Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S25 and Samsung Galaxy M21 - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs Samsung Galaxy M21

87 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S25
VS
45 out 100
Samsung Galaxy M21
Samsung Galaxy S25
Samsung Galaxy M21

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S25 Manufactured in February, 2025, with display 6.2 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, vs Samsung Galaxy M21, Manufactured in March, 2020 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 7 Octa 9611. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S25
  • Higher pixel density: 416ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 162g vs 188g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy M21
  • Larger display: 6.4in
  • Higher battery capacity: 6000mAh vs 4000mAh

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/128 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB		 - 4/64 GB
- 6/128 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S25 and Samsung Galaxy M21
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
Smartphones:
Samsung Galaxy S25
vs
Samsung Galaxy M21

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED Super AMOLED
Size 6.2 in 6.4 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 416 ppi 403 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 2600 nits 630 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ No
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 91.1 % 84.2 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S25
1406 nits
Samsung Galaxy M21
608 nits
sRGB gamut97.4 %141.3 %
PWM (Flicker)240 Hz215 Hz
Response time2 ms9 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S25], [Samsung Galaxy M21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 146.9 mm (5.78 in) 159 mm (6.26 in)
Width 70.5 mm (2.78 in) 75.1 mm (2.96 in)
Thickness 7.2 mm (0.28 in) 8.9 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 162 g (5.71 oz) 188 g (6.63 oz)
Water resistance IP68 No
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Metal Plastic
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Blue
- Green
- Pink		 - Black
- Blue
- Green
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S25
91.1 %
Samsung Galaxy M21
84.2 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S25 and Samsung Galaxy M21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 9611
Max Frequency 4470 MHz 2300 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 6/3.53 (Oryon (Phoenix M))
- 2/4.32 (Oryon (Phoenix L))		 - 4/1.7 (Cortex-A53)
- 4/2.3 (Cortex-A73)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 3 nm 10 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Yes
Graphics Adreno 830 Mali-G72 MP3
GPU Cores 1536 54
GPU Frequency 1100 MHz 850 MHz
FLOPS 3379.2 GFLOPS 113.8 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S25
3075
Samsung Galaxy M21
514
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S25
9822
Samsung Galaxy M21
1558
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)3075514
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)98221558
Geekbench Compute (GPU)26264n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Samsung Galaxy S25]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S25
2382973
Samsung Galaxy M21
266455
CPU58013976468
GPU96129945756
Memory47874170269
UX36279473962
NanoReview Score2382973266455
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S25
n/a
Samsung Galaxy M21
816
Max Surface Temp.n/a44.1 °C
Stabilityn/a73 %
Graphics Testn/a4 fps
Graphics Scoren/a816
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy M21]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 12 GB - 4 GB
- 6 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 5333 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB- 64 GB
- 128 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0UFS 2.1
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS Android 15 Android 10.0 (Upgradeable to Android 12.0)
OS Size 30.1 GB 14.5 GB
UI Skin One UI 7.0 One Ui 4.1

Battery

Volume 4000 mAh 6000 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) No
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (56% in 30 min) Yes Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (25% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:17 h 2:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S25
24:10
Samsung Galaxy M21
24:03
Web Browsing09:09 h10:07 h
Video Playback17:15 h13:59 h
Games05:32 h05:35 h
Standby Mode108 h115 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 8000x6000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Digital
8K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 123 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Depth: 5 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/2.0
Focal length24 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung ISOCELL S5KGN3Samsung S5KGM2
Sensor size1/1.561/2.0
Pixel size1 μm0.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalDigital
Telephoto
Matrix10 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.4n/a
Focal length67 mmn/a
SensorSamsung ISOCELL S5K3K1n/a
Sensor size1/3.94n/a
Pixel size1 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP8 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm12 mm
SensorSony IMX564n/a
Sensor size1/2.551/4.0
Pixel size1.4 μm1.12 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 20 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 5184x3888 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor Samsung S5K3LU CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.2 n/a
Pixel size 1.12 μm n/a
Autofocus Phase autofocus 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
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/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20/B38/B40/B41)
LTE categoryn/a12
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers n/a Mono
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No Yes
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S25
91.7 dB
Samsung Galaxy M21
83.8 dB

Other

Class Flagship Mid-range
Announced January, 2025 yr March, 2020 yr
Release Date February, 2025 yr March, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) n/a 210
MSRP ($) 799 n/a
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No n/a

Note

Samsung Galaxy S25:

Supports up to 2 eSIMs. The international model has 2 physical SIM slots, while the U.S. model has 1.

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

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S25 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