Nothing Phone (2a) Plus vs Samsung Galaxy S21
Compared 2 smartphones : Nothing Phone (2a) Plus Manufactured in August, 2024, with display 6.7 with chipsetMediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro, vs Samsung Galaxy S21, Manufactured in February, 2021with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device
Key Differences
Reasons to choose Nothing Phone (2a) Plus
- Larger display: 6.7in
- Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4000mAh
- Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
- Higher pixel density: 421ppi
- Lighter design: 169g vs 190g
- Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
- Supports Dolby Atmos
- Built-in eSIM
Versions
| Memory Options | - 8/256 GB - 12/256 GB |
- 8/128 GB - 8/256 GB |
Review
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
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Tests & specs
Specs & test comparisonDisplay
| Type | AMOLED | Dynamic AMOLED |
| Size | 6.7 in | 6.2 in |
| Resolution | 1080x2412 pixels | 1080x2400 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| Pixel density | 395 ppi | 421 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (30-120 Hz) | Yes (48-120 Hz) |
| Max brightness | 700 nits | 800 nits |
| HDR support | Yes HDR10+ | Yes HDR10+ |
| Touch Sampling Rate | 240 Hz | n/a |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 87.8 % | 85.9 % |
| Features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC dimming |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| sRGB gamut | n/a | 99.5 % |
| PWM (Flicker) | n/a | 240 Hz |
| Response time | n/a | 5 ms |
| Contrast | n/a | ∞ Infinite |
Design & Build
| Height | 161.7 mm (6.37 in) | 151.7 mm (5.97 in) |
| Width | 76.3 mm (3 in) | 71.2 mm (2.8 in) |
| Thickness | 8.5 mm (0.33 in) | 7.9 mm (0.31 in) |
| Weight | 190 g (6.7 oz) | 169 g (5.96 oz) |
| Water resistance | IP54 | IP68 |
| Cooling system | Vapor chamber | n/a |
| Back panel | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame | Plastic | Metal |
| Colors | - Black - Gray |
- White - Gray - Pink - Purple |
| Fingerprint sensor | Yes In-Display | Yes In-Display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 7350 Pro | Samsung Exynos 2100 |
| Max Frequency | 3000 MHz | 2900 MHz |
| CPU Cores | 8 (2 + 6) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 6/2 (Cortex-A510) - 2/3 (Cortex-A715) |
- 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55) - 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78) - 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1) |
| Process | TSMC | Samsung |
| Transistor Size | 4 nm | 5 nm |
| Neural Processor | MediaTek APU 657 | Yes |
| Graphics | Mali-G610 MP4 | Mali-G78 MP14 |
| GPU Cores | 256 | 896 |
| GPU Frequency | 1300 MHz | 854 MHz |
| FLOPS | 665.6 GFLOPS | 1530.4 GFLOPS |
| Geekbench 6 (Single-Core) | 1111 | 1331 |
| Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core) | 2560 | 3593 |
| Geekbench Compute (GPU) | 3304 | n/a |
| CPU | 227081 | 253391 |
| GPU | 210531 | 281676 |
| Memory | 155451 | 158352 |
| UX | 160470 | 210361 |
| NanoReview Score | 753533 | 903780 |
| Max Surface Temp. | n/a | 38.9 °C |
| Stability | n/a | 66 % |
| Graphics Test | n/a | 34 fps |
| Graphics Score | n/a | 5715 |
| 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 - 12 GB |
8 GB |
| Memory Type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory Frequency | 3200 MHz | 2750 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 2 |
| Storage Capacity | - 128 GB - 256 GB | - 128 GB - 256 GB |
| Storage Type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory Card | No | No |
Software
| OS | Android 14 (Upgradeable to Android 15) | Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14) |
| OS Size | 27 GB | 28.1 GB |
| UI Skin | Nothing OS 3.0 | One UI 6.0 |
Battery
| Volume | 5000 mAh | 4000 mAh |
| Max Charging Power | 50 W | 25 W |
| Battery Type | Li-Po | Li-ion |
| Removable | No | No |
| Wireless Charging | No | Yes (15 W) |
| Reverse Charging | No | Yes (Wireless) |
| Fast Charging | Yes (60% in 30 min) | Yes (55% in 50 min) |
| Full Charge Time | 1:01 h | 1:35 h |
| Web Browsing | 13:26 h | 06:01 h |
| Video Playback | 18:52 h | 11:06 h |
| Games | 06:37 h | 04:21 h |
| Standby Mode | 163 h | 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 | 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 (1080p) | 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 - RAW support |
- 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 | Samsung GN9 | Sony IMX555 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.57 | 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 | 50 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | n/a | 13 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KJN1 | Sony IMX563 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.76 | 1/2.55 |
| Pixel size | 0.64 μm | 1.4 μm |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Bokeh | n/a | 70 |
| Preview | n/a | 72 |
| Zoom | n/a | 126 |
Front camera
| Matrix | 50 MP | 10 MP |
| Photo resolution | 8192x6144 pixels | 3872x2592 pixels |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | n/a | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KJN1 | Sony IMX374 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.76 | 1/3.24 |
| Pixel size | 0.64 μm | 1.22 μm |
| Autofocus | No | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) 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 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 | No | n/a |
| GPS | - GPS - GLONASS - Beidou - Galileo - QZSS |
- 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 850/900/1800/1900 | GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz |
| 3G Bands | WCDMA 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19 | WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8 |
| LTE Bands* | LTE (B1/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/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 | n/a | 24 |
| 5G Support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| 3.5 mm Jack | No | No |
| FM Radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | No | Yes |
Other
| Class | Mid-range | Flagship |
| Announced | July, 2024 yr | January, 2021 yr |
| Release Date | August, 2024 yr | February, 2021 yr |
| Launch Price ($) | 399 | 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 | No | n/a |
*
Attention!
Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.
Results
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