Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus vs Apple iPhone 14 Plus

73 out of 100

81 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 14 Plus, which is powered by Apple A15 Bionic and came out 20 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Differences
Review
Specs
Benchmarks
Battery life
Camera
Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone

Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus

Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
The rear camera has a 1.1x optical zoom
Fingerprint scanner
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
Comes with 475 mAh larger battery capacity: 4800 vs 4325 mAh
Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
Delivers 10% higher peak brightness (888 against 806 nits)
Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
Has 2 SIM card slots

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 14 Plus

Shows 35% longer battery life (41:06 vs 30:26 hours)
60% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1340K versus 839K)
Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
16% higher pixel density (458 vs 394 PPI)
The phone is 1-year and 8-months newer
57% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 2238 and 1429 points

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus and Apple iPhone 14 Plus crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	Dynamic AMOLED	OLED
Size	6.7 inches	6.7 inches
Resolution	1080 x 2400 pixels	1284 x 2778 pixels
Aspect ratio	20:9	19.5:9
PPI	394 ppi	458 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%	87.4%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display	- DCI-P3

RGB color space	98.9%	99.7%
PWM	240 Hz	59 Hz
Response time	6.2 ms	5 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Height	161.5 mm (6.36 inches)	160.8 mm (6.33 inches)
Width	75.6 mm (2.98 inches)	78.1 mm (3.07 inches)
Thickness	7.8 mm (0.31 inches)	7.8 mm (0.31 inches)
Weight	200 g (7.05 oz)	203 g (7.16 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Rear material	Glass	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	Black, Silver, Gold, Red, Purple	Black, Blue, Red, Purple, Yellow
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in-display	No

Chipset	Samsung Exynos 2100	Apple A15 Bionic
Max clock	2840 MHz	3230 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

CPU	244088	319002
GPU	269299	432256
Memory	159004	203391
UX	164833	378102
Total score	839148	1340615

Max surface temperature	41.5 °C	44 °C
Stability	67%	83%
Graphics test	33 FPS	56 FPS
Graphics score	5538	9420

RAM size	8 GB	6 GB
Memory type	LPDDR5	LPDDR4X
Memory clock	2750 MHz	-
Channels	2	2

Storage size	128, 256 GB	128, 256, 512 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.1	NVMe
Memory card	No	No

Operating system	Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)	iOS 16 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17)
ROM	One UI 5.1	-
OS size	27.2 GB	16 GB

Capacity	4800 mAh	4325 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 (47% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:12 hr	2:00 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	09:17 hr	13:47 hr
Watching video	15:27 hr	17:29 hr
Gaming	05:07 hr	06:03 hr
Standby	101 hr	146 hr

Main 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/1.5 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.9 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
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode
Samples	Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus from DxOMark	Photo samples of Apple iPhone 14 Plus from DxOMark

Selfie camera
Megapixels	10 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	3872 x 2592	4032 x 3024
Aperture	f/2.2	f/1.9
Focal length	26 mm	23 mm
Pixel size	1.22 microns	-
Sensor type	Exmor-RS CMOS	-
Sensor size	1/3.24"	1/3.6"
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS

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	5.3
Bluetooth features	LE, A2DP	LE
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

Speakers	Stereo	Stereo
Headphone audio jack	No	No
FM radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	January 2021	September 2022
Release date	February 2021	October 2022
SAR (head)	0.54 W/kg	-
SAR (body)	1.33 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

Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus vs Apple iPhone 14 Plus

Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus vs Apple iPhone 14 Plus

Key differences

Review

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Display

Design and build

Performance

Benchmarks

Memory

Software

Battery

Camera

DxOMark camera tests

Connectivity

Sound

Other

Conclusion