Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

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

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 227g
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.8in
  • Higher pixel density: 515ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.2 vs 5

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 12/128 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/256 GB
- 16/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
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 6.8 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1440x3200 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
Pixel density 421 ppi 515 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (48-120 Hz) Yes (10-120 Hz)
Max brightness 800 nits 1500 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 85.9 % 89.5 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1019 nits
sRGB gamut99.5 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time5 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 151.7 mm (5.97 in) 165.1 mm (6.5 in)
Width 71.2 mm (2.8 in) 75.6 mm (2.98 in)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 in) 8.9 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 169 g (5.96 oz) 227 g (8.01 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
- Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
89.5 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 2900 MHz 2900 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)
- 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 5 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
Graphics Mali-G78 MP14 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 896 896
GPU Frequency 854 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1449
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
3892
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13311449
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)35933892
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
843008
CPU253391232358
GPU281676256356
Memory158352163007
UX210361191217
NanoReview Score903780843008
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
5221
Max Surface Temp.38.9 °C40.8 °C
Stability66 %69 %
Graphics Test34 fps31 fps
Graphics Score57155221
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S21
13123
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
n/a
Writing score16101n/a
Web score11909n/a
Video editing7097n/a
Data manipulation10153n/a
NanoReview Score13123n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB - 12 GB
- 16 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size 28.1 GB 26.4 GB
UI Skin One UI 6.0 One UI 6

Battery

Volume 4000 mAh 5000 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 (54% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:35 h 1:11 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
22:05
Web Browsing06:01 h07:58 h
Video Playback11:06 h13:59 h
Games04:21 h05:14 h
Standby Mode95 h111 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 108 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 12000x9000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 1.1x Optical, 10x
Flash Dual LED Dual 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: 108 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP108 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX555Samsung S5KHM3
Sensor size1/1.761/1.33
Pixel size1.8 μm0.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Laser autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix64 MP10 MP
Aperturef/2.0f/4.9
Focal length28 mm240 mm
SensorSamsung Bright S5KGW2Samsung S5K3J1
Sensor size1/1.721/2.65
Pixel size0.8 μm1.22 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX563Sony IMX563
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 S21 Ultra
121
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
100
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
115
Bokeh7070
Preview7267
Zoom126106

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 40 MP
Photo resolution 3872x2592 pixels 7864x5200 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX374 Samsung S5KGH1
Sensor size 1/3.24 1/2.65
Pixel size 1.22 μm 0.7 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
133
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
140

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6E (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 5.2
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host 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 SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE category2424
5G SupportYesYes

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 S21 Ultra
88 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced January, 2021 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 800 1200
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- 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.

Survey

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Total Votes: 2

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