Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Sony Xperia 5 II

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Manufactured in January, 2022, with display 6.4 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 888, vs Sony Xperia 5 II, Manufactured in October, 2020 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 865. 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 Sony Xperia 5 II
  • Higher pixel density: 449ppi
  • Lighter design: 163g vs 177g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.1 vs 5

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 Sony Xperia 5 II
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.
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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 OLED
Size 6.4 in 6.1 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1080x2520 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 21:9
Pixel density 403 ppi 449 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 800 nits 550 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 86.7 % 80.8 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
785 nits
Sony Xperia 5 II
531 nits
sRGB gamut97 %100 %
PWM (Flicker)247 Hz238 Hz
Response time6 ms8 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 155.7 mm (6.13 in) 158 mm (6.22 in)
Width 74.5 mm (2.93 in) 68 mm (2.68 in)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 in) 8 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
- Black
- Gray
- Blue
- Pink
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Button
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
86.7 %
Sony Xperia 5 II
80.8 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G and Sony Xperia 5 II In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
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))
- 4/1.8 (Kryo 585 Silver (Cortex-A55))
- 3/2.42 (Kryo 585 Gold (Cortex-A77))
- 1/2.84 (Kryo 585 Prime (Cortex-A77))
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon 780 Hexagon 698
Graphics Adreno 660 Adreno 650
GPU Cores 1024 768
GPU Frequency 840 MHz 587 MHz
FLOPS 1290.2 GFLOPS 1202.1 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
1371
Sony Xperia 5 II
1230
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
3396
Sony Xperia 5 II
3405
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13711230
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)33963405
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
894898
Sony Xperia 5 II
746148
CPU247848236582
GPU311997192490
Memory152639132271
UX182414184805
NanoReview Score894898746148
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
5704
Sony Xperia 5 II
3835
Max Surface Temp.39.1 °C45.9 °C
Stability69 %91 %
Graphics Test34 fps22 fps
Graphics Score57043835
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
12441
Sony Xperia 5 II
12685
Writing score1421615545
Web score119609996
Video editing70497188
Data manipulation101969618
NanoReview Score1244112685

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
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.0
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS Android 12 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 10.0 (Upgradeable to Android 12)
OS Size 17.5 GB 13 GB
UI Skin One UI 6 n/a

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 21 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) No
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (51% in 30 min) Yes (45% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:15 h 1:49 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
18:37
Sony Xperia 5 II
20:42
Web Browsing06:11 h08:29 h
Video Playback11:05 h12:46 h
Games04:48 h05:22 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 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) 120 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° 124 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.7
Focal length26 mm24 mm
SensorSony IMX555Sony IMX557
Sensor size1/1.761/1.7
Pixel size1.8 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix8 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.4
Focal length76 mm70 mm
SensorHynix Hi847Samsung S5K3T2
Sensor size1/4.51/3.4
Pixel size1 μm1 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm16 mm
SensorSony IMX258Sony IMX363
Sensor size1/3.01/2.55
Pixel size1.12 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalOptical
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
119
Sony Xperia 5 II
114
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
107
Sony Xperia 5 II
99
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
117
Sony Xperia 5 II
111

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 Samsung S5K4H7
Sensor size 1/2.74 1/4
Pixel size 0.8 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 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
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5.1
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
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
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 800 / 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(1700/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B46/B66(1700/B2100))
LTE category1922
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
88.9 dB
Sony Xperia 5 II
75.7 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2022 yr September, 2020 yr
Release Date January, 2022 yr October, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) 790 950
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.

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