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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. | ||
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Primary Camera | ![]() |
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|
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) | ![]() |
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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 | ![]() |
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vs. |
---|---|---|---|
Megapixels | 32 | 10 | -22 |
Aperture | 2.4 | 2.2 | -0.2 |
Lens | 26mm | 26mm | 0 |
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vs. | |
---|---|---|---|
Tek-Score | 1.0 |
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 | ![]() |
![]() |
|
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 | 4.0 |
*100% = 4+ colors + front and back glass + S2BR: 86+%.
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 | ![]() |
![]() |
|
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 | 0.4 | ||
Fast Charging | 65w | 25w | -40 |
Wireless Charging | No | 15w | 15 |
Reverse Charging | No | 4.5w | 4.5 |
Tek-Score | 0.4 |
*Reference: 90: Samsung Galaxy A42.
None of them has.
Storage* | vs. | ||
---|---|---|---|
Features | ![]() |
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|
RAM (GB) | 8GB | 8GB | 0 |
Internal (GB) | 128GB | 128GB | 0 |
Micro SD | No | No | |
Tek-Score | 0.0 |
*Internal Storage + 256GB Memory Card (Max: 512GB).
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 | ![]() |
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|
Network | 5G (also available in LTE) | 5G | |
Bluetooth | 5.1 | 5.0 | |
NFC | Yes | Yes | |
3.5mm jack | No | No | |
Tek-Score | -0.5 |
Here are the best prices that we've found:
Reference: $594
Oppo Reno4 Pro
Reference: $999
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
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 (or whatever else you end up buying). 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 | Reno4 Pro | Galaxy S21 Plus | VS |
---|---|---|---|
Amazon | 1.02 | - | - |
eBay | - | 1.15 | - |
Best Buy | - | - | - |
Walmart | - | - | - |
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:
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.
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 | ![]() |
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---|---|---|
#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 | ![]() |
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---|---|---|
#1 | Wireless Charging | MicroSD Slot |
#2 | MicroSD Slot | Weight |
#3 | 3.5mm Jack | 3.5mm Jack |
#4 | Price | Price |
Relative Score* | vs. | ||
---|---|---|---|
Global Score | ![]() |
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|
Gaming Score | 2.1 | ||
Tek-Score | 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.
Performance | 1.9 | |
Display | 1.7 | |
Cameras | 1.4 | |
Frame | 0.9 | |
Battery | 1.9 | |
Storage | 2.0 | |
Connectivity | 0.4 | |
Total | Should be 10 or as close as possible: | 9.6 |
For suggestions and bug reports, click here. Your help is appreciated. Thank you.
About me
Hello!
My name is Luis Silva, and I have a degree in computer management. Ever since I was a teenager, I've loved everything to do with tech. Music, pictures, video editing, I've done it all! This site is a place for me to share some of the knowledge I have, as well as keep up-to-date with current trends. This is a wonderful place for tech-geeks and everyone else that just want to learn more about tech and smartphones in general.
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