Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and OnePlus 8 - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs OnePlus 8

67 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
VS
58 out 100
OnePlus 8
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
OnePlus 8

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.8 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs OnePlus 8, Manufactured in April, 2020 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 865. 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 Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.8in
  • Higher pixel density: 515ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4300mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.2 vs 5.1
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 3.1
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose OnePlus 8
  • Lighter design: 180g vs 227g
  • Supports DisplayPort

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/128 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/256 GB
- 16/512 GB		 - 6/128 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 12/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and OnePlus 8
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:
Galaxy S21 Ultra
vs
OnePlus 8

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED AMOLED
Size 6.8 in 6.55 in
Resolution 1440x3200 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
Pixel density 515 ppi 402 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 90 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (10-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 1500 nits 1300 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 89.5 % 88.7 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1019 nits
OnePlus 8
802 nits
sRGB gamutn/a97.7 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a373 Hz
Response timen/a2.8 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra], [OnePlus 8]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 165.1 mm (6.5 in) 160.2 mm (6.31 in)
Width 75.6 mm (2.98 in) 72.9 mm (2.87 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 8.5 mm (0.33 in)
Weight 227 g (8.01 oz) 180 g (6.35 oz)
Water resistance IP68 No
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Blue		 - Black
- Silver
- Blue
- Green
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
89.5 %
OnePlus 8
88.7 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and OnePlus 8 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
Max Frequency 2900 MHz 2840 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)		 - 4/1.8 (Kryo 585 Silver (Cortex-A55))
- 3/2.42 (Kryo 585 Gold (Cortex-A77))
- 1/2.84 (Kryo 585 Prime (Cortex-A77))
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Yes Hexagon 698
Graphics Mali-G78 MP14 Adreno 650
GPU Cores 896 768
GPU Frequency 854 MHz 587 MHz
FLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS 1202.1 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1449
OnePlus 8
1256
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
3892
OnePlus 8
3472
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)14491256
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)38923472
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
843008
OnePlus 8
751799
CPU232358242521
GPU256356196618
Memory163007140544
UX191217172116
NanoReview Score843008751799
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
5221
OnePlus 8
3843
Max Surface Temp.40.8 °C35.5 °C
Stability69 %99 %
Graphics Test31 fps23 fps
Graphics Score52213843
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra], [OnePlus 8]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
n/a
OnePlus 8
11329
Writing scoren/a14311
Web scoren/a8181
Video editingn/a5849
Data manipulationn/a8869
NanoReview Scoren/a11329

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 12 GB
- 16 GB		 - 8 GB
- 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB		- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.0
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 10.0 (Upgradeable to Android 13)
OS Size 26.4 GB 23 GB
UI Skin One UI 6 OxygenOS 13

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 4300 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 30 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 (50% in 22 min)
Full Charge Time 1:11 h 0:52 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
22:05
OnePlus 8
21:04
Web Browsing07:58 h09:11 h
Video Playback13:59 h13:12 h
Games05:14 h04:52 h
Standby Mode111 h93 h

Main camera

Matrix 108 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 12000x9000 pixels 8000x6000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 10x 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 240 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 108 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 16 MP
Macro: 2 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix108 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mm25 mm
SensorSamsung S5KHM3Sony IMX586
Sensor size1/1.331/2.25
Pixel size0.8 μm1.12 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix10 MPn/a
Aperturef/4.9n/a
Focal length240 mmn/a
SensorSamsung S5K3J1n/a
Sensor size1/2.65n/a
Pixel size1.22 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP16 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX563n/a
Sensor size1/2.551/2.0
Pixel size1.4 μm0.8 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
121
OnePlus 8
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
100
OnePlus 8
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
115
OnePlus 8
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview67n/a
Zoom106n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra]

Front camera

Matrix 40 MP 16 MP
Photo resolution 7864x5200 pixels 4920x3264 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length 26 mm n/a
Sensor Samsung S5KGH1 Sony IMX471
Sensor size 1/2.65 1/3
Pixel size 0.7 μm 1 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
133
OnePlus 8
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
140
OnePlus 8
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (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 Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.2 5.1
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- SBAS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzGSM850, GSM900, GSM1800, GSM1900
3G BandsWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8WCDMA B1, B2, B4、B5, B8, B9, B19
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 (B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B66)
LTE category2420
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
88 dB
OnePlus 8
89.4 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2021 yr April, 2020 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr April, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) 1200 699
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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