Apple iPhone 16 vs Samsung Galaxy S21

86 out 100

VS

65 out 100

Compared 2 smartphones : Apple iPhone 16 Manufactured in September, 2024, with display 6.1 with chipsetApple A18, vs Samsung Galaxy S21, Manufactured in February, 2021with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages

Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 16

Higher pixel density: 460ppi
Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
Supports DisplayPort

Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21

Larger display: 6.2in
Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
Lighter design: 169g vs 170g
Higher battery capacity: 4000mAh vs 3561mAh
Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
Fingerprint scanner

Versions

Available versions and configurations

Memory Options

- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB

- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Apple iPhone 16 and Samsung Galaxy S21

Display

Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness

Apple iPhone 16

76

Samsung Galaxy S21

75

Camera

Main & front camera tests

Apple iPhone 16

89

Samsung Galaxy S21

75

Performance

App & system performance

Apple iPhone 16

90

Samsung Galaxy S21

53

Games

3D gaming performance

Apple iPhone 16

87

Samsung Galaxy S21

44

Battery

Battery life, charging speed & type

Apple iPhone 16

88

Samsung Galaxy S21

56

Connectivity

Connectivity features

Apple iPhone 16

88

Samsung Galaxy S21

86

NanoReview Score

Overall score by NanoReview

Apple iPhone 16

86

Samsung Galaxy S21

65

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Function

Importance (Weight)

Display:

Camera:

Performance:

Gaming:

Battery:

Connectivity:

Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Display

Display quality comparison

Type	OLED	Dynamic AMOLED
Size	6.1 in	6.2 in
Resolution	1179x2556 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	2000 nits	800 nits
HDR support	Yes Dolby Vision	Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio	86.4 %	85.9 %
Features	DCI-P3	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display

Peak brightness (auto)

Apple iPhone 16

1719 nits

Samsung Galaxy S21

854 nits

sRGB gamut	99.7 %	99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)	60 Hz	240 Hz
Response time	3 ms	5 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinite	∞ Infinite

Sources: NotebookCheck [Apple iPhone 16], [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison

Height	147.6 mm (5.81 in)	151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width	71.6 mm (2.82 in)	71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness	7.8 mm (0.31 in)	7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight	170 g (6 oz)	169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance	IP68	IP68
Back panel	Glass	Plastic
Frame	Metal	Metal
Colors	- White - Black - Blue - Green - Pink	- White - Gray - Pink - Purple
Fingerprint sensor	No	Yes In-Display

Screen-to-body ratio

Apple iPhone 16

86.4 %

Samsung Galaxy S21

85.9 %

Performance

Testing Apple iPhone 16 and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks

Chipset	Apple A18	Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency	4040 MHz	2900 MHz
CPU Cores	6 (2 + 4)	8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture	- 4/2.42 (Sawtooth) - 2/4.05 (Everest)	- 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55) - 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78) - 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process	TSMC	Samsung
Transistor Size	3 nm	5 nm
Neural Processor	Neural Engine	Yes
Graphics	Apple A18 GPU	Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores	640	896
GPU Frequency	1490 MHz	854 MHz
FLOPS	1907 GFLOPS	1530.4 GFLOPS

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Apple iPhone 16

3283

Samsung Galaxy S21

1331

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Apple iPhone 16

8094

Samsung Galaxy S21

3593

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)	3283	1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)	8094	3593
Geekbench Compute (GPU)	28055	n/a

Sources: Geekbench v6 [Apple iPhone 16]

AnTuTu 10

Apple iPhone 16

1580390

Samsung Galaxy S21

903780

CPU	439113	253391
GPU	611111	281676
Memory	181791	158352
UX	348375	210361
NanoReview Score	1580390	903780

3DMark Wild Life

Apple iPhone 16

n/a

Samsung Galaxy S21

5715

Max Surface Temp.	n/a	38.9 °C
Stability	n/a	66 %
Graphics Test	n/a	34 fps
Graphics Score	n/a	5715

Sources: 3DMark [Apple iPhone 16], [Samsung Galaxy S21]

PCMark 3.0

Apple iPhone 16

n/a

Samsung Galaxy S21

13123

Writing score	n/a	16101
Web score	n/a	11909
Video editing	n/a	7097
Data manipulation	n/a	10153
NanoReview Score	n/a	13123

Memory

RAM Size	8 GB	8 GB
Memory Type	LPDDR5X	LPDDR5
Memory Frequency	n/a	2750 MHz
Channels	4	2

Storage Capacity	128 GB	- 128 GB - 256 GB
Storage Type	NVMe	UFS 3.1
Memory Card	No	No

Software

OS	iOS 18 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.5)	Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size	16 GB	28.1 GB
UI Skin	n/a	One UI 6.0

Battery

Volume	3561 mAh	4000 mAh
Max Charging Power	30 W	25 W
Battery Type	Li-ion	Li-ion
Removable	No	No
Wireless Charging	Yes (15 W)	Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging	Yes	Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging	Yes (59% in 30 min)	Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time	1:42 h	1:35 h

Battery Life

Apple iPhone 16

29:45

Samsung Galaxy S21

17:54

Web Browsing	13:44 h	06:01 h
Video Playback	18:09 h	11:06 h
Games	05:56 h	04:21 h
Standby Mode	130 h	95 h

Main camera

Matrix	48 MP	12 MP
Photo resolution	8064x6048 pixels	4000x3000 pixels
Zoom	116	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: 48 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

Matrix	48 MP	12 MP
Aperture	f/1.6	f/1.8
Focal length	26 mm	26 mm
Sensor	n/a	Sony IMX555
Sensor size	1/1.56	1/1.76
Pixel size	1 μm	1.8 μm
Autofocus	Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)	Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization	Optical	Optical

Matrix	n/a	64 MP
Aperture	n/a	f/2.0
Focal length	n/a	28 mm
Sensor	n/a	Samsung Bright S5KGW2
Sensor size	n/a	1/1.72
Pixel size	n/a	0.8 μm
Stabilization	n/a	Optical

Matrix	12 MP	12 MP
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.2
Focal length	13 mm	13 mm
Sensor	n/a	Sony IMX563
Sensor size	n/a	1/2.55
Pixel size	0.7 μm	1.4 μm
Stabilization	Digital	Digital

Photo quality

Apple iPhone 16

149

Samsung Galaxy S21

129

Video quality

Apple iPhone 16

154

Samsung Galaxy S21

137

Overall camera score

Apple iPhone 16

147

Samsung Galaxy S21

133

Bokeh	80	70
Preview	84	72
Zoom	n/a	126

Sources: DxOMark [Apple iPhone 16], [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Front camera

Matrix	12 MP	10 MP
Photo resolution	4032x3024 pixels	3872x2592 pixels
Aperture	f/1.9	f/2.2
Focal length	23 mm	26 mm
Sensor	CMOS	Sony IMX374
Sensor size	1/3.6	1/3.24
Pixel size	1.12 μm	1.22 μm
Autofocus	Phase autofocus	Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization	Digital	Digital
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 60 fps	2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor	Yes	No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version	Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)	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	5.3	5
Bluetooth features	LE	LE, A2DP
USB type	USB Type-C	USB Type-C
USB version	2	3.2
USB features	- Charging - USB Storage Mode - OTG	- Charging - USB Storage Mode - USB-Host mode - OTG
DisplayPort	Yes	n/a
GPS	- GPS - GLONASS - Beidou - Galileo - QZSS	- GPS - GLONASS - Beidou - Galileo
NFC*	Yes	Yes
Infrared Port	No	No

SIM Count*	n/a	2
SIM Type	Nano	Nano
SIM Mode	n/a	Dual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *	Yes	Yes
Hybrid Slot	No	No
2G Bands	GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)	GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G Bands	UMTS/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)	WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*	LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B48/B53/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 category	n/a	24
5G Support	Yes	Yes

Sound

Speakers	n/a	Stereo
3.5 mm Jack	No	No
FM Radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes

Max Volume

Apple iPhone 16

90.4 dB

Samsung Galaxy S21

87 dB

Other

Class	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	September, 2024 yr	January, 2021 yr
Release Date	September, 2024 yr	February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($)	n/a	800
MSRP ($)	799	n/a
Sensors	- Proximity Sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient Light Sensor - Compass - Face Sensor	- Hall Sensor - Barometer - Proximity Sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient Light Sensor - Compass - Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included	No	n/a

Note

Apple iPhone 16:

The US model is eSIM-only, while the international version offers both a physical SIM slot and eSIM support.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 16 the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?

Apple iPhone 16

0 (0%)

Samsung Galaxy S21

0 (0%)

Total Votes: 0

Apple iPhone 16 vs Samsung Galaxy S21

Key Differences

Versions

Review

Tests & specs

Display

Design & Build

Performance

Memory

Software

Battery

Main camera

Front camera

Connectivity

Sound

Other

Note

Results

Survey

User comments