Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G vs Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G Comparison and Differences

Smartphone 1

Differences between Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G and Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G - Which to Choose?

Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G:

Newer model, released in 2021
Larger battery at 4800 mAh
Better GPU performance in international versions (Mali-G78 MP14)
Improved chipset (Exynos 2100 or Snapdragon 888)
Supports Wi-Fi 6
Higher Antutu 8 benchmark score indicating potentially better overall performance
Gorilla Glass Victus protection, which is more durable than Gorilla Glass 6
More color options to choose from
Higher peak brightness for the display at 1300 nits

Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G:

Higher screen resolution of 1440 x 3200 pixels
Higher pixel density at 525 ppi
Option to expand storage with a microSD card
Slightly lighter weight at 188 grams
Includes a Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor for depth sensing in its quad-camera setup
Lower SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) values, indicating lower RF exposure
Released with a slightly lower price

Both smartphones are premium models from Samsung with their respective strengths. The Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G offers a slight improvement in terms of performance and durability, whereas the Galaxy S20+ 5G has a finer display and expandable storage. Your preference would depend on whether you value the latest technology or specific features like display resolution and expandable memory.

Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G or Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G Specs Comparison

Common specs

Brand and model	Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G	Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G
Rating	(+0)	(+0)
Release date	2021, January 14	2020, February 11
Dimensions (HxWxD)	161.5 x 75.6 x 7.8 mm \| 6.36 x 6.36 x 2.98 in	161.9 x 73.7 x 7.8 mm \| 6.37 x 6.37 x 2.9 in
Weight	200 g \| 7.05 oz	188 g \| 6.63 oz
Body Build	Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus), aluminum frame	Glass front (Gorilla Glass 6), glass back (Gorilla Glass 6), aluminum frame
Colors	Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, Phantom Violet, Phantom Pink, Phantom Gold, Phantom Red	Cosmic Black, Cosmic Grey, Cloud Blue, Cloud White, Aura Red
Battery	4800 mAh, Li-Ion, non-removable	4500 mAh, Non-removable Li-Po
Approximate price	$ 970	1099 EUR

Screen

Technology	Dynamic AMOLED 2X	Dynamic AMOLED 2X
Touchscreen	capacitive touchscreen	capacitive touchscreen
Display colors	16M	16M
Screen size	6.7" inc	6.7" inc
Screen area	107.8 cm²	108.0 cm²
Screen format	20:9 (height:width)	20:9 (height:width)
Screen to body ratio	88.3%	90.5%
Screen resolution	1080 x 2400 px	1440 x 3200 px
Screen PPI /points per inch/	394 PPI	525 PPI
Screen protection	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus	Corning Gorilla Glass 6
Other specs	- Always-on display -120Hz -HDR10+ -1300 nits (peak)	- HDR10+ -Always-on display -120Hz@FHD, 60Hz@QHD

Camera and Video

Rear camera, main	12 MP, Triple	12 MP, Quad
Camera specs	-12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.76", 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS -64 MP, f/2.0, 29mm (telephoto), 1/1.72", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS, 1.1x optical zoom, 3x hybrid zoom -12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55" 1.4µm, Super Steady video	-12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.76", 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS -64 MP, f/2.0, (telephoto), 1/1.72", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x hybrid optical zoom -12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1.4µm, Super Steady video -0.3 MP, TOF 3D, f/1.0, (depth)
Functions	LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama	LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama
Video	8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS	4320p@24fps, 2160p@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, dual-video rec., stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS & OIS
DxOMark Main Score	119	118
DxOMark Photo	124	127
DxOMark Video	101	100
Front camera, selfie	10 MP, Single	10 MP, Single
Specifications	10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.24'', 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF	10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.2", 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF
Functions	Dual video call, Auto-HDR	Dual video call, Auto-HDR
Video	4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps	2160p@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps

Performance

Operating system - OS	Android 11, One UI 3.1	Android 10.0; One UI 2
Chipset	- Exynos 2100 (5 nm) - Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 (5 nm) - USA/China	- Exynos 990 (7 nm+) - Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 (7 nm+) - USA
Processor CPU	- Octa-core (1x2.9 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3x2.80 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x2.2 GHz Cortex-A55) - International -Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4x1.80 GHz Kryo 680 - USA/China	- Octa-core (2x2.73 GHz Mongoose M5 & 2x2.50 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) - Global Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 585 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 585) - USA
Graphics processor GPU	Mali-G78 MP14 - International Adreno 660 - USA/China	Mali-G77 MP11 - Global Adreno 650 - USA
External memory	No	microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot)
Internal memory	128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM	128GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM

Benchmark

Antutu 10 Total		624203
Antutu 10 CPU		174405
Antutu 10 GPU		202158
Antutu 10 Mem		126379
Antutu 10 UX		174405
Antutu 8 Total	646221	551961
GeekBench 5 Single Core	1017	785
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core	3105	3054

Communication and Connectivity

SIM card	Single SIM (Nano-SIM and/or eSIM)Dual SIM (Nano-SIM and/or eSIM, dual stand-by)	Single SIM (Nano-SIM and/or eSIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
Network	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G
Bands	-2G - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 (Dual SIM model only) CDMA 800 / 1900 & TD-SCDMA -3G - HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO -4G - LTE -5G - SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave	-2G - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 (Dual SIM model only) CDMA 800 / 1900 & TD-SCDMA -3G - HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO -4G - LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 14(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 25(1900), 26(850), 28(700), 29(700), 30(2300), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500), 46(5200), 48, 66(1700/2100), 71(600) - SM-G986U -5G - SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave 5G band 2(1900), 5(850), 41(2500), 66(1700), 71(600), 260(39 GHz), 261(28 GHz), - SM-G986U
Speed	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (CA), 5G	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (7CA) Cat20 2000/150 Mbps; 5G (2+ Gbps DL)
GPRS	Yes	Yes
Edge	Yes	Yes
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
GPS	Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO	Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
NFC	Yes	Yes
USB	USB Type-C 3.2, USB On-The-Go	3.2, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go
Bluetooth	5.0, A2DP, LE	5.0, A2DP, LE
Harmful irradiation	SAR - 0.65 W/kg (head) 0.95 W/kg (body) SAR EU - 0.65 W/kg (head) 0.95 W/kg (body)	SAR - 1.08 W/kg (head) 1.02 W/kg (body) SAR EU - 1.09 W/kg (head) 1.57 W/kg (body)

Music and Audio

Radio	FM radio (Snapdragon only)	FM radio (USA & Canada only)
Headphone jack	No	No
Others	- 32-bit/384kHz audio -Tuned by AKG	- 32-bit/384kHz audio - -Dolby Atmos sound -Tuned by AKG

Other features

Sensors	- Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer	- Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Other extras	- Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support) -ANT+ -Bixby natural language commands and dictation - Fast charging 25W -USB Power Delivery 3.0 -Fast Qi/PMA wireless charging 15W -Reverse wireless charging 4.5W - Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) -Ultra Wideband (UWB) support -IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins)	- ANT+ -Bixby natural language commands and dictation -Samsung DeX (desktop experience support) - Fast battery charging 25W -USB Power Delivery 3.0 -Fast Qi/PMA wireless charging 15W -Power bank/Reverse wireless charging 9W - Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) -IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins)
Versions	- Also known as Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus 5G -Versions: SM-G996B, SM-G996B/DS (International); SM-G996U (USA); SM-G996U1 (USA unlocked); SM-G996W (Canada); SM-G996N (Korea); SM-G9960 (China)