Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus vs Apple iPhone 12

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.7 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs Apple iPhone 12, Manufactured in October, 2020with chipsetApple A14 Bionic. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
  • Larger display: 6.7in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 4800mAh vs 2815mAh
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 12
  • Higher pixel density: 460ppi
  • Lighter design: 164g vs 200g

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 4/64 GB
- 4/128 GB
- 4/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus and Apple iPhone 12
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 OLED
Size 6.7 in 6.1 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1170x2532 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 394 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (48-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 1300 nits 625 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 88.7 % 87.1 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
879 nits
Apple iPhone 12
646 nits
sRGB gamut98.9 %99.4 %
PWM (Flicker)240 Hz226 Hz
Response time6.2 ms16 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 161.5 mm (6.36 in) 146.7 mm (5.78 in)
Width 75.6 mm (2.98 in) 71.5 mm (2.81 in)
Thickness 7.8 mm (0.31 in) 7.4 mm (0.29 in)
Weight 200 g (7.05 oz) 164 g (5.78 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Gold
- Red
- Purple
- White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Red
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
88.7 %
Apple iPhone 12
87.1 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus and Apple iPhone 12 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 Apple A14 Bionic
Max Frequency 2840 MHz 3100 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
- 4/1.8 (Icestorm)
- 2/3.1 (Firestorm)
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Yes Apple Neural Engine
Graphics Mali-G78 MP14 Apple A14 GPU
GPU Cores 896 256
GPU Frequency 854 MHz 1278 MHz
FLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS 654.3 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
1428
Apple iPhone 12
1941
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
3840
Apple iPhone 12
5008
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)14281941
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)38405008
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
919348
Apple iPhone 12
1095315
CPU262973310050
GPU294382323143
Memory147307173777
UX214686288345
NanoReview Score9193481095315
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
5538
Apple iPhone 12
7601
Max Surface Temp.41.5 °C41.2 °C
Stability67 %77 %
Graphics Test33 fps45 fps
Graphics Score55387601

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz n/a
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 64 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1NVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14) iOS 14.1 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2)
OS Size 27.2 GB 7 GB
UI Skin One UI 6 n/a

Battery

Volume 4800 mAh 2815 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 18 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (54% in 30 min) Yes (58% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:12 h 1:30 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
20:53
Apple iPhone 12
21:15
Web Browsing07:28 h08:00 h
Video Playback13:15 h12:09 h
Games05:04 h04:35 h
Standby Mode105 h112 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Optical, 1.1x Digital
Flash Dual LED Quad LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Up to 24FPS 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) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.6
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX555Sony IMX372
Sensor size1/1.761/3.4
Pixel size1.8 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix64 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.0n/a
Focal length28 mmn/a
SensorSamsung Bright S5KGW2n/a
Sensor size1/1.72n/a
Pixel size0.8 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.4
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX563n/a
Sensor size1/2.551/3.6
Pixel size1.4 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
129
Apple iPhone 12
127
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
137
Apple iPhone 12
130
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
133
Apple iPhone 12
117
Bokeh7055
Preview7274
Zoom12660

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 3872x2592 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 23 mm
Sensor Sony IMX374 Sony IMX514
Sensor size 1/3.24 1/3.6
Pixel size 1.22 μm n/a
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No Yes
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
n/a
Apple iPhone 12
127
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
n/a
Apple iPhone 12
140

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, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C No
USB version 3.2 n/a
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*21
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzGSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
3G BandsWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8UMTS/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
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/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B30/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B46/B48/B66)
LTE category2418
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 Plus
87.8 dB
Apple iPhone 12
81.1 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2021 yr October, 2020 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr October, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) 1000 800
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

No clear favorite identified yet; updates may follow as new data arrives.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
0 (0%)
0 (0%)
Total Votes: 0

User comments

Share your opinion or ask questions below