Nothing Phone (1) vs Samsung Galaxy S21

Compared 2 smartphones : Nothing Phone (1) Manufactured in July, 2022, with display 6.55 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 778G Plus, 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 Nothing Phone (1)
  • Larger display: 6.55in
  • Higher battery capacity: 4500mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.2 vs 5
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Higher pixel density: 421ppi
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 193.5g
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Nothing Phone (1) 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.
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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 6.55 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
Pixel density 402 ppi 421 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness 500 nits 800 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 85.9 % 85.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Nothing Phone (1)
662 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
sRGB gamut95.9 %99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)119 Hz240 Hz
Response time2 ms5 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 159.2 mm (6.27 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 75.8 mm (2.98 in) 71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness 8.3 mm (0.33 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 193.5 g (6.83 oz) 169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance IP53 IP68
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
Nothing Phone (1)
85.9 %
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %

Performance

Testing Nothing Phone (1) and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G Plus Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 2500 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Kryo 670 Silver (Cortex-A55))
- 3/2.4 (Kryo 670 Gold (Cortex-A78))
- 1/2.5 (Kryo 670 Prime (Cortex-A78))
- 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 6 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon 770 Yes
Graphics Adreno 642 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 512 896
GPU Frequency 608 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 933.8 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Nothing Phone (1)
1047
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Nothing Phone (1)
2955
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)10471331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)29553593
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Nothing Phone (1)
641971
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
CPU209288253391
GPU155344281676
Memory129125158352
UX148214210361
NanoReview Score641971903780
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Nothing Phone (1)
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Max Surface Temp.n/a38.9 °C
Stabilityn/a66 %
Graphics Testn/a34 fps
Graphics Scoren/a5715
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Nothing Phone (1)
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 - 8 GB
- 12 GB
8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 12 (Upgradeable to Android 15) Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size 16 GB 28.1 GB
UI Skin Nothing OS 3.0 One UI 6.0

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 33 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (48% in 30 min) Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time 1:31 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Nothing Phone (1)
23:08
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Web Browsing09:10 h06:01 h
Video Playback13:32 h11:06 h
Games05:14 h04:21 h
Standby Mode115 h95 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 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 120 fps (720p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 114 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.8
Focal length24 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX766Sony IMX555
Sensor size1/1.561/1.76
Pixel size1 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase 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
Matrix50 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
SensorSamsung S5KJN1Sony IMX563
Sensor size1/2.761/2.55
Pixel size1 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Nothing Phone (1)
121
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Video quality
Nothing Phone (1)
112
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Overall camera score
Nothing Phone (1)
114
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Bokeh5570
Preview7372
Zoom78126

Front camera

Matrix 16 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 4920x3264 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.5 f/2.2
Focal length n/a 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX471 Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/3.13 1/3.24
Pixel size 1 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 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 5.2 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
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850/​900/​1800/​1900GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsWCDMA B1/​B2/​B4/​B5/​B6/​B8/​B19WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/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 category1824
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Nothing Phone (1)
84.3 dB
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced July, 2022 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date July, 2022 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 500 800
Sensors - Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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