Sony Xperia 5 IV vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

Compared 2 smartphones : Sony Xperia 5 IV Manufactured in September, 2022, with display 6.1 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, Manufactured in February, 2021with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Sony Xperia 5 IV
  • Lighter design: 172g vs 227g
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.8in
  • Higher pixel density: 515ppi

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Sony Xperia 5 IV 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.
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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 OLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.1 in 6.8 in
Resolution 1080x2520 pixels 1440x3200 pixels
Aspect ratio 21:9 20:9
Pixel density 449 ppi 515 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (10-120 Hz)
Max brightness 650 nits 1500 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 83.1 % 89.5 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Sony Xperia 5 IV
927 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1019 nits
sRGB gamut100 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)475 Hzn/a
Response time1 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 156 mm (6.14 in) 165.1 mm (6.5 in)
Width 67 mm (2.64 in) 75.6 mm (2.98 in)
Thickness 8.2 mm (0.32 in) 8.9 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 172 g (6.07 oz) 227 g (8.01 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Green
- Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Blue
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Sony Xperia 5 IV
83.1 %
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
89.5 %

Performance

Testing Sony Xperia 5 IV and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 3000 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Cortex-A510)
- 3/2.5 (Cortex-A710)
- 1/3 (Cortex-X2)
- 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 4 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Yes
Graphics Adreno 730 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 1024 896
GPU Frequency 818 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 1675.3 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Sony Xperia 5 IV
1530
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1449
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Sony Xperia 5 IV
4039
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
3892
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)15301449
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)40393892
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Sony Xperia 5 IV
1048135
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
843008
CPU318324232358
GPU324266256356
Memory182542163007
UX223003191217
NanoReview Score1048135843008
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Sony Xperia 5 IV
6718
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
5221
Max Surface Temp.n/a40.8 °C
Stabilityn/a69 %
Graphics Testn/a31 fps
Graphics Scoren/a5221
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Sony Xperia 5 IV
12602
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
n/a
Writing score17371n/a
Web score10937n/a
Video editing6740n/a
Data manipulation9331n/a
NanoReview Score12602n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB - 12 GB
- 16 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.1
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 12 (Upgradeable to Android 13) Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size 24 GB 26.4 GB
UI Skin Stock Android One UI 6

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 5000 mAh
Max Charging Power 30 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (45% in 30 min) Yes (54% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:45 h 1:11 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Sony Xperia 5 IV
21:03
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
22:05
Web Browsing08:14 h07:58 h
Video Playback16:59 h13:59 h
Games05:39 h05:14 h
Standby Mode81 h111 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 108 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 12000x9000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 2.5x Optical, 10x
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Up to 24FPS
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 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
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
Matrix12 MP108 MP
Aperturef/1.7f/1.8
Focal length24 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX557Samsung S5KHM3
Sensor size1/1.71/1.33
Pixel size1.8 μm0.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Laser autofocus
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix12 MP10 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/4.9
Focal length60 mm240 mm
SensorSony IMX650Samsung S5K3J1
Sensor size1/3.51/2.65
Pixel size1.4 μm1.22 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length16 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX563Sony IMX563
Sensor size1/2.51/2.55
Pixel size1.4 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Sony Xperia 5 IV
121
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
121
Video quality
Sony Xperia 5 IV
113
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
100
Overall camera score
Sony Xperia 5 IV
119
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
115
Bokeh5570
Preview6267
Zoom111106

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 40 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 7864x5200 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 24 mm 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX663 Samsung S5KGH1
Sensor size 1/2.9 1/2.65
Pixel size 1.25 μm 0.7 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Sony Xperia 5 IV
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
133
Video quality
Sony Xperia 5 IV
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 5.2 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
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 SlotYesNo
2G BandsGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsWCDMA 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/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B46/B48/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 Yes No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Sony Xperia 5 IV
87.1 dB
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
88 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced September, 2022 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date September, 2022 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 999 1200
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 No n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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