Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Manufactured in January, 2022, with display 6.4 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 888, vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus, 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 S21 FE 5G
  • Higher pixel density: 403ppi
  • Lighter design: 177g vs 200g
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
  • Larger display: 6.7in
  • Higher battery capacity: 4800mAh vs 4500mAh
  • 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 S21 Plus
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 6.7 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
Pixel density 403 ppi 394 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness 800 nits 1300 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 86.7 % 88.7 %
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 S21 Plus
879 nits
sRGB gamut97 %98.9 %
PWM (Flicker)247 Hz240 Hz
Response time6 ms6.2 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 155.7 mm (6.13 in) 161.5 mm (6.36 in)
Width 74.5 mm (2.93 in) 75.6 mm (2.98 in)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 in) 7.8 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 177 g (6.24 oz) 200 g (7.05 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Gray
- Green
- Purple
- Black
- Silver
- Gold
- Red
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
86.7 %
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
88.7 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G and Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 2840 MHz 2840 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 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))
- 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 5 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon 780 Yes
Graphics Adreno 660 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 1024 896
GPU Frequency 840 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 1290.2 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
1371
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
1428
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
3396
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
3840
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13711428
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)33963840
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
894898
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
919348
CPU247848262973
GPU311997294382
Memory152639147307
UX182414214686
NanoReview Score894898919348
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
5704
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
5538
Max Surface Temp.39.1 °C41.5 °C
Stability69 %67 %
Graphics Test34 fps33 fps
Graphics Score57045538
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
12441
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
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 LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 12 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size 17.5 GB 27.2 GB
UI Skin One UI 6 One UI 6

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 4800 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 (54% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:15 h 1:12 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
18:37
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
20:53
Web Browsing06:11 h07:28 h
Video Playback11:05 h13:15 h
Games04:48 h05:04 h
Standby Mode100 h105 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Optical, 1.1x
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 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 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 mm28 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 IMX258Sony IMX563
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 S21 Plus
129
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
107
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
137
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
117
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
133
Bokehn/a70
Previewn/a72
Zoomn/a126

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 1/3.24
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 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
- USB-Host 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 SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM GSM850, 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 category1924
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 S21 Plus
87.8 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2022 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date January, 2022 yr February, 2021 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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