Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs A55 5G
71 out of 100
VS
71 out of 100
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (with Exynos 2100) that was released on January 14, 2021, against the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G, which is powered by Exynos 1480 and came out 3 years and 2 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 S21 Ultra
- The rear camera has a 10x optical zoom
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- 32% higher pixel density (515 vs 390 PPI)
- Handles wireless charging up to 15W
- Has 33% more RAM: 16GB versus 12GB
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- 16% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (843K versus 729K)
- Reverse charging feature
- 24% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1449 and 1168 points
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G
- Shows 21% longer battery life (26:41 vs 22:05 hours)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1024GB
- The phone is 3 years and 2 months newer
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
Choose the importance of each parameter to more accurately identify the smartphone that best meets your particular needs.
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | Super AMOLED |
| Size | 6.8 inches | 6.6 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3200 pixels | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 515 ppi | 390 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (10-120 Hz) | Yes (60-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 1500 nits | 1000 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Touch sampling rate | - | 240 Hz |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Gorilla Glass Victus Plus |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 89.5% | 85.8% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | - | 100% |
| PWM | - | 120 Hz |
| Response time | - | 1 ms |
| Contrast | - | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 165.1 mm (6.5 inches) | 161.1 mm (6.34 inches) |
| Width | 75.6 mm (2.98 inches) | 77.4 mm (3.05 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) | 8.2 mm (0.32 inches) |
| Weight | 227 g (8.01 oz) | 213 g (7.51 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP67 |
| Advanced cooling | - | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Silver, Gray, Blue | White, Blue, Purple, Yellow |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 2100 | Samsung Exynos 1480 |
| Max clock | 2900 MHz | 2750 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (4 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 3 cores at 2.81 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X1 | - 4 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 4 cores at 2.75 GHz: Cortex-A78 |
| L3 cache | - | 4 MB |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 4 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Yes | Yes |
| Graphics | Mali-G78 MP14 | Samsung Xclipse 530 |
| GPU shading units | 896 | 128 |
| GPU clock | 854 MHz | 1300 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1530.4 GFLOPS | ~332.8 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 232358 | 245367 |
| GPU | 256356 | 171544 |
| Memory | 163007 | 151503 |
| UX | 191217 | 160841 |
| Total score | 843008 | 729255 |
| Samples | [20 tests] | [35 tests] |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 40.8 °C | 43.8 °C |
| Stability | 69% | - |
| Graphics test | 31 FPS | 23 FPS |
| Graphics score | 5221 | 3899 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | - | 11712 |
| Video editing | - | 7299 |
| Photo editing | - | 23519 |
| Data manipulation | - | 11337 |
| Writing score | - | 17127 |
Memory
| RAM size | 12, 16 GB | 8, 12 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 3200 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 4 |
| Storage size | 128, 256, 512 GB | 128, 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | MicroSD |
| Memory card max size | - | Up to 1024 GB |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 14) | Android 14 |
| ROM | One UI 6 | One UI 6.1 |
| OS size | 26.4 GB | 20.1 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 25 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | No |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (54% in 30 min) | Yes (55% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:11 hr | 1:03 hr |
| Web browsing | 07:58 hr | 10:24 hr |
| Watching video | 13:59 hr | 17:52 hr |
| Gaming | 05:14 hr | 05:16 hr |
| Standby | 111 hr | 125 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 108 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 12000 x 9000 | 8160 x 6120 |
| Zoom | Optical, 10x | Digital |
| Flash | Dual LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 24FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 123° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 108 MP 2) Telephoto: 10 MP 3) Telephoto: 10 MP 4) Ultrawide: 12 MP | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 12 MP 3) Macro: 5 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 108 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | - |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KHM3 | Sony IMX906 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.33" | 1/1.56" |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | Laser autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 10 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/4.9 | - |
| Focal length | 240 mm | - |
| Sensor | Samsung S5K3J1 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/2.65" | - |
| Pixel size | 1.22 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Optical | - |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 13 mm | - |
| Sensor | Sony IMX563 | Sony IMX258 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" | 1/3.06" |
| Pixel size | 1.4 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | - | 5 MP |
| Aperture | - | f/2.4 |
| Sensor | - | GalaxyCore GC5035 |
| Sensor size | - | 1/5" |
| Pixel size | - | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | - | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 70 | 45 |
| Preview | 67 | 54 |
| Zoom | 106 | 75 |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra from DxOMark | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A55 5G from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 40 megapixels | 32 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 7864 x 5200 | 6464 x 4864 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KGH1 | Sony IMX616 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.65" | 1/2.74" |
| Pixel size | 0.7 micron | 0.8 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
DxOMark front camera
| Photo | 139 | - |
| Video | 145 | - |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6E (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 | 5.2 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Depends on the region |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | Yes |
| LTE Cat* | 24 | 18 |
| 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 | Mid-range |
| Announced | January 2021 | March 2024 |
| Release date | February 2021 | March 2024 |
| Launch price | $1200 | $439 |
| SAR (head) | 0.71 W/kg | 0.68 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.58 W/kg | 1.04 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint | - Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | - | Not included |
Further details
Notes on Galaxy A55 5G:
- The barometer is only available in the model for the USA.
- SM-A556B/DS and A556E/DS models come with two physical SIM cards.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
