Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Samsung Galaxy Note 20

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Manufactured in January, 2022, with display 6.4 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 888, vs Samsung Galaxy Note 20, Manufactured in August, 2020 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 990. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
  • Higher pixel density: 403ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 177g vs 192g
  • Higher battery capacity: 4500mAh vs 4300mAh
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy Note 20
  • Larger display: 6.7in
  • 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 S21 FE 5G and Samsung Galaxy Note 20
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 Super AMOLED
Size 6.4 in 6.7 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
Pixel density 403 ppi 393 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 800 nits 600 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 86.7 % 89.1 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
785 nits
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
619 nits
sRGB gamut97 %99.9 %
PWM (Flicker)247 Hz250 Hz
Response time6 ms6.4 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 155.7 mm (6.13 in) 161.6 mm (6.36 in)
Width 74.5 mm (2.93 in) 75.2 mm (2.96 in)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 in) 8.3 mm (0.33 in)
Weight 177 g (6.24 oz) 192 g (6.77 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Plastic Plastic
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Gray
- Green
- Purple
- Black
- Green
- Brown
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
86.7 %
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
89.1 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G and Samsung Galaxy Note 20 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Samsung Exynos 990
Max Frequency 2840 MHz 2730 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (2 + 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))
- 4/2 (Cortex-A55)
- 2/2.5 (Cortex-A76)
- 2/2.73 (Exynos M5)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 5 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon 780 Yes
Graphics Adreno 660 Mali-G77 MP11
GPU Cores 1024 704
GPU Frequency 840 MHz 550 MHz
FLOPS 1290.2 GFLOPS 1126 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
1371
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
1148
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
3396
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
3107
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13711148
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)33963107
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
894898
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
776145
CPU247848225316
GPU311997239949
Memory152639146041
UX182414164839
NanoReview Score894898776145
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
5704
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
4317
Max Surface Temp.39.1 °C38.6 °C
Stability69 %88 %
Graphics Test34 fps25 fps
Graphics Score57044317
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
12441
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
10773
Writing score1421612721
Web score119608280
Video editing70495783
Data manipulation101967654
NanoReview Score1244110773

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 6 GB
- 8 GB
8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 2400 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 12 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 10 (Upgradeable to Android 13)
OS Size 17.5 GB 35 GB
UI Skin One UI 6 One UI 5.0

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 4300 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (51% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:15 h 1:05 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
18:37
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
19:26
Web Browsing06:11 h07:01 h
Video Playback11:05 h12:33 h
Games04:48 h04:55 h
Standby Mode100 h96 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Optical, 3x
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Up to 24FPS
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 240 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX555Sony IMX555
Sensor size1/1.761/1.76
Pixel size1.8 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix8 MP64 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.0
Focal length76 mm27 mm
SensorHynix Hi847Samsung Bright S5KGW2
Sensor size1/4.51/1.72
Pixel size1 μm0.8 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX258Samsung S5K2LA
Sensor size1/3.01/2.55
Pixel size1.12 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
119
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
123
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
107
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
105
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
117
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
120

Front camera

Matrix 32 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 6464x4864 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX616 Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/2.74 1/3.2
Pixel size 0.8 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
n/a
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
103
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
n/a
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
95

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
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 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
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 (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2000/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)
LTE category1920
5G SupportYesYes

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
Samsung Galaxy Note 20
87.9 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2022 yr August, 2020 yr
Release Date January, 2022 yr August, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) 790 1000
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- 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

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