Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy A21s

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Manufactured in February, 2025, with display 6.9 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, vs Samsung Galaxy A21s, Manufactured in June, 2020 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 850. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Higher pixel density: 498ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy A21s
  • Lighter design: 192g vs 218g

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 12/1024 GB
- 16/1024 GB
- 2/32 GB
- 3/32 GB
- 3/64 GB
- 3/128 GB
- 4/32 GB
- 4/64 GB
- 4/128 GB
- 6/64 GB
- 6/128 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy A21s
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 PLS TFT
Size 6.9 in 6.5 in
Resolution 1440x3120 pixels 720x1600 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
Pixel density 498 ppi 270 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 2600 nits 540 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ No
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 92.4 % 82.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
n/a
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
1403 nits
Samsung Galaxy A21s
487 nits
sRGB gamut97.7 %88.4 %
PWM (Flicker)240 Hz500 Hz
Response time1 ms30.4 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite1500:1

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 162.8 mm (6.41 in) 163.6 mm (6.44 in)
Width 77.6 mm (3.06 in) 75.3 mm (2.96 in)
Thickness 8.2 mm (0.32 in) 8.9 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 218 g (7.69 oz) 192 g (6.77 oz)
Water resistance IP68 No
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Metal Plastic
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Blue
- Black
- Blue
- Red
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
92.4 %
Samsung Galaxy A21s
82.9 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy A21s In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Samsung Exynos 850
Max Frequency 4470 MHz 2000 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (8)
Architecture - 6/3.53 (Oryon (Phoenix M))
- 2/4.32 (Oryon (Phoenix L))
8/2 (Cortex-A55)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 3 nm 8 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon No
Graphics Adreno 830 Mali-G52 MP1
GPU Cores 1536 24
GPU Frequency 1100 MHz 850 MHz
FLOPS 3379.2 GFLOPS 40.8 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
3147
Samsung Galaxy A21s
484
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
9750
Samsung Galaxy A21s
1523
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)3147484
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)97501523
Geekbench Compute (GPU)25681n/a
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
2795139
Samsung Galaxy A21s
191375
CPU65987168748
GPU129416726807
Memory47131959210
UX36978236610
NanoReview Score2795139191375
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
n/a
Samsung Galaxy A21s
425
Max Surface Temp.n/a43.2 °C
Stabilityn/a98 %
Graphics Testn/a2 fps
Graphics Scoren/a425
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
n/a
Samsung Galaxy A21s
5429
Writing scoren/a5426
Web scoren/a4708
Video editingn/a5145
Data manipulationn/a3808
NanoReview Scoren/a5429

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 12 GB
- 16 GB
- 3 GB
- 4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 5333 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1024 GB
- 32 GB
- 64 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0eMMC 5.1
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS Android 15 Android 10 (Upgradeable to Android 12)
OS Size 30.4 GB 12 GB
UI Skin One UI 7.0 One UI 4.1

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 45 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (25 W) No
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (72% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 60 min)
Full Charge Time 0:59 h 2:10 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
31:10
Samsung Galaxy A21s
25:00
Web Browsing11:10 h09:45 h
Video Playback19:32 h14:13 h
Games06:22 h05:34 h
Standby Mode160 h128 h

Main camera

Matrix 200 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 16320x12240 pixels 8000x6000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 5x Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Digital
8K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) No
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 240 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) No
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 123 °
Lenses count Standard: 200 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Macro: 2 MP
Depth: 2 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Bokeh effect
Main lens
Matrix200 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.7f/2.0
Focal length23 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung ISOCELL S5KHP2Samsung S5KGM2
Sensor size1/1.31/2.0
Pixel size0.6 μm0.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalDigital
Telephoto
Matrix50 MPn/a
Aperturef/3.4n/a
Focal length111 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX854n/a
Sensor size1/2.52n/a
Pixel size0.7 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix50 MP8 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/2.2
Focal length13 mmn/a
SensorSamsung ISOCELL S5KJN3n/a
Sensor size1/2.51/4.0
Pixel size0.7 μm1.12 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
144
Samsung Galaxy A21s
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
143
Samsung Galaxy A21s
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
146
Samsung Galaxy A21s
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview81n/a
Zoom149n/a

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 13 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 4128x3096 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm n/a
Sensor Samsung S5K3LU CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.2 1/3.1
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.4 5
Bluetooth features LE PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage 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 *YesNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsUMTS B1(2100),B2(1900),B4(AWS),B5(850),B8(900)B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B5(850), B8 (900)
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B66/B71)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20/B28)
LTE categoryn/a13
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Mono
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No Yes
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
93 dB
Samsung Galaxy A21s
79.5 dB

Other

Class Flagship Budget
Announced January, 2025 yr May, 2020 yr
Release Date February, 2025 yr June, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) 1299 200
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Hall Sensor
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No n/a

Note

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra:

Supports up to 2 eSIMs. The international model has 2 physical SIM slots, while the U.S. version has 1.","Uses Grade 5 titanium and Corning Gorilla Armor 2 glass on both sides.

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

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
0 (0%)
0 (0%)
Total Votes: 0

User comments

Share your opinion or ask questions below