Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Apple iPhone X

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.8 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs Apple iPhone X, Manufactured in November, 2017with chipsetApple A11 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 2716mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.2 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Built-in eSIM
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone X
  • Lighter design: 174g vs 227g

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/128 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/256 GB
- 16/512 GB
- 3/64 GB
- 3/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Apple iPhone X
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 5.8 in
Resolution 1440x3200 pixels 1125x2436 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 515 ppi 458 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 % 81.1 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1019 nits
Apple iPhone X
606 nits
sRGB gamutn/a99.3 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a240 Hz
Response timen/a2.2 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 165.1 mm (6.5 in) 143.6 mm (5.65 in)
Width 75.6 mm (2.98 in) 70.9 mm (2.79 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 7.7 mm (0.3 in)
Weight 227 g (8.01 oz) 174 g (6.14 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP67
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Blue
- Silver
- Gray
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
89.5 %
Apple iPhone X
81.1 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Apple iPhone X In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 Apple A11 Bionic
Max Frequency 2900 MHz 2390 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)
- 4/1.42 (Mistral)
- 2/2.39 (Monsoon)
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 10 nm
Neural Processor Yes Apple Neural Engine
Graphics Mali-G78 MP14 Apple A11 GPU
GPU Cores 896 192
GPU Frequency 854 MHz 1066 MHz
FLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS 409.3 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1449
Apple iPhone X
1089
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
3892
Apple iPhone X
2918
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)14491089
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)38922918
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
843008
Apple iPhone X
507548
CPU232358192337
GPU256356122353
Memory163007101238
UX19121791620
NanoReview Score843008507548
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
5221
Apple iPhone X
3522
Max Surface Temp.40.8 °C45.7 °C
Stability69 %63 %
Graphics Test31 fps21 fps
Graphics Score52213522

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 12 GB
- 16 GB
3 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz n/a
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 64 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1NVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14) iOS 11.1 (Upgradeable to iOS 16.5)
OS Size 26.4 GB 5.3 GB
UI Skin One UI 6 n/a

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 2716 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 18 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes Qi (7.5 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (54% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:11 h 2:00 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
22:05
Apple iPhone X
16:26
Web Browsing07:58 h05:31 h
Video Playback13:59 h09:07 h
Games05:14 h03:35 h
Standby Mode111 h93 h

Main camera

Matrix 108 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 12000x9000 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Optical, 10x Optical, 2x
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 240 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 108 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix108 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mm28 mm
SensorSamsung S5KHM3Apple iSight Duo Camera
Sensor size1/1.331/3
Pixel size0.8 μm1.22 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix10 MP12 MP
Aperturef/4.9f/2.4
Focal length240 mm52 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3J1n/a
Sensor size1/2.651/3.4
Pixel size1.22 μm1 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length13 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX563n/a
Sensor size1/2.55n/a
Pixel size1.4 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
121
Apple iPhone X
101
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
100
Apple iPhone X
89
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
115
Apple iPhone X
97
Bokeh70n/a
Preview67n/a
Zoom106n/a

Front camera

Matrix 40 MP 7 MP
Photo resolution 7864x5200 pixels 3472x2063 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 32 mm
Sensor Samsung S5KGH1 BSI CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.65 n/a
Pixel size 0.7 μm n/a
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
133
Apple iPhone X
88
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
140
Apple iPhone X
92

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5.2 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C No
USB version 3.2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*21
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *YesNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzGSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G BandsWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8HSDPA 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/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66(1700/B2100))
LTE category2416
5G SupportYesNo

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 X
85.3 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2021 yr September, 2017 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr November, 2017 yr
Launch Price ($) 1200 999
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

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

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Total Votes: 1

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