The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus is a big, powerful flagship that doesn't really break the bank, given its $ 1,000 price tag. It takes everything good in this year's S21 and offers a generous 6.7-inch display, as well as a super-bulky 4,800mAh battery. It's a fantastic all-rounder Android phone, but 2020 has been a hugely busy year for the big Android all-rounders, with the OnePlus 8 Pro being another stronger contender in the field.
To find out which of these two devices is better, we compare them in an in-depth head-to-head comparison test. We take a look at their specs, screens, designs, performance, cameras, and special features, and in the end, we come to a verdict as to which is the best Android under $ 1000.
Specifications
Design, display and durability
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus (like the other two S21 models) is arguably the prettiest phone Samsung has ever released. Displaying an edge-to-edge display with a punch-hole selfie camera at the top, it also incorporates even narrower bezels, meaning its front face is pretty much displayed entirely. To top it off, it also includes a redesigned camera bump, the side of which blends in perfectly with its frame. It looks gorgeous, and while the OnePlus 8 Pro certainly isn't a hog, it just falls a bit short, even though it's a bit lighter to hold.
On the other hand, the OnePlus 8 Pro has a significantly better screen. With a resolution of 3168 x 1440 pixels, its 6.78-inch Fluid AMOLED display packs 513 pixels per inch, offering a great level of detail, color and clarity. The S21 Plus's 6.7-inch dynamic AMOLED display doesn't quite measure up, housing 2,400 x 1,080 pixels, which is just 394 ppi. Both phones also offer a very impressive 120Hz refresh rate, which really pushes the OnePlus 8 Pro's display above the edge when it comes to quality.
Both phones are IP68 certified, indicating that they can withstand submersion in shallow water for up to 30 minutes. The S21 Plus also uses Gorilla Glass Victus for its display, which makes it a bit more durable than the screen of the 8 Pro, which uses Gorilla Glass 5. Yet with a larger display, the OnePlus device turns things around. his favor, so this opening the turn is a tie.
Winner: TiePerformance, autonomy and charging
The S21 Plus contains the very new and very powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, which in benchmark tests comfortably outperformed the Snapdragon 865 of the OnePlus 8 Pro. Unfortunately, S21 Plus comes with just 8GB of RAM, while the OnePlus 8 Pro gives you 12GB buy the version with 256GB of storage. However, the performance impact should be pretty minimal and you will usually only see the difference if you juggle resource apps a lot.
As stated above, you can buy the OnePlus 8 Pro with 256GB of internal memory, although it comes with 128GB as standard. The same goes for the S21 Plus, although its 256GB version will set you back $ 1,049, whereas we've seen the 256GB OnePlus 8 Pro for almost $ 900 on sites like Amazon. Both phones don't come with a MicroSD card slot, so you'll need to be a bit economical with your storage space usage.
We haven't reviewed the Galaxy S21 Plus yet, but we're pretty confident that its 4,800mAh battery will easily give you a full day of juice, even with heavy use. That said, our review of the OnePlus 8 Pro found that its 4,510mAh is incredibly durable, losing just 25% of its capacity after a day of moderate use. As such, we believe the two phones will be more or less equal in terms of daily lifespan, although a full test of the S21 Plus may prove otherwise.
While the specifications of the OnePlus are impressive, the new Galaxy S21 Plus moves forward with a powerful processor.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S21 PlusCamera
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus has a 12-megapixel wide lens, 64 MP telephoto and 12 MP ultra-wide. As for the OnePlus 8 Pro, it comes with a 48MP wide lens, 8MP telephoto, 48MP ultra-wide, and a 5MP color filter lens.
Wait, a "color filter" lens: what is it? Well, it's pretty much a gimmick, letting you reverse the color scheme of your photos, giving them a sort of dusty sepia tint. You can enjoy it for a few minutes, but you are unlikely to use it repeatedly. Still, the rest of the 8 Pro's setup is excellent, with its main camera allowing for impressive dynamic range and an ideal balance of color saturation. Meanwhile, its night mode does a good job of brightening up low-light scenes.
If the S20 Plus is a guide, the S21 Plus will also be a great all-around camera phone. Its lens will almost certainly allow you to take great photos in most environments, while its telephoto lens should be better for zoomed shots than the 8 Pro. However, its low-light shots were a bit inconsistent, while edge detection in portrait mode was sometimes inaccurate. It can also oversaturate shots, although software updates since launch have alleviated these issues.
In other words, we can most likely expect the S21 Plus to be an improvement over its predecessor, delivering a better overall camera experience with less hassle. It also includes several cool software additions, such as Vlogger's View and Director's View, which open up new creative possibilities. Nevertheless, without testing it, we cannot say for sure which is the best camera.
Winner: TieSoftware and updates
The Galaxy S21 Plus runs on One UI 3, which is the skin for Android 11. The OnePlus 8 Pro also runs on Android 11, although in this case it is layered with OxygenOS 11. Both mods are highly usable and practical, with One User Interface offering a very high level of customization and OxygenOS offering a very fast and simple experience. Each has its own strengths, so we would not want to vote in favor of one or the other.
When it comes to updates, you'll probably find that the OnePlus 8 Pro can receive new versions of Android a bit faster than the S21 Plus. It received Android 11 in October, about a month after it was released by Google, while the S20 Plus received the new operating system in December. As such, we are giving the OnePlus 8 Pro a narrow victory.
Winner: OnePlus 8 ProParticularities
The Galaxy S21 Plus and OnePlus 8 Pro both support 5G. Unfortunately, the OnePlus 8 Pro does not support the faster mmWave band, unlike the S21 Plus. However, 5G is hardly ubiquitous at the moment, so this difference may not be particularly big for a while.
Other than that, the two phones aren't packed with any really noteworthy special features. The OnePlus 8 Pro offers two game modes, including a Fnatic mode for more enthusiastic gamers, which increases the available CPU, GPU and RAM by disabling unnecessary apps. It also comes with OnePlus' Zen Mode, which turns off all functions of the phone except for the ability to make or receive calls and take photos.
However, since it does not fully support 5G, these welcome modes are canceled. This trick is another tie.
Winner: TiePrice and availability
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus starts at $ 1,000 and can be pre-ordered from Samsung, with the device generally releasing starting January 29. It will be supported by all major carriers and sold by most major retailers.
The OnePlus 8 Pro starts at $ 899, while its 256GB version (with 12GB of RAM) is officially priced at $ 999. However, you'll likely find it online at sites like Amazon and Best Buy for less.
Overall winner: Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
The categories are tied for now, but since we think most people will appreciate performance over update speed, the Galaxy S21 Plus wins - fair. The OnePlus 8 Pro offers a superior screen, faster updates, similar performance, a great all-rounder camera, and some useful special features, and when you add the $ 200 price difference, you might just decide to choose the OnePlus phone. The only exception to this would be if you choose 5G, and especially mmWave 5G, as only the S21 Plus offers this. It's such a close fight, but the Samsung phone creaks right in front of us.
Editor's recommendations
https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/samsung-galaxy-s21-plus-vs-oneplus-8-pro/
