Samsung Galaxy A15 4G vs Samsung Galaxy S21

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy A15 4G Manufactured in December, 2023, with display 6.5 with chipsetMediaTek Helio G99, 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 Samsung Galaxy A15 4G
  • Larger display: 6.5in
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Higher pixel density: 421ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 200g
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 4/128 GB
- 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy A15 4G 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.
Customize your score
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 Super AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.5 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
Pixel density 396 ppi 421 ppi
Refresh rate 90 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness 800 nits 800 nits
HDR support No Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 84.4 % 85.9 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy A15 4G
805 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
sRGB gamut100 %99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)187 Hz240 Hz
Response time1 ms5 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 160.1 mm (6.3 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 76.8 mm (3.02 in) 71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness 8.4 mm (0.33 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 200 g (7.05 oz) 169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance No IP68
Back panel Plastic Plastic
Frame Plastic Metal
Colors - Black
- Blue
- Yellow
- White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy A15 4G
84.4 %
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy A15 4G and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset MediaTek Helio G99 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 2200 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 6/2 (Cortex-A55)
- 2/2.2 (Cortex-A76)
- 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 Yes Yes
Graphics Mali-G57 MP2 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 128 896
GPU Frequency 1000 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 128 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy A15 4G
752
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy A15 4G
2036
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)7521331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)20363593
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy A15 4G
401068
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
CPU134478253391
GPU66843281676
Memory89244158352
UX110503210361
NanoReview Score401068903780
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy A15 4G
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
Samsung Galaxy A15 4G
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 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.2UFS 3.1
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 14 Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size 23 GB 28.1 GB
UI Skin One UI 6 One UI 6.0

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (47% in 30 min) Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time 1:21 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy A15 4G
26:31
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Web Browsing09:21 h06:01 h
Video Playback15:42 h11:06 h
Games07:54 h04:21 h
Standby Mode137 h95 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 1.1x
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Digital Optical
8K Recording No Up to 24FPS
4K Recording No Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 120 fps (720p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens n/a 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 5 MP
Macro: 2 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features Bokeh effect - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorHynix Hi5022QSony IMX555
Sensor size1/2.81/1.76
Pixel size0.64 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationDigitalOptical
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
Matrix5 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length17 mm13 mm
SensorSmartSense SC501CSSony IMX563
Sensor size1/51/2.55
Pixel size1.12 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy A15 4G
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy A15 4G
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy A15 4G
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Bokehn/a70
Previewn/a72
Zoomn/a126

Front camera

Matrix 13 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 4128x3096 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor GalaxyCore GC013A Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/3.06 1/3.24
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization No 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 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) 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
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Varies by region Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsUMTS B1(2100), B5(850), B8(900)WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20/B28/B38/B40/B41)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)
LTE category1324
5G SupportNoYes

Sound

Speakers Mono Stereo
3.5 mm Jack Yes No
FM Radio Yes No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy A15 4G
83.8 dB
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB

Other

Class Budget Flagship
Announced December, 2023 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date December, 2023 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 170 800
Sensors - 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

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S21 the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

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Total Votes: 1

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