Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs S21 Ultra
80
out of 100
VS
76
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2) that was released on July 26, 2023, against the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which is powered by Exynos 2100 and came out 31 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 Z Flip 5
- 35% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1125K versus 833K)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- The phone is 2-years and 7-months newer
- Delivers 8% higher peak brightness (1102 against 1023 nits)
- Faster storage type - UFS 4.0 versus UFS 3.1
- 44% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 2105 and 1458 points
- Weighs 40 grams less
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
- The rear camera has a 10x optical zoom
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Comes with 1300 mAh larger battery capacity: 5000 vs 3700 mAh
- Shows 15% longer battery life (31:14 vs 27:13 hours)
- Has 2 SIM card slots
- 21% higher pixel density (515 vs 425 PPI)
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 | 6.7 inches | 6.8 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2640 pixels | 1440 x 3200 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 21.9:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 425 ppi | 515 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes | Yes |
| Max rated brightness | 500 nits | 1500 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1200 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 85.5% | 89.8% |
| Display features |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 97.3% | - |
| PWM | 120 Hz | - |
| Response time | 1 ms | - |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | - |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 165.1 mm (6.5 inches) | 165.1 mm (6.5 inches) |
| Width | 71.9 mm (2.83 inches) | 75.6 mm (2.98 inches) |
| Thickness | 6.9 mm (0.27 inches) | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 187 g (6.6 oz) | 227 g (8.01 oz) |
| Waterproof | IPX8 | IP68 |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | - |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Gray, Green, Purple, Yellow | Black, Silver, Gray, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | Samsung Exynos 2100 |
| Max clock | 3200 MHz | 2840 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 2 + 2 + 3) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 3 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A510
- 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A710 - 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A715 - 1 core at 3.2 GHz: Cortex-X3 |
- 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 3 cores at 2.81 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
| L3 cache | 8 MB | - |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 740 | Mali-G78 MP14 |
| GPU shading units | 2560 | 896 |
| GPU clock | 680 MHz | 854 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~3481.6 GFLOPS | ~1530.4 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 388586 | 236566 |
| GPU | 222126 | 255535 |
| Memory | 241250 | 157504 |
| UX | 269260 | 183564 |
| Total score | 1125759 | 833650 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 55.8 °C | 40.8 °C |
| Stability | - | 69% |
| Graphics test | 57 FPS | 31 FPS |
| Graphics score | 9567 | 5221 |
Memory
| RAM size | 8, 12 GB | 12, 16 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 3200 MHz | 2750 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 2 |
| Storage size | 256, 512 GB | 128, 256, 512 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 4.0 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 13 | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | One UI 5.1.1 | One UI 5.1 |
| OS size | 40 GB | 26.4 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 3700 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 25 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | Yes (15 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | Yes, (wireless) |
| Fast charging | Yes (55% in 30 min) | Yes (54% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:19 hr | 1:11 hr |
| Web browsing | 08:59 hr | 10:13 hr |
| Watching video | 12:19 hr | 15:32 hr |
| Gaming | 03:56 hr | 05:26 hr |
| Standby | 94 hr | 98 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 108 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 12000 x 9000 |
| Zoom | Digital | Optical, 10x |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | 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 | 123° | 120° |
| Lenses | 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) | 4 (108 MP + 10 MP + 10 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 24 mm - Pixel size: 1.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.76", Samsung S5K2LD (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 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 |
| 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 - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/3.06", Sony IMX258 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
- 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 |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 from DxOMark | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 10 megapixels | 40 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3648 x 2736 | 7864 x 5200 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.22 microns | 0.7 microns |
| Sensor type | ISOCELL CMOS | ISOCELL CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3" | 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 6E (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 | 5.3 | 5.2 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 3.2 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| NFC * | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM * | 1 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | - | Standby |
| eSIM support * | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat * | 20 | 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 | Flagship |
| Announced | July 2023 | January 2021 |
| Release date | August 2023 | February 2021 |
| SAR (head) | 0.6 W/kg | 0.71 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.45 W/kg | 1.58 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 |
| Bundled charger | Not included | - |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the performance and gaming are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 . But if the camera, battery life, and connectivity are more of a priority – go for the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra .
