Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy S25 FE

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.7 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs Samsung Galaxy S25 FE, Manufactured in September, 2025with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2400. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
  • Higher pixel density: 394ppi
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
  • Lighter design: 190g vs 200g
  • Higher battery capacity: 4900mAh vs 4800mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Supports DisplayPort

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
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 6.7 in 6.7 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 394 ppi 385 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (48-120 Hz) Yes (60-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1300 nits 1300 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 88.7 % 89.2 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
879 nits
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
n/a
sRGB gamut98.9 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time6.2 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 161.5 mm (6.36 in) 161.3 mm (6.35 in)
Width 75.6 mm (2.98 in) 76.6 mm (3.02 in)
Thickness 7.8 mm (0.31 in) 7.4 mm (0.29 in)
Weight 200 g (7.05 oz) 190 g (6.7 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Gold
- Red
- Purple
- White
- Black
- Gray
- Blue
- Yellow
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
88.7 %
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
89.2 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S25 FE In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 Samsung Exynos 2400
Max Frequency 2840 MHz 3200 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 10 (1 + 2 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
- 4/1.95 (Cortex-A520)
- 3/2.6 (Cortex-A720)
- 2/2.9 (Cortex-A720)
- 1/3.21 (Cortex-X4)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 5 nm 4 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
Graphics Mali-G78 MP14 Samsung Xclipse 940
GPU Cores 896 768
GPU Frequency 854 MHz 1095 MHz
FLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS 3406.8 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
1428
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
2116
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
3840
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
7035
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)14282116
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)38407035
Geekbench Compute (GPU)n/a18270
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
919348
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
1801002
CPU262973429356
GPU294382715844
Memory147307352083
UX214686303719
NanoReview Score9193481801002
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
5538
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
n/a
Max Surface Temp.41.5 °Cn/a
Stability67 %n/a
Graphics Test33 fpsn/a
Graphics Score5538n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz n/a
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
128 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 4.0
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 16
OS Size 27.2 GB 23.8 GB
UI Skin One UI 6 One UI 8.0

Battery

Volume 4800 mAh 4900 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 45 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (54% in 30 min) Yes (65% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:12 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
20:53
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
n/a
Web Browsing07:28 hn/a
Video Playback13:15 hn/a
Games05:04 hn/a
Standby Mode105 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 8160x6120 pixels
Zoom Optical, 1.1x Optical, 3x
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Up to 24FPS Yes (Up to 30 fps)
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 120 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 123 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix12 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mm24 mm
SensorSony IMX555n/a
Sensor size1/1.761/1.57
Pixel size1.8 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix64 MP8 MP
Aperturef/2.0f/2.4
Focal length28 mm75 mm
SensorSamsung Bright S5KGW2n/a
Sensor size1/1.721/4.4
Pixel size0.8 μm1 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX563n/a
Sensor size1/2.551/3.0
Pixel size1.4 μm1.12 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
129
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
137
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
133
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview72n/a
Zoom126n/a

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 3872x2592 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX374 CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.24 1/3.2
Pixel size 1.22 μm 1.12 μm
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 No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6E (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 5.4
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*21
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8UMTS 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/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B66)
LTE category2420
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 Plus
87.8 dB
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2021 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 1000 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 649
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included n/a No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S25 FE the clear winner in this comparison.

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