Samsung Galaxy A21s vs Galaxy A03

Source: Date:

Samsung Galaxy A21s vs Galaxy A03

Here we compared two budget smartphones: the 6.5-inch Samsung Galaxy A21s (with Exynos 850) that was released on May 15, 2020, against the Samsung Galaxy A03, which is powered by Unisoc T606 and came out 19 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A21s
  • Modern USB Type-C port
  • Fingerprint scanner
  • More energy-efficient CPU – Exynos 850
  • Delivers 17% higher peak brightness (495 against 422 nits)
  • Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A03
  • More recent OS version: Android 13 versus 12
  • The phone is 1-year and 7-months newer

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy A21s and Galaxy A03 crucial features
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.
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Display

Type PLS TFT PLS TFT
Size 6.5 inches 6.5 inches
Resolution 720 x 1600 pixels 720 x 1600 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
PPI 270 ppi 270 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 540 nits 400 nits
HDR support No No
Screen protection Tempered glass Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio 82.8% 81.8%
Display tests
RGB color space 88.4% 96%
PWM 500 Hz Not detected
Response time 30.4 ms 45 ms
Contrast 1500:1 1641:1
Peak brightness test (auto)
495 nits
422 nits

Design and build

Height 163.6 mm (6.44 inches) 164.2 mm (6.46 inches)
Width 75.3 mm (2.96 inches) 75.9 mm (2.99 inches)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) 9.1 mm (0.36 inches)
Weight 192 g (6.77 oz) 196 g (6.91 oz)
Waterproof No No
Rear material Plastic Plastic
Frame material Plastic Plastic
Colors Black, Blue, Red Black, Blue, Red
Fingerprint scanner Yes, rear No
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Tests of Samsung Galaxy A21s and Samsung Galaxy A03 in the benchmarks
SoC
Chipset Samsung Exynos 850 Unisoc T606
Max clock 2000 MHz 1600 MHz
CPU cores 8 (8) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 8 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 6 cores at 1.6 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 2 cores at 1.6 GHz: Cortex-A75
L3 cache - 1 MB
Lithography process 8 nanometers 12 nanometers
Graphics Mali-G52 MP1 Mali-G57 MP1
GPU shading units 24 64
GPU clock 820 MHz 650 MHz
FLOPS ~39.4 GFLOPS ~83.2 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
206902
CPU 66646 75655
GPU 32355 25987
Memory 60940 49741
UX 36331 54622
Total score 197221 206902
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Max surface temperature 43.2 °C 43.2 °C
Stability 98% 97%
Graphics test 2 FPS 2 FPS
Graphics score 425 407
PCMark 3.0
Web score 4688 5985
Video editing 5134 3936
Photo editing 9205 13761
Data manipulation 3986 5461
Writing score 5248 8396

Memory

RAM
RAM size 3, 4 GB 3, 4 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory clock 1866 MHz -
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 32, 64 GB 32, 64, 128 GB
Storage type eMMC 5.1 eMMC 5.1
Memory card MicroSD MicroSD
Memory card max size Up to 512 GB Up to 1024 GB

Software

Operating system Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 12) Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)
ROM One UI 4.1 One UI Core 5.0
OS size 12 GB 13.5 GB

Battery

Capacity 5000 mAh 5000 mAh
Max charge power 15 W 15 W
Battery type Li-Po Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No No
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes (50% in 60 min) Yes (20% in 40 min)
Full charging time 2:10 hr 3:35 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 12:44 hr -
Watching video 14:21 hr -
Gaming 05:37 hr -
Standby 120 hr -
General battery life

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera
Matrix 48 megapixels 48 megapixels
Image resolution 8000 x 6000 8000 x 6000
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Digital Digital
8K video recording No No
4K video recording No No
1080p video recording Up to 30FPS Up to 30FPS
Slow motion No No
Angle of widest lens 123° -
Lenses 4 (48 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP) 2 (48 MP + 2 MP)
Wide (main) lens - 48 MP
- Aperture: f/2.0
- Focal length: 26 mm
- Pixel size: 0.8 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.0" (CMOS)
- Phase autofocus
- 48 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Phase autofocus
Ultra-wide lens - 8 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2
- Pixel size: 1.12 micron
- Sensor: 1/4.0" (CMOS)
-
Macro lens - 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4
-
Depth lens - 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4
Camera features - Bokeh mode - Bokeh mode
Selfie camera
Megapixels 13 megapixels 5 megapixels
Image resolution 4128 x 3096 2560 x 1960
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Pixel size 1.12 microns -
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.1" -
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C Micro USB
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
NFC * Yes No
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM * 2 2
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode Standby Standby
eSIM support * No No
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat * 13 4
5G support No No

Sound

Speakers Mono Mono
Headphone audio jack Yes Yes
FM radio Yes -
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness
81.9 dB

Other

Category Budget Budget
Announced May 2020 November 2021
Release date June 2020 January 2022
SAR (head) 0.23 W/kg -
SAR (body) 1.38 W/kg -
Sensors - Hall-effect sensor
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
- Proximity sensor
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
Bundled charger - Yes, 0 W
* Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

If the camera and connectivity are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy A21s . But if the display, software, and design are more of a priority – go for the Samsung Galaxy A03 .

Scroll to Top