Home Phone comparison ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S21 - Which is better?

ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S21

85 out 100
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
VS
65 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S21
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S21

Compared 2 smartphones : ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra Manufactured in November, 2024, with display 6.85 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, vs Samsung Galaxy S21, Manufactured in February, 2021 with 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 ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.85in
  • Higher pixel density: 431ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 144Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 6150mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 228g
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/256 GB
- 16/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB
- 24/1024 GB		 - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB

Review

Key Specs ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra 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
Smartphones:
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
vs
Samsung Galaxy S21

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.85 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1216x2688 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
Pixel density 431 ppi 421 ppi
Refresh rate 144 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness 2000 nits 800 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10 Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 960 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 89.5 % 85.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
1371 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
sRGB gamutn/a99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a240 Hz
Response timen/a5 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 164.3 mm (6.47 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 77.1 mm (3.04 in) 71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness 8.6 mm (0.34 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 228 g (8.04 oz) 169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance IP69 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Blue
- Yellow		 - White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
89.5 %
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %

Performance

Testing ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 4320 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 6/3.53 (Oryon (Phoenix M))
- 2/4.32 (Oryon (Phoenix L))		 - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 3 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Yes
Graphics Adreno 830 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 1536 896
GPU Frequency 1100 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 3379.2 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
3126
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
9635
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)31261331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)96353593
Geekbench Compute (GPU)22367n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
2295031
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
CPU379806253391
GPU1231525281676
Memory406614158352
UX277086210361
NanoReview Score2295031903780
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Max Surface Temp.n/a38.9 °C
Stabilityn/a66 %
Graphics Testn/a34 fps
Graphics Scoren/a5715
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy S21]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
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 - 12 GB
- 16 GB
- 24 GB		 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency n/a 2750 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1024 GB		- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 15 Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size n/a 28.1 GB
UI Skin NebulaAI OS One UI 6.0

Battery

Volume 6150 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 80 W 25 W
Battery Type Silicon Carbon (Si/C) Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (84% in 30 min) Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time 0:42 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
20:13
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Web Browsing08:27 h06:01 h
Video Playback14:09 h11:06 h
Games06:28 h04:21 h
Standby Mode81 h95 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 2.7x Optical, 1.1x
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) 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 122 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 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/1.6 - 4.0f/1.8
Focal length35 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX906Sony IMX555
Sensor size1/1.561/1.76
Pixel size1 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix64 MP64 MP
Aperturef/2.5f/2.0
Focal length70 mm28 mm
SensorOmnivision OV64BSamsung Bright S5KGW2
Sensor size1/2.01/1.72
Pixel size0.7 μm0.8 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix50 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.0f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorOmnivision OV50D40 Light Hunter 400Sony IMX563
Sensor size1/2.881/2.55
Pixel size0.61 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Video quality
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Overall camera score
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Bokehn/a70
Previewn/a72
Zoomn/a126
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Front camera

Matrix 16 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution n/a 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 24 mm 26 mm
Sensor CMOS Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/2.8 1/3.24
Pixel size n/a 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 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) 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 5.4 5
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
DisplayPort Yes n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port Yes No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
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 SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
ZTE Nubia Z70 Ultra
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced November, 2024 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date November, 2024 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 729 800
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 80 W n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider ZTE Nubia Z70 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