Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Apple iPhone 15 Pro

71 out of 100

86 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 15 Pro, which is powered by Apple A17 Pro and came out 21 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

Comes with 1226 mAh larger battery capacity: 4500 vs 3274 mAh
Has a 0.3 inch larger screen size
Fingerprint scanner
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
Has 2 SIM card slots
CPU with a higher amount of cores (+2)

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 15 Pro

2.4x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1502K versus 625K)
Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
15% higher pixel density (460 vs 401 PPI)
2.8x faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 3281 and 1174 points
More energy-efficient CPU – Apple A17 Pro
Ready for eSIM technology

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G and Apple iPhone 15 Pro crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	Dynamic AMOLED	OLED
Size	6.4 inches	6.1 inches
Resolution	1080 x 2340 pixels	1179 x 2556 pixels
Aspect ratio	20:9	19.5:9
PPI	401 ppi	460 ppi
Refresh rate	120 Hz	120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	No	Yes
Max rated brightness	420 nits	2000 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR	1200 nits	1600 nits
HDR support	Yes, HDR10+	Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass Victus	Ceramic Shield
Screen-to-body ratio	89.6%	88.2%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display

RGB color space	97%	-
PWM	247 Hz	-
Response time	6 ms	-
Contrast	∞ Infinity	-

Height	155.7 mm (6.13 inches)	146.6 mm (5.77 inches)
Width	74.5 mm (2.93 inches)	70.6 mm (2.78 inches)
Thickness	7.9 mm (0.31 inches)	8.25 mm (0.32 inches)
Weight	177 g (6.24 oz)	187 g (6.6 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Rear material	Plastic	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	White, Gray, Green, Purple	White, Black, Silver, Blue
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in-display	No

Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888	Apple A17 Pro
Max clock	2840 MHz	3780 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: - 2 cores at 3.78 GHz:
L3 cache	4 MB	-
Lithography process	5 nanometers	3 nanometers
Graphics	Adreno 660	Apple A17 GPU
GPU shading units	1024	768
GPU clock	792 MHz	1398 MHz
FLOPS	~1622 GFLOPS	~2147.2 GFLOPS

CPU	140597	411219
GPU	209723	541392
Memory	134992	220782
UX	139479	320112
Total score	625671	1502597

Max surface temperature	39.1 °C	-
Stability	69%	-
Graphics test	34 FPS	-
Graphics score	5703	-

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

RAM size	6, 8 GB	8 GB
Memory type	LPDDR5	LPDDR5
Memory clock	2750 MHz	-
Channels	2	4

Storage size	128, 256 GB	128, 256, 512, 1024 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.1	NVMe
Memory card	No	No

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

Capacity	4500 mAh	3274 mAh
Max charge power	25 W	30 W
Battery type	Li-Ion	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes (15 W)	Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse charging	Yes, (wireless)	Yes
Fast charging	Yes (51% in 30 min)	Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:15 hr	-

Battery life tests
Web browsing	07:42 hr	-
Watching video	13:05 hr	-
Gaming	05:29 hr	-
Standby	91 hr	-

Main camera
Matrix	12 megapixels	48 megapixels
Image resolution	4032 x 3024	8000 x 6000
Zoom	Optical, 3x	Optical, 3x
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)	4 (48 MP + 12 MP + 13.4 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	- 48 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 24 mm - Pixel size: 1.22 micron - Sensor: 1/1.28", Sony IMX803 (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	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.8 - Focal length: 77 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/1.9" - 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)	- 13.4 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Depth lens	-	Yes
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support
Samples	Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G 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 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	5.3
Bluetooth features	LE	LE
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 - OTG
GPS	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC
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	20
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 2023
Release date	January 2022	September 2023
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 15 Pro

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Apple iPhone 15 Pro

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