Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs S21 Plus
94
out of 100
VS
68
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.9-inch Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite) that was released on January 22, 2025, against the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus, which is powered by Exynos 2100 and came out 4 years before. 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 S25 Ultra
- The rear camera has a 5x optical zoom
- 2.5x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (2265K versus 919K)
- Shows 37% longer battery life (28:34 vs 20:53 hours)
- Has 2x more RAM: 16GB versus 8GB
- Delivers 61% higher peak brightness (1415 against 881 nits)
- 26% higher pixel density (498 vs 394 PPI)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.4)
- The phone is 4 years newer
- Compatible with the latest Wi-Fi 7 wireless networks
- More recent OS version: Android 15 versus 14
- Supports higher wattage charging (45W versus 25W)
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Has 2 SIM card slots
- Weighs 18 grams less
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
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
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 | Dynamic AMOLED |
| Size | 6.9 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3120 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 498 ppi | 394 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (1-120 Hz) | Yes (48-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 2600 nits | 1300 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Touch sampling rate | 240 Hz | - |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Armor 2 | Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 92.4% | 88.7% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | - | 98.9% |
| PWM | - | 240 Hz |
| Response time | - | 6.2 ms |
| Contrast | - | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 162.8 mm (6.41 inches) | 161.5 mm (6.36 inches) |
| Width | 77.6 mm (3.06 inches) | 75.6 mm (2.98 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.2 mm (0.32 inches) | 7.8 mm (0.31 inches) |
| Weight | 218 g (7.69 oz) | 200 g (7.05 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | - |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Silver, Gray, Blue | Black, Silver, Gold, Red, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite | Samsung Exynos 2100 |
| Max clock | 4470 MHz | 2840 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 6) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 6 cores at 3.53 GHz: Oryon (Phoenix M) - 2 cores at 4.32 GHz: Oryon (Phoenix L) |
- 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 3 cores at 2.81 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 3 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Hexagon | Yes |
| Graphics | Adreno 830 | Mali-G78 MP14 |
| GPU shading units | 1536 | 896 |
| GPU clock | 1100 MHz | 854 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~3379.2 GFLOPS | ~1530.4 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 586044 | 262973 |
| GPU | 916344 | 294382 |
| Memory | 436052 | 147307 |
| UX | 326987 | 214686 |
| Total score | 2265427 | 919348 |
| Samples | Less than 3 | [19 tests] |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | - | 41.5 °C |
| Stability | - | 67% |
| Graphics test | - | 33 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 5538 |
Memory
| RAM size | 12, 16 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 5333 MHz | 2750 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 256, 512, 1024 GB | 128, 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 4.0 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 15 | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 14) |
| ROM | One UI 7.0 | One UI 6 |
| OS size | 30.4 GB | 27.2 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 4800 mAh |
| Max charge power | 45 W | 25 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (25 W) | Yes (15 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | Yes, (wireless) |
| Fast charging | Yes (72% in 30 min) | Yes (54% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 0:59 hr | 1:12 hr |
| Web browsing | 08:35 hr | 07:28 hr |
| Watching video | 16:40 hr | 13:15 hr |
| Gaming | 06:40 hr | 05:04 hr |
| Standby | 165 hr | 105 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 200 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 16320 x 12240 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Zoom | Optical, 5x | Optical, 1.1x |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 24FPS |
| 4K video recording | Up to 120FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 240FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 960 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 200 MP 2) Telephoto: 50 MP 3) Telephoto: 12 MP 4) Ultrawide: 50 MP |
1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Telephoto: 64 MP 3) Ultrawide: 12 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Image resolution | 200 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.7 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 23 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung ISOCELL HP2 | Sony IMX555 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.3" | 1/1.76" |
| Pixel size | 0.6 micron | 1.8 micron |
| Autofocus | Laser autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 64 MP |
| Aperture | f/3.4 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | 111 mm | 28 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX854 | Samsung Bright S5KGW2 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.52" | 1/1.72" |
| Pixel size | 0.7 micron | 0.8 micron |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.9 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 13 mm | 13 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung ISOCELL S5KJN3 | Sony IMX563 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.5" | 1/2.55" |
| Pixel size | 0.7 micron | 1.4 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
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 Plus from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 10 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 3872 x 2592 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung S5K3LU | Sony IMX374 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.2" | 1/3.24" |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | 1.22 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) | 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 | 5.4 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 3.2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | Yes, DP 1.2 | - |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | - | 24 |
| 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 2025 | January 2021 |
| Release date | February 2025 | February 2021 |
| Launch price | $1299 | $1000 |
| SAR (head) | 1.25 W/kg | 0.54 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.42 W/kg | 1.33 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - 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.
