Huawei Nova 13 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Huawei Nova 13 Pro Manufactured in October, 2024, with display 6.76 with chipsetHiSilicon Kirin 8000, vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, 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 Huawei Nova 13 Pro
  • Lighter design: 209g vs 227g
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.8in
  • Higher pixel density: 515ppi
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 12/1024 GB
- 12/128 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/256 GB
- 16/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Huawei Nova 13 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
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.
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Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.76 in 6.8 in
Resolution 1224x2776 pixels 1440x3200 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
Pixel density 449 ppi 515 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) Yes (10-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1150 nits 1500 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 300 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 90.2 % 89.5 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Huawei Nova 13 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1019 nits

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163.4 mm (6.43 in) 165.1 mm (6.5 in)
Width 74.9 mm (2.95 in) 75.6 mm (2.98 in)
Thickness 7.82 mm (0.31 in) 8.9 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 209 g (7.37 oz) 227 g (8.01 oz)
Water resistance IP65 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Green
- Purple
- Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Huawei Nova 13 Pro
90.2 %
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
89.5 %

Performance

Testing Huawei Nova 13 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset HiSilicon Kirin 8000 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 2400 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.84 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.19 (1xA77 L)
- 1/2.4 (1xA77 H)
- 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process SMIC Samsung
Transistor Size 7 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
Graphics Mali-G610 MP4 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 256 896
GPU Frequency 864 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 442.3 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Huawei Nova 13 Pro
999
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1449
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Huawei Nova 13 Pro
2948
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
3892
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)9991449
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)29483892
Geekbench Compute (GPU)3028n/a
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Huawei Nova 13 Pro
653311
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
843008
CPU201142232358
GPU107873256356
Memory198055163007
UX146241191217
NanoReview Score653311843008
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Huawei Nova 13 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
5221
Max Surface Temp.n/a40.8 °C
Stabilityn/a69 %
Graphics Testn/a31 fps
Graphics Scoren/a5221

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 12 GB - 12 GB
- 16 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1024 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage Typen/aUFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 14 Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size n/a 26.4 GB
UI Skin EMUI 14.2 One UI 6

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 100 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 13 min) Yes (54% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 0:35 h 1:11 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Huawei Nova 13 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
22:05
Web Browsingn/a07:58 h
Video Playbackn/a13:59 h
Gamesn/a05:14 h
Standby Moden/a111 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 108 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 12000x9000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Optical, 10x
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Up to 24FPS
4K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 480 fps (720p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 112 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Standard: 108 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP108 MP
Aperturef/1.4 - 4.0f/1.8
Focal length23 mm26 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung S5KHM3
Sensor sizen/a1/1.33
Pixel sizen/a0.8 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusLaser autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MP10 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/4.9
Focal length69 mm240 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung S5K3J1
Sensor sizen/a1/2.65
Pixel sizen/a1.22 μm
StabilizationDigitalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix8 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length16 mm13 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX563
Sensor sizen/a1/2.55
Pixel sizen/a1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Huawei Nova 13 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
121
Video quality
Huawei Nova 13 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
100
Overall camera score
Huawei Nova 13 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
115
Bokehn/a70
Previewn/a67
Zoomn/a106

Front camera

Matrix 60 MP 40 MP
Photo resolution 8960x6720 pixels 7864x5200 pixels
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.2
Focal length 17 mm 26 mm
Sensor Omnivision OV60A Samsung S5KGH1
Sensor size 1/2.8 1/2.65
Pixel size 0.61 μm 0.7 μm
Autofocus n/a Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Huawei Nova 13 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
133
Video quality
Huawei Nova 13 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
140

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6E (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 5.2 5.2
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 No n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port Yes No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G Bandsn/aGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G Bandsn/aWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*n/aLTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)
LTE categoryn/a24
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Huawei Nova 13 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
88 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced October, 2024 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date October, 2024 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 520 1200
Sensors - Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included Yes 100 W n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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