Tecno Pova 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S21

Compared 2 smartphones : Tecno Pova 5 Manufactured in July, 2023, with display 6.78 with chipsetMediaTek Helio G99, vs Samsung Galaxy S21, 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 Tecno Pova 5
  • Larger display: 6.78in
  • Higher battery capacity: 6000mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.2 vs 5
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Higher pixel density: 421ppi
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 219.4g
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Tecno Pova 5 and Samsung Galaxy S21
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 IPS LCD Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.78 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1080x2460 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 21:9 20:9
Pixel density 396 ppi 421 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness 580 nits 800 nits
HDR support No Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 83.1 % 85.9 %
Features DCI-P3 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Tecno Pova 5
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
sRGB gamutn/a99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a240 Hz
Response timen/a5 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 168.61 mm (6.64 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 76.61 mm (3.02 in) 71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness 9 mm (0.35 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 219.4 g (7.74 oz) 169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance No IP68
Back panel Plastic Plastic
Frame Plastic Metal
Colors - Black
- Gold
- Blue
- White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Tecno Pova 5
83.1 %
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %

Performance

Testing Tecno Pova 5 and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset MediaTek Helio G99 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 2200 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 6/2 (Cortex-A55)
- 2/2.2 (Cortex-A76)
- 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 6 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
Graphics Mali-G57 MP2 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 128 896
GPU Frequency 1000 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 128 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Tecno Pova 5
724
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Tecno Pova 5
1982
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)7241331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)19823593
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Tecno Pova 5
422461
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
CPU131367253391
GPU71737281676
Memory100728158352
UX118629210361
NanoReview Score422461903780
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Tecno Pova 5
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Max Surface Temp.n/a38.9 °C
Stabilityn/a66 %
Graphics Testn/a34 fps
Graphics Scoren/a5715
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Tecno Pova 5
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
13123
Writing scoren/a16101
Web scoren/a11909
Video editingn/a7097
Data manipulationn/a10153
NanoReview Scoren/a13123

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.2UFS 3.1
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size n/a 28.1 GB
UI Skin HIOS 14 One UI 6.0

Battery

Volume 6000 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 45 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 21 min) Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time 0:57 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Tecno Pova 5
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Web Browsingn/a06:01 h
Video Playbackn/a11:06 h
Gamesn/a04:21 h
Standby Moden/a95 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8190x6144 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 1.1x
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Digital Optical
8K Recording No Up to 24FPS
4K Recording No Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion n/a 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens n/a 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Depth: 0.08 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.6f/1.8
Focal lengthn/a26 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX555
Sensor size1/2.761/1.76
Pixel size0.7 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationDigitalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a64 MP
Aperturen/af/2.0
Focal lengthn/a28 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung Bright S5KGW2
Sensor sizen/a1/1.72
Pixel sizen/a0.8 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrixn/a12 MP
Aperturen/af/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX563
Sensor sizen/a1/2.55
Pixel sizen/a1.4 μm
Stabilizationn/aDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Tecno Pova 5
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Video quality
Tecno Pova 5
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Overall camera score
Tecno Pova 5
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Bokehn/a70
Previewn/a72
Zoomn/a126

Front camera

Matrix 8 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 3264x2448 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length n/a 26 mm
Sensor CMOS Sony IMX374
Sensor size n/a 1/3.24
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus No 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 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- 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 LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Varies by region Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotYesNo
2G Bandsn/aGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G Bandsn/aWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*n/aLTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)
LTE categoryn/a24
5G SupportNoYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack Yes No
FM Radio Yes No
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Tecno Pova 5
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB

Other

Class Budget Flagship
Announced June, 2023 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date July, 2023 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 180 800
Sensors - 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 45 W n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S21 the clear winner in this comparison.

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