Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G vs S21 Plus
71
out of 100
VS
73
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 7.6-inch Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G) that was released on August 11, 2021, against the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus, which is powered by Exynos 2100 and came out 7 months 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 Z Fold 3 5G
- Has a 0.9 inch larger screen size
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
- Has 50% more RAM: 12GB versus 8GB
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
- The phone is 7-months newer
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Shows 27% longer battery life (30:26 vs 23:53 hours)
- Comes with 400 mAh larger battery capacity: 4800 vs 4400 mAh
- Has 2 SIM card slots
- Better grip in hands – the body is 52.5 mm narrower
- Weighs 71 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
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | Dynamic AMOLED |
| Size | 7.6 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1768 x 2208 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 22.5:18 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 374 ppi | 394 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes | No |
| Max rated brightness | 500 nits | 1300 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1200 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 88.8% | 88.3% |
| Display features |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 97.3% | 98.9% |
| PWM | 245 Hz | 240 Hz |
| Response time | 6.4 ms | 6.2 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 158.2 mm (6.23 inches) | 161.5 mm (6.36 inches) |
| Width | 128.1 mm (5.04 inches) | 75.6 mm (2.98 inches) |
| Thickness | 6.4 mm (0.25 inches) | 7.8 mm (0.31 inches) |
| Weight | 271 g (9.56 oz) | 200 g (7.05 oz) |
| Waterproof | IPX8 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Silver, Green | Black, Silver, Gold, Red, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G | Samsung Exynos 2100 |
| Max clock | 2840 MHz | 2840 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (1 + 3 + 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 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 3 cores at 2.81 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | - |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 660 | Mali-G78 MP14 |
| GPU shading units | 1024 | 896 |
| GPU clock | 840 MHz | 854 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1622 GFLOPS | ~1530.4 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 245408 | 244088 |
| GPU | 270079 | 269299 |
| Memory | 161725 | 159004 |
| UX | 189831 | 164833 |
| Total score | 873846 | 839148 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 39.8 °C | 41.5 °C |
| Stability | 64% | 67% |
| Graphics test | 31 FPS | 33 FPS |
| Graphics score | 5306 | 5538 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 11998 | - |
| Video editing | 7643 | - |
| Photo editing | 30009 | - |
| Data manipulation | 10478 | - |
| Writing score | 15569 | - |
Memory
| RAM size | 12 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 2750 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 2 |
| Storage size | 256, 512 GB | 128, 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | One UI 5.1.1 | One UI 5.1 |
| OS size | 39 GB | 27.2 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4400 mAh | 4800 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 25 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (10 W) | Yes (15 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | Yes, (wireless) |
| Fast charging | Yes (33% in 30 min) | Yes (54% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:46 hr | 1:12 hr |
| Web browsing | 07:38 hr | 09:17 hr |
| Watching video | 11:50 hr | 15:27 hr |
| Gaming | 04:51 hr | 05:07 hr |
| Standby | 75 hr | 101 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Zoom | Optical, 2x | Optical, 1.1x |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | Up to 24FPS |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 960 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | 120° |
| Lenses | 3 (12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP) | 3 (12 MP + 64 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/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.76", Sony IMX555 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 52 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.6", SK Hynix Hi-1337 (CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 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 - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/3.06", Sony IMX258 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
- 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) |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G from DxOMark | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 10 megapixels | 10 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 3872 x 2592 |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | - | 26 mm |
| Pixel size | 2 microns | 1.22 microns |
| Sensor type | CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | - | 1/3.24" |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-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 version | 5.2 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP | 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 |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS | 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 |
| eSIM support * | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat * | 20 | 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 | August 2021 | January 2021 |
| Release date | August 2021 | February 2021 |
| 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 |
- 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.
Conclusion
If the battery life, connectivity, and design are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus . But if the camera is more of a priority – go for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G .
