Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Apple iPhone 8

70 out of 100

49 out of 100

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 (with Exynos 2100) that was released on January 14, 2021, against the Apple iPhone 8, which is powered by Apple A11 Bionic and came out 40 months before. 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

Has 4x more RAM: 8GB versus 2GB
Comes with 2179 mAh larger battery capacity: 4000 vs 1821 mAh
Thinner bezels – 21.8% more screen real estate
Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
Has a 1.5 inches larger screen size
2x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (806K versus 413K)
Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
Modern USB Type-C port
Shows 13% longer battery life (25:44 vs 22:48 hours)
Delivers 34% higher peak brightness (864 against 644 nits)
The rear camera has a 1.1x optical zoom
Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 8

Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
Weighs 21 grams less

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S21 and Apple iPhone 8 crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	Dynamic AMOLED	IPS LCD
Size	6.2 inches	4.7 inches
Resolution	1080 x 2400 pixels	750 x 1334 pixels
Aspect ratio	20:9	16:9
PPI	421 ppi	326 ppi
Refresh rate	120 Hz	60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	No	No
Max rated brightness	800 nits	625 nits
HDR support	Yes, HDR10+	No
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass Victus	Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio	87.2%	65.4%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display	-

RGB color space	99.5%	99.9%
PWM	240 Hz	Not detected
Response time	5 ms	22 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	1373:1

Height	151.7 mm (5.97 inches)	138.4 mm (5.45 inches)
Width	71.2 mm (2.8 inches)	67.3 mm (2.65 inches)
Thickness	7.9 mm (0.31 inches)	7.3 mm (0.29 inches)
Weight	169 g (5.96 oz)	148 g (5.22 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP67
Rear material	Plastic	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	White, Gray, Pink, Purple	Silver, Gold, Gray
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in-display	Yes, in-button

Chipset	Samsung Exynos 2100	Apple A11 Bionic
Max clock	2900 MHz	2100 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 1.42 GHz: Mistral - 2 cores at 2.39 GHz: Monsoon
Lithography process	5 nanometers	10 nanometers
Graphics	Mali-G78 MP14	Apple A11 GPU
GPU shading units	896	192
GPU clock	854 MHz	1066 MHz
FLOPS	~1530.4 GFLOPS	~409.3 GFLOPS

CPU	150223	130384
GPU	340353	91667
Memory	151885	83818
UX	158712	104393
Total score	806977	413559

Max surface temperature	38.9 °C	45.4 °C
Stability	66%	62%
Graphics test	34 FPS	18 FPS
Graphics score	5714	3135

Web score	12591	-
Video editing	7113	-
Photo editing	29385	-
Data manipulation	10438	-
Writing score	16561	-

RAM size	8 GB	2 GB
Memory type	LPDDR5	LPDDR4
Memory clock	2750 MHz	-
Channels	2	2

Storage size	128, 256 GB	64, 256 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.1	NVMe
Memory card	No	No

Operating system	Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)	iOS 11 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16.5)
ROM	One UI 5.1	-
OS size	28.1 GB	6 GB

Capacity	4000 mAh	1821 mAh
Max charge power	25 W	15 W
Battery type	Li-Ion	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes (15 W)	Yes, Qi (7.5 W)
Reverse charging	Yes, (wireless)	No
Fast charging	Yes (55% in 50 min)	Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:35 hr	1:15 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	07:27 hr	08:04 hr
Watching video	12:26 hr	08:37 hr
Gaming	04:31 hr	03:56 hr
Standby	92 hr	82 hr

Main camera
Matrix	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	4000 x 3000	4032 x 3024
Zoom	Optical, 1.1x	Digital
Flash	Dual LED	Quad 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°	-
Lenses	3 (12 MP + 64 MP + 12 MP)	1 (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: 28 mm - Pixel size: 1.22 micron - Sensor: 1/3", Apple iSight Camera (BSI CMOS) - Phase autofocus - 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)	-
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support
Samples	Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 from DxOMark	Photo samples of Apple iPhone 8 from DxOMark

Selfie camera
Megapixels	10 megapixels	7 megapixels
Image resolution	3872 x 2592	3088 x 2320
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.2
Focal length	26 mm	32 mm
Pixel size	1.22 microns	1 microns
Sensor type	CMOS	BSI CMOS
Sensor size	1/3.24"	-
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS	1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS

Wi-Fi standard	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)	Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version	5	5
Bluetooth features	LE, A2DP	LE, A2DP
USB type	USB Type-C	No
USB version	3.2	2
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG	- Charging - USB-Storage mode
GPS	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo	GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC *	Yes	Yes
Infrared port	No	No

Number of SIM *	2	1
Type of SIM card	Nano	Nano
Multi SIM mode	Standby	Standby
eSIM support *	Yes	No
Hybrid slot	No	No
LTE Cat *	24	16
5G support	Yes	No

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

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	January 2021	September 2017
Release date	February 2021	September 2017
SAR (head)	0.46 W/kg	1.35 W/kg
SAR (body)	1.51 W/kg	1.36 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 - Fingerprint

Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Apple iPhone 8

Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Apple iPhone 8

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