Confused about whether you should buy the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra or the OnePlus 9 Pro? The Galaxy S21 Ultra is Samsung's flagship device for 2021, while with the 9 Pro, OnePlus is stepping up from its flagship killer image and launching a proper flagship.
Check out our comparison below to help decide which phone is right for you: the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra or the OnePlus 9 Pro.
OnePlus 9 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra: Build Quality
The OnePlus 9 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra both feature an aluminum chassis sandwiched by glass panels at the front and rear. However, while the Galaxy S21 Ultra uses the newer and more durable Gorilla Glass Victus, the OnePlus 9 Pro makes do with Gorilla Glass 6.
Both phones have a premium feel to them and are also IP68 certified, meaning they are dust and water-resistant. They both also feature a USB-C port at the bottom and stereo speakers, with the earpiece at the top acting as the secondary speaker.
Another key difference is the fingerprint scanner. While the Galaxy S21 Ultra uses an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner, the OnePlus 9 Pro uses an optical in-display fingerprint scanner. The former is marketed as more secure, but its unlocking speed is not as fast as the OnePlus 9 Pro's optical fingerprint sensor.
Excellent AMOLED Displays
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra features a curved 6.8-inch QHD+ LTPO Dynamic AMOLED 2x display with a 120Hz display. The OnePlus 9 Pro features a slightly smaller 6.7-inch QHD+ Fluid AMOLED curved display, which also has 120Hz refresh rate support.
The display panels on both devices support variable refresh rates. They can dynamically adjust the refresh rate to as low as 1Hz or as high as 120Hz depending on the content being viewed, to help save battery life.
Apart from the size difference, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra's display also supports the S Pen with up to 4096 pressure points, though one has to buy it separately.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and the OnePlus 9 Pro both feature quality AMOLED displays, which are among the best in the market. You cannot go wrong with either of them.
Snapdragon-Powered Flagships
Being the very best of what OnePlus and Samsung offer, the OnePlus 9 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra absolutely excel in the performance department. Both phones are powered by a Snapdragon 888 chipset, the latest and greatest mobile chip from Qualcomm.
The international variant of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra features Samsung's own 5nm-based Exynos 2100 chipset.
The base OnePlus 9 Pro ships with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, with the top-end variant featuring 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.
The base Galaxy S21 Ultra packs 12GB RAM, with Samsung offering 16GB RAM in the top-end 512GB model. It is available in three storage capacities: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. Both phones miss out on a microSD card slot.
Super Fast Charging vs. Long Battery Life
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra features a massive 5000mAh battery, with the OnePlus 9 Pro featuring a 4500mAh battery. Both devices also support wired and wireless fast charging, though the OnePlus offering is far ahead of its competitor here.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra supports 25W wired fast charging and 15W wireless charging. It takes around an hour to charge from zero to 100 percent with a compatible fast charger.
The OnePlus 9 Pro features Warp Charge 65T, which is good enough to charge its 4500mAh battery to full in under 30 minutes flat. It also supports insane wireless charging speeds of 50W, though this requires you to buy a proprietary charger from OnePlus. With other Qi-enabled chargers, the wireless charging speeds are limited to 15W.
Warp Charge 65T is now even faster. And with Warp Charge 50 Wireless, you can even reach warp speeds without a wire ⚡️
— OnePlus (@oneplus) March 23, 2021
Not to brag (but we are), it's faster than pretty much all wired charging solutions. pic.twitter.com/I2S6W64rD7
Both phones also support reverse wireless charging, so you can use them to charge your Bluetooth earbuds or other small accessories.
Samsung does not bundle any power adapter with the Galaxy S21 Ultra, while OnePlus bundles the Warp Charger 65T with the OnePlus 9 Pro. You can read about what charger is right for your Samsung Galaxy S21 if you are unsure of which one to buy.
Hasselblad Camera vs. Ultra Zoom
The camera is one area where the Galaxy S21 Ultra and OnePlus 9 Pro differ a lot from each other. While both phones feature a quad-camera setup, their implementation is very different.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra camera features:
- a 1/1.33-inch 108MP primary shooter with OIS and f/1.8 aperture
- a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera
- two 10MP telephoto lenses with different focal lengths
- a LaserAF sensor to improve autofocus speeds
The OnePlus 9 Pro camera setup is delivered via a tie-in with Hasselblad, and has:
- a 1/1.43-inch 48MP Sony IMX789 sensor with OIS and f/1.8 aperture
- an ultra-wide camera, using the 1/1.56-inch 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor with a freeform lens
- an 8MP f/2.4 OIS telephoto sensor with 3.3x zoom
- a 2MP monochrome camera
The bigger sensor for the ultra-wide camera means the OnePlus 9 Pro can take much better ultra-wide shots. The freeform lens also helps here as the ultra-wide photos will not have the usual distortion at the edges.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra's camera strength lies in its two periscope zoom lenses, as they allow it to offer up to 10x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom with respectable quality.
Both phones can record 8K videos, though the OnePlus 9 Pro one-ups the Samsung by recording 4K videos at 120fps.
At the front, the Galaxy S21 Ultra features a 40MP selfie shooter with autofocus, while the OnePlus 9 Pro has a relatively paltry 16MP fixed focus shooter. The former can record 4K videos from the front camera, while the OnePlus 9 Pro is limited to 1080p resolution.
5G Connectivity and Wi-Fi Support
The OnePlus 9 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra are absolutely loaded with connectivity features, but Samsung's offering does have some key advantages.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra supports Wi-Fi 6E and has Ultra Wide Band (UWB), while the OnePlus 9 Pro only supports Wi-Fi 6 and misses out on UWB. On the other hand, the S21 Ultra has Bluetooth 5.0, with the OnePlus 9 Pro featuring Bluetooth 5.2.
Both phones support 5G, but the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra supports a wide number of bands. You can also use the Galaxy S21 Ultra on AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon's 5G network in the US.
The OnePlus 9 Pro, however, will not work on AT&T's 5G network. The Galaxy S21 Ultra also supports up to 2Gbps downlink speeds on 4G LTE networks and supports enhanced 4x4 MIMO with 7CA, while the OnePlus 9 Pro is limited to 1.4Gbps.
Other connectivity features of both devices are the same and include USB-C, NFC, GPS, dual-SIM 5G, and more.
OxygenOS vs. One UI
The OnePlus 9 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra both run on Android 11. However, OnePlus uses its own OxygenOS skin, while the Galaxy S21 Ultra has One UI 3.1 on top of it. Both skins are featured packed with plenty of customization options in tow.
What sets the Galaxy S21 Ultra and OnePlus 9 Pro apart is the software policy of both companies—or the lack of it. Samsung promises four years of security updates and three OS updates for its devices. OnePlus does not have any such software support policy, with the OnePlus 9 Pro likely to get only two major OS updates.
OnePlus 9 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra: Flagship Pricing
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra starts from $1,199, with the bump to 256GB storage costing an additional $50. In comparison, the OnePlus 9 Pro starts from $969, with the 256GB variant priced at a $100 premium.
On paper, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is a couple of hundred dollars more expensive than the OnePlus 9 Pro. However, Samsung phones are always discounted by major carriers and retailers in the United States. Post the discount, the final price of the Galaxy S21 Ultra should be close to the OnePlus 9 Pro.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra Has an Edge
While the OnePlus 9 Pro is an impressive phone, it still falls behind the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra in some key areas. Samsung's software update policy alone makes the S21 Ultra a safe long-term investment. And unlike previous OnePlus phones, the 9 Pro doesn't have low price on its side.
Ultimately, you can't go wrong with either phone. But if you choose the S21 Ultra, make sure you get it set up the right way, so you're using the phone to its full potential.
Image Credit: Samsung
