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With the OnePlus 9 Pro now released, offering a smooth 120 Hz display, superb performance and fantastic cameras made in partnership with Hasselblad, is it the better powerhouse phone to pick over the Samsung Galaxy Note 20? Or is the Note 20 holding up just fine against the 2021 OnePlus flagship?
Let's compare the two phones and see just how well they measure up against each other.
The OnePlus 9 Pro (left) and Galaxy Note 20 (right)
The OnePlus 9 Pro sports a fairly safe modern 2021 design, with minimal bezels around the display and a small hole punch selfie camera in its top left corner. On the back, its rather large Hasselblad-branded camera module catches the eye, but there's not much else but a OnePlus logo for flare.
The OnePlus 9 Pro features rounded corners all around, weighs just about 197 grams, and is glass on both sides, with a metal frame. Its color options are Stellar Black, Pine Green, and Morning Mist, all glossy.
The OnePlus 9 Pro (left) and Galaxy Note 20 (right)
The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 too sports minimal bezels around the display and a small, centered hole punch selfie camera. Its back is a bit more lowkey and matte, although it too has an eye-catching camera module.
In terms of weight, the Galaxy Note 20 is actually the lighter phone out of the two, at 194 grams. Its plastic on the back and glass on the front, and comes in the following colors: Mystic Gray, Mystic Bronze, Mystic Green, Mystic Red.
OnePlus 9 Pro vs Galaxy Note 20 display
The OnePlus 9 Pro (left) and Galaxy Note 20 (right)
The OnePlus 9 Pro has a 6.7-inch 120 Hz AMOLED display made by none other than Samsung, with a resolution of 3216 x 1440 pixels. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass and is satisfyingly sharp, vivid and bright. Its display refresh rate is actually variable, so to save on battery, it can dynamically change from 120 Hz all the way down to 1 Hz.
The OnePlus 9 Pro (left) and Galaxy Note 20 (right)
Samsung's Galaxy Note 20 comes with a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display, but its refresh rate is the more average 60 Hz, and its resolution is lower – 2400 x 1080. The Note 20's screen too is covered with Gorilla Glass, but isn't as sharp as the OnePlus 9 Pro's screen, due to having less pixels per inch.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x:CIE31' and 'y:CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance(balance between red,green and blue)across different levels of grey(from dark to bright).The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones,the better.
As can be seen from the measurements above, the OnePlus 9 display is also the brighter out of the two.
OnePlus 9 Pro vs Galaxy Note 20 performance
The OnePlus 9 Pro (bottom) and Galaxy Note 20 (top)
In our recent OnePlus 9 Pro review we were impressed with its high performance, which is to be expected from a high-spec 2021 flagship. The OnePlus 9 Pro has 12 GB of RAM and is powered by the new Snapdragon 888 processor. In our performance tests it easily beat even the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, let alone the Note 20 itself.
The Galaxy Note 20 is no slouch, but it's still a mid-2020 phone, running on the older Snapdragon 865+ processor and packing less RAM – 8 GB. But while its not quite on the same level as the OnePlus 9 Pro, the Note 20 is still a perfect performer when it comes to 3D gaming or most other tasks.
Choosing between the two shouldn't really come down just to their performance, as both flagships will serve their users well for years to come. The OnePlus 9 Pro is simply the more future-proof one.
If the T-Rex HD component of GFXBench is demanding,then the Manhattan test is downright gruelling.It's a GPU-centric test that simulates an extremely graphically intensive gaming environment that is meant to push the GPU to the max. that simulates a graphically-intensive gaming environment on the screen. The results achieved are measured in frames per second, with more frames being better.
AnTuTu is a multi-layered, comprehensive mobile benchmark app that assesses various aspects of a device, including CPU, GPU, RAM, I/O, and UX performance. A higher score means an overall faster device.
The OnePlus 9 Pro's cameras were notably designed in partnership with legendary camera maker Hasselblad. The phone's main camera is 48 MP (megapixels) and has OIS (optical image stabilization). Additionally there's a 50 MP ultra-wide camera, an 8 MP telephoto one and a 2 MP monochrome sensor.
Photos from the OnePlus 9 Pro's camera come out detailed and with great dynamic range. Portrait shots also look good and so do nighttime shots, where the phone still manages to produce bright and clear images.
< OnePlus 9 Pro main cameraGalaxy Note 20 main camera >
When it comes to video recording, the OnePlus 9 Pro is notably the first phone to shoot 4K video at 120 FPS (frames per second), or up to 8K at 30 FPS. In addition, this phone has a neat portrait video feature. Below is a OnePlus 9 Pro video sample at 4K resolution, 30 FPS.
As for the Galaxy Note 20, its main camera is 12 MP and also has OIS, so does its 64 MP telephoto camera. Additionally, this phone also sports a 12 MP ultra-wide camera.
< OnePlus 9 Pro portraitGalaxy Note 20 portrait >
Photos from the Note 20 look fantastic too, with similarly great dynamic range and detail. And like the OnePlus 9, the Note 20 supports portrait photography.
< OnePlus 9 Pro main camera, nighttimeGalaxy Note 20 main camera, nighttime >
As for video recording capabilities, the Note 20 also supports up to 8K resolution but at 24 FPS. At 4K or lower resolutions, it can film at 60 FPS too, though. Below is a video sample from the Galaxy Note 20 at 4K, 30 FPS.
OnePlus 9 Pro vs Galaxy Note 20 battery life and charging
The OnePlus 9 Pro is packing a 4500 mAh battery and is capable of the impressive 65W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. In our OnePlus 9 Pro review we concluded that although this isn't a two-day phone, especially if you're a heavy user, charging it up from zero to 100% takes just about 30 minutes, which is handy. Even when charging it wirelessly with OnePlus' newest 50W wireless charger, topping it up takes just about 43 minutes.
The Galaxy Note 20 has a smaller 4300 mAh battery and supports the slower 25W wired charging speed. It too can charge wirelessly, but only at 10W. In our review of the Note 20, it also didn't prove to be quite a battery champ, but it's an all-day phone nonetheless.
Both phones come with charging bricks out the box.
Rado, a tech enthusiast with a love for mobile devices, brings his passion for Android and iPadOS to PhoneArena. His tech journey began with MP3 players and has evolved to include tinkering with Android tablets and iPads, even running Linux and Windows 95 on them. Beyond tech, Rado is a published author, music producer, and PC game developer. His professional work on iPads, from producing songs to editing videos, showcases his belief in their capabilities. Rado looks forward to the future of mobile tech, particularly in augmented reality and multi-screen smartphones.
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