Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Manufactured in January, 2022, with display 6.4 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 888, vs Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon), Manufactured in March, 2026with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. 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 4300mAh
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
  • Higher pixel density: 411ppi
  • Lighter design: 167g vs 177g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
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 Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.4 in 6.3 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 403 ppi 411 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 800 nits n/a
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 86.7 % 90.9 %
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 S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
sRGB gamut97 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)247 Hzn/a
Response time6 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 155.7 mm (6.13 in) 149.6 mm (5.89 in)
Width 74.5 mm (2.93 in) 71.7 mm (2.82 in)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 in) 7.2 mm (0.28 in)
Weight 177 g (6.24 oz) 167 g (5.89 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Gray
- Green
- Purple
- White
- Black
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
86.7 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
90.9 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Max Frequency 2840 MHz 4740 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (2 + 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))
- 6/3.63 (Oryon Gen 3 Performance)
- 2/4.61 (Oryon Gen 3 Prime)
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon 780 Hexagon
Graphics Adreno 660 Adreno 840
GPU Cores 1024 1536
GPU Frequency 840 MHz 1200 MHz
FLOPS 1290.2 GFLOPS 3686.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
1371
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
3378
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
3396
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
11097
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13713378
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)339611097
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
894898
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
3586464
CPU2478481039672
GPU3119971390228
Memory152639419821
UX182414736743
NanoReview Score8948983586464
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
5704
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
Max Surface Temp.39.1 °Cn/a
Stability69 %n/a
Graphics Test34 fpsn/a
Graphics Score5704n/a
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
12441
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
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
12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 5300 MHz
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 12 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 16
OS Size 17.5 GB 31.6 GB
UI Skin One UI 6 One UI 8.5

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
Full Charge Time 1:15 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
18:37
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
Web Browsing06:11 hn/a
Video Playback11:05 hn/a
Games04:48 hn/a
Standby Mode100 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 8160x6120 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Optical, 3x
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Yes (Up to 30 fps)
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 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mm24 mm
SensorSony IMX555Samsung ISOCELL S5KGN3
Sensor size1/1.761/1.56 (0.64)
Pixel size1.8 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix8 MP10 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.4
Focal length76 mm67 mm
SensorHynix Hi847Samsung ISOCELL S5K3K1
Sensor size1/4.51/3.94 (0.25)
Pixel size1 μm1 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX258Sony IMX564
Sensor size1/3.01/2.55 (0.39)
Pixel size1.12 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
119
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
107
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
117
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a

Front camera

Matrix 32 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 6464x4864 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX616 Samsung S5K3LU
Sensor size 1/2.74 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size 0.8 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus
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 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
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 5.4
Bluetooth features LE LE
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
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes, DP 1.2
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, PCS1900GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsUMTS B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8 (900)UMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
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/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41/B48/B66/B71)
LTE category19n/a
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
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 S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2022 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date January, 2022 yr March, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 790 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 899
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 No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon) the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

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