Samsung Galaxy S21 vs OnePlus Nord 6

65 out 100

VS

83 out 100

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.2 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs OnePlus Nord 6, Manufactured in April, 2026 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages

Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21

Lighter design: 169g vs 210g
Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
Supports Dolby Atmos
Built-in eSIM

Reasons to choose OnePlus Nord 6

Larger display: 6.78in
Higher pixel density: 450ppi
Higher refresh rate: 165Hz
Higher battery capacity: 7500mAh vs 4000mAh
Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5
Infrared port
Includes charger

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 and OnePlus Nord 6

Display

Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness

Samsung Galaxy S21

75

OnePlus Nord 6

94

Camera

Main & front camera tests

Samsung Galaxy S21

75

OnePlus Nord 6

76

Performance

App & system performance

Samsung Galaxy S21

53

OnePlus Nord 6

78

Games

3D gaming performance

Samsung Galaxy S21

44

OnePlus Nord 6

68

Battery

Battery life, charging speed & type

Samsung Galaxy S21

56

OnePlus Nord 6

96

Connectivity

Connectivity features

Samsung Galaxy S21

86

OnePlus Nord 6

83

NanoReview Score

Overall score by NanoReview

Samsung Galaxy S21

65

OnePlus Nord 6

83

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Function

Importance (Weight)

Display:

Camera:

Performance:

Gaming:

Battery:

Connectivity:

Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Display

Display quality comparison

Type	Dynamic AMOLED	AMOLED
Size	6.2 in	6.78 in
Resolution	1080x2400 pixels	1272x2772 pixels
Aspect ratio	20:9	19.5:9
Pixel density	421 ppi	450 ppi
Refresh rate	120 Hz	165 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	Yes (48-120 Hz)	Yes (60-165 Hz)
Max brightness	800 nits	1800 nits
HDR support	Yes HDR10+	Yes, HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio	85.9 %	89.7 %
Features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC dimming

Peak brightness (auto)

Samsung Galaxy S21

854 nits

OnePlus Nord 6

n/a

sRGB gamut	99.5 %	n/a
PWM (Flicker)	240 Hz	n/a
Response time	5 ms	n/a
Contrast	∞ Infinite	n/a

Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison

Height	151.7 mm (5.97 in)	162.46 mm (6.4 in)
Width	71.2 mm (2.8 in)	77.45 mm (3.05 in)
Thickness	7.9 mm (0.31 in)	8.5 mm (0.33 in)
Weight	169 g (5.96 oz)	210 g (7.41 oz)
Water resistance	IP68	IP69
Cooling system	n/a	Vapor chamber
Back panel	Plastic	Plastic
Frame	Metal	Plastic
Colors	- White - Gray - Pink - Purple	- Black - Silver - Green
Fingerprint sensor	Yes In-Display	Yes, In-Display

Screen-to-body ratio

Samsung Galaxy S21

85.9 %

OnePlus Nord 6

89.7 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 and OnePlus Nord 6 In benchmarks

Chipset	Samsung Exynos 2100	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4
Max Frequency	2900 MHz	3210 MHz
CPU Cores	8 (1 + 3 + 4)	8 (1 + 3 + 2 + 2)
Architecture	- 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55) - 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78) - 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)	- 2/2.02 (Cortex-A720) - 2/2.8 (Cortex-A720) - 3/3 (Cortex-A720) - 1/3.21 (Cortex-X4)
Process	Samsung	TSMC
Transistor Size	5 nm	4 nm
Neural Processor	Yes	Hexagon
Graphics	Mali-G78 MP14	n/a
GPU Cores	896	n/a
GPU Frequency	854 MHz	n/a
FLOPS	1530.4 GFLOPS	n/a

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Samsung Galaxy S21

1331

OnePlus Nord 6

2116

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Samsung Galaxy S21

3593

OnePlus Nord 6

6851

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)	1331	2116
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)	3593	6851

Sources: Geekbench v6 [OnePlus Nord 6]

AnTuTu 10

Samsung Galaxy S21

903780

OnePlus Nord 6

2366913

CPU	253391	708437
GPU	281676	812170
Memory	158352	317102
UX	210361	529201
NanoReview Score	903780	2366913

3DMark Wild Life

Samsung Galaxy S21

5715

OnePlus Nord 6

n/a

Max Surface Temp.	38.9 °C	n/a
Stability	66 %	n/a
Graphics Test	34 fps	n/a
Graphics Score	5715	n/a

Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy S21]

PCMark 3.0

Samsung Galaxy S21

13123

OnePlus Nord 6

n/a

Writing score	16101	n/a
Web score	11909	n/a
Video editing	7097	n/a
Data manipulation	10153	n/a
NanoReview Score	13123	n/a

Memory

RAM Size	8 GB	8 GB
Memory Type	LPDDR5	LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency	2750 MHz	n/a
Channels	2	4

Storage Capacity	- 128 GB - 256 GB	256 GB
Storage Type	UFS 3.1	UFS 4.1
Memory Card	No	No

Software

OS	Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)	Android 16
OS Size	28.1 GB	n/a
UI Skin	One UI 6.0	OxygenOS 16

Battery

Volume	4000 mAh	7500 mAh
Max Charging Power	25 W	80 W
Battery Type	Li-ion	Silicon Carbon (Si/C)
Removable	No	No
Wireless Charging	Yes (15 W)	No
Reverse Charging	Yes (Wireless)	Yes
Fast Charging	Yes (55% in 50 min)	Yes
Full Charge Time	1:35 h	n/a

Battery Life

Samsung Galaxy S21

17:54

OnePlus Nord 6

n/a

Web Browsing	06:01 h	n/a
Video Playback	11:06 h	n/a
Games	04:21 h	n/a
Standby Mode	95 h	n/a

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 °	112 °
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 - RAW support

Matrix	12 MP	50 MP
Aperture	f/1.8	f/1.8
Focal length	26 mm	26 mm
Sensor	Sony IMX555	Sony LYT-600
Sensor size	1/1.76	1/1.95 (0.51)
Pixel size	1.8 μm	0.8 μm
Autofocus	Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)	Phase autofocus
Stabilization	Optical	Optical

Matrix	64 MP	n/a
Aperture	f/2.0	n/a
Focal length	28 mm	n/a
Sensor	Samsung Bright S5KGW2	n/a
Sensor size	1/1.72	n/a
Pixel size	0.8 μm	n/a
Stabilization	Optical	n/a

Matrix	12 MP	8 MP
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.2
Focal length	13 mm	16 mm
Sensor	Sony IMX563	Omnivision OV08F
Sensor size	1/2.55	1/4.0 (0.25)
Pixel size	1.4 μm	1.12 μm
Stabilization	Digital	Digital

Photo quality

Samsung Galaxy S21

129

OnePlus Nord 6

n/a

Video quality

Samsung Galaxy S21

137

OnePlus Nord 6

n/a

Overall camera score

Samsung Galaxy S21

133

OnePlus Nord 6

n/a

Bokeh	70	n/a
Preview	72	n/a
Zoom	126	n/a

Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Front camera

Matrix	10 MP	32 MP
Photo resolution	3872x2592 pixels	n/a
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.0
Focal length	26 mm	21 mm
Sensor	Sony IMX374	CMOS
Sensor size	1/3.24	1/3.1 (0.32)
Pixel size	1.22 μm	1.6 μm
Autofocus	Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)	Phase autofocus
Stabilization	Digital	Optical
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 60 fps	2160p (4K) at 30 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	6.0
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

SIM Count*	2	2
SIM Type	Nano	Nano
SIM Mode	Dual SIM Standby	Dual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *	Yes	No
Hybrid Slot	No	No
2G Bands	GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz	GSM:850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G Bands	WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8	WCDMA 1/2/4/5/8
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/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B48/B66)
LTE category	24	n/a
5G Support	Yes	Yes

Sound

Speakers	Stereo	n/a
3.5 mm Jack	No	No
FM Radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	n/a

Max Volume

Samsung Galaxy S21

87 dB

OnePlus Nord 6

n/a

Other

Class	Flagship	Mid-range
Announced	January, 2021 yr	April, 2026 yr
Release Date	February, 2021 yr	April, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($)	800	n/a
MSRP ($)	n/a	417
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	Yes, 75 W

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider OnePlus Nord 6 the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?

Samsung Galaxy S21

0 (0%)

OnePlus Nord 6

0 (0%)

Total Votes: 0

Samsung Galaxy S21 vs OnePlus Nord 6

Key Differences

Versions

Review

Tests & specs

Display

Design & Build

Performance

Memory

Software

Battery

Main camera

Front camera

Connectivity

Sound

Other

Results

Survey

User comments