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Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) vs Galaxy S21

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Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) vs Galaxy S21

74 out of 100
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
VS
66 out of 100
Samsung Galaxy S21
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
Samsung Galaxy S21

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.4-inch Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1) that was released on October 4, 2023, against the Samsung Galaxy S21, which is powered by Exynos 2100 and came out 2 years and 9 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
  • The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
  • Shows 13% longer battery life (20:15 vs 17:54 hours)
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
  • Comes with 500 mAh larger battery capacity: 4500 vs 4000 mAh
  • 33% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1203K versus 903K)
  • Delivers 15% higher peak brightness (992 against 862 nits)
  • The phone is 2 years and 9 months newer
  • 16% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1549 and 1331 points
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Weighs 40 grams less
  • Better grip in hands – the body is 5.3 mm narrower

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) and Galaxy S21 crucial features
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
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
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 tests
Phone:
Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon)
vs
Galaxy S21

Display

TypeDynamic AMOLEDDynamic AMOLED
Size6.4 inches6.2 inches
Resolution1080 x 2340 pixels1080 x 2400 pixels
Aspect ratio19.5:920:9
PPI403 ppi421 ppi
Refresh rate120 Hz120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rateYes (60-120 Hz)Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max rated brightness1450 nits800 nits
HDR supportYes, HDR10+Yes, HDR10+
Screen protectionCorning Gorilla Glass 5Gorilla Glass Victus
Screen-to-body ratio83.2%85.9%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space - 99.5%
PWM - 240 Hz
Response time - 5 ms
Contrast - ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)

Design and build

Height158 mm (6.22 inches)151.7 mm (5.97 inches)
Width76.5 mm (3.01 inches)71.2 mm (2.8 inches)
Thickness8.2 mm (0.32 inches)7.9 mm (0.31 inches)
Weight209 g (7.37 oz)169 g (5.96 oz)
WaterproofIP68IP68
Advanced coolingVapor chamber -
Rear materialGlassPlastic
Frame materialMetalMetal
ColorsWhite, Black, Green, PurpleWhite, Gray, Pink, Purple
Fingerprint scannerYes, in-displayYes, in-display
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Tests of Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) and Samsung Galaxy S21 in the benchmarks
SoC
ChipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1Samsung Exynos 2100
Max clock3000 MHz2900 MHz
CPU cores8 (1 + 3 + 4)8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A510
- 3 cores at 2.5 GHz: Cortex-A710
- 1 core at 3 GHz: Cortex-X2		- 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 3 cores at 2.81 GHz: Cortex-A78
- 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X1
L3 cache6 MB -
ManufacturingSamsungSamsung
Lithography process4 nanometers5 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU)HexagonYes
GraphicsAdreno 730Mali-G78 MP14
GPU shading units1024896
GPU clock818 MHz854 MHz
FLOPS~1675.3 GFLOPS~1530.4 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
CPU337597253391
GPU448766281676
Memory183031158352
UX234446210361
Total score1203840903780
Samples[2 tests][17 tests]
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Max surface temperature - 38.9 °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
RAM size8 GB8 GB
Memory typeLPDDR5LPDDR5
Memory clock3200 MHz2750 MHz
Channels42
Storage
Storage size128, 256 GB128, 256 GB
Storage typeUFS 3.1UFS 3.1
Memory cardNoNo

Software

Operating systemAndroid 13 (Can be upgraded to Android 14)Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 14)
ROMOne UI 6.1One UI 6.0
OS size - 28.1 GB

Battery

Capacity4500 mAh4000 mAh
Max charge power25 W25 W
Battery typeLi-IonLi-Ion
ReplaceableNoNo
Wireless chargingYes Yes (15 W)
Reverse chargingYes, (wireless)Yes, (wireless)
Fast chargingYes (58% in 30 min)Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full charging time1:10 hr1:35 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing07:09 hr06:01 hr
Watching video10:02 hr11:06 hr
Gaming04:27 hr04:21 hr
Standby118 hr95 hr
General battery life

Main camera

Matrix50 megapixels12 megapixels
Image resolution8160 x 61204000 x 3000
ZoomOptical, 3xOptical, 1.1x
FlashLEDDual LED
StabilizationOpticalOptical
8K video recordingUp to 24FPSUp to 24FPS
4K video recordingUp to 60FPSUp to 60FPS
1080p video recordingUp to 60FPSUp to 60FPS
Slow motion960 FPS (720p)960 FPS (720p)
Angle of widest lens123°120°
Lenses1) Standard: 50 MP
2) Telephoto: 8 MP
3) Ultrawide: 12 MP
1) Standard: 12 MP
2) Telephoto: 64 MP
3) Ultrawide: 12 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Standard lens
Image resolution50 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length23 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung S5KGN3Sony IMX555
Sensor size1/1.57"1/1.76"
Pixel size1 micron1.8 micron
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto lens
Image resolution8 MP64 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.0
Focal length76 mm28 mm
SensorHynix Hi847Samsung Bright S5KGW2
Sensor size1/4.4"1/1.72"
Pixel size1 micron0.8 micron
StabilizationDigitalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm13 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3L6Sony IMX563
Sensor size1/3"1/2.55"
Pixel size1.12 micron1.4 micron
StabilizationDigitalDigital

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
Bokeh5070
Preview6772
Zoom123126
SamplesPhoto samples of Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon) from DxOMarkPhoto samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 from DxOMark

Selfie camera

Megapixels10 megapixels10 megapixels
Image resolution3648 x 27363872 x 2592
Aperturef/2.4f/2.2
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3J1Sony IMX374
Sensor size1/3"1/3.24"
Pixel size1.22 micron1.22 micron
AutofocusNoPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Video resolution2160p (4K) at 60 FPS2160p (4K) at 60 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D)NoNo

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standardWi-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 version5.35
Bluetooth featuresLELE, A2DP
USB typeUSB Type-CUSB Type-C
USB version3.23.2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
DisplayPortYes -
GPSGPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSSGPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC*YesYes
Infrared portNoNo
Network
Number of SIM*22
Type of SIM cardNanoNano
Multi SIM modeStandbyStandby
eSIM support*YesYes
Hybrid slotNoNo
LTE Cat*2024
5G supportYesYes

Sound

SpeakersStereoStereo
Headphone audio jackNoNo
FM radioNoNo
Dolby AtmosYesYes
Speakers test
Max loudness

Other

CategoryFlagshipFlagship
AnnouncedOctober 2023January 2021
Release dateOctober 2023February 2021
Launch price$599$800
SAR (head)0.76 W/kg0.46 W/kg
SAR (body)1.04 W/kg1.51 W/kg
Sensors - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint		 - Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
Bundled chargerNot included -
Further details
Notes on Galaxy S23 FE (Snapdragon):
    - The Galaxy S23 FE is available in the USA with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, whereas other countries receive a version with the Exynos 2200.
    - The base (128 GB) storage utilizes a UFS 3.1 memory type, whereas the higher-tier 256 GB variant is equipped with UFS 4.0.
    - Models are available with a single SIM card, dual SIMs, or dual SIMs plus eSIM (depending on the market).
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
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