Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Apple iPhone XR

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Manufactured in January, 2022, with display 6.4 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 888, vs Apple iPhone XR, Manufactured in October, 2018 with chipsetApple A12 Bionic. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
  • Larger display: 6.4in
  • Higher pixel density: 403ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 177g vs 194g
  • Higher battery capacity: 4500mAh vs 2942mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone XR
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 3/64 GB
- 3/128 GB
- 3/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G and Apple iPhone XR
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 Dynamic AMOLED IPS LCD
Size 6.4 in 6.1 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 828x1792 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 403 ppi 326 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 800 nits 625 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 86.7 % 79.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
n/a
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
785 nits
Apple iPhone XR
635 nits
sRGB gamut97 %100 %
PWM (Flicker)247 Hzn/a
Response time6 ms32.8 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite1920:1

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 155.7 mm (6.13 in) 150.9 mm (5.94 in)
Width 74.5 mm (2.93 in) 75.7 mm (2.98 in)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 in) 8.3 mm (0.33 in)
Weight 177 g (6.24 oz) 194 g (6.84 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP67
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Gray
- Green
- Purple
- White
- Black
- Blue
- Red
- Orange
- Yellow
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
86.7 %
Apple iPhone XR
79.9 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G and Apple iPhone XR In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Apple A12 Bionic
Max Frequency 2840 MHz 2490 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Kryo 680 Silver (Cortex-A55))
- 3/2.42 (Kryo 680 Gold (Cortex-A78))
- 1/2.84 (Kryo 680 Prime (Cortex-X1))
- 4/1.6 (Tempest)
- 2/2.49 (Vortex)
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon 780 Neural Engine
Graphics Adreno 660 Apple A12 GPU
GPU Cores 1024 256
GPU Frequency 840 MHz 1100 MHz
FLOPS 1290.2 GFLOPS 576 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
1371
Apple iPhone XR
1167
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
3396
Apple iPhone XR
3020
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13711167
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)33963020
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
894898
Apple iPhone XR
656253
CPU247848203013
GPU311997155478
Memory152639134836
UX182414162926
NanoReview Score894898656253
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
5704
Apple iPhone XR
5205
Max Surface Temp.39.1 °C42.6 °C
Stability69 %69 %
Graphics Test34 fps31 fps
Graphics Score57045205
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
12441
Apple iPhone XR
n/a
Writing score14216n/a
Web score11960n/a
Video editing7049n/a
Data manipulation10196n/a
NanoReview Score12441n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 6 GB
- 8 GB
3 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 64 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1NVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 12 (Upgradeable to Android 14) iOS 12 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2)
OS Size 17.5 GB 11.1 GB
UI Skin One UI 6 n/a

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 2942 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes Qi (10 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (51% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:15 h 1:43 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
18:37
Apple iPhone XR
20:45
Web Browsing06:11 h08:01 h
Video Playback11:05 h11:59 h
Games04:48 h04:34 h
Standby Mode100 h106 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Digital
Flash LED Quad LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX555Apple iSight X
Sensor size1/1.761/2.55
Pixel size1.8 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix8 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.4n/a
Focal length76 mmn/a
SensorHynix Hi847n/a
Sensor size1/4.5n/a
Pixel size1 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length13 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX258n/a
Sensor size1/3.0n/a
Pixel size1.12 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
119
Apple iPhone XR
103
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
107
Apple iPhone XR
96
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
117
Apple iPhone XR
101

Front camera

Matrix 32 MP 7 MP
Photo resolution 6464x4864 pixels 3088x2316 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 32 mm
Sensor Sony IMX616 CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.74 n/a
Pixel size 0.8 μm n/a
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) 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 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features LE SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C No
USB version 3.2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*21
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsUMTS B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8 (900)HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
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 (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2600)
LTE category1912
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
88.9 dB
Apple iPhone XR
87.3 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2022 yr September, 2018 yr
Release Date January, 2022 yr October, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 790 750
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face 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 FE 5G the clear winner in this comparison.

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