Home Phone comparison Apple iPhone 13 and Samsung Galaxy S21 - Which is better?

Apple iPhone 13 vs Samsung Galaxy S21

70 out 100
Apple iPhone 13
VS
65 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S21
Apple iPhone 13
Samsung Galaxy S21

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 13 Manufactured in September, 2021, with display 6.1 with chipsetApple A15 Bionic, vs Samsung Galaxy S21, Manufactured in February, 2021with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 13
  • Higher pixel density: 460ppi
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Larger display: 6.2in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 174g
  • Higher battery capacity: 4000mAh vs 3227mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Fingerprint scanner

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 4/128 GB
- 4/256 GB
- 4/512 GB		 - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 13 and Samsung Galaxy S21
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
Apple iPhone 13
vs
Samsung Galaxy S21

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.1 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1170x2532 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
Pixel density 460 ppi 421 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness 800 nits 800 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 87.1 % 85.9 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Apple iPhone 13
828 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
sRGB gamut129 %99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)609 Hz240 Hz
Response time7.5 ms5 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPhone 13], [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 146.7 mm (5.78 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 71.5 mm (2.81 in) 71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness 7.65 mm (0.3 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 174 g (6.14 oz) 169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Red
- Pink		 - White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor No Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Apple iPhone 13
87.1 %
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 13 and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Apple A15 Bionic Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 3230 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 6 (2 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/2.02 (Blizzard)
- 2/3.23 (Avalanche)		 - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 5 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Apple Neural Engine Yes
Graphics Apple A15 GPU Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 640 896
GPU Frequency 1338 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 1712.6 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Apple iPhone 13
2182
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple iPhone 13
5142
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)21821331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)51423593
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Apple iPhone 13]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Apple iPhone 13
1264688
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
CPU305402253391
GPU438906281676
Memory218819158352
UX301561210361
NanoReview Score1264688903780
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Apple iPhone 13
8702
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Max Surface Temp.45.7 °C38.9 °C
Stability78 %66 %
Graphics Test52 fps34 fps
Graphics Score87025715
Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPhone 13], [Samsung Galaxy S21]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Apple iPhone 13
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
13123
Writing scoren/a16101
Web scoren/a11909
Video editingn/a7097
Data manipulationn/a10153
NanoReview Scoren/a13123

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 4 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB		- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeNVMeUFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS iOS 15 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2) Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size 18 GB 28.1 GB
UI Skin n/a One UI 6.0

Battery

Volume 3227 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 20 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (54% in 30 min) Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time 1:46 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Apple iPhone 13
23:23
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Web Browsing09:29 h06:01 h
Video Playback13:58 h11:06 h
Games05:12 h04:21 h
Standby Mode114 h95 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 1.1x
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Up to 24FPS
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.8
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX603Sony IMX555
Sensor size1/1.91/1.76
Pixel size1.7 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a64 MP
Aperturen/af/2.0
Focal lengthn/a28 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung Bright S5KGW2
Sensor sizen/a1/1.72
Pixel sizen/a0.8 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.2
Focal length14 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX372Sony IMX563
Sensor size1/3.41/2.55
Pixel size1.4 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 13
133
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Video quality
Apple iPhone 13
144
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Overall camera score
Apple iPhone 13
125
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Bokeh6570
Preview7672
Zoom65126
Sources: DxOMark [Apple iPhone 13], [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 23 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX514 Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/3.6 1/3.24
Pixel size n/a 1.22 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor Yes No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Apple iPhone 13
128
Samsung Galaxy S21
n/a
Video quality
Apple iPhone 13
143
Samsung Galaxy S21
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type n/a USB Type-C
USB version 2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*12
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsUMTS 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHzWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B11/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B21/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)
LTE category1824
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Apple iPhone 13
83.2 dB
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2021 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date September, 2021 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 800 800
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor		 - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

No clear favorite identified yet; updates may follow as new data arrives.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
0 (0%)
0 (0%)
Total Votes: 0

User comments

Share your opinion or ask questions below