Asus ROG Phone 9 vs Samsung Galaxy S21

86 out 100

VS

65 out 100

Compared 2 smartphones : Asus ROG Phone 9 Manufactured in November, 2024, with display 6.78 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, vs Samsung Galaxy S21, Manufactured in February, 2021 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages

Reasons to choose Asus ROG Phone 9

Larger display: 6.78in
Higher refresh rate: 185Hz
Higher battery capacity: 5800mAh vs 4000mAh
Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
Supports DisplayPort
Includes charger

Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21

Higher pixel density: 421ppi
Lighter design: 169g vs 227g
Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations

Memory Options

- 12/256 GB
- 16/512 GB

- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Asus ROG Phone 9 and Samsung Galaxy S21

Display

Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness

Asus ROG Phone 9

88

Samsung Galaxy S21

75

Camera

Main & front camera tests

Asus ROG Phone 9

73

Samsung Galaxy S21

75

Performance

App & system performance

Asus ROG Phone 9

99

Samsung Galaxy S21

53

Games

3D gaming performance

Asus ROG Phone 9

98

Samsung Galaxy S21

44

Battery

Battery life, charging speed & type

Asus ROG Phone 9

88

Samsung Galaxy S21

56

Connectivity

Connectivity features

Asus ROG Phone 9

87

Samsung Galaxy S21

86

NanoReview Score

Overall score by NanoReview

Asus ROG Phone 9

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	AMOLED	Dynamic AMOLED
Size	6.78 in	6.2 in
Resolution	1080x2400 pixels	1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio	20:9	20:9
Pixel density	388 ppi	421 ppi
Refresh rate	185 Hz	120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	Yes (24-120 Hz)	Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness	2500 nits	800 nits
HDR support	Yes HDR10+	Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate	720 Hz	n/a
Screen-to-body ratio	88 %	85.9 %
Features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC dimming	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display

Peak brightness (auto)

Asus ROG Phone 9

n/a

Samsung Galaxy S21

854 nits

sRGB gamut	n/a	99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)	n/a	240 Hz
Response time	n/a	5 ms
Contrast	n/a	∞ Infinite

Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison

Height	163.8 mm (6.45 in)	151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width	77 mm (3.03 in)	71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness	8.9 mm (0.35 in)	7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight	227 g (8.01 oz)	169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance	IP68	IP68
Cooling system	Vapor chamber	n/a
Back panel	Glass	Plastic
Frame	Metal	Metal
Colors	- White - Black	- White - Gray - Pink - Purple
Fingerprint sensor	Yes In-Display	Yes In-Display

Screen-to-body ratio

Asus ROG Phone 9

88 %

Samsung Galaxy S21

85.9 %

Performance

Testing Asus ROG Phone 9 and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks

Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite	Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency	4320 MHz	2900 MHz
CPU Cores	8 (2 + 6)	8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture	- 6/3.53 (Oryon (Phoenix M)) - 2/4.32 (Oryon (Phoenix L))	- 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	Hexagon	Yes
Graphics	Adreno 830	Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores	1536	896
GPU Frequency	1100 MHz	854 MHz
FLOPS	3379.2 GFLOPS	1530.4 GFLOPS

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Asus ROG Phone 9

3198

Samsung Galaxy S21

1331

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Asus ROG Phone 9

10052

Samsung Galaxy S21

3593

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)	3198	1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)	10052	3593

AnTuTu 10

Asus ROG Phone 9

2814193

Samsung Galaxy S21

903780

CPU	623847	253391
GPU	1205291	281676
Memory	471211	158352
UX	513844	210361
NanoReview Score	2814193	903780

3DMark Wild Life

Asus ROG Phone 9

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 [Samsung Galaxy S21]

PCMark 3.0

Asus ROG Phone 9

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	- 12 GB - 16 GB	8 GB
Memory Type	LPDDR5X	LPDDR5
Memory Frequency	n/a	2750 MHz
Channels	2	2

Storage Capacity	- 256 GB - 512 GB	- 128 GB - 256 GB
Storage Type	UFS 4.0	UFS 3.1
Memory Card	No	No

Software

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

Battery

Volume	5800 mAh	4000 mAh
Max Charging Power	65 W	25 W
Battery Type	Li-Po	Li-ion
Removable	No	No
Wireless Charging	Yes (15 W)	Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging	Yes	Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging	Yes (76% in 30 min)	Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time	0:47 h	1:35 h

Battery Life

Asus ROG Phone 9

n/a

Samsung Galaxy S21

17:54

Web Browsing	n/a	06:01 h
Video Playback	n/a	11:06 h
Games	n/a	04:21 h
Standby Mode	n/a	95 h

Main camera

Matrix	50 MP	12 MP
Photo resolution	8192x6144 pixels	4000x3000 pixels
Zoom	Digital	Optical, 1.1x
Flash	LED	Dual LED
Stabilization	Optical	Optical
8K Recording	Yes (Up to 30 fps)	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	120 fps (2160p)	960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens	120 °	120 °
Lenses count	Standard: 50 MP Ultra-wide: 13 MP Macro: 5 MP	Standard: 12 MP Telephoto: 64 MP Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features	- Bokeh effect - Pro mode	- Bokeh effect - Pro mode - RAW support

Matrix	50 MP	12 MP
Aperture	f/1.9	f/1.8
Focal length	24 mm	26 mm
Sensor	Sony Lytia LYT-700C	Sony IMX555
Sensor size	1/1.56	1/1.76
Pixel size	1 μm	1.8 μm
Autofocus	Phase autofocus	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	13 MP	12 MP
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.2
Focal length	13 mm	13 mm
Sensor	Omnivision OV13B10	Sony IMX563
Sensor size	1/3.06	1/2.55
Pixel size	1.12 μm	1.4 μm
Stabilization	Digital	Digital

Photo quality

Asus ROG Phone 9

n/a

Samsung Galaxy S21

129

Video quality

Asus ROG Phone 9

n/a

Samsung Galaxy S21

137

Overall camera score

Asus ROG Phone 9

n/a

Samsung Galaxy S21

133

Bokeh	n/a	70
Preview	n/a	72
Zoom	n/a	126

Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Front camera

Matrix	32 MP	10 MP
Photo resolution	n/a	3872x2592 pixels
Aperture	f/2.5	f/2.2
Focal length	22 mm	26 mm
Sensor	Omnivision OV32C	Sony IMX374
Sensor size	1/3.2	1/3.24
Pixel size	7 μm	1.22 μm
Autofocus	No	Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization	Digital	Digital
Video resolution	1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps	2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor	No	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	5.4	5
Bluetooth features	LE	LE, A2DP
USB type	USB Type-C	USB Type-C
USB version	3.2	3.2
USB features	- Charging - USB Storage Mode - OTG	- Charging - USB Storage Mode - USB-Host mode - OTG
DisplayPort	Yes DP 1.4	n/a
GPS	- GPS - GLONASS - Beidou - Galileo - QZSS - NAVIC	- GPS - GLONASS - Beidou - Galileo
NFC*	Yes	Yes
Infrared Port	No	No

SIM Count*	2	2
SIM Type	Nano	Nano
SIM Mode	Dual SIM Standby	Dual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *	No	Yes
Hybrid Slot	No	No
2G Bands	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900MHz	GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G Bands	WCDMA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100MHz	WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*	LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B43/B48/B66)	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	18	24
5G Support	Yes	Yes

Sound

Speakers	Stereo	Stereo
3.5 mm Jack	Yes	No
FM Radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes

Max Volume

Asus ROG Phone 9

n/a

Samsung Galaxy S21

87 dB

Other

Class	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	November, 2024 yr	January, 2021 yr
Release Date	November, 2024 yr	February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($)	999	800
Sensors	- Proximity Sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient Light Sensor - Compass - Fingerprint sensor	- Hall Sensor - Barometer - Proximity Sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient Light Sensor - Compass - Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included	Yes 65 W	n/a

Note

Asus ROG Phone 9:

The prograable Mini-LED matrixhas 85 points, while the ROG Phone 9 Pro has 648.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Asus ROG Phone 9 the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?

Asus ROG Phone 9

0 (0%)

Samsung Galaxy S21

0 (0%)

Total Votes: 0

Asus ROG Phone 9 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