Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G vs S21 FE 5G
68
out of 100
VS
71
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G) that was released on August 11, 2021, against the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 and came out 5 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.1)
- Has a 0.3 inch larger screen size
- 27% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (792K versus 625K)
- Delivers 18% higher peak brightness (938 against 797 nits)
- 14% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1338 and 1174 points
- Ready for eSIM technology
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
- The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Comes with 1200 mAh larger battery capacity: 4500 vs 3300 mAh
- Shows 32% longer battery life (26:34 vs 20:09 hours)
- Has 2 SIM card slots
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | Dynamic AMOLED |
| Size | 6.7 inches | 6.4 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2640 pixels | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 21.9:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 426 ppi | 401 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes | No |
| Max rated brightness | 850 nits | 420 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1200 nits | 1200 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 84.7% | 89.6% |
| Display features |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 95.3% | 97% |
| PWM | 242 Hz | 247 Hz |
| Response time | 6.5 ms | 6 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 166 mm (6.54 inches) | 155.7 mm (6.13 inches) |
| Width | 72.2 mm (2.84 inches) | 74.5 mm (2.93 inches) |
| Thickness | 6.9 mm (0.27 inches) | 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) |
| Weight | 183 g (6.46 oz) | 177 g (6.24 oz) |
| Waterproof | IPX8 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Plastic |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Gray, Green, Pink | White, Gray, Green, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 |
| Max clock | 2840 MHz | 2840 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (1 + 3 + 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 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) |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | 4 MB |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 660 | Adreno 660 |
| GPU shading units | 1024 | 1024 |
| GPU clock | 840 MHz | 792 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1622 GFLOPS | ~1622 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 227108 | 140597 |
| GPU | 239255 | 209723 |
| Memory | 147100 | 134992 |
| UX | 175227 | 139479 |
| Total score | 792147 | 625671 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 39.1 °C | 39.1 °C |
| Stability | 71% | 69% |
| Graphics test | 27 FPS | 34 FPS |
| Graphics score | 4597 | 5703 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 12140 | 10889 |
| Video editing | 7704 | 7079 |
| Photo editing | 30191 | 28541 |
| Data manipulation | 10606 | 10075 |
| Writing score | 16498 | 14461 |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 6, 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 2750 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256 GB | 128, 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | One UI 5.1.1 | One UI 5.0 |
| OS size | 29 GB | 17.5 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 3300 mAh | 4500 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 25 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (10 W) | Yes (15 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | Yes, (wireless) |
| Fast charging | Yes (40% in 30 min) | Yes (51% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:30 hr | 1:15 hr |
| Web browsing | 06:58 hr | 07:42 hr |
| Watching video | 09:12 hr | 13:05 hr |
| Gaming | 03:32 hr | 05:29 hr |
| Standby | 64 hr | 91 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Optical, 3x |
| Flash | LED | 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) | 960 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | 123° |
| Lenses | 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) | 3 (12 MP + 8 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 27 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX563 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 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 |
| 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: 22 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/3.06", Sony IMX258 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/3.0", Sony IMX258 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G from DxOMark | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 10 megapixels | 32 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 6464 x 4864 |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.22 microns | 0.8 microns |
| Sensor type | Exmor-RS CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.2" | 1/2.74" |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| 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 | 5.1 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 3.2 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| NFC * | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM * | 1 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | - | Standby |
| eSIM support * | Yes | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat * | 20 | 19 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | August 2021 | January 2022 |
| Release date | August 2021 | January 2022 |
| SAR (head) | 0.86 W/kg | 0.95 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.58 W/kg | 1.48 W/kg |
| Sensors |
- Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Not included |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the camera, battery life, connectivity, and design are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G . But if the performance is more of a priority – go for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G .
