Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Huawei Nova 15 Max - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Huawei Nova 15 Max

67 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
VS
69 out 100
Huawei Nova 15 Max
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Huawei Nova 15 Max

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.8 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs Huawei Nova 15 Max, Manufactured in May, 2026 with chipsetHiSilicon Kirin 8000. 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
  • Higher pixel density: 515ppi
  • Lighter design: 227g vs 232g
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose Huawei Nova 15 Max
  • Larger display: 6.84in
  • Higher battery capacity: 8500mAh vs 5000mAh
  • Infrared port

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Huawei Nova 15 Max
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.
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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
Huawei Nova 15 Max

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED OLED
Size 6.8 in 6.84 in
Resolution 1440x3200 pixels 1272x2756 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 515 ppi 444 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (10-120 Hz) Yes (60-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1500 nits n/a
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 300 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 89.5 % 90.1 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1019 nits
Huawei Nova 15 Max
n/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 165.1 mm (6.5 in) 163.3 mm (6.43 in)
Width 75.6 mm (2.98 in) 78 mm (3.07 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 7.98 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 227 g (8.01 oz) 232 g (8.18 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP65
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Metal Plastic
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Blue		 - Black
- Gold
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Button
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
89.5 %
Huawei Nova 15 Max
90.1 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Huawei Nova 15 Max In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 HiSilicon Kirin 8000
Max Frequency 2900 MHz 2400 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)		 - 4/1.84 (A55)
- 3/2.19 (1xA77 L)
- 1/2.4 (1xA77 H)
Process Samsung SMIC
Transistor Size 5 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
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
Huawei Nova 15 Max
960
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
3892
Huawei Nova 15 Max
2601
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)1449960
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)38922601
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
843008
Huawei Nova 15 Max
808133
CPU232358302738
GPU256356104021
Memory163007191983
UX191217209391
NanoReview Score843008808133
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
5221
Huawei Nova 15 Max
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		 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB		256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1n/a
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 12
OS Size 26.4 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 6 14.2

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 8500 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 40 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
Huawei Nova 15 Max
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 50 MP
Photo resolution 12000x9000 pixels 8192x6144 pixels
Zoom Optical, 10x Digital
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Digital
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 30 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: 50 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix108 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.9
Focal length26 mm23 mm
SensorSamsung S5KHM3n/a
Sensor size1/1.331/1.56 (0.64)
Pixel size0.8 μmn/a
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalDigital
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 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
Huawei Nova 15 Max
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
100
Huawei Nova 15 Max
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
115
Huawei Nova 15 Max
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview67n/a
Zoom106n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra]

Front camera

Matrix 40 MP 8 MP
Photo resolution 7864x5200 pixels 3264x2448 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
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
Huawei Nova 15 Max
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
140
Huawei Nova 15 Max
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 Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.2 5.2
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
Huawei Nova 15 Max
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Mid-range
Announced January, 2021 yr May, 2026 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr May, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 1200 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 499
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

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