Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs A54 5G
76
out of 100
VS
72
out of 100
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (with Exynos 2100) that was released on January 14, 2021, against the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G, which is powered by Exynos 1380 and came out 27 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 Ultra
- The rear camera has a 10x optical zoom
- 42% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (833K versus 585K)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- 28% higher pixel density (515 vs 403 PPI)
- Handles wireless charging up to 15W
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Has a 0.4 inch larger screen size
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Thinner bezels – 6.9% more screen real estate
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
- Shows 19% longer battery life (37:16 vs 31:14 hours)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1024GB
- The phone is 2-years and 3-months newer
- Weighs 25 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 | Super AMOLED |
| Size | 6.8 inches | 6.4 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3200 pixels | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 515 ppi | 403 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes | No |
| Max rated brightness | 1500 nits | 500 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | - | 1000 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 89.8% | 82.9% |
| Display features |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | - | 99.6% |
| PWM | - | 253 Hz |
| Response time | - | 1 ms |
| Contrast | - | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 165.1 mm (6.5 inches) | 158.2 mm (6.23 inches) |
| Width | 75.6 mm (2.98 inches) | 76.7 mm (3.02 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) | 8.2 mm (0.32 inches) |
| Weight | 227 g (8.01 oz) | 202 g (7.13 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP67 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Plastic |
| Colors | Black, Silver, Gray, Blue | White, Black, Green, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 2100 | Samsung Exynos 1380 |
| Max clock | 2840 MHz | 2400 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (4 + 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 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 4 cores at 2.4 GHz: Cortex-A78 |
| L3 cache | - | 4 MB |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G78 MP14 | Mali-G68 MP5 |
| GPU shading units | 896 | - |
| GPU clock | 854 MHz | 950 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1530.4 GFLOPS | ~608 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 236566 | 181030 |
| GPU | 255535 | 165803 |
| Memory | 157504 | 90151 |
| UX | 183564 | 147755 |
| Total score | 833650 | 585285 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 40.8 °C | 40.6 °C |
| Stability | 69% | 98% |
| Graphics test | 31 FPS | 16 FPS |
| Graphics score | 5221 | 2819 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | - | 10192 |
| Video editing | - | 7236 |
| Photo editing | - | 25937 |
| Data manipulation | - | 10909 |
| Writing score | - | 16336 |
Memory
| RAM size | 12, 16 GB | 6, 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256, 512 GB | 128, 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | MicroSD |
| Memory card max size | - | Up to 1024 GB |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 13 |
| ROM | One UI 5.1 | One UI 5.1 |
| OS size | 26.4 GB | 28 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 25 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | No |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (54% in 30 min) | Yes (56% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:11 hr | 1:03 hr |
| Web browsing | 10:13 hr | 12:35 hr |
| Watching video | 15:32 hr | 17:55 hr |
| Gaming | 05:26 hr | 05:28 hr |
| Standby | 98 hr | 120 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 108 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 12000 x 9000 | 8160 x 6120 |
| Zoom | Optical, 10x | Digital |
| Flash | Dual LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 24FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 480 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 123° |
| Lenses | 4 (108 MP + 10 MP + 10 MP + 12 MP) | 3 (50 MP + 12 MP + 5 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 108 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.33", Samsung S5KHM3 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Laser autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- 50 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 23 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/1.56", Sony IMX766 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens |
- 10 MP
- Aperture: f/4.9 - Focal length: 240 mm - Pixel size: 1.22 micron - Sensor: 1/2.65", Samsung S5K3J1 (ISOCELL 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/2.2 - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/3.1", Samsung S5K3L6 (ISOCELL CMOS) |
| Macro lens | - |
- 5 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 25 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra from DxOMark | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A54 5G from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 40 megapixels | 32 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 7864 x 5200 | 6464 x 4864 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Pixel size | 0.7 microns | 0.8 microns |
| Sensor type | ISOCELL CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/2.65" | 1/2.8" |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 30 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 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | 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 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support * | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | Yes |
| 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 | Mid-range |
| Announced | January 2021 | March 2023 |
| Release date | February 2021 | March 2023 |
| SAR (head) | 0.71 W/kg | 0.69 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.58 W/kg | 1.34 W/kg |
| Sensors |
- Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | - | Not included |
Further details
Notes on Galaxy A54 5G:
- Only phones with model numbers SM-A546B and SM-A546E support eSIM.
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the camera, performance, gaming, and connectivity are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra . But if the battery life is more of a priority – go for the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G .
