Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs S20 Ultra
76
out of 100
VS
71
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (with Exynos 2100) that was released on January 14, 2021, against the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, which is powered by Exynos 990 and came out 11 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 S21 Ultra
- The rear camera has a 10x optical zoom
- Shows 19% longer battery life (31:14 vs 26:19 hours)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
- 17% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (833K versus 711K)
- Delivers 14% higher peak brightness (1023 against 897 nits)
- The phone is 11-months newer
- Faster storage type - UFS 3.1 versus UFS 3.0
- More energy-efficient CPU – Exynos 2100
- 25% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1458 and 1165 points
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1000GB
- Supports higher wattage charging (45W versus 25W)
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 | 6.8 inches | 6.9 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3200 pixels | 1440 x 3200 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 515 ppi | 511 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes | No |
| Max rated brightness | 1500 nits | 800 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 89.8% | 89.9% |
| Display features |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | - | 99.2% |
| PWM | - | 240 Hz |
| Response time | - | 6.2 ms |
| Contrast | - | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 165.1 mm (6.5 inches) | 166.9 mm (6.57 inches) |
| Width | 75.6 mm (2.98 inches) | 76 mm (2.99 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) | 8.8 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 227 g (8.01 oz) | 220 g (7.76 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Advanced cooling | - | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Silver, Gray, Blue | Black, Gray |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 2100 | Samsung Exynos 990 |
| Max clock | 2840 MHz | 2730 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (2 + 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 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 2 cores at 2.5 GHz: Cortex-A76 - 2 cores at 2.73 GHz: Exynos M5 |
| L3 cache | - | 2 MB |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 7 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G78 MP14 | Mali-G77 MP11 |
| GPU shading units | 896 | 704 |
| GPU clock | 854 MHz | 800 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1530.4 GFLOPS | ~1126 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 236566 | 202750 |
| GPU | 255535 | 219003 |
| Memory | 157504 | 130201 |
| UX | 183564 | 157575 |
| Total score | 833650 | 711852 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 40.8 °C | 38.6 °C |
| Stability | 69% | 53% |
| Graphics test | 31 FPS | 25 FPS |
| Graphics score | 5221 | 4319 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | - | 8802 |
| Video editing | - | 6175 |
| Photo editing | - | 31559 |
| Data manipulation | - | 8779 |
| Writing score | - | 12443 |
Memory
| RAM size | 12, 16 GB | 12, 16 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 3200 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256, 512 GB | 128, 512 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.0 |
| Memory card | No | MicroSD |
| Memory card max size | - | Up to 1000 GB |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 10.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | One UI 5.1 | One UI 4.1 |
| OS size | 26.4 GB | 23.7 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 45 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | Yes (15 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | Yes, (wireless) |
| Fast charging | Yes (54% in 30 min) | Yes (100% in 80 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:11 hr | 1:20 hr |
| Web browsing | 10:13 hr | 08:26 hr |
| Watching video | 15:32 hr | 11:53 hr |
| Gaming | 05:26 hr | 04:13 hr |
| Standby | 98 hr | 93 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 108 megapixels | 108 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 12000 x 9000 | 12032 x 9204 |
| Zoom | Optical, 10x | Optical, 4x |
| Flash | Dual LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 24FPS | 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 | 120° | 120° |
| Lenses | 4 (108 MP + 10 MP + 10 MP + 12 MP) | 4 (108 MP + 48 MP + 12 MP + 0.3 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 |
- 108 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.33", Samsung Bright S5KHM1 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - 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 |
- 48 MP
- Aperture: f/3.5 - Focal length: 103 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/2", Sony IMX586 (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - 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 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron |
| Depth lens | - |
- 0.3 MP
- Aperture: f/1.0 - Pixel size: 5 micron |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra from DxOMark | - |
| Megapixels | 40 megapixels | 40 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 7864 x 5200 | 7864 x 5200 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Pixel size | 0.7 microns | 0.7 microns |
| Sensor type | ISOCELL CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/2.65" | 1/2.65" |
| 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 b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.2 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 3.1 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| 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 | 22 |
| 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 2021 | February 2020 |
| Release date | February 2021 | March 2020 |
| SAR (head) | 0.71 W/kg | 0.32 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.58 W/kg | 1.56 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 |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
These smartphones have a lot in common, but we would recommend the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra . It has a better display, performance, gaming, and battery life.
