Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus vs OnePlus 9: Which to Pick?

Introduction

Last March, OnePlus started selling its 9, while Samsung's Galaxy S21 Plus hit the stores last January.

Here you can look at the Galaxy S21 Plus and the 9, compare each other's features, and decide which one is best for you. Let us delve into the finer details.

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

 Click here  to check who their rivals are.

Price*			vs.
Device	Galaxy S21 Plus	9
Release Date	2021, January	2021, March	0y.
OS Updates	3 years	2 years	-1y.
Security Updates	4 years	3 years	-1y.

*Reference: 100: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Which One Has The Best Performance?

As for performance, Geekbench 5 scores the 9 9% ahead of its competitor in the multi-core ranking. On daily usage, you wouldn't be able to notice any relevant differences between them.  ? 

Are you looking for the quickest phone around? The 9 is clearly above the average if you consider its rivals. While the average sits at 2584, this one is 31% above them.

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

Performance*			vs.
Features	Galaxy S21 Plus	9
SoC	Exynos 2100	Snapdragon 888
Graphics	Mali-G78 MP14	Adreno 660
Geekbench 5 Score	3113	3394	281
OS	Android 11 and OneUI	Android 11 and OxygenOS 11
Tek-Score	7.2	7.7	0.5

*Reference: 100: Apple iPhone 12.

Which Phone Has The Best Display?

There's no phone to praise here, so don't worry about it. But the Galaxy S21 Plus features better glass protection.

The Galaxy S21 Plus also falls behind other similarly priced phones: Its low DPI display.

If you're leaning towards the Galaxy S21 Plus, 89% of its rivals can play HDR content. Plus, all have an AMOLED screen, and 93% have an Always-On display.

Compared to the 9, I should say that 87% of its rivals can play HDR content, 96% have an AMOLED screen, and 91% have an Always-On display.

Display Density (DPIs)*			vs.
Features	Galaxy S21 Plus	9
Size	6.7	6.5	-0.2
Screen Type	AMOLED	AMOLED
Resolution (px)	1080x2400	1080x2400	0
Refresh Rate	120hz	120hz	0
Dots per Inch	392.81	404.89	12.09
Always-On-Display	Yes	Yes
Notch	Hole	Hole
Peak Brightness	883 nits	821 nits	-62
HDR	HDR10+	HDR10+
Sub Tek-Score	9.0	9.1	0.1
Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus	Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Tek-Score	9.6	6.8	-2.8

*Reference: 100: Sony Xperia 1 II.

Which Phone Has The Best Cameras?

I believe that you can get the same performance on both cameras.

About the Galaxy S21 Plus: DXOMARK tested this camera and gave it a score of 123. By including its wide-angle lens, the final score goes up to 137 points. If you click here, you can check what they think of it.

Before moving on, keep in mind 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 15% of them feature a macro lens.

About the 9: Sooner than later, we'll be getting a review from DXOMARK's team. Given its specs, it'll be close to 125*. And if we consider its wide-angle lens, this score goes up to 136** points.

Finally, if you must know, all of its rivals can record videos in 4 or 8K and have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and 96% feature Optical Image Stabilization.

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

If you take optical zoom seriously, just ignore these two and check the Sony Xperia 1 II instead. And if you're willing to take it one step further, smartphones like the Galaxy S20 Ultra and the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra are much more fun.

*DXOMARK knows how to test these shooters out. Unfortunately, they don't test every smartphone camera out there. So what do I do? I score every camera spec (like sensor size, lenses, and so on) to get a similar global score. You should give it a deviation of up to 2 points.  ? 

**This score still needs improvement, particularly on mid-end cameras with less than 40MP and no zoom lens. They moved to a better camera test protocol, and there aren't enough reviewed cameras to extrapolate a backward-compatible score.

Picture Quality*			vs.
Primary Camera	Galaxy S21 Plus	9
Megapixels	12	48	36
Aperture	1.8	1.8	0.0
Lens	26mm	23mm	-3
Lens Type	Wide-Angle	Wide-Angle
Flash	1	2	1
HDR	Yes	Yes
OIS	Yes	No
Video	4320	4320	0
Score	137	136	-1

*Reference: 100: Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra.

Extra Camera(s)	Galaxy S21 Plus	9	vs.
Megapixels	64	50	-14
Aperture	2.0	2.2	0.2
Lens	29mm	14mm	-15
Lens Type	Regular	Ultra-wide-Angle
Megapixels	12	2	-10
Aperture	2.2	2.4	0.2
Lens	13mm	-
Lens Type	Ultra-wide-Angle	-
Score	14	11	-3

Selfie Camera	Galaxy S21 Plus	9	vs.
Megapixels	10	16	6
Aperture	2.2	2.4	0.2
Lens	26mm	-

	Galaxy S21 Plus	9	vs.
Tek-Score	8.1	8.0	-0.1

Who has the best frame?

They ended up with the same score, so don't worry too much.

The Galaxy S21 Plus is a little bit heavier: About 8 g. (0.28 oz). If you're curious, I've come up with an adapted "display size to phone weight ratio" score. The Galaxy S21 Plus got 4.6, and that's another way of saying it has an acceptable score for its screen size. The 9, on the other hand, has 4.8, so nothing to state here.  ? 

The Galaxy S21 Plus is resistant to water up to 1 to 3 meters, on par with the 9. That should be for up to 30 minutes, in standby mode, so no underwater photos.

Looks*			vs.
Body	Galaxy S21 Plus	9
Size	161 x 75 x 7 mm (5.68 x 2.65 x 0.25 in)	160 x 74 x 8 mm (5.64 x 2.61 x 0.28 in)	10195
Weight	200 g. (7.05 oz)	192 g. (6.77 oz)	-8
Build	Front and back glass	Front and back glass
Colors	Phantom Black, Phantom Violet, Phantom Silver, Phantom Red, Phantom Gold, and Phantom Pink	Winter Mist, Astral Black, and Arctic Sky
Screen To Body Ratio	89.75%	86.15%	-3.60
Disp.Size To Weight Score	4.6	4.8	0.2
Looks	10.0/10	8.9/10	-1.0
Waterproof	IP68	IP68 (T-Mobile variant only)
Biometrics	Under Display Fingerprint	Under Display Fingerprint
Tek-Score	7.2	7.3	0.1

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

Which has the best battery?

The Galaxy S21 Plus has a 4800 mAh battery, and the 9 has a 4500 mAh. And GSMArena did test them out, and the former does have better battery life.

For the record, the Galaxy S21 Plus is also beating most smartphones. Actually, it may even be on our top 10 list with the best battery life.

The 9 does charge quicker. Its competitors usually stay at around 31w/hour.

Battery*			vs.
Features	Galaxy S21 Plus	9
Capacity (mAh)	4800	4500	-300
1h Talk + 1h Web + 1h Video	84% left	82% left	-2
1h Talk + 3h Web + 1h Video	70% left	67% left	-3
1h Talk + 1h Web + 3h Video	74% left	69% left	-5
Bat. To Phone Size Score  ?	4.1	4.0	-0.1
Sub Tek-Score	7.6	7.3	-0.3
Fast Charging	25w	65w	40
Wireless Charging	15w	15w	0
Reverse Charging	4.5w	No	-4.5
Tek-Score	7.3	7.1	-0.1

*Reference: 90: Samsung Galaxy A31.

Which has more storage?

There isn't a winner here.

Storage*			vs.
Features	Galaxy S21 Plus	9
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?

The 9 is your better option, as it features Bluetooth 5.2.

If you love good-old wired headphones, you're out of luck because none of them included a 3.5mm headphone jack. Want a piece of advice? Forget about adapters and go for the wireless buds. 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 Sony Xperia 1 II.

The 9 has two network variants: LTE or (LTE and) 5G.

Connectivity			vs.
Features	Galaxy S21 Plus	9
Network	5G	5G (also available in LTE)
Bluetooth	5.0	5.2
NFC	Yes	Yes
3.5mm jack	No	No
Tek-Score	4.6	5.1	0.5

Which is more affordable?

Here are the best deals on some major online stores:

Reference: $999

$749.99

$600.00

$799.99

Check now

Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus

Reference: $721

$679.99

$551.99

Check now

Check now

OnePlus 9

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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.

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)

Are you also considering other options? The global score can help. But first, let's see where its rivals are. They usually sit close to 7.0 (for the Galaxy S21 Plus) and 6.9 (for the 9).

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

What can the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus give you that the OnePlus 9 can't:

- Better glass protection

- Better display

- A larger display (+0.2")

- OIS

- Reverse wireless charging

What can the OnePlus 9 give you that the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus can't:

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

- Bluetooth 5.2

Pros	Galaxy S21 Plus	9
#1	Performance	Performance
#2	AMOLED	AMOLED
#3	Always-On-Display	Always-On-Display
#4	Cameras	Cameras
#5	Battery Life	Fast Charging
#6	Fast Charging	Wireless Charging
#7	Wireless Charging
#8	Glass Protection

Cons	Galaxy S21 Plus	9
#1	MicroSD Slot	MicroSD Slot
#2	Weight	Weight
#3	3.5mm Jack	3.5mm Jack
#4	Price	Price

Relative Score*			vs.
Global Score	Galaxy S21 Plus	9
Gaming Score	7.6	7.6	0.0
Tek-Score	7.47	7.06	-0.41
Your Score

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.

*Reference: 100: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

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