Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Apple iPhone 15
67 out of 100
VS
82 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, which is powered by Apple A16 Bionic and came out 1 year and 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 FE 5G
- The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Comes with 1151 mAh larger battery capacity: 4500 vs 3349 mAh
- Has a 0.3 inch larger screen size
- Fingerprint scanner
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
- CPU with a higher amount of cores (+2)
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 15
- Delivers 108% higher peak brightness (1641 against 789 nits)
- Shows 37% longer battery life (25:31 vs 18:37 hours)
- 58% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1416K versus 894K)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- 14% higher pixel density (460 vs 403 PPI)
- The phone is 1 year and 8 months newer
- 90% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 2599 and 1371 points
- Ready for eSIM technology
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 | OLED |
| Size | 6.4 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 1179 x 2556 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 403 ppi | 460 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 800 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 | 86.7% | 86.4% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 97% | 99.6% |
| PWM | 247 Hz | 306 Hz |
| Response time | 6 ms | 2 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 155.7 mm (6.13 inches) | 147.6 mm (5.81 inches) |
| Width | 74.5 mm (2.93 inches) | 71.6 mm (2.82 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) | 7.8 mm (0.31 inches) |
| Weight | 177 g (6.24 oz) | 171 g (6.03 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Plastic | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Gray, Green, Purple | Black, Blue, Green, Pink, Yellow |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 | Apple A16 Bionic |
| Max clock | 2840 MHz | 3460 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: Sawtooth - 2 cores at 3.46 GHz: Everest |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | - |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 4 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Hexagon 780 | Apple Neural Engine |
| Graphics | Adreno 660 | Apple A16 GPU |
| GPU shading units | 1024 | 640 |
| GPU clock | 840 MHz | 1398 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1290.2 GFLOPS | ~1789.4 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 247848 | 375664 |
| GPU | 311997 | 452373 |
| Memory | 152639 | 261974 |
| UX | 182414 | 326266 |
| Total score | 894898 | 1416277 |
| Samples | [49 tests] | [15 tests] |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 39.1 °C | 44.3 °C |
| Stability | 69% | 81% |
| Graphics test | 34 FPS | 59 FPS |
| Graphics score | 5704 | 9632 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 11596 | - |
| Video editing | 7062 | - |
| Photo editing | 28557 | - |
| Data manipulation | 10152 | - |
| Writing score | 14430 | - |
Memory
| RAM size | 6, 8 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 3200 MHz | 3200 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 4 |
| Storage size | 128, 256 GB | 128, 256, 512 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 14) | iOS 17 (Can be upgraded to iOS 18.2) |
| ROM | One UI 6 | - |
| OS size | 17.5 GB | 18 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4500 mAh | 3349 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) | Yes |
| Fast charging | Yes (51% in 30 min) | Yes (58% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:15 hr | 1:50 hr |
| Web browsing | 06:11 hr | 10:47 hr |
| Watching video | 11:05 hr | 16:55 hr |
| Gaming | 04:48 hr | 05:36 hr |
| Standby | 100 hr | 112 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 48 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 8000 x 6000 |
| Zoom | Optical, 3x | Digital |
| 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 | 1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Telephoto: 8 MP 3) Ultrawide: 12 MP | 1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Ultrawide: 12 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 48 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.6 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX555 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/1.76" | 1/1.5" |
| Pixel size | 1.8 micron | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 8 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | - |
| Focal length | 76 mm | - |
| Sensor | Hynix Hi847 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/4.5" | - |
| Pixel size | 1 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Optical | - |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.4 |
| Focal length | 13 mm | 13 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX258 | Sony IMX633 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.0" | 1/2.55" |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | 1.4 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | - | 80 |
| Preview | - | 84 |
| Zoom | - | 114 |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone 15 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 |
| Sensor | Sony IMX616 | Sony IMX714 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.74" | 1/3.6" |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Autofocus | No | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | Yes |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 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 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | - | Yes |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | - |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | eSIM |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | - |
| eSIM support* | No | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 19 | 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 2022 | September 2023 |
| Release date | January 2022 | September 2023 |
| Launch price | $790 | $799 |
| SAR (head) | 0.95 W/kg | 0.98 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.48 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 |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Not included |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
