Home Phone comparison OnePlus 12 and Samsung Galaxy S21 - Which is better?

OnePlus 12 vs Samsung Galaxy S21

86 out 100
OnePlus 12
VS
65 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S21
OnePlus 12
Samsung Galaxy S21

Compared 2 smartphones : OnePlus 12 Manufactured in February, 2024, with display 6.82 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, vs Samsung Galaxy S21, Manufactured in February, 2021 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose OnePlus 12
  • Larger display: 6.82in
  • Higher pixel density: 510ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 5400mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 220g

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/256 GB
- 16/256 GB
- 16/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB
- 24/1024 GB		 - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB

Review

Key Specs OnePlus 12 and Samsung Galaxy S21
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
OnePlus 12
vs
Samsung Galaxy S21

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.82 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1440x3168 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.8:9 20:9
Pixel density 510 ppi 421 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1600 nits 800 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 91.3 % 85.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
OnePlus 12
1149 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
sRGB gamut99.5 %99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a240 Hz
Response time11 ms5 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [OnePlus 12], [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163.3 mm (6.43 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 75.8 mm (2.98 in) 71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness 9.15 mm (0.36 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 220 g (7.76 oz) 169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance IP65 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Green		 - White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
OnePlus 12
91.3 %
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %

Performance

Testing OnePlus 12 and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 3300 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 2 + 2) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 2/2.27 (Cortex-A520)
- 2/2.96 (Cortex-A720)
- 3/3.15 (Cortex-A720)
- 1/3.3 (Cortex-X4)		 - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 4 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Yes
Graphics Adreno 750 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 1536 896
GPU Frequency 903-1000 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 2774 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
OnePlus 12
2314
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
OnePlus 12
7063
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)23141331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)70633593
Sources: Geekbench v6 [OnePlus 12]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
OnePlus 12
1927806
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
CPU375207253391
GPU822387281676
Memory389261158352
UX340951210361
NanoReview Score1927806903780
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
OnePlus 12
17208
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Max Surface Temp.50.5 °C38.9 °C
Stability70 %66 %
Graphics Test103 fps34 fps
Graphics Score172085715
Sources: 3DMark [OnePlus 12], [Samsung Galaxy S21]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
OnePlus 12
13384
Samsung Galaxy S21
13123
Writing score1754016101
Web score1238511909
Video editing62007097
Data manipulation1358510153
NanoReview Score1338413123

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 12 GB
- 16 GB
- 24 GB		 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 4266 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1024 GB		- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 14 (Upgradeable to Android 15) Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size 30 GB 28.1 GB
UI Skin OxygenOS 15 One UI 6.0

Battery

Volume 5400 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 100 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (50 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (70% in 15 min) Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time 0:24 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
OnePlus 12
28:16
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Web Browsing13:10 h06:01 h
Video Playback18:49 h11:06 h
Games06:05 h04:21 h
Standby Mode114 h95 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Optical, 1.1x
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Up to 24FPS Up to 24FPS
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (1080p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 114 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP		 Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.8
Focal length23 mm26 mm
SensorSony LYT-T808Sony IMX555
Sensor size1/1.431/1.76
Pixel size1.12 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix64 MP64 MP
Aperturef/2.6f/2.0
Focal length70 mm28 mm
SensorOmnivision OV64BSamsung Bright S5KGW2
Sensor size1/21/1.72
Pixel size0.7 μm0.8 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix48 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length14 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX581Sony IMX563
Sensor size1/21/2.55
Pixel size0.8 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
OnePlus 12
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Video quality
OnePlus 12
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Overall camera score
OnePlus 12
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Bokehn/a70
Previewn/a72
Zoomn/a126
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Front camera

Matrix 32 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 6560x4928 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.2
Focal length 21 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX615 Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/2.74 1/3.24
Pixel size 0.8 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.4 5
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port Yes No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850/900/1800/1900MHzGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsWCDMA 1/2/4/5/6/8/19WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*LTE (B/B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B28B/B30/B32/B66/B71)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)
LTE category2024
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
OnePlus 12
82.6 dB
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced December, 2023 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date February, 2024 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 799 800
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included Yes 100 W n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider OnePlus 12 the clear winner in this comparison.

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