Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Samsung Galaxy S20

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.2 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs Samsung Galaxy S20, Manufactured in March, 2020with chipsetSamsung Exynos 9 Octa 990. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 3.1
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S20
  • Higher pixel density: 563ppi
  • Lighter design: 163g vs 169g

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 and Samsung Galaxy S20
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 Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.2 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1440x3200 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
Pixel density 421 ppi 563 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (48-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 800 nits 800 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 85.9 % 88.5 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
Samsung Galaxy S20
809 nits
sRGB gamut99.5 %99.8 %
PWM (Flicker)240 Hz242 Hz
Response time5 ms8.5 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 151.7 mm (5.97 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 71.2 mm (2.8 in) 69.1 mm (2.72 in)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 169 g (5.96 oz) 163 g (5.75 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
- Gray
- Blue
- Red
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %
Samsung Galaxy S20
88.5 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 and Samsung Galaxy S20 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 990
Max Frequency 2900 MHz 3020 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (2 + 2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
- 4/2 (Cortex-A55)
- 2/2.5 (Cortex-A76)
- 2/2.73 (Exynos M5)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 5 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
Graphics Mali-G78 MP14 Mali-G77 MP11
GPU Cores 896 704
GPU Frequency 854 MHz 550 MHz
FLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS 1126 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Samsung Galaxy S20
1139
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Samsung Galaxy S20
3080
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13311139
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)35933080
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
Samsung Galaxy S20
680061
CPU253391206940
GPU281676180770
Memory158352136999
UX210361155352
NanoReview Score903780680061
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Samsung Galaxy S20
4221
Max Surface Temp.38.9 °C49.7 °C
Stability66 %51 %
Graphics Test34 fps25 fps
Graphics Score57154221
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S21
13123
Samsung Galaxy S20
11213
Writing score1610113300
Web score119099221
Video editing70976001
Data manipulation101538487
NanoReview Score1312311213

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz 3200 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
128 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.0
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 10.0 (Upgradeable to Android 13)
OS Size 28.1 GB 20.1 GB
UI Skin One UI 6.0 One UI 5.1

Battery

Volume 4000 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (55% in 50 min) Yes (100% in 75 min)
Full Charge Time 1:35 h 1:15 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Samsung Galaxy S20
16:07
Web Browsing06:01 h06:49 h
Video Playback11:06 h10:33 h
Games04:21 h04:30 h
Standby Mode95 h69 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 1.1x Optical, 1.1x
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Up to 24FPS Up to 24FPS
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) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX555Samsung S5K2LD
Sensor size1/1.761/1.76
Pixel size1.8 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix64 MP64 MP
Aperturef/2.0f/2.0
Focal length28 mm29 mm
SensorSamsung Bright S5KGW2Samsung Bright S5KGW2
Sensor size1/1.721/1.72
Pixel size0.8 μm0.8 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX563Samsung S5K2LA
Sensor size1/2.551/2.55
Pixel size1.4 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Samsung Galaxy S20
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Samsung Galaxy S20
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Samsung Galaxy S20
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview72n/a
Zoom126n/a

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 3872x2592 pixels 2592x3872 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX374 Samsung S5K3J1
Sensor size 1/3.24 1/3.2
Pixel size 1.22 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
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 b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoYes
2G BandsGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzGSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
3G BandsWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8HSDPA 850 / 900 / 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 (B850/B900/B1700/B1900/B2100)
LTE category2422
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
87 dB
Samsung Galaxy S20
85.9 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2021 yr February, 2020 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr March, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) 800 999
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

No clear favorite identified yet; updates may follow as new data arrives.

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