Samsung Galaxy A16 5G vs Samsung Galaxy S21

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy A16 5G Manufactured in October, 2024, with display 6.7 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 1330, vs Samsung Galaxy S21, Manufactured in February, 2021 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
  • 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
  • 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
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy A16 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.
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 6.7 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
Pixel density 385 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 86 % 85.9 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
825 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
sRGB gamut99.1 %99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)360 Hz240 Hz
Response time3 ms5 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 164.4 mm (6.47 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 77.9 mm (3.07 in) 71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 200 g (7.05 oz) 169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance IP54 IP68
Back panel Plastic Plastic
Frame Plastic Metal
Colors - White
- Gray
- Blue
- Green
- White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
86 %
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy A16 5G and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 1330 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 2400 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 6/2 (Cortex-A55)
- 2/2.4 (Cortex-A78)
- 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 5 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
Graphics Mali-G68 MP2 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 64 896
GPU Frequency 949 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 121.5 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
992
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
2197
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)9921331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)21973593
Geekbench Compute (GPU)1284n/a
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
416063
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
CPU138567253391
GPU64160281676
Memory92755158352
UX120581210361
NanoReview Score416063903780
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy A16 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
Samsung Galaxy A16 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 4 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity128 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 26 GB 28.1 GB
UI Skin One UI 6.1 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 A16 5G
20:24
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Web Browsing08:05 h06:01 h
Video Playback11:26 h11:06 h
Games06:26 h04:21 h
Standby Mode100 h95 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom 49 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
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal lengthn/a26 mm
SensorSamsung ISOCELL S5KJN1Sony IMX555
Sensor size1/2.761/1.76
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 lengthn/a13 mm
SensorSmartSens SC501Sony IMX563
Sensor size1/51/2.55
Pixel size1.12 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
72
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
93
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
77
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Bokeh5570
Preview5272
Zoomn/a126

Front camera

Matrix 13 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 4160x3120 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor GalaxyCore GC13A0 Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/3.1 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
DisplayPort No n/a
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 BandsWCDMA B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4(AWS), B5 (850), B8 (900)WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B20/B28/B38/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 categoryn/a24
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers n/a Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
93.3 dB
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB

Other

Class Budget Flagship
Announced October, 2024 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date October, 2024 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) n/a 800
MSRP ($) 199 n/a
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

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

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