Samsung Galaxy A26 5G vs Samsung Galaxy S21

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy A26 5G Manufactured in March, 2025, with display 6.7 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 1380, 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 A26 5G
  • Larger display: 6.7in
  • Lighter design: 164g vs 169g
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Higher pixel density: 421ppi
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy A26 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 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness n/a 800 nits
HDR support n/a Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 86.7 % 85.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy A26 5G
772 nits
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 164 mm (6.46 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 77.5 mm (3.05 in) 71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness 7.7 mm (0.3 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 164 g (5.78 oz) 169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance IP67 IP68
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Plastic Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Green
- Pink
- White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy A26 5G
86.7 %
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy A26 5G and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 1380 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 2400 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (4 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/2 (Cortex-A55)
- 4/2.4 (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 MP5 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 320 896
GPU Frequency 950 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 608 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy A26 5G
1017
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy A26 5G
2792
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)10171331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)27923593
Geekbench Compute (GPU)3061n/a
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy A26 5G
594395
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
CPU188061253391
GPU134686281676
Memory113361158352
UX158287210361
NanoReview Score594395903780
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy A26 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 A26 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 - 6 GB
- 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 15 Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size 21.7 GB 28.1 GB
UI Skin One UI 7.0 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 (51% in 30 min) Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time 1:26 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy A26 5G
18:04
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Web Browsing05:45 h06:01 h
Video Playback10:52 h11:06 h
Games05:18 h04:21 h
Standby Mode98 h95 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution n/a 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 480 fps (720p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 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 length27 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung ISOCELL S5KJN1Sony IMX555
Sensor size1/2.761/1.76
Pixel size0.64 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
Matrix8 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX563
Sensor size1/41/2.55
Pixel size1.12 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy A26 5G
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy A26 5G
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy A26 5G
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Bokehn/a70
Previewn/a72
Zoomn/a126

Front camera

Matrix 13 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 4160x3120 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length n/a 26 mm
Sensor n/a 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 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 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 SlotYesNo
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsUMTS 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/B26/B28/B32/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 category1824
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio n/a No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy A26 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 ($) 299 800
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.

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