OnePlus 9 vs Samsung 21

Delta3D

Delta3D

Delta3D

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Hi Guys,

I've got the option of OnePlus 9 or Samsung 21 as a work phone, both base models. Massively stuck on what to choose, leaning towards the OnePlus over screen sized but can see most specs are similar, 120hz OLED Screens etc.

Which would you go for and why?

Cheers!
 
I would pick the S21 because well I used to love OnePlus phones. I loved my oneplus phones however the company isn't like they used to be. Every oneplus phone I've had since my oneplus 3 has had a QA issue with the screen under low light. Also the cameras just aren't as good as the Samsung at flagship prices or near to.

I also think they have gone in a weird direction, useless camera modules for example the one where you could see through objects etc.
Imo oneplus just aren't the company they used to be.
 
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There's been some weird hiccups with OP's software as well, recently it's been found the pro version of the 9 has a storage bug with their gallery app. And even before that, there's been other odd bugs, but it does get patched eventually. Android 12 will also be based on OPPO's ColorOS, but rebranded as Oxygen OS 12.

Samsung's OneUI has improved a lot, only issues I had with it is the ads in their own apps, but they promised to remove it for OneUI 4 in the future. Not to mention they also provide the longest OS/security updates (3 years for OS, 4 years for security) out of any Android maker so far.
 
Orcvader said:
There's been some weird hiccups with OP's software as well, recently it's been found the pro version of the 9 has a storage bug with their gallery app. And even before that, there's been other odd bugs, but it does get patched eventually. Android 12 will also be based on OPPO's ColorOS, but rebranded as Oxygen OS 12.

Samsung's OneUI has improved a lot, only issues I had with it is the ads in their own apps, but they promised to remove it for OneUI 4 in the future. Not to mention they also provide the longest OS/security updates (3 years for OS, 4 years for security) out of any Android maker so far.
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I've had the 9 Pro since launch and it has been excellent. Stable and no bugs I've noticed. Love the phone especially in green.


Had the 8 Pro and even that had better main and ultra wide cams than the S21U from my testing.

I loathe Samsung's UI, too many bloat apps and services that can't be disabled and their design is not a clean as Oxygen to say the least.

And OnePlus also offer the same 3 OS and 4Yr Security as Samsung FYI.


ONEPLUS over Samsung for the software cleanliness alone. Don't like the centre cam either but that's not a biggie.
 
kona786 said:
Had the 8 Pro and even that had better main and ultra wide cams than the S21U from my testing.
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We had totally different experiences with the 8 Pro cameras. I could hardly get mine to take a good picture, even in perfect daylight. I remember one (of many) incident where I took a shot of my wife and son walking slowly through a park on a bright day, swinging their arms normally like people do when they walk, and one of my son's hands was ruined by motion blur. I couldn't trust the camera one little bit and it was no fun having to take half a dozen photos every time in order to (hopefully) get a usable shot.

Otherwise I liked the 8 Pro except for the excessive curves on the screen and the way many games had a thick band across the top to hide the hole punch, no matter if you added said game to the exclusion list or not :) However, I also like Samsungs.
 
kona786 said:
Agreed.

They're cams used to be ****. And they cut corners due to low cost handsets.

Now very decent cams and great all round hardware and software.
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I had the 7 Pro. The pictures weren't as good as the equivalent Samsung at the time.
 
Had a oneplus 8 pro for a year was a good phone, not many issues. The camera was mediocre though, not a patch on the s21 ultra I have now.

Would I buy another , probably not. Oxygen Os is good but I don't really notice much of a difference to one ui. They have improved this phone month by month, specially the cameras. Was waiting a long time for fixes on OP.
 
Oneplus as a company have been going downward for a while now, more so since Carl Pei left. They used to be brilliant in terms of speed and regularity with software updates, now they aren't all that great but charge a premium.

I would go with the S21.
 
https://youtu.be/wBNKS2gTiUc

OnePlus 9, a review 5 months later.

Added benefit of a lightning fast charger in the box, great hardware, next to no bloat and crud in the software and solid cams.

Software updates have been steady and useful.

OnePlus handsets have never been more complete package till now. A good few deals if you can catch them.

Get the Pro if you can stretch to it.
 
Just a work phone so pro isn't an option, just base models.

Camera is a positive, but not a necessity as I'll have a flagship iPhone 13 whenever they release for personal use.

Thanks all for the input :)
 
1 year on from this, thought I'd provide an update.

Would certainly be chosing Samsung next time. For whatever reason I went for OnePlus 9. Battery life is shocking! Barely lasts a day, when only using for work authenticator and Teams notifications.
 
It's pretty much ColorOS now. They promised OOS13 will be more like the original OOS but it still uses ColorOS as the base, and looking at reviews and screenshots of it, definitely is no longer the minimal skin it once was. In fact they've done the reverse Samsung and I feel there's too much bloated features now.

I still have my 7 Pro as a backup phone especially when I'm abroad, flashed Pixel Experience on it and it's working much better compared to OOS11.
 
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