Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S21 and Realme 16 Pro Plus - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Realme 16 Pro Plus

65 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S21
VS
80 out 100
Realme 16 Pro Plus
Samsung Galaxy S21
Realme 16 Pro Plus

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.2 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs Realme 16 Pro Plus, Manufactured in January, 2026with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 7 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
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 198g
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose Realme 16 Pro Plus
  • Larger display: 6.8in
  • Higher pixel density: 453ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 144Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 7000mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Infrared port

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB		 - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 and Realme 16 Pro Plus
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:
Samsung Galaxy S21
vs
Realme 16 Pro Plus

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED OLED
Size 6.2 in 6.8 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1280x2800 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 421 ppi 453 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 144 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (48-120 Hz) Yes
Max brightness 800 nits 1800 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 85.9 % 91.6 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
Realme 16 Pro Plus
n/a
sRGB gamut99.5 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time5 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 151.7 mm (5.97 in) 162.5 mm (6.4 in)
Width 71.2 mm (2.8 in) 76.3 mm (3 in)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 in) 8.1 mm (0.32 in)
Weight 169 g (5.96 oz) 198 g (6.98 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP69
Back panel Plastic Eco Leather
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple		 - Gold
- Gray
- Pink
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %
Realme 16 Pro Plus
91.6 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 and Realme 16 Pro Plus In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4
Max Frequency 2900 MHz 2800 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 4 + 3)
Architecture - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)		 - 3/1.84 (Kryo Silver (Cortex-520))
- 4/2.4 (Kryo Gold (Cortex-720))
- 1/2.8 (Kryo Prime (Cortex-720))
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 4 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
Graphics Mali-G78 MP14 Adreno 722
GPU Cores 896 512
GPU Frequency 854 MHz 1150 MHz
FLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS 1177.6 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Realme 16 Pro Plus
1374
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Realme 16 Pro Plus
4363
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13311374
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)35934363
Geekbench Compute (GPU)n/a7820
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Realme 16 Pro Plus]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
Realme 16 Pro Plus
1436204
CPU253391517565
GPU281676323371
Memory158352223419
UX210361371849
NanoReview Score9037801436204
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Realme 16 Pro Plus
n/a
Max Surface Temp.38.9 °Cn/a
Stability66 %n/a
Graphics Test34 fpsn/a
Graphics Score5715n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy S21]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S21
13123
Realme 16 Pro Plus
n/a
Writing score16101n/a
Web score11909n/a
Video editing7097n/a
Data manipulation10153n/a
NanoReview Score13123n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		128 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 16
OS Size 28.1 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 6.0 Realme UI 7.0

Battery

Volume 4000 mAh 7000 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 80 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) No
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (55% in 50 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 1:35 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Realme 16 Pro Plus
n/a
Web Browsing06:01 hn/a
Video Playback11:06 hn/a
Games04:21 hn/a
Standby Mode95 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 200 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels n/a
Zoom Optical, 1.1x Optical, 3.5x
Flash Dual LED Dual 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) n/a
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 116 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 2.8 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix12 MP200 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.9
Focal length26 mm23 mm
SensorSony IMX555n/a
Sensor size1/1.761/1.56 (0.64)
Pixel size1.8 μm0.5 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix64 MP28 MP
Aperturef/2.0f/2.8
Focal length28 mmn/a
SensorSamsung Bright S5KGW21/2.76
Sensor size1/1.72n/a
Pixel size0.8 μm0.64 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP8 MP
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length13 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX563n/a
Sensor size1/2.551/4 (0.25)
Pixel size1.4 μm1.12 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Realme 16 Pro Plus
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Realme 16 Pro Plus
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Realme 16 Pro Plus
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview72n/a
Zoom126n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 3872x2592 pixels 8192x6144 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.4
Focal length 26 mm 23 mm
Sensor Sony IMX374 CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.24 1/2.88 (0.35)
Pixel size 1.22 μm 0.61 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) n/a
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (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 5.4
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
- QZSS
NFC* Yes No
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 n/a
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB
Realme 16 Pro Plus
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Mid-range
Announced January, 2021 yr January, 2026 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr January, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 800 n/a
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Realme 16 Pro Plus the clear winner in this comparison.

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