Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Apple iPhone 14 Plus

71 out of 100

81 out of 100

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.4-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 ) that was released on January 4, 2022, against the Apple iPhone 14 Plus, which is powered by Apple A15 Bionic and came out 8 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Differences
Review
Specs
Benchmarks
Battery life
Camera
Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone

Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G

The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
Fingerprint scanner
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
Has 2 SIM card slots
Reverse charging feature
CPU with a higher amount of cores (+2)
Weighs 26 grams less

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 14 Plus

2.1x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1340K versus 625K)
Shows 55% longer battery life (41:06 vs 26:34 hours)
Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
Has a 0.3 inch larger screen size
Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
14% higher pixel density (458 vs 401 PPI)
91% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 2238 and 1174 points
The phone is 8-months newer
Ready for eSIM technology

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G and Apple iPhone 14 Plus crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	Dynamic AMOLED	OLED
Size	6.4 inches	6.7 inches
Resolution	1080 x 2340 pixels	1284 x 2778 pixels
Aspect ratio	20:9	19.5:9
PPI	401 ppi	458 ppi
Refresh rate	120 Hz	60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	No	No
Max rated brightness	420 nits	800 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR	1200 nits	1200 nits
HDR support	Yes, HDR10+	Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass Victus	Ceramic Shield
Screen-to-body ratio	89.6%	87.4%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display	- DCI-P3

RGB color space	97%	99.7%
PWM	247 Hz	59 Hz
Response time	6 ms	5 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Height	155.7 mm (6.13 inches)	160.8 mm (6.33 inches)
Width	74.5 mm (2.93 inches)	78.1 mm (3.07 inches)
Thickness	7.9 mm (0.31 inches)	7.8 mm (0.31 inches)
Weight	177 g (6.24 oz)	203 g (7.16 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Rear material	Plastic	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	White, Gray, Green, Purple	Black, Blue, Red, Purple, Yellow
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in-display	No

Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888	Apple A15 Bionic
Max clock	2840 MHz	3230 MHz
CPU cores	8 (1 + 3 + 4)	6 (2 + 4)
Architecture	- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 680 Silver (Cortex-A55) - 3 cores at 2.42 GHz: Kryo 680 Gold (Cortex-A78) - 1 core at 2.84 GHz: Kryo 680 Prime (Cortex-X1)	- 4 cores at 2.02 GHz: Blizzard - 2 cores at 3.23 GHz: Avalanche
L3 cache	4 MB	-
Lithography process	5 nanometers	5 nanometers
Graphics	Adreno 660	Apple A15 GPU
GPU shading units	1024	640
GPU clock	792 MHz	1338 MHz
FLOPS	~1622 GFLOPS	~1712.6 GFLOPS

CPU	140597	319002
GPU	209723	432256
Memory	134992	203391
UX	139479	378102
Total score	625671	1340615

Max surface temperature	39.1 °C	44 °C
Stability	69%	83%
Graphics test	34 FPS	56 FPS
Graphics score	5703	9420

Web score	10889	-
Video editing	7079	-
Photo editing	28541	-
Data manipulation	10075	-
Writing score	14461	-

RAM size	6, 8 GB	6 GB
Memory type	LPDDR5	LPDDR4X
Memory clock	2750 MHz	-
Channels	2	2

Storage size	128, 256 GB	128, 256, 512 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.1	NVMe
Memory card	No	No

Operating system	Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)	iOS 16 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17)
ROM	One UI 5.0	-
OS size	17.5 GB	16 GB

Capacity	4500 mAh	4325 mAh
Max charge power	25 W	20 W
Battery type	Li-Ion	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes (15 W)	Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse charging	Yes, (wireless)	No
Fast charging	Yes (51% in 30 min)	Yes (47% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:15 hr	2:00 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	07:42 hr	13:47 hr
Watching video	13:05 hr	17:29 hr
Gaming	05:29 hr	06:03 hr
Standby	91 hr	146 hr

Main camera
Matrix	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	4032 x 3024	4032 x 3024
Zoom	Optical, 3x	Digital
Flash	LED	Dual LED
Stabilization	Optical	Optical
8K video recording	No	No
4K video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
Slow motion	960 FPS (720p)	240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens	123°	120°
Lenses	3 (12 MP + 8 MP + 12 MP)	2 (12 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.76", Sony IMX555 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.5 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.9 micron - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens	- 8 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 76 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/4.5", Hynix Hi847 (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization	-
Ultra-wide lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/3.0", Sony IMX258 (Exmor-RS CMOS)	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode
Samples	Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G from DxOMark	Photo samples of Apple iPhone 14 Plus from DxOMark

Selfie camera
Megapixels	32 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	6464 x 4864	4032 x 3024
Aperture	f/2.2	f/1.9
Focal length	26 mm	23 mm
Pixel size	0.8 microns	-
Sensor type	Exmor-RS CMOS	-
Sensor size	1/2.74"	1/3.6"
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS

Wi-Fi standard	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/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	5.3
Bluetooth features	LE	LE
USB type	USB Type-C	-
USB version	3.2	2
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG
GPS	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
NFC *	Yes	Yes
Infrared port	No	No

Number of SIM *	2	1
Type of SIM card	Nano	Nano
Multi SIM mode	Standby	-
eSIM support *	No	Yes
Hybrid slot	No	No
LTE Cat *	19	18
5G support	Yes	Yes

Speakers	Stereo	Stereo
Headphone audio jack	No	No
FM radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	January 2022	September 2022
Release date	January 2022	October 2022
SAR (head)	0.95 W/kg	-
SAR (body)	1.48 W/kg	-
Sensors	- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor
Bundled charger	Not included	Not included

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Apple iPhone 14 Plus

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Apple iPhone 14 Plus

Key differences

Review

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Display

Design and build

Performance

Benchmarks

Memory

Software

Battery

Camera

DxOMark camera tests

Connectivity

Sound

Other

Conclusion