Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Apple iPhone XS

71 out of 100

57 out of 100

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.4-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 ) that was released on January 4, 2022, against the Apple iPhone XS, which is powered by Apple A12 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 FE 5G

Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
Comes with 1842 mAh larger battery capacity: 4500 vs 2658 mAh
Has a 0.6 inch larger screen size
Modern USB Type-C port
Shows 17% longer battery life (26:34 vs 22:46 hours)
The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
Fingerprint scanner
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
Delivers 24% higher peak brightness (797 against 641 nits)
Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
Has 2 SIM card slots

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone XS

Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
14% higher pixel density (458 vs 401 PPI)
12% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1310 and 1174 points
Ready for eSIM technology

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G and Apple iPhone XS crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	Dynamic AMOLED	OLED
Size	6.4 inches	5.8 inches
Resolution	1080 x 2340 pixels	1125 x 2436 pixels
Aspect ratio	20:9	19.5:9
PPI	401 ppi	458 ppi
Refresh rate	120 Hz	60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	No	No
Max rated brightness	420 nits	625 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR	1200 nits	-
HDR support	Yes, HDR10+	Yes, Dolby Vision
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass Victus	Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio	89.6%	82.9%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display	- DCI-P3

RGB color space	97%	98.8%
PWM	247 Hz	240 Hz
Response time	6 ms	4.4 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Height	155.7 mm (6.13 inches)	143.6 mm (5.65 inches)
Width	74.5 mm (2.93 inches)	70.9 mm (2.79 inches)
Thickness	7.9 mm (0.31 inches)	7.7 mm (0.3 inches)
Weight	177 g (6.24 oz)	177 g (6.24 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Rear material	Plastic	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	White, Gray, Green, Purple	Silver, Gold, Gray
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in-display	No

Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888	Apple A12 Bionic
Max clock	2840 MHz	2490 MHz
CPU cores	8 (1 + 3 + 4)	6 (2 + 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 1.6 GHz: Tempest - 2 cores at 2.49 GHz: Vortex
L3 cache	4 MB	-
Lithography process	5 nanometers	7 nanometers
Graphics	Adreno 660	Apple A12 GPU
GPU shading units	1024	256
GPU clock	792 MHz	1100 MHz
FLOPS	~1622 GFLOPS	~576 GFLOPS

CPU	140597	151927
GPU	209723	141208
Memory	134992	104587
UX	139479	200467
Total score	625671	600311

Max surface temperature	39.1 °C	44.8 °C
Stability	69%	63%
Graphics test	34 FPS	34 FPS
Graphics score	5703	5700

Web score	10889	-
Video editing	7079	-
Photo editing	28541	-
Data manipulation	10075	-
Writing score	14461	-

RAM size	6, 8 GB	4 GB
Memory type	LPDDR5	LPDDR4X
Memory clock	2750 MHz	2133 MHz
Channels	2	2

Storage size	128, 256 GB	64, 256, 512 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.1	NVMe
Memory card	No	No

Operating system	Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)	iOS 12 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17)
ROM	One UI 5.0	-
OS size	17.5 GB	11.8 GB

Capacity	4500 mAh	2658 mAh
Max charge power	25 W	15 W
Battery type	Li-Ion	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes (15 W)	Yes, Qi (10 W)
Reverse charging	Yes, (wireless)	No
Fast charging	Yes (51% in 30 min)	Yes (50% in 60 min)
Full charging time	1:15 hr	2:40 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	07:42 hr	07:30 hr
Watching video	13:05 hr	09:19 hr
Gaming	05:29 hr	04:43 hr
Standby	91 hr	80 hr

Main camera
Matrix	12 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	4032 x 3024	4032 x 3024
Zoom	Optical, 3x	Optical, 2x
Flash	LED	Quad LED
Stabilization	Optical	Optical
8K video recording	No	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	123°	-
Lenses	3 (12 MP + 8 MP + 12 MP)	2 (12 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: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Apple iSight X (CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens	- 8 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 76 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/4.5", Hynix Hi847 (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 52 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4" (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization
Ultra-wide lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/3.0", Sony IMX258 (Exmor-RS CMOS)	-
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support
Samples	Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G from DxOMark	-

Selfie camera
Megapixels	32 megapixels	7 megapixels
Image resolution	6464 x 4864	3088 x 2316
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.2
Focal length	26 mm	32 mm
Pixel size	0.8 microns	1.12 microns
Sensor type	Exmor-RS CMOS	CMOS
Sensor size	1/2.74"	-
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 a/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 MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version	5	5
Bluetooth features	LE	SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type	USB Type-C	No
USB version	3.2	2
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage 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	1
Type of SIM card	Nano	Nano
Multi SIM mode	Standby	-
eSIM support *	No	Yes
Hybrid slot	No	No
LTE Cat *	19	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 2022	September 2018
Release date	January 2022	September 2018
SAR (head)	0.95 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)	1.48 W/kg	0.99 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 - Face recognition sensor
Bundled charger	Not included	-

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Apple iPhone XS

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G vs Apple iPhone XS

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