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
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
| 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
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
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Tests & specs
Specs & test comparisonDisplay
| 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 |
| sRGB gamut | 96.9 % | n/a |
| PWM (Flicker) | 240 Hz | n/a |
| Response time | 2 ms | n/a |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinite | n/a |
Design & Build
| 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
Performance
| 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 6 (Single-Core) | 1976 | 1449 |
| Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core) | 5221 | 3892 |
| CPU | 371084 | 232358 |
| GPU | 600732 | 256356 |
| Memory | 299004 | 163007 |
| UX | 270462 | 191217 |
| NanoReview Score | 1541246 | 843008 |
| Max Surface Temp. | 34.8 °C | 40.8 °C |
| Stability | 64 % | 69 % |
| Graphics Test | 72 fps | 31 fps |
| Graphics Score | 12160 | 5221 |
| Writing score | 19799 | n/a |
| Web score | 16101 | n/a |
| Video editing | 7815 | n/a |
| Data manipulation | 13142 | n/a |
| NanoReview Score | 16130 | n/a |
Memory
| RAM Size | - 8 GB - 12 GB |
- 12 GB - 16 GB |
| Memory Type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5 |
| Memory Frequency | 4200 MHz | 2750 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 2 |
| Storage Capacity | - 256 GB - 512 GB - 1024 GB | - 128 GB - 256 GB - 512 GB |
| Storage Type | UFS 4.0 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory Card | No | No |
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 |
| Web Browsing | 09:57 h | 07:58 h |
| Video Playback | 15:38 h | 13:59 h |
| Games | 06:22 h | 05:14 h |
| Standby Mode | 130 h | 111 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 |
| Matrix | 200 MP | 108 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.7 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 23 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung ISOCELL HP2 | Samsung S5KHM3 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.3 | 1/1.33 |
| Pixel size | 0.64 μm | 0.8 μm |
| Autofocus | Laser autofocus | Laser autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Matrix | 10 MP | 10 MP |
| Aperture | f/4.9 | f/4.9 |
| Focal length | 230 mm | 240 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX754 | Samsung S5K3J1 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.52 | 1/2.65 |
| Pixel size | 1.12 μm | 1.22 μm |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Matrix | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 13 mm | 13 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX564 | Sony IMX563 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55 | 1/2.55 |
| Pixel size | 1.4 μm | 1.4 μm |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Bokeh | 70 | 70 |
| Preview | 73 | 67 |
| Zoom | 141 | 106 |
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 |
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 |
| SIM Count* | 1 | 2 |
| SIM Type | Nano | Nano |
| SIM Mode | Dual SIM Standby | Dual SIM Standby |
| eSIM Support * | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid Slot | No | No |
| 2G Bands | n/a | GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz |
| 3G Bands | n/a | WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8 |
| LTE Bands* | n/a | LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66) |
| LTE category | 20 | 24 |
| 5G Support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| 3.5 mm Jack | No | No |
| FM Radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
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
Total Votes: 3