Realme 14 5G vs Samsung Galaxy S21

Compared 2 smartphones : Realme 14 5G Manufactured in March, 2025, with display 6.67 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4, 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 Realme 14 5G
  • Larger display: 6.67in
  • Higher battery capacity: 6000mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.2 vs 5
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Higher pixel density: 421ppi
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 196g
  • 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
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Realme 14 5G 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 AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.67 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1080x2400 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 (60-120 Hz) Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness 2000 nits 800 nits
HDR support n/a Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 180 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 87 % 85.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Realme 14 5G
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
sRGB gamutn/a99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a240 Hz
Response timen/a5 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163.1 mm (6.42 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 75.7 mm (2.98 in) 71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness 8 mm (0.31 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 196 g (6.91 oz) 169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance IP69 IP68
Back panel Plastic Plastic
Frame Plastic Metal
Colors - Silver
- Gray
- Pink
- White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Realme 14 5G
87 %
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %

Performance

Testing Realme 14 5G and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 2300 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Kryo Silver (Cortex-A520))
- 3/2.2 (Kryo Gold (Cortex-A720))
- 1/2.3 (Kryo Prime (Cortex-A720))
- 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 Yes Yes
Graphics Adreno 810 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 256 896
GPU Frequency 895 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 458.2 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Realme 14 5G
1067
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Realme 14 5G
3080
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)10671331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)30803593
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Realme 14 5G
684046
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
CPU253546253391
GPU175378281676
Memory117189158352
UX137933210361
NanoReview Score684046903780
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Realme 14 5G
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
Realme 14 5G
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 12 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

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

Battery

Volume 6000 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 45 W 25 W
Battery Type Silicon Carbon (Si/C) Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 30 min) Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time 1:19 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Realme 14 5G
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Web Browsingn/a06:01 h
Video Playbackn/a11:06 h
Gamesn/a04:21 h
Standby Moden/a95 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 n/a 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Depth: 2 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/1.8f/1.8
Focal length27 mm26 mm
SensorOmnivision OV50D40 Light Hunter 400Sony IMX555
Sensor size1/2.881/1.76
Pixel size0.61 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
Matrixn/a12 MP
Aperturen/af/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX563
Sensor sizen/a1/2.55
Pixel sizen/a1.4 μm
Stabilizationn/aDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Realme 14 5G
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Video quality
Realme 14 5G
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Overall camera score
Realme 14 5G
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Bokehn/a70
Previewn/a72
Zoomn/a126

Front camera

Matrix 16 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 4920x3264 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.2
Focal length 24 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX480 Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/3.09 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
DisplayPort No n/a
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 Bandsn/aGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G Bandsn/aWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*LTE (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 n/a Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Realme 14 5G
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced March, 2025 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date March, 2025 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 410 800
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 45 W n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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