Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus vs OnePlus Nord 5

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.7 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs OnePlus Nord 5, Manufactured in July, 2025 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
  • Lighter design: 200g vs 211g
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose OnePlus Nord 5
  • Larger display: 6.83in
  • Higher pixel density: 450ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 144Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 5200mAh vs 4800mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Infrared port

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus and OnePlus Nord 5
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

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED AMOLED
Size 6.7 in 6.83 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1272x2800 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.8:9
Pixel density 394 ppi 450 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 144 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (48-120 Hz) Yes
Max brightness 1300 nits 1400 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 88.7 % 90.1 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
879 nits
OnePlus Nord 5
1324 nits
sRGB gamut98.9 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time6.2 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 161.5 mm (6.36 in) 163.41 mm (6.43 in)
Width 75.6 mm (2.98 in) 77.04 mm (3.03 in)
Thickness 7.8 mm (0.31 in) 8.1 mm (0.32 in)
Weight 200 g (7.05 oz) 211 g (7.44 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP65
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Plastic
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Gold
- Red
- Purple
- White
- Gray
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
88.7 %
OnePlus Nord 5
90.1 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus and OnePlus Nord 5 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3
Max Frequency 2840 MHz 3000 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 4 + 3)
Architecture - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
- 3/2 (Cortex-A520)
- 4/2.8 (Cortex-A720)
- 1/3 (Cortex-X4)
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 4 nm
Neural Processor Yes Hexagon
Graphics Mali-G78 MP14 Adreno 735
GPU Cores 896 768
GPU Frequency 854 MHz 1100 MHz
FLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS 1689.6 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
1428
OnePlus Nord 5
1963
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
3840
OnePlus Nord 5
4981
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)14281963
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)38404981
Geekbench Compute (GPU)n/a10567
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
919348
OnePlus Nord 5
1481616
CPU262973395746
GPU294382525594
Memory147307263364
UX214686296912
NanoReview Score9193481481616
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
5538
OnePlus Nord 5
n/a
Max Surface Temp.41.5 °Cn/a
Stability67 %n/a
Graphics Test33 fpsn/a
Graphics Score5538n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz n/a
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 15
OS Size 27.2 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 6 OxygenOS 15

Battery

Volume 4800 mAh 5200 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 80 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) No
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (54% in 30 min) Yes (79% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:12 h 0:42 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
20:53
OnePlus Nord 5
25:12
Web Browsing07:28 h10:44 h
Video Playback13:15 h16:17 h
Games05:04 h05:44 h
Standby Mode105 h112 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 8192x6144 pixels
Zoom Optical, 1.1x Digital
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Up to 24FPS No
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 (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 116 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix12 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mm24 mm
SensorSony IMX555Sony LYT-700
Sensor size1/1.761/1.56
Pixel size1.8 μmn/a
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix64 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.0n/a
Focal length28 mmn/a
SensorSamsung Bright S5KGW2n/a
Sensor size1/1.72n/a
Pixel size0.8 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP8 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm15 mm
SensorSony IMX563Omnivision OV08D10
Sensor size1/2.551/4.0
Pixel size1.4 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
129
OnePlus Nord 5
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
137
OnePlus Nord 5
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
133
OnePlus Nord 5
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview72n/a
Zoom126n/a

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 3872x2592 pixels 8192x6144 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length 26 mm 21 mm
Sensor Sony IMX374 Samsung JN5
Sensor size 1/3.24 1/2.76
Pixel size 1.22 μm 0.64 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
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 5.4
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a No
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No Yes
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzGSM (850/900/1800/1900)
3G BandsWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8WCDMA (850/900/1700/1900/2100)
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B32/B66)
LTE category2418
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
87.8 dB
OnePlus Nord 5
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Mid-range
Announced January, 2021 yr July, 2025 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr July, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 1000 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 549
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included n/a No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider OnePlus Nord 5 the clear winner in this comparison.

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