Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 12 mini

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.8 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs Apple iPhone 12 mini, Manufactured in November, 2020 with chipsetApple A14 Bionic. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.8in
  • Higher pixel density: 515ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 2227mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.2 vs 5
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 12 mini
  • Lighter design: 135g vs 227g

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/128 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/256 GB
- 16/512 GB
- 4/64 GB
- 4/128 GB
- 4/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Apple iPhone 12 mini
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 6.8 in 5.4 in
Resolution 1440x3200 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 515 ppi 476 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (10-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 1500 nits 625 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 89.5 % 84.8 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1019 nits
Apple iPhone 12 mini
622 nits

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 165.1 mm (6.5 in) 131.5 mm (5.18 in)
Width 75.6 mm (2.98 in) 64.2 mm (2.53 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 7.4 mm (0.29 in)
Weight 227 g (8.01 oz) 135 g (4.76 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Blue
- White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Red
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
89.5 %
Apple iPhone 12 mini
84.8 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Apple iPhone 12 mini In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 Apple A14 Bionic
Max Frequency 2900 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 Ultra
1449
Apple iPhone 12 mini
1957
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
3892
Apple iPhone 12 mini
5062
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)14491957
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)38925062
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
843008
Apple iPhone 12 mini
1041022
CPU232358295247
GPU256356309462
Memory163007140008
UX191217296305
NanoReview Score8430081041022
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
5221
Apple iPhone 12 mini
7655
Max Surface Temp.40.8 °Cn/a
Stability69 %69 %
Graphics Test31 fps45 fps
Graphics Score52217655

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 12 GB
- 16 GB
4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz n/a
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 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 26.4 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 6 n/a

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 2227 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 20 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 (60% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:11 h 1:29 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
22:05
Apple iPhone 12 mini
16:11
Web Browsing07:58 h06:04 h
Video Playback13:59 h10:15 h
Games05:14 h03:53 h
Standby Mode111 h79 h

Main camera

Matrix 108 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 12000x9000 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Optical, 10x 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: 108 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Telephoto: 10 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
Matrix108 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.6
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung S5KHM3Sony IMX372
Sensor size1/1.331/3.4
Pixel size0.8 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix10 MPn/a
Aperturef/4.9n/a
Focal length240 mmn/a
SensorSamsung S5K3J1n/a
Sensor size1/2.65n/a
Pixel size1.22 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.4
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX563Sony IMX503
Sensor size1/2.551/2.55
Pixel size1.4 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
121
Apple iPhone 12 mini
128
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
100
Apple iPhone 12 mini
129
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
115
Apple iPhone 12 mini
117
Bokeh7055
Preview6776
Zoom10657

Front camera

Matrix 40 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 7864x5200 pixels 4290x2800 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 23 mm
Sensor Samsung S5KGH1 Sony IMX514
Sensor size 1/2.65 1/3.6
Pixel size 0.7 μm n/a
Autofocus Phase autofocus 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 Ultra
133
Apple iPhone 12 mini
127
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
140
Apple iPhone 12 mini
140

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (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 5.2 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 Ultra
88 dB
Apple iPhone 12 mini
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2021 yr October, 2020 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr November, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) 1200 700
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

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