Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G versus OnePlus 9RT: Every difference that you wanted to know

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is finally official. This is the successor to the fantastic S20 FE from 2020 and needless to say, it will have some big shoes to fill. Samsung is yet to announce India availability and pricing but the phone should arrive in the country sooner rather than later.

As and when it arrives, the S21 FE will get some tough competition from the OnePlus 9RT, that is set to launch in India on January 14. The S20 FE 5G offered more value than OnePlus 9, therefore it would be interesting to see how its successor pans out against the 9RT in the days to come.

Here’s how the two phones stack up against each other as far as specs are concerned:

— Both phones pack sleek, minimalist design with soft touch matte back and metallic frame. The S21 FE is slimmer and lighter. It is also IP68-certified for water and dust resistance.

— The 9RT has a bigger display. This is 6.62-inch versus 6.4-inch in the S21 FE. Both phones use a 1080p AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ support. Only Samsung quotes brightness figure with the S21 FE rated for up to 1200nits. Both phones feature an optical in-screen fingerprint reader and hole punch cut-outs.

— Both phones are powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip but while the 9RT gives you up to 12GB RAM, the S21 FE tops out at 8GB. Both phones come with up to 256GB non-expandable storage.

— The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G runs Android 12 based One UI 4.0. The OnePlus 9RT runs Android 11 based ColorOS though it should launch with Oxygen OS in India.

— Both phones pack a 4,500mAh battery but while the 9RT supports 65W fast wired charging, the S21 FE tops out at 25W. Samsung offers 15W wireless and reverse wireless charging in the S21 FE though both of which are missing in the 9RT.

— The S21 FE has three cameras on the back – a 12MP main, a 12MP ultra-wide angle and another 8MP telephoto for 3x optical zoom and up to 30x software-induced “space” zoom. The 9RT has a 50MP main, 16MP ultrawide-angle, and 2MP macro camera. The 9RT has a 16MP front camera while the S21 FE has a 32MP front camera.

— The Galaxy S21 FE starts at $699 (roughly Rs 52,150). The OnePlus 9RT starts at CNY 3,299 (roughly Rs 38,700).