Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Google Pixel 5

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Manufactured in January, 2022, with display 6.4 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 888, vs Google Pixel 5, Manufactured in October, 2020 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 765G. 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 refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 4500mAh vs 4080mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 3.1
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
Reasons to choose Google Pixel 5
  • Higher pixel density: 432ppi
  • Lighter design: 151g vs 177g
  • 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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G and Google Pixel 5
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 OLED
Size 6.4 in 6 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 403 ppi 432 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 90 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 800 nits 700 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 86.7 % 86.8 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
785 nits
Google Pixel 5
693 nits
sRGB gamut97 %97.4 %
PWM (Flicker)247 Hz367 Hz
Response time6 ms5 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 155.7 mm (6.13 in) 144.7 mm (5.7 in)
Width 74.5 mm (2.93 in) 70.4 mm (2.77 in)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 in) 8 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 177 g (6.24 oz) 151 g (5.33 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Plastic Metal
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Gray
- Green
- Purple
- Black
- Green
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
86.7 %
Google Pixel 5
86.8 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G and Google Pixel 5 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G
Max Frequency 2840 MHz 2400 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 1 + 6)
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))
- 6/1.8 (Kryo 475 Silver (Cortex-A55))
- 1/2.2 (Kryo 475 Gold (Cortex-A76))
- 1/2.4 (Kryo 475 Prime (Cortex-A76))
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 5 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon 780 Hexagon 696
Graphics Adreno 660 Adreno 620
GPU Cores 1024 384
GPU Frequency 840 MHz 750 MHz
FLOPS 1290.2 GFLOPS 576 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
1371
Google Pixel 5
765
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
3396
Google Pixel 5
1944
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)1371765
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)33961944
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
894898
Google Pixel 5
388038
CPU247848145746
GPU31199736336
Memory15263985253
UX182414120703
NanoReview Score894898388038
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
5704
Google Pixel 5
1084
Max Surface Temp.39.1 °C38.6 °C
Stability69 %89 %
Graphics Test34 fps6 fps
Graphics Score57041084
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
12441
Google Pixel 5
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
8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
128 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 2.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 12 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size 17.5 GB 16.6 GB
UI Skin One UI 6 Stock Android

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 4080 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 18 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes (12 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes
Fast Charging Yes (51% in 30 min) Yes (30% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:15 h 1:45 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
18:37
Google Pixel 5
20:28
Web Browsing06:11 h07:33 h
Video Playback11:05 h13:33 h
Games04:48 h04:59 h
Standby Mode100 h98 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 122 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4290x2800 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Digital
Flash LED 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 ° 107 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 12.2 MP
Ultra-wide: 16 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP122 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.7
Focal length26 mm27 mm
SensorSony IMX555Sony IMX363
Sensor size1/1.761/2.55
Pixel size1.8 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
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 MP16 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm24 mm
SensorSony IMX258Sony IMX481
Sensor size1/3.01/3.09
Pixel size1.12 μm1 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
119
Google Pixel 5
119
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
107
Google Pixel 5
106
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
117
Google Pixel 5
109
Bokehn/a60
Previewn/a58
Zoomn/a71

Front camera

Matrix 32 MP 8 MP
Photo resolution 6464x4864 pixels 3264x2448 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length 26 mm 24 mm
Sensor Sony IMX616 CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.74 1/4.0
Pixel size 0.8 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
n/a
Google Pixel 5
117
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
n/a
Google Pixel 5
142

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 Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*21
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G BandsUMTS B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8 (900)HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 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 (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B46/B48/B66/B71)
LTE category1915
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes No
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
88.9 dB
Google Pixel 5
91.9 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2022 yr September, 2020 yr
Release Date January, 2022 yr October, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) 790 700
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint 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 FE 5G the clear winner in this comparison.

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