Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Samsung Galaxy S20

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Manufactured in January, 2022, with display 6.4 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 888, vs Samsung Galaxy S20, Manufactured in March, 2020 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 9 Octa 990. 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 battery capacity: 4500mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 3.1
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S20
  • Higher pixel density: 563ppi
  • Lighter design: 163g 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 Samsung Galaxy S20
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
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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 Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.4 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1440x3200 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
Pixel density 403 ppi 563 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 800 nits 800 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 86.7 % 88.5 %
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 S20
809 nits
sRGB gamut97 %99.8 %
PWM (Flicker)247 Hz242 Hz
Response time6 ms8.5 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 155.7 mm (6.13 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 74.5 mm (2.93 in) 69.1 mm (2.72 in)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 177 g (6.24 oz) 163 g (5.75 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Gray
- Green
- Purple
- Gray
- Blue
- Red
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
86.7 %
Samsung Galaxy S20
88.5 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G and Samsung Galaxy S20 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 990
Max Frequency 2840 MHz 3020 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 S20
1139
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
3396
Samsung Galaxy S20
3080
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13711139
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)33963080
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
894898
Samsung Galaxy S20
680061
CPU247848206940
GPU311997180770
Memory152639136999
UX182414155352
NanoReview Score894898680061
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
5704
Samsung Galaxy S20
4221
Max Surface Temp.39.1 °C49.7 °C
Stability69 %51 %
Graphics Test34 fps25 fps
Graphics Score57044221
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
12441
Samsung Galaxy S20
11213
Writing score1421613300
Web score119609221
Video editing70496001
Data manipulation101968487
NanoReview Score1244111213

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 6 GB
- 8 GB
8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 3200 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
128 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.0
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS Android 12 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 10.0 (Upgradeable to Android 13)
OS Size 17.5 GB 20.1 GB
UI Skin One UI 6 One UI 5.1

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 4000 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 (100% in 75 min)
Full Charge Time 1:15 h 1:15 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
18:37
Samsung Galaxy S20
16:07
Web Browsing06:11 h06:49 h
Video Playback11:05 h10:33 h
Games04:48 h04:30 h
Standby Mode100 h69 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Optical, 1.1x
Flash LED 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 60 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 960 fps (720p)
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 IMX555Samsung S5K2LD
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 mm29 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 S20
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
107
Samsung Galaxy S20
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
117
Samsung Galaxy S20
n/a

Front camera

Matrix 32 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 6464x4864 pixels 2592x3872 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX616 Samsung S5K3J1
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

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- 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
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoYes
2G BandsGSM GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
3G BandsUMTS B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8 (900)HSDPA 850 / 900 / 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 (B850/B900/B1700/B1900/B2100)
LTE category1922
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
Samsung Galaxy S20
85.9 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2022 yr February, 2020 yr
Release Date January, 2022 yr March, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) 790 999
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

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