OnePlus 8T vs Samsung Galaxy S21
A spec-by-spec comparison of the OnePlus 8T and the Samsung Galaxy S21, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
VS
Head to head
| OnePlus 8T | Samsung Galaxy S21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Our rating | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Battery | 4,500 mAh | 4,000 mAh |
| Wired charging | 65W | 25W |
| Storage (max) | 256 GB | 256 GB |
| Screen size | 6.55 in | 6.2 in |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Main camera | 48 MP | 64 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 188 g | 169 g |
| Released | Oct 2020 | Jan 2021 |
Summary: OnePlus 8T is ahead on battery, wired charging, screen size. Samsung Galaxy S21 is ahead on main camera, weight (lower is lighter).
★ Which should you buy? OnePlus 8T is the stronger overall pick on the measured specs.
Display
| OnePlus 8T | Samsung Galaxy S21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Fluid AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+ | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1300 nits (peak) |
| Size | 6.55 inches, 103.6 cm2 (~87.0% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.2 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~402 ppi density) | 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~421 ppi density) |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Features | Reading Mode, Night Mode, Vibrant Color, 1100 nits peak brightness, 8192 levels of automatic brightness | — |
Platform
| OnePlus 8T | Samsung Galaxy S21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G (7 nm+) | — |
| CPU | Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 585 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4x1.80 GHz Kryo 585) | — |
| GPU | Adreno 650 | — |
| OS | Android 11, upgradable to Android 14, OxygenOS 14 | Android 11, upgradable to Android 14 (with One UI 6.1) |
| Chipset (International) | — | Exynos 2100 (5 nm) |
| Chipset (USA/China/Korea) | — | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm) |
| CPU (Exynos) | — | Octa-core (1x2.9 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3x2.80 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x2.2 GHz Cortex-A55) |
| CPU (Snapdragon) | — | Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4x1.80 GHz Kryo 680) |
| GPU (Exynos) | — | Mali-G78 MP14 |
| GPU (Snapdragon) | — | Adreno 660 |
Memory
| OnePlus 8T | Samsung Galaxy S21 | |
|---|---|---|
| RAM | 8GB or 12GB LPDDR4X | 8GB |
| Storage | 128GB or 256GB UFS 3.1 2-LANE | — |
| Card slot | No | — |
| Internal Storage | — | 128GB, 256GB |
| Card Slot | — | No |
Main Camera
| OnePlus 8T | Samsung Galaxy S21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Quad | 48 MP, f/1.7, 26mm (wide), 1/2.0", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS (Sony IMX586); 16 MP, f/2.2, 14mm, 123˚ (ultrawide) (Sony IMX481); 5 MP, f/2.4 (macro); 2 MP, f/2.4 (monochrome) | — |
| Features | Dual-LED flash, HDR, panorama, UltraShot HDR, Nightscape, Macro, Portrait, Pro Mode, AI Scene Detection, RAW Image, Video Focus Tracking, Super Stable, Video Nightscape | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama |
| Video | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@480fps, Auto HDR, gyro-EIS | 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+ |
| Triple | — | 12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.76", 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS; 64 MP, f/2.0, 29mm (telephoto), 1/1.72", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS, 1.1x optical zoom, 3x hybrid zoom; 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, Super Steady video |
Selfie Camera
| OnePlus 8T | Samsung Galaxy S21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Single | 16 MP, f/2.4, (wide), 1/3.06", 1.0µm (Sony IMX471) | 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.24", 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF |
| Features | HDR, Screen Flash, Face Retouching | Dual video call, Auto-HDR |
| Video | 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps |
Battery
| OnePlus 8T | Samsung Galaxy S21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Li-Po 4500 mAh, non-removable (2S1P 2,250 mAh) | Li-Ion 4000 mAh, non-removable |
| Charging | 65W wired, PD, 100% in 39 min (advertised) | 25W wired, PD3.0; 15W wireless (Qi/PMA); 4.5W reverse wireless |
Body
| OnePlus 8T | Samsung Galaxy S21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 160.7 x 74.1 x 8.4 mm (6.33 x 2.92 x 0.33 in) | 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm (5.97 x 2.80 x 0.31 in) |
| Weight | 188 g (6.63 oz) | 169 g (Sub6), 171 g (mmWave) |
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), glass back (Gorilla Glass 5), aluminum frame | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), plastic back, aluminum frame |
| SIM | Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) | Dual Nano-SIM; eSIM |
| Colors | Aquamarine Green, Lunar Silver | — |
| Water Resistance | — | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) |
Comms
| OnePlus 8T | Samsung Galaxy S21 | |
|---|---|---|
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 5.1, A2DP, LE, aptX, aptX HD, LDAC, AAC | 5.0, A2DP, LE |
| Positioning | GPS (L1+L5 Dual Band), GLONASS, Galileo (E1+E5a Dual Band), Beidou, A-GPS | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.1, OTG | USB Type-C 3.2, OTG |
| Radio | — | FM radio (Snapdragon model only) |
Launch
| OnePlus 8T | Samsung Galaxy S21 | |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | October 14, 2020 | 2021, January 14 |
| Released | October 16, 2020 | — |
| OS at launch | Android 11, OxygenOS 11 | — |
| Status | — | Available. Released 2021, January 29 |
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better battery, OnePlus 8T or Samsung Galaxy S21?
OnePlus 8T — 4,500 mAh for the OnePlus 8T versus 4,000 mAh for the Samsung Galaxy S21.
Which is lighter, OnePlus 8T or Samsung Galaxy S21?
Samsung Galaxy S21 — 188 g for the OnePlus 8T versus 169 g for the Samsung Galaxy S21.
Which is newer, OnePlus 8T or Samsung Galaxy S21?
Samsung Galaxy S21 — Oct 2020 for the OnePlus 8T versus Jan 2021 for the Samsung Galaxy S21.
Is the OnePlus 8T or the Samsung Galaxy S21 rated higher?
We rate the OnePlus 8T 8/10 and the Samsung Galaxy S21 8/10.