Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Vivo iQOO Z11

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.2 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs Vivo iQOO Z11, Manufactured in March, 2026with chipsetMediaTek Dimensity 8500. 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 216.42g
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose Vivo iQOO Z11
  • Larger display: 6.83in
  • Higher pixel density: 450ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 165Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 9020mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 and Vivo iQOO Z11
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 AMOLED
Size 6.2 in 6.83 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1260x2800 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
Pixel density 421 ppi 450 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 165 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (48-120 Hz) Yes
Max brightness 800 nits 2000 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 85.9 % 90.6 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
Vivo iQOO Z11
n/a
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) 163.3 mm (6.43 in)
Width 71.2 mm (2.8 in) 76.1 mm (3 in)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 in) 8.3 mm (0.33 in)
Weight 169 g (5.96 oz) 216.42 g (7.63 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP69
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Plastic Plastic
Frame Metal Plastic
Colors - White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
- White
- Black
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %
Vivo iQOO Z11
90.6 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 and Vivo iQOO Z11 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 MediaTek Dimensity 8500
Max Frequency 2900 MHz 3400 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-A725)
- 3/3.2 (Cortex-A725)
- 1/3.4 (Cortex-A725)
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 4 nm
Neural Processor Yes MediaTek NPU 880
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
1331
Vivo iQOO Z11
1740
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Vivo iQOO Z11
6797
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)13311740
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)35936797
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
Vivo iQOO Z11
2612264
CPU253391960602
GPU281676555986
Memory158352385197
UX210361710479
NanoReview Score9037802612264
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Vivo iQOO Z11
n/a
Max Surface Temp.38.9 °Cn/a
Stability66 %n/a
Graphics Test34 fpsn/a
Graphics Score5715n/a
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S21
13123
Vivo iQOO Z11
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 LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz 4800 MHz
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 4.1
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 OriginOS 6

Battery

Volume 4000 mAh 9020 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 90 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 (55% in 50 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 1:35 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Vivo iQOO Z11
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 8192x6144 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 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 50 MP
Depth
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mm3 mm
SensorSony IMX555n/a
Sensor size1/1.761/1.95 (0.51)
Pixel size1.8 μm0.8 μm
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 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
129
Vivo iQOO Z11
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Vivo iQOO Z11
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Vivo iQOO Z11
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview72n/a
Zoom126n/a

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 16 MP
Photo resolution 3872x2592 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.5
Focal length 26 mm n/a
Sensor Sony IMX374 CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.24 1/3.0 (0.33)
Pixel size 1.22 μm 1 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) 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 5.4
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 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 n/a
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB
Vivo iQOO Z11
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Mid-range
Announced January, 2021 yr March, 2026 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr March, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 800 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 335
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 Yes, 100 W
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Vivo iQOO Z11 the clear winner in this comparison.

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