Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus vs Apple iPhone 13 mini
73
out of 100
VS
73
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.7-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus (with Exynos 2100) that was released on January 14, 2021, against the Apple iPhone 13 mini, 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.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
- Comes with 2394 mAh larger battery capacity: 4800 vs 2406 mAh
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Has a 1.3 inches larger screen size
- Has 2x more RAM: 8GB versus 4GB
- The rear camera has a 1.1x optical zoom
- Fingerprint scanner
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
- Has 2 SIM card slots
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 13 mini
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
- 10% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (922K versus 839K)
- 21% higher pixel density (476 vs 394 PPI)
- Better grip in hands – the body is 11.4 mm narrower
- 55% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 2218 and 1429 points
- Weighs 59 grams less
- The phone is 8-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
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.7 inches | 5.4 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 394 ppi | 476 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 1300 nits | 800 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | - | 1200 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Ceramic Shield |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 88.3% | 85.1% |
| Display features |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 98.9% | 99.7% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | 510 Hz |
| Response time | 6.2 ms | 4.8 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 161.5 mm (6.36 inches) | 131.5 mm (5.18 inches) |
| Width | 75.6 mm (2.98 inches) | 64.2 mm (2.53 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.8 mm (0.31 inches) | 7.65 mm (0.3 inches) |
| Weight | 200 g (7.05 oz) | 141 g (4.97 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Silver, Gold, Red, Purple | White, Black, Blue, Green, Red, Pink |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 2100 | Apple A15 Bionic |
| Max clock | 2840 MHz | 3200 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 6 (2 + 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 2.02 GHz: Blizzard
- 2 cores at 3.23 GHz: Avalanche |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G78 MP14 | Apple A15 GPU |
| GPU shading units | 896 | 640 |
| GPU clock | 854 MHz | 1338 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1530.4 GFLOPS | ~1712.6 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 244088 | 251650 |
| GPU | 269299 | 306762 |
| Memory | 159004 | 162292 |
| UX | 164833 | 194596 |
| Total score | 839148 | 922909 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 41.5 °C | 38.8 °C |
| Stability | 67% | 79% |
| Graphics test | 33 FPS | 53 FPS |
| Graphics score | 5538 | 8883 |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256 GB | 128, 256, 512 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | iOS 15 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17) |
| ROM | One UI 5.1 | - |
| OS size | 27.2 GB | 12 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4800 mAh | 2406 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 (54% in 30 min) | Yes (61% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:12 hr | 1:24 hr |
| Web browsing | 09:17 hr | 10:48 hr |
| Watching video | 15:27 hr | 11:55 hr |
| Gaming | 05:07 hr | 05:11 hr |
| Standby | 101 hr | 124 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Optical, 1.1x | Digital |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 24FPS | 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 | 120° | 120° |
| Lenses | 3 (12 MP + 64 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/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.7 micron - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens |
- 64 MP
- Aperture: f/2.0 - Focal length: 28 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.72", Samsung Bright S5KGW2 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- |
| Ultra-wide lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX563 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 13 mini from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 10 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3872 x 2592 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 23 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.22 microns | - |
| Sensor type | Exmor-RS CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.24" | 1/3.6" |
| 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 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | 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 | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM * | 2 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | - |
| eSIM support * | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| 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 | Flagship |
| Announced | January 2021 | September 2021 |
| Release date | February 2021 | September 2021 |
| SAR (head) | 0.54 W/kg | 0.97 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.33 W/kg | 0.98 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 |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the display, battery life, and connectivity are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus . But if the camera, performance, gaming, and software are more of a priority – go for the Apple iPhone 13 mini .
