Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) vs Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G

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 FE 5G, Manufactured in January, 2022with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 888. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
  • Lighter design: 177g vs 209g

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) and Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system 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 6.4 in 6.4 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 403 ppi 403 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 1450 nits 800 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 83.2 % 86.7 %
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 FE 5G
785 nits
sRGB gamutn/a97 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a247 Hz
Response timen/a6 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 158 mm (6.22 in) 155.7 mm (6.13 in)
Width 76.5 mm (3.01 in) 74.5 mm (2.93 in)
Thickness 8.2 mm (0.32 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 209 g (7.37 oz) 177 g (6.24 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
- Green
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
83.2 %
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
86.7 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) and Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
Max Frequency 3000 MHz 2840 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)
- 4/1.8 (Kryo 680 Silver (Cortex-A55))
- 3/2.42 (Kryo 680 Gold (Cortex-A78))
- 1/2.84 (Kryo 680 Prime (Cortex-X1))
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 4 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Hexagon 780
Graphics Adreno 730 Adreno 660
GPU Cores 1024 1024
GPU Frequency 818 MHz 840 MHz
FLOPS 1675.3 GFLOPS 1290.2 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
1549
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
1371
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
3718
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
3396
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)15491371
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)37183396
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
1203840
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
894898
CPU337597247848
GPU448766311997
Memory183031152639
UX234446182414
NanoReview Score1203840894898
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
5704
Max Surface Temp.n/a39.1 °C
Stabilityn/a69 %
Graphics Testn/a34 fps
Graphics Scoren/a5704
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
12441
Writing scoren/a14216
Web scoren/a11960
Video editingn/a7049
Data manipulationn/a10196
NanoReview Scoren/a12441

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB - 6 GB
- 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 3200 MHz
Channels 4 4
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 12 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size n/a 17.5 GB
UI Skin One UI 6.1 One UI 6

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 4500 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 (51% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:10 h 1:15 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
20:15
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
18:37
Web Browsing07:09 h06:11 h
Video Playback10:02 h11:05 h
Games04:27 h04:48 h
Standby Mode118 h100 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Optical, 3x
Flash 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) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° 123 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
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 MP8 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.4
Focal length76 mm76 mm
SensorHynix Hi847Hynix Hi847
Sensor size1/4.41/4.5
Pixel size1 μm1 μm
StabilizationDigitalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3L6Sony IMX258
Sensor size1/31/3.0
Pixel size1.12 μm1.12 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
124
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
119
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
131
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
107
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
127
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
117
Bokeh50n/a
Preview67n/a
Zoom123n/a

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 32 MP
Photo resolution 3648x2736 pixels 6464x4864 pixels
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor Samsung S5K3J1 Sony IMX616
Sensor size 1/3 1/2.74
Pixel size 1.22 μm 0.8 μm
Autofocus No No
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
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
- 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 *YesNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsUMTS B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4 (AWS), B5 (850), B8 (900)UMTS B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8 (900)
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 category2019
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 FE 5G
88.9 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced October, 2023 yr January, 2022 yr
Release Date October, 2023 yr January, 2022 yr
Launch Price ($) 599 790
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 No

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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