Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.8 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro, Manufactured in September, 2025 with chipsetApple A19 Pro. 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 battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4252mAh
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 17 Pro
  • Lighter design: 206g vs 227g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5.2
  • Supports DisplayPort

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/128 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/256 GB
- 16/512 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 12/1024 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Apple iPhone 17 Pro
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 6.3 in
Resolution 1440x3200 pixels 1206x2622 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 515 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (10-120 Hz) Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1500 nits 3000 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 89.5 % 90.4 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1019 nits
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 165.1 mm (6.5 in) 150 mm (5.91 in)
Width 75.6 mm (2.98 in) 71.9 mm (2.83 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 8.75 mm (0.34 in)
Weight 227 g (8.01 oz) 206 g (7.27 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Blue
- Silver
- Blue
- Orange
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
89.5 %
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
90.4 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Apple iPhone 17 Pro In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 Apple A19 Pro
Max Frequency 2900 MHz 4300 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)
4/2.51 ()
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Yes Neural Engine
Graphics Mali-G78 MP14 n/a
GPU Cores 896 n/a
GPU Frequency 854 MHz n/a
FLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS n/a
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1449
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
3720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
3892
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
10805
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)14493720
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)389210805
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
843008
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
2146722
CPU232358519980
GPU256356787998
Memory163007391721
UX191217447023
NanoReview Score8430082146722
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
5221
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a
Max Surface Temp.40.8 °Cn/a
Stability69 %n/a
Graphics Test31 fpsn/a
Graphics Score5221n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 12 GB
- 16 GB
12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz n/a
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1NVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14) iOS 26
OS Size 26.4 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 6 n/a

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 4252 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 40 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes (25 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes
Fast Charging Yes (54% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 20 min)
Full Charge Time 1:11 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
22:05
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a
Web Browsing07:58 hn/a
Video Playback13:59 hn/a
Games05:14 hn/a
Standby Mode111 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 108 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 12000x9000 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Optical, 10x Optical, 4x
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Up to 24FPS No
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) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 108 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 48 MP
Telephoto: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 48 MP
Depth
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix108 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.6
Focal length26 mm24 mm
SensorSamsung S5KHM3n/a
Sensor size1/1.331/1.28
Pixel size0.8 μm1.22 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix10 MP48 MP
Aperturef/4.9f/2.8
Focal length240 mm120 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3J1n/a
Sensor size1/2.651/2.55
Pixel size1.22 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX563n/a
Sensor size1/2.551/2.55
Pixel size1.4 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
121
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
100
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
115
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview67n/a
Zoom106n/a

Front camera

Matrix 40 MP 24 MP
Photo resolution 7864x5200 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.9
Focal length 26 mm 23 mm
Sensor Samsung S5KGH1 n/a
Sensor size 1/2.65 n/a
Pixel size 0.7 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Optical
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 17 Pro
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
140
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (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 5.2 6.0
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*2n/a
SIM TypeNanoeSIM
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzn/a
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/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71)
LTE category24n/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 Ultra
88 dB
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2021 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 1200 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 1099
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
Charger Included n/a No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 17 Pro the clear winner in this comparison.

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