Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S21 and Samsung Galaxy M56 5G - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Samsung Galaxy M56 5G

65 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S21
VS
65 out 100
Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
Samsung Galaxy S21
Samsung Galaxy M56 5G

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.2 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs Samsung Galaxy M56 5G, Manufactured in April, 2025 with chipsetExynos 1480. 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
  • Higher pixel density: 421ppi
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 180g
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
  • Larger display: 6.74in
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 and Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
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
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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:
Samsung Galaxy S21
vs
Samsung Galaxy M56 5G

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED Super AMOLED
Size 6.2 in 6.74 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 421 ppi 382 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (48-120 Hz) Yes (60-120 Hz)
Max brightness 800 nits n/a
HDR support Yes HDR10+ No
Screen-to-body ratio 85.9 % 89 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
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 mm (6.38 in)
Width 71.2 mm (2.8 in) 77.3 mm (3.04 in)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 in) 7.2 mm (0.28 in)
Weight 169 g (5.96 oz) 180 g (6.35 oz)
Water resistance IP68 n/a
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Metal Plastic
Colors - White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple		 - Black
- Green
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %
Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
89 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 and Samsung Galaxy M56 5G In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 Exynos 1480
Max Frequency 2900 MHz 2400 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)		 - 4/2 (Cortex-A55)
- 4/2.75 (Cortex-A78)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 5 nm 4 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
Graphics Mali-G78 MP14 Samsung Xclipse 530
GPU Cores 896 128
GPU Frequency 854 MHz 1300 MHz
FLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS 332.8 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
1145
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
3481
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13311145
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)35933481
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Samsung Galaxy M56 5G]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
733093
CPU253391247282
GPU281676175808
Memory158352149957
UX210361160046
NanoReview Score903780733093
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
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
Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
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 LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz 3200 MHz
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.1
Memory CardNon/a

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 15
OS Size 28.1 GB 22.3 GB
UI Skin One UI 6.0 One UI 7.0

Battery

Volume 4000 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 45 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
Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
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 50 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 8160x6120 pixels
Zoom Optical, 1.1x 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) 240 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 123 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Macro: 2 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix12 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX555n/a
Sensor size1/1.76n/a
Pixel size1.8 μmn/a
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix64 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.0n/a
Focal length28 mmn/a
SensorSamsung Bright S5KGW2n/a
Sensor size1/1.72n/a
Pixel size0.8 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP8 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
129
Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview72n/a
Zoom126n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 3872x2592 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm n/a
Sensor Sony IMX374 n/a
Sensor size 1/3.24 n/a
Pixel size 1.22 μm n/a
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 30 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 5.3
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
- QZSS
NFC* Yes No
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesNo
Hybrid SlotNon/a
2G BandsGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8UMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
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/B17/B20/B26/B28/B38/B40/B41/B66)
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
87 dB
Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Mid-range
Announced January, 2021 yr April, 2025 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr April, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 800 290
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 No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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