Home Phone comparison Sony Xperia 1 III and Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus - Which is better?

Sony Xperia 1 III vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus

61 out 100
Sony Xperia 1 III
VS
67 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
Sony Xperia 1 III
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus

Compared 2 smartphones : Sony Xperia 1 III Manufactured in June, 2021, with display 6.5 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 888, vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus, Manufactured in February, 2021with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100. 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 Sony Xperia 1 III
  • Higher pixel density: 643ppi
  • Lighter design: 186g vs 200g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.2 vs 5
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
  • Larger display: 6.7in
  • Higher battery capacity: 4800mAh vs 4500mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 3.1
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Sony Xperia 1 III and Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
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:
Sony Xperia 1 III
vs
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.5 in 6.7 in
Resolution 1644x3840 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 21:9 20:9
Pixel density 643 ppi 394 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness 385 nits 1300 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 120 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 84.2 % 88.7 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Sony Xperia 1 III
559 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
879 nits
sRGB gamut99.9 %98.9 %
PWM (Flicker)476 Hz240 Hz
Response time7.5 ms6.2 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Sony Xperia 1 III], [Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 165 mm (6.5 in) 161.5 mm (6.36 in)
Width 71 mm (2.8 in) 75.6 mm (2.98 in)
Thickness 8.2 mm (0.32 in) 7.8 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 186 g (6.56 oz) 200 g (7.05 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Gray
- Purple		 - Black
- Silver
- Gold
- Red
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Sony Xperia 1 III
84.2 %
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
88.7 %

Performance

Testing Sony Xperia 1 III and Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 2840 MHz 2840 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Kryo 680 Silver (Cortex-A55))
- 3/2.42 (Kryo 680 Gold (Cortex-A78))
- 1/2.84 (Kryo 680 Prime (Cortex-X1))		 - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 5 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon 780 Yes
Graphics Adreno 660 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 1024 896
GPU Frequency 840 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 1290.2 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Sony Xperia 1 III
1466
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
1428
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Sony Xperia 1 III
3923
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
3840
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)14661428
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)39233840
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Sony Xperia 1 III
933258
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
919348
CPU265786262973
GPU293033294382
Memory188494147307
UX185945214686
NanoReview Score933258919348
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Sony Xperia 1 III
5557
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
5538
Max Surface Temp.44.9 °C41.5 °C
Stability71 %67 %
Graphics Test33 fps33 fps
Graphics Score55575538
Sources: 3DMark [Sony Xperia 1 III], [Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Sony Xperia 1 III
14480
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
n/a
Writing score17808n/a
Web score11594n/a
Video editing7774n/a
Data manipulation11748n/a
NanoReview Score14480n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 12 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB		- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.1
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 13) Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size 16 GB 27.2 GB
UI Skin n/a One UI 6

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 4800 mAh
Max Charging Power 30 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 30 min) Yes (54% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:50 h 1:12 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Sony Xperia 1 III
15:23
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
20:53
Web Browsing05:20 h07:28 h
Video Playback08:56 h13:15 h
Games04:04 h05:04 h
Standby Mode82 h105 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 4.4x Optical, 1.1x
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Up to 24FPS
4K Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 124 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Depth: 0.3 MP		 Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.7f/1.8
Focal length24 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX557Sony IMX555
Sensor size1/1.71/1.76
Pixel size1.8 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MP64 MP
Aperturef/2.3f/2.0
Focal length70 mm28 mm
SensorSony IMX663Samsung Bright S5KGW2
Sensor size1/2.91/1.72
Pixel size1 μm0.8 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length16 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX363Sony IMX563
Sensor size1/2.551/2.55
Pixel size1.4 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Sony Xperia 1 III
107
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
129
Video quality
Sony Xperia 1 III
92
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
137
Overall camera score
Sony Xperia 1 III
105
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
133
Bokeh6070
Preview5772
Zoom104126
Sources: DxOMark [Sony Xperia 1 III], [Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus]

Front camera

Matrix 8 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 3264x2448 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 24 mm 26 mm
Sensor Samsung S5K4H7 Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/4 1/3.24
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (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 5.2 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.1 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotYesNo
2G BandsGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsHSDPA 2100 (band 1), 1900 (band 2), 1700 (band 4), 850 (band 5), 800 (band 6), 900 (band 8), 800 (band 19)WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B46/B66)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 Yes No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Sony Xperia 1 III
81.5 dB
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
87.8 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced April, 2021 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date June, 2021 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 1200 1000
Sensors - 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 Yes 30 W n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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