Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Honor X9d - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Honor X9d

67 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
VS
74 out 100
Honor X9d
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Honor X9d

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.8 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs Honor X9d, Manufactured in October, 2025with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.8in
  • Higher pixel density: 515ppi
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose Honor X9d
  • Lighter design: 193g vs 227g
  • Higher battery capacity: 8300mAh vs 5000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5.2
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Honor X9d
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
Smartphones:
Galaxy S21 Ultra
vs
Honor X9d

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED AMOLED
Size 6.8 in 6.79 in
Resolution 1440x3200 pixels 1200x2640 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.85:9
Pixel density 515 ppi 427 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (10-120 Hz) Yes
Max brightness 1500 nits 1800 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10
Screen-to-body ratio 89.5 % 90.8 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1019 nits
Honor X9d
n/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 165.1 mm (6.5 in) 161.9 mm (6.37 in)
Width 75.6 mm (2.98 in) 76.1 mm (3 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 227 g (8.01 oz) 193 g (6.81 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP69
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Metal Plastic
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Blue		 - Black
- Gold
- Green
- Brown
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
89.5 %
Honor X9d
90.8 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Honor X9d In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4
Max Frequency 2900 MHz 2300 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)		 - 4/1.8 (Kryo Silver (Cortex-A520))
- 3/2.2 (Kryo Gold (Cortex-A720))
- 1/2.3 (Kryo Prime (Cortex-A720))
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 4 nm
Neural Processor Yes Hexagon
Graphics Mali-G78 MP14 Adreno 810
GPU Cores 896 256
GPU Frequency 854 MHz 895 MHz
FLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS 458.2 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1449
Honor X9d
1086
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
3892
Honor X9d
3103
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)14491086
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)38923103
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
843008
Honor X9d
977304
CPU232358358049
GPU256356160718
Memory163007210830
UX191217247707
NanoReview Score843008977304
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
5221
Honor X9d
n/a
Max Surface Temp.40.8 °Cn/a
Stability69 %n/a
Graphics Test31 fpsn/a
Graphics Score5221n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra]

Memory

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

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 15
OS Size 26.4 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 6 MagicOS 9.0

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 8300 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 66 W
Battery Type Li-ion Silicon Carbon (Si/C)
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) No
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes
Fast Charging Yes (54% in 30 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 1:11 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
22:05
Honor X9d
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 108 MP
Photo resolution 12000x9000 pixels 12000x9000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 10x Digital
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Up to 24FPS No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) n/a
Wide-angle lens 120 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 108 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 108 MP
Ultra-wide: 5 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix108 MP108 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mmn/a
SensorSamsung S5KHM3n/a
Sensor size1/1.331/1.67
Pixel size0.8 μm1 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus
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 MP5 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX563n/a
Sensor size1/2.55n/a
Pixel size1.4 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
121
Honor X9d
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
100
Honor X9d
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
115
Honor X9d
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview67n/a
Zoom106n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra]

Front camera

Matrix 40 MP 16 MP
Photo resolution 7864x5200 pixels 3456x4608 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.5
Focal length 26 mm n/a
Sensor Samsung S5KGH1 CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.65 n/a
Pixel size 0.7 μm n/a
Autofocus Phase autofocus No
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
Honor X9d
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
140
Honor X9d
n/a

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 5.3
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a No
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No Yes
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzn/a
3G BandsWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8n/a
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)n/a
LTE category24n/a
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes No
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
88 dB
Honor X9d
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Mid-range
Announced January, 2021 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr October, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 1200 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 350
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included n/a Yes, 66 W
* 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

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Total Votes: 2

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