Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Manufactured in February, 2023, with display 6.8 with chipsetSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy, 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 S23 Ultra
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5.2
  • Supports DisplayPort
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
  • Higher pixel density: 515ppi
  • Lighter design: 227g vs 233g

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 12/1024 GB
- 12/128 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/256 GB
- 16/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 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 6.8 in 6.8 in
Resolution 1440x3088 pixels 1440x3200 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.3:9 20:9
Pixel density 500 ppi 515 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) Yes (10-120 Hz)
Max brightness 850 nits 1500 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 89.5 % 89.5 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
1269 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1019 nits
sRGB gamut96.9 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time2 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163.4 mm (6.43 in) 165.1 mm (6.5 in)
Width 78.1 mm (3.07 in) 75.6 mm (2.98 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 8.9 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 233 g (8.22 oz) 227 g (8.01 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Gray
- Blue
- Green
- Red
- Purple
- Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
89.5 %
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
89.5 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 3360 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 2 + 2 + 3) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 3/2 (Cortex-A510)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A710)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A715)
- 1/3.2 (Cortex-X3)
- 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 4 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Yes
Graphics Adreno 740 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 1536 896
GPU Frequency 719 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 2089 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
1976
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1449
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
5221
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
3892
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)19761449
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)52213892
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
1541246
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
843008
CPU371084232358
GPU600732256356
Memory299004163007
UX270462191217
NanoReview Score1541246843008
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
12160
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
5221
Max Surface Temp.34.8 °C40.8 °C
Stability64 %69 %
Graphics Test72 fps31 fps
Graphics Score121605221
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
16130
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
n/a
Writing score19799n/a
Web score16101n/a
Video editing7815n/a
Data manipulation13142n/a
NanoReview Score16130n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 8 GB
- 12 GB
- 12 GB
- 16 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 4200 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1024 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size 39.9 GB 26.4 GB
UI Skin One UI 6.1 One UI 6

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 45 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 (68% in 30 min) Yes (54% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 0:59 h 1:11 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
26:01
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
22:05
Web Browsing09:57 h07:58 h
Video Playback15:38 h13:59 h
Games06:22 h05:14 h
Standby Mode130 h111 h

Main camera

Matrix 200 MP 108 MP
Photo resolution 16320x12240 pixels 12000x9000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 10x Optical, 10x
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Up to 24FPS
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (1080p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Telephoto: 10 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
Matrix200 MP108 MP
Aperturef/1.7f/1.8
Focal length23 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung ISOCELL HP2Samsung S5KHM3
Sensor size1/1.31/1.33
Pixel size0.64 μm0.8 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusLaser autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix10 MP10 MP
Aperturef/4.9f/4.9
Focal length230 mm240 mm
SensorSony IMX754Samsung S5K3J1
Sensor size1/3.521/2.65
Pixel size1.12 μm1.22 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX564Sony IMX563
Sensor size1/2.551/2.55
Pixel size1.4 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
139
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
121
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
137
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
100
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
140
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
115
Bokeh7070
Preview7367
Zoom141106

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 40 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 7864x5200 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor Samsung S5K3LU Samsung S5KGH1
Sensor size 1/3.24 1/2.65
Pixel size 1.12 μm 0.7 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus 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 S23 Ultra
139
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
133
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
145
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
140

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (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 5.3 5.2
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 DP 1.2 n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*12
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G Bandsn/aGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G Bandsn/aWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*n/aLTE (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 Ultra
91.8 dB
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
88 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced February, 2023 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date February, 2023 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 1199 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
Charger Included No n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
1 (33.33%)
2 (66.67%)
Total Votes: 3

User comments

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