Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S23 Manufactured in February, 2023, with display 6.1 with chipsetSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy, vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, Manufactured in February, 2021 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S23
  • Lighter design: 168g vs 227g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5.2
  • Supports DisplayPort
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.8in
  • Higher pixel density: 515ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 3900mAh

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S23 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 6.1 in 6.8 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1440x3200 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
Pixel density 425 ppi 515 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (24-120 Hz) Yes (10-120 Hz)
Max brightness 800 nits 1500 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 88 % 89.5 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S23
1197 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1019 nits
sRGB gamut98.9 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time1 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 146.3 mm (5.76 in) 165.1 mm (6.5 in)
Width 70.9 mm (2.79 in) 75.6 mm (2.98 in)
Thickness 7.6 mm (0.3 in) 8.9 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 168 g (5.93 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
- Green
- Purple
- Yellow
- Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S23
88 %
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
89.5 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S23 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
1831
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1449
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23
4914
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
3892
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)18311449
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)49143892
Geekbench Compute (GPU)9422n/a
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S23
1522811
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
843008
CPU380535232358
GPU598896256356
Memory273271163007
UX270109191217
NanoReview Score1522811843008
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S23
12039
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
5221
Max Surface Temp.34.3 °C40.8 °C
Stability60 %69 %
Graphics Test72 fps31 fps
Graphics Score120395221
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S23
15602
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
n/a
Writing score19330n/a
Web score14262n/a
Video editing7840n/a
Data manipulation12674n/a
NanoReview Score15602n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB - 12 GB
- 16 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency n/a 2750 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 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 29.7 GB 26.4 GB
UI Skin One UI 6.1 One UI 6

Battery

Volume 3900 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (10 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (57% in 30 min) Yes (54% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:16 h 1:11 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S23
22:02
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
22:05
Web Browsing08:12 h07:58 h
Video Playback13:41 h13:59 h
Games05:20 h05:14 h
Standby Mode109 h111 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 108 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 12000x9000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x 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: 50 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
Matrix50 MP108 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length23 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung S5KGN3Samsung S5KHM3
Sensor size1/1.571/1.33
Pixel size1 μm0.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Laser autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix10 MP10 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/4.9
Focal length70 mm240 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3K1Samsung S5K3J1
Sensor size1/3.941/2.65
Pixel size1 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
129
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
121
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S23
137
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
100
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S23
133
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
115
Bokeh7070
Preview7267
Zoom126106

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 (Dual Pixel) 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
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
133
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S23
n/a
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 BandsGSM 850/1700/1900/2100MhzGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsUMTS 6/5/8/34WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*LTE (B/B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B16/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B27/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66/B71)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
91.5 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 ($) 799 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

Note

Samsung Galaxy S23:

The 128GB version uses slower UFS 3.1 memory, while the 256GB and 512GB models have UFS 4.0.

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

Results

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