Why should I discard the OnePlus on the Samsung Galaxy S21

I have written to Android Authority since 2017. When I started as a freelancer, my daily driver was OnePlus 5. Later, after I became a full member of the team, I won a OnePlus 6T. Today, I’m using OnePlus 7 Pro. Due to my devotion to OnePlus (and 7 Pro in particular), I am known as the “OnePlus guy” on our team. However, the Samsung Galaxy S21 has put that nickname at risk.

I will not measure the words here. OnePlus had a terrible year 2020. Things started well with the OnePlus 8 series, especially the OnePlus 8 Pro. Unfortunately, more problems than successes followed. The disappointing OnePlus Nord N10 and N100, the departure of Carl Pei, the controversy of Facebook and the constant opposition of the brand made it very difficult to be proud to be the “guy of OnePlus”.

Now, with my beloved OnePlus 7 Pro getting old and the company dragging on when it comes to an Android 11 release, I’m tempted to switch teams. With the launch of the Galaxy S21 series, the temptation grew substantially. In fact, I must admit that I pre-ordered a vanilla Samsung Galaxy S21 and a Galaxy S21 Plus. My intention is to try both and see if abandoning OnePlus really is what I want to do.

Samsung Galaxy S21: why I would change

Samsung has really improved its game this year with the Galaxy S21 series. The designs look great, the reduced price is an important and smart move, and the Ultra model finally lives up to its name. The COVID-19 pandemic may prevent sales from skyrocketing, but I think the company has prepared itself for real success this year.

I wrote the Android Authority review for the Galaxy S21 vanilla. In short, I loved my time on the phone. The camera is excellent (especially for the asking price of $ 800), its size suitable for the palm of your hand is a breath of fresh air in the “bigger is always better” world of Android and the Snapdragon 888 processor is a total monster. Even this year’s controversial changes did not matter much to me. Yes, the lack of a microSD card slot is annoying, but the switch to a plastic back is really good, in my eyes. I will let you read the review for all of my thoughts on these things.

Check out: The Android Authority Samsung Galaxy S21 review

In the past, the biggest reason I avoided buying Samsung phones was software. Simply put, One UI is not my favorite Android skin. I will enjoy the minimalist simplicity of Oxygen OS or Pixel UI on any given day instead of the bloated and sometimes incoherent mess of One UI. When you considered Samsung’s bad reputation for providing Android updates, it was enough to make me swear it is not the brand.

Things have changed, however. An UI is now better than ever. Yes, it’s still full of apps I don’t want and features I’ll never use, but Samsung did a great job making it all less obvious. In addition, the company has taken an eighty when it comes to aftermarket support. Security patches are flying at a furious pace. Android 11 hit all of its major flagships in record time.

In summary, the Samsung Galaxy S21 series has great hardware and great software. That was never able to say with conviction about Samsung phones.

OnePlus 7 Pro: What makes me want to stay

As good as the Galaxy S21 phones are, the OnePlus 7 Pro is still my favorite Android phone of all time. In many ways, it looks like OnePlus made the phone specifically for me. It marks many of my essential smartphone features.

I’ve already written an entire article about why I love the OnePlus 7 Pro, so I’m not going to repeat everything here. I want to focus on the two things that the phone offers and that the Galaxy S21 series doesn’t offer: an uninterrupted screen and the alert slider.

Related: OnePlus phones: a history of the entire company line so far

I am of the opinion that the pop-up selfie camera is currently the best way to get rid of notches and clippings on smartphones. The pop-up camera on the OnePlus 7 Pro is one of its best features, even now after the screen cut has become the industry standard. Yes, we will eventually have selfie cameras on display that will solve both problems. At the moment, however, the technology is not advanced enough for widespread consumer adoption.

It would be difficult to move from that beautiful 1440p screen without clipping to a 1080p screen with a large selfie camera hole at the top. However, after a week using the Samsung Galaxy S21, the cut became less of a hassle. But whenever I started playing a game or watching a video on YouTube, it was there, reminding me that this screen is not as good as the 7 Pro.

The alert slider would also be difficult to abandon. For my life, I have no idea why all Android OEMs didn’t steal this feature. It’s so nice to just flip the slider up when I don’t want to be interrupted. Fortunately, the premium version of the third-party Side Actions app offers me an alternative solution on Galaxy devices. Still, that alert slider would be sorely missed.

What else is in the pipeline?

We haven’t even left the first month of 2021 yet. Although I’m very impressed with the Samsung Galaxy S21 series, would waiting a little longer to make an appointment be a good idea?

Obviously, the OnePlus 9 series is coming. However, there doesn’t seem to be much that the OnePlus 9 Pro offers compared to the vanilla Galaxy S21. The Galaxy S21 will likely have a better rear camera system, while the rest of the specs should be the same on both phones. With the 9 Pro having a screen cut too, the only real advantage would be that I would be able to maintain the alert slider and stick with Oxygen OS.

Related: OnePlus needs to do a home run with OnePlus 9

The Asus ROG Phone 4 (or 5) will also be available soon. Asus ROG Phone 3 was my favorite smartphone in 2020, so its tracking is certainly on my radar. The big problem I have with the ROG Phone series, however, is the mass of the phones. I love using them for specific tasks – which includes games, obviously – but I don’t like to carry them with me wherever I go. However, it is likely that this phone has an uninterrupted screen, which makes it attractive.

On the other side of the spectrum, we also expect the Google Pixel 5a to arrive sometime in the first half of the year. If it looks something like the Pixel 4a, it will certainly be a stellar device with a great camera, great software and a low price. Still, my biggest complaint with Pixel smartphones is that the fingerprint reader is on the back. My phone stays on my desk for 10 hours every day, so I need my sensor on the front.

It seems that no matter what I do, I will need to give up something to get something new.

Decision time: what will it be?

Honestly, I hoped that writing it all down would make that decision easier for me. I’m not sure it worked, however.

For one, I have the Samsung Galaxy S21. It will have a better camera than the OnePlus 7 Pro, a faster processor, support 5G and a smaller format. However, it will have a screen clipping and will not have an alert slider.

On the other hand, I have the OnePlus 7 Pro. It has a high resolution uninterrupted screen. Its Snapdragon 855 processor is still fully capable, its camera is good enough to do the job and its software is much more in line with my taste.

Related: The Samsung Galaxy S21 is here, but should you wait for the OnePlus 9?

Inevitably, I will need to upgrade. I can’t use the 7 Pro forever. The question, I think, is whether or not now is the right time. The notable aspect of this whole puzzle is that I am thinking of moving to Samsung in the first place. I don’t know if that says more about Samsung boosting its game or the recent OnePlus flaws. 2021 is already a year of surprises.

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