Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) and Samsung Galaxy S21 - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) vs Samsung Galaxy S21

71 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
VS
65 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S21
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
Samsung Galaxy S21

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) Manufactured in October, 2023, with display 6.4 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, vs Samsung Galaxy S21, Manufactured in February, 2021 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100. 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 S23 FE (Snapdragon)
  • Larger display: 6.4in
  • Higher battery capacity: 4500mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
  • Supports DisplayPort
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Higher pixel density: 421ppi
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 209g

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) and Samsung Galaxy S21
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:
Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
vs
Samsung Galaxy S21

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.4 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
Pixel density 403 ppi 421 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1450 nits 800 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 83.2 % 85.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
982 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
sRGB gamutn/a99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a240 Hz
Response timen/a5 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 158 mm (6.22 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 76.5 mm (3.01 in) 71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness 8.2 mm (0.32 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 209 g (7.37 oz) 169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Green
- Purple		 - White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
83.2 %
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 3000 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Cortex-A510)
- 3/2.5 (Cortex-A710)
- 1/3 (Cortex-X2)		 - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 4 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Yes
Graphics Adreno 730 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 1024 896
GPU Frequency 818 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 1675.3 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
1549
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
3718
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)15491331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)37183593
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
1203840
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
CPU337597253391
GPU448766281676
Memory183031158352
UX234446210361
NanoReview Score1203840903780
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Max Surface Temp.n/a38.9 °C
Stabilityn/a66 %
Graphics Testn/a34 fps
Graphics Scoren/a5715
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy S21]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
13123
Writing scoren/a16101
Web scoren/a11909
Video editingn/a7097
Data manipulationn/a10153
NanoReview Scoren/a13123

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size n/a 28.1 GB
UI Skin One UI 6.1 One UI 6.0

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (58% in 30 min) Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time 1:10 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
20:15
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Web Browsing07:09 h06:01 h
Video Playback10:02 h11:06 h
Games04:27 h04:21 h
Standby Mode118 h95 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Optical, 1.1x
Flash 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 123 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length23 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung S5KGN3Sony IMX555
Sensor size1/1.571/1.76
Pixel size1 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix8 MP64 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.0
Focal length76 mm28 mm
SensorHynix Hi847Samsung Bright S5KGW2
Sensor size1/4.41/1.72
Pixel size1 μm0.8 μm
StabilizationDigitalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3L6Sony IMX563
Sensor size1/31/2.55
Pixel size1.12 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
124
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
131
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
127
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Bokeh5070
Preview6772
Zoom123126
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)], [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 3648x2736 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor Samsung S5K3J1 Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/3 1/3.24
Pixel size 1.22 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus No 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 6E (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 5.3 5
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - 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 BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsUMTS B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4 (AWS), B5 (850), B8 (900)WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*LTE (B/B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B20/B26/B28/B66)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)
LTE category2024
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 S23 FE (Snapdragon)
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced October, 2023 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date October, 2023 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 599 800
Sensors - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No n/a

Note

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon):

The Galaxy S23 FE is available in the USA with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, whereas other countries receive a version with the Exynos 2200. The base (128 GB) storage utilizes a UFS 3.1 memory type, whereas the higher-tier 256 GB variant is equipped with UFS 4.0. Models are available with a single SIM card, dual SIMs, or dual SIMs plus eSIM (depending on the market).

* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

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