Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Galaxy A25
66 out of 100
VS
57 out of 100
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 (with Exynos 2100) that was released on January 14, 2021, against the Samsung Galaxy A25, which is powered by Exynos 1280 and came out 2 years and 11 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
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- 88% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (903K versus 480K)
- Handles wireless charging up to 15W
- The rear camera has a 1.1x optical zoom
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
- Ready for eSIM technology
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A25
- Comes with 1000 mAh larger battery capacity: 5000 vs 4000 mAh
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1024GB
- Has a 0.3 inch larger screen size
- The phone is 2 years and 11 months newer
- Delivers 20% higher peak brightness (1038 against 862 nits)
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
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 | 6.2 inches | 6.5 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 421 ppi | 396 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (48-120 Hz) | No |
| Max rated brightness | 800 nits | 1000 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | No |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 85.9% | 84.2% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99.5% | 145.1% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | 119 Hz |
| Response time | 5 ms | 1 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 151.7 mm (5.97 inches) | 161 mm (6.34 inches) |
| Width | 71.2 mm (2.8 inches) | 76.5 mm (3.01 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) | 8.3 mm (0.33 inches) |
| Weight | 169 g (5.96 oz) | 197 g (6.95 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | No |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Metal | Plastic |
| Colors | White, Gray, Pink, Purple | Black, Blue, Yellow |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-button |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 2100 | Samsung Exynos 1280 |
| Max clock | 2900 MHz | 2400 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (2 + 6) |
| 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 | - 6 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 2 cores at 2.4 GHz: Cortex-A78 |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Yes | Yes |
| Graphics | Mali-G78 MP14 | Mali-G68 MP4 |
| GPU shading units | 896 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 854 MHz | 972 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1530.4 GFLOPS | ~487 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 253391 | 158444 |
| GPU | 281676 | 105626 |
| Memory | 158352 | 89882 |
| UX | 210361 | 126611 |
| Total score | 903780 | 480563 |
| Samples | [17 tests] | [21 tests] |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 38.9 °C | 45.6 °C |
| Stability | 66% | - |
| Graphics test | 34 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 5715 | - |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 12640 | - |
| Video editing | 7125 | - |
| Photo editing | 29649 | - |
| Data manipulation | 10398 | - |
| Writing score | 16737 | - |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 6, 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256 GB | 128, 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 2.2 |
| 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 6.0 | One UI 6 |
| OS size | 28.1 GB | 20 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4000 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 (55% in 50 min) | Yes (49% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:35 hr | 1:24 hr |
| Web browsing | 06:01 hr | 06:44 hr |
| Watching video | 11:06 hr | 11:34 hr |
| Gaming | 04:21 hr | 04:52 hr |
| Standby | 95 hr | 91 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 8160 x 6120 |
| Zoom | Optical, 1.1x | 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° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Telephoto: 64 MP 3) Ultrawide: 12 MP | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 8 MP 3) Macro: 2 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 27 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX555 | Samsung ISOCELL S5KJN1 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.76" | 1/2.76" |
| Pixel size | 1.8 micron | 0.64 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 64 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | - |
| Focal length | 28 mm | - |
| Sensor | Samsung Bright S5KGW2 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/1.72" | - |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Optical | - |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 8 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 13 mm | - |
| Sensor | Sony IMX563 | Samsung ISOCELL (S5K)4HA |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" | 1/4" |
| Pixel size | 1.4 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | - | 2 MP |
| Aperture | - | f/2.4 |
| Sensor | - | GalaxyCore GC02M1 |
| Stabilization | - | No |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 70 | - |
| Preview | 72 | - |
| Zoom | 126 | - |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 from DxOMark | - |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 10 megapixels | 13 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3872 x 2592 | 4160 x 3120 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | - |
| Sensor | Sony IMX374 | Hynix Hi-1339 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.24" | 1/3.06" |
| Pixel size | 1.22 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 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 |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | Yes | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | Yes |
| LTE Cat* | 24 | 18 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | Yes |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Mid-range |
| Announced | January 2021 | December 2023 |
| Release date | February 2021 | December 2023 |
| Launch price | $800 | $299 |
| SAR (head) | 0.46 W/kg | 0.46 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.51 W/kg | 1.19 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint | - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | - | Not included |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
