OnePlus 5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G

Phone Comparison, Reviews and Tests

In depth comparison and review of OnePlus 5 and Samsung Galaxy S21 5G. Compare sizes, cameras, batteries, memory, and other important specifications and features to easily choose the right phone for you. Our goal is to help you uncover differences between the products and find the phone that will best fit your needs.

Phone Specifications Comparison

OnePlus 5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G Comparison Chart
DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS OnePlus 5 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
Product Type Smartphone Smartphone
Manufacturer Model Number - SM-G991U1
Form Factor Touch Touch
Height 154.2 mm 151.7 mm OnePlus 5 has greater height than Samsung Galaxy S21 5G.
Width 74.1 mm 71.2 mm OnePlus 5 has greater width than Samsung Galaxy S21 5G.
Depth 7.25 mm 7.9 mm OnePlus 5 is narrower than OnePlus 5.
Weight 153 g 171 g OnePlus 5 is lighter than OnePlus 5.
Body Colour Midnight black | Slate grey Phantom grey | Phantom white
Body Material Anodised aluminium -
Protection - Dustproof, splashproof, water-resistant
Waterproof (Water-resistant) - Yes Samsung Galaxy S21 5G is waterproof.
IP rating - IP68
SAR Value 1.19 W/kg (body), 1.37 W/kg (head) 1.58 W/kg (simultaneous), 1.11 W/kg (wireless router), 1.08 W/kg (body), 0.74 W/kg (head)
Connector Type Headset jack - mini-phone 3.5mm
USB Type-C - 24 pin USB-C
USB Type-C - 24 pin USB-C
SIM Card Type (Size) Nano SIM Nano SIM, Electronic SIM card (e-SIM)
SIM Card Qty Dual-SIM Dual-SIM
DISPLAY OnePlus 5 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
Display Type OLED display OLED display
Display Technology Optic AMOLED Infinity-O Dynamic AMOLED 2X
Screen Size (Display Size) 5.5" 6.2" Samsung Galaxy S21 5G has larger screen size than OnePlus 5.
Screen Resolution (Display Resolution) 1920 x 1080 pixels 2400 x 1080 pixels Samsung Galaxy S21 5G has better screen resolution than OnePlus 5.
Display Format Full HD Full HD+
Pixel Density 401 ppi 421 ppi Samsung Galaxy S21 5G has better pixel density than OnePlus 5.
Colour Depth - 16.7 million colours
HDR - Yes Samsung Galaxy S21 5G has HDR.
HDR Technology - HDR10+
Display Enhancement Technology - Eye Comfort Shield
Display Refresh Rate - 120 Hz
Display Features Night Display AOD(Always On Display), Video Wallpaper
Display Protection (Screen Protector) Corning Gorilla Glass 5 (scratch resistant glass) Corning Gorilla Glass Victus (scratch resistant glass)
PROCESSOR OnePlus 5 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
Processor Type (CPU) Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
Processor Number MSM8998 -
Clock Speed 2.45 GHz 2.84 GHz Samsung Galaxy S21 5G has higher clock speed than OnePlus 5.
Processor Core Qty 8-core 8-core Both phones have the same number of phone cores.
64-bit Architecture Yes - OnePlus 5 has 64-bit architecture.
Graphics System (GPU) Qualcomm ADRENO 540 -
MEMORY OnePlus 5 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
RAM LPDDR4X SDRAM - 6 GB LPDDR5 SDRAM - 8 GB Samsung Galaxy S21 5G has more RAM than OnePlus 5.
Internal Memory Size (Storage Capacity) 64 GB 128 GB Samsung Galaxy S21 5G has more internal memory than OnePlus 5.
User Memory - 101.2 GB
CAMERA OnePlus 5 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
MAIN CAMERA
Number of Main Cameras 2 3
Sensor Resolution 20 Megapixel 12 Megapixel OnePlus 5 has better camera resolution than Samsung Galaxy S21 5G.
Sensor Size - 1/1.76"
Sensor Name Sony Exmor RS IMX350 sensor -
Lens Type - Wide-angle lens
Lens Aperture F/2.6 F/1.8 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G has better lens aperture than OnePlus 5.
Field of View (FoV) - 79 degree(s)
Pixel Size - 1.8 μm
Optical Image Stabiliser (OIS) - Optical Image Stabiliser (OIS) Samsung Galaxy S21 5G has optical stabilisation.
Focus Adjustment Automatic Automatic
Laser Auto Focus - Yes
Optical Zoom - 3x
Digital Zoom - 30x
Self-Timer Delay - Yes
Special Effects Portrait, HDR Face retouch, Grid Line
HDR Mode - Auto HDR mode
Camera Modes Panorama, Time-lapse mode, Pro mode, RAW mode Panorama, Slow motion mode, Pro mode, HYPERLAPSE, Super Slow-mo, Flowers, Greenery, Trees, Sky, Beaches, Watersides, Snow, Backlit, Text, Food, Face, Baby, Person, Dog, Cat, People, Sunset, Sunrise, City, Waterfall, Scenery, Stage, Vehicles, Drinks, Animal, Shoes, Indoor, Clothes, Night view, Portrait, Night, Motion Photo, Mountain, Single Take, Pro Video, Portrait video, Director's View
Light Source Dual LED flash High CRI LED flash
Video Resolutions 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 30 fps, 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 60 fps, 1280 x 720 (720p) at 30 fps, 3840 x 2160 (4K) at 30 fps, 1280 x 720 (720p) at 120 fps 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 60 fps, 1280 x 720 (720p) at 30 fps, 3840 x 2160 (4K) at 60 fps, Super slow motion video 1280 x 720 (720p) at 960 fps, Slo-mo video 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 240 fps, 7680 x 4320 (8K) at 24 fps, Hyperlapse 4K video support at 30 fps, Super Steady 1080p video support at 60 fps
Camera Features (Functions) Electronic Image Stabiliser (EIS) Playback zoom, Motion photo, blink detection, QR-code scanner, VDIS (Video Digital Image Stabilisation), Tracking AF, Video location tags, Scene Optimiser, Lens smudge, Flaw detection, Shot suggestions, blur detection, HDR10+ recording, Super steady, Super Speed Dual Pixel AF, Quick Measure, Zoom-In Mic, HEIF image capture, Space Zoom, Take 33MP still photos while playing 8K video, Hybrid Optic Zoom 3x, Super Resolution Zoom up to 30x, Digital zoom up to 12x for video, AR Doodle, HEVC (High Efficiency Video coding) support, Microphone Control (Pro Video only)
SECOND CAMERA
Sensor Resolution (2nd Camera) 16 Megapixel 12 Megapixel OnePlus 5 has better second camera resolution than Samsung Galaxy S21 5G.
Lens Type (2nd Camera) Wide-angle lens Ultra wide-angle lens
Lens Aperture (2nd Camera) F/1.7 F/2.2 OnePlus 5 has better second camera lens aperture than OnePlus 5.
Field of View (2nd Camera) - 120 degree(s)
Pixel Size (2nd Camera) - 1.4 μm
THIRD CAMERA
Sensor Resolution (3rd Camera) - 64 Megapixel
Sensor Size (3rd Camera) - 1/1.72"
Lens Type (3rd Camera) - Telephoto lens
Lens Aperture (3rd Camera) - F/2.0
Field of View (3rd Camera) - 76 degree(s)
Pixel Size (3rd Camera) - 0.8 μm
Optical Image Stabiliser (OIS) - Optical Image Stabiliser (OIS) Samsung Galaxy S21 5G has optical stabilisation of the third camera.
FRONT CAMERA
Number of Front Cameras 1 1
Sensor Resolution (Front) 16 Megapixel 10 Megapixel OnePlus 5 has better front camera resolution than Samsung Galaxy S21 5G.
Sensor Name (Front) Sony Exmor RS IMX371 sensor -
Lens Aperture (Front) F/2.0 F/2.2 OnePlus 5 has better front lens aperture than OnePlus 5.
Field of View (Front) - 80 degree(s)
Pixel Size (Front) - 1.22 μm
Focus Adjustment Focus free Automatic
Special Effects (Front) HDR -
Face Recognition (Face ID) Smile Capture - OnePlus 5 has face detection.
Video Resolutions (Front) 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 30 fps, 1280 x 720 (720p) at 30 fps -
Camera Features (Front) Electronic Image Stabiliser (EIS) Dual Pixel AF
BATTERY AND CHARGING OnePlus 5 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
Battery Capacity (Battery Size) 3300 mAh 4000 mAh Samsung Galaxy S21 5G has larger battery capacity than OnePlus 5.
Fast Charging Technology - Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, Adaptive Fast Charging, Power Delivery 3.0 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G has fast charging technology.
Wireless Charging - Yes Samsung Galaxy S21 5G can be charged wirelessly.
Wireless Charging Standards - WPC, Qi, Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, Wireless PowerShare
Talk Time - 1800 minutes
Run Time Details - Talk (LTE): up to 1800 min
Active online usage (LTE): up to 14 hrs
Active online usage (Wi-Fi): up to 15 hrs
Playback (wireless video): up to 19 hrs
Playback (wireless audio): up to 72 hrs
Battery Technology Lithium polymer -
CELLULAR OnePlus 5 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
Technology CDMA2000 1X / GSM / WCDMA (UMTS) / TD-SCDMA CDMA2000 1X / GSM / WCDMA (UMTS)
Mobile Broadband Generation 4G 5G Samsung Galaxy S21 5G has more advanced generation mobile network.
Operating System OxygenOS (based on Android Nougat) Android 11
Intelligent Assistant - Bixby
Payment Technology - Samsung Pay
Navigation GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou GPS, GLONASS, Galileo
COMMUNICATIONS OnePlus 5 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
Data Transmission GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, LTE, FDD-LTE, TDD-LTE FDD-LTE, TDD-LTE, 5G NR FR1, 5G NR FR2
2G Band 850 GSM, 900 GSM, 1800 GSM, 1900 GSM, 800 CDMA2000 1X, 1900 CDMA2000 1X 850 GSM, 900 GSM, 1800 GSM, 1900 GSM, 800 CDMA2000 1X, 1900 CDMA2000 1X
3G UMTS Band Band 1, Band 2, Band 4, Band 5, Band 8 Band 1, Band 2, Band 4, Band 5, Band 8
3G UMTS Frequency 2100, 1900, 1700, 850, 900 2100, 1900, 1700, 850, 900
4G LTE Band Band 1, Band 2, Band 3, Band 4, Band 5, Band 7, Band 8, Band 12, Band 17, Band 18, Band 19, Band 20, Band 25, Band 26, Band 28, Band 29, Band 30, Band 38, Band 39, Band 40, Band 41, Band 66 Band 1, Band 2, Band 3, Band 4, Band 5, Band 7, Band 8, Band 12, Band 13, Band 14, Band 18, Band 19, Band 20, Band 25, Band 26, Band 28, Band 30, Band 38, Band 39, Band 40, Band 41, Band 46, Band 48, Band 66, Band 71
4G LTE Frequency FDD 2100, FDD 1900 PCS, FDD 1800+, FDD 1700 - 2110 AWS, FDD 850, FDD 2600, FDD 900, FDD 700a, FDD 700b, FDD 800 lower, FDD 800 upper, FDD 800 DD, FDD 1900+, FDD 850+, FDD 700 APT, FDD 700d, FDD 2300 WCS, TDD 2600, TDD 1900, TDD 2300, TDD 2500, FDD 1700 - 2110 AWS-3 FDD 2100, FDD 1900 PCS, FDD 1800+, FDD 1700 - 2110 AWS, FDD 850, FDD 2600, FDD 900, FDD 700a, FDD 700c, FDD 700 PS, FDD 800 lower, FDD 800 upper, FDD 800 DD, FDD 1900+, FDD 850+, FDD 700 APT, FDD 2300 WCS, TDD 2600, TDD 1900, TDD 2300, TDD 2500, TDD 5150, TDD 3600, FDD 1700 - 2110 AWS-3, FDD 600
5G NR Band - N41, n71, n260, n261
5G NR Frequency - TDD TD 2500, FDD 600, TDD 39GHz, TDD 28GHz
Wireless Interface IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax
Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.0 Bluetooth 5.0
NFC Yes Yes Both phones have an NFC reader for mobile payments.
Messaging Services SMS, MMS -
MEDIA OnePlus 5 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
Supported Digital Audio Standards WAV, WMA, AAC, AMR, MP3, FLAC, AAC +, OGG, APE (Monkey's Audio), M4A, apt-X, IMY, MID, AMR-WB, AMR-NB, apt-X HD WAV, AAC, PCM, AMR, MP3, FLAC, XMF, OGG, MIDI, APE (Monkey's Audio), M4A, DSF, MXMF, OGA, 3GA, AWB, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, DFF, MID, DSD64, DSD128
Supported Digital Video Standards MKV, FLV, AVI, MOV, MPEG-4, WMV, 3GP, TS, WebM, H.265 MKV, FLV, AVI, 3GP, M4V, WebM, 3G2, MP4
Sound Enhancements Dirac Power Sound technology, Dirac HD Sound Dolby Digital Plus sound, Dolby Atmos sound technology, Surround sound, stereo speakers tuned by AKG, Dolby Digital sound
FEATURES OnePlus 5 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
Phone Functions Speakerphone, call timer, conference call, flight mode, vibrating alert Speakerphone, voice control, call timer, conference call, flight mode, voice dialing, vibrating alert
Sensors Accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, digital compass, gyro sensor, hall sensor Accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, barometer, gyro sensor, hall sensor, geomagnetic sensor
Security Devices Fingerprint reader Fingerprint reader (under display), face recognition
Additional Phone Features MIMO technology, Android Sensor Hub, Three microphones with noise-cancellation, Dash Charge technology MIMO technology, Screen Write, notification flashlight, Smart Select, Fast Charging, Samsung KNOX, Smart View, Live message, Screen off memo, Samsung DeX support, Bixby Vision, TalkBack, Dual Audio, Bixby Routines, Intelligent Performance Enhancer, Bixby key, Bluetooth Scalable Codec, Samsung Knox Vault, Private Share function, Enhanced Game Booster, Air Command
OTHERS OnePlus 5 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
Included Accessories Power adapter, SIM card removal tool, screen protector, USB-C cable SIM card removal tool, USB-C to USB-C cable
Compliant Standards - VDE, IP68, HAC (Hearing Aid Compatible), SGS Eye Care Display Certification
Max Depth of Water Resistance - 1.5 m
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