Samsung Galaxy S21 5G vs Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G Comparison and Differences

Smartphone 1

Differences between Samsung Galaxy S21 5G and Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G - Which to Choose?

Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G:

Newer release date (2021 vs 2020).
Better overall performance on Antutu benchmark score (Antutu 10 total score of 715197 vs Galaxy Note 20's Antutu 8 score of 528591).
More advanced GPU options (Mali-G78 or Adreno 660 vs Mali-G77 or Adreno 650).
Higher screen refresh rate options (120Hz vs the standard 60Hz on Note 20).
Uses the newer Exynos 2100 (International) or Snapdragon 888 (USA/China) chipset.
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus screen protection which is more advanced than Gorilla Glass 5.
Slightly more compact and lighter design (169g vs 192g).

Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G:

Larger screen size (6.7 inches vs 6.2 inches of S21).
Higher battery capacity (4300mAh vs 4000mAh).
S-Pen stylus support with advanced features.
Marginally higher MP count on the telephoto camera (64MP vs S21's 64MP with slightly different specifications).
Higher DxOMark scores for movie, photo, and video capabilities.

Both devices have their unique selling points, with the S21 offering better performance and a more recent design, while the Note 20 provides a larger display and the productivity advantages of the S-Pen.

Samsung Galaxy S21 5G or Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G Specs Comparison

Common specs

Brand and model	Samsung Galaxy S21 5G	Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G
Rating	(+0)	(+0)
Release date	2021, January 14	2020, August 05
Dimensions (HxWxD)	151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm \| 5.97 x 5.97 x 2.8 in	161.6 x 75.2 x 8.3 mm \| 6.36 x 6.36 x 2.96 in
Weight	169 g \| 5.96 oz	192 g \| 6.77 oz
Body Build	Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), plastic back, aluminum frame	Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), plastic back
Case	buy from Amazon	buy from Amazon
Colors	Phantom Gray, Phantom White, Phantom Violet, Phantom Pink	Mystic Green, Mystic Bronze, Mystic Gray, Mystic Red, Mystic Blue
Battery	4000 mAh, Li-Ion, non-removable	4300 mAh, Non-removable Li-Ion
Approximate price	$ 800	1000 EUR
Check price	from Amazon	from Amazon

Screen

Technology	Dynamic AMOLED 2X	Super AMOLED Plus
Touchscreen	capacitive touchscreen	capacitive touchscreen
Display colors	16M	16M
Screen size	6.2" in	6.7" in
Screen area	94.1 cm²	108.4 cm²
Screen format	20:9 (height:width)	20:9 (height:width)
Screen to body ratio	87.2%	89.2%
Screen resolution	1080 x 2400 px	1080 x 2400 px
Screen PPI /points per inch/	421 PPI	393 PPI
Screen protection	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus	Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Other specs	- Always-on display -120Hz -HDR10+ -1300 nits (peak)	- HDR10+ -Always-on display
Screen protector	buy from Amazon	buy from Amazon

Camera and Video

Rear camera, main	12 MP, Triple	12 MP, Triple
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, 27mm (telephoto), 1/1.72", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x hybrid zoom -12 MP, f/2.2, 120˚, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm
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	8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS & OIS
DxOMark Main Score	116	112
DxOMark Photo	123	115
DxOMark Video	93	97
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	4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps
DxOMark Selfie Score	98	100
DxOMark Photo	100	103
DxOMark Video	95	95

Performance

Operating system - OS	Android 11, One UI 3.1	Android 10, One UI 2.5
Chipset	- Exynos 2100 (5 nm) - Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 (5 nm) - USA/China	- Exynos 990 (7 nm+) - Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865+ (7 nm+) - USA
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 (1x3.0 GHz Kryo 585 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 585) - USA
GPU	Mali-G78 MP14 - International Adreno 660 - USA/China	Mali-G77 MP11 - Global Adreno 650 - USA
External memory	No	No
Internal memory	128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM	128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM

Benchmark

Antutu 10 Total	715197
Antutu 10 CPU	205401
Antutu 10 GPU	214138
Antutu 10 Mem	131954
Antutu 10 UX	205401
Antutu 9 Total	755368
Antutu 8 Total	601547	528591
GeekBench 6 Single Core		988
GeekBench 6 Multi Core		2723
GeekBench 6 OpenCL		3034
GeekBench 6 Vulkan		3235
GeekBench 5 Single Core	945	783
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core	3061	2564

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)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 -3G - HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO -4G - LTE -5G - SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave
Speed	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (CA), 5G	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (7CA) Cat20 2000/200 Mbps, 5G
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/6, 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, aptX
Harmful irradiation	SAR - 0.74 W/kg (head) 1.08 W/kg (body) SAR EU - 0.46 W/kg (head) 1.51 W/kg (body)	SAR - 0.95 W/kg (head) 0.72 W/kg (body) SAR EU - 0.68 W/kg (head) 1.37 W/kg (body)

Music and Audio

Radio	FM radio (Snapdragon only)	FM radio (market dependent)
Headphone jack	No	No
Others	- 32-bit/384kHz audio -Tuned by AKG	- 32-bit/384kHz audio -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) -IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins)	- 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) -IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) -Stylus, 26ms latency (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyro)
Versions	- Versions: SM-G991B, SM-G991B/DS (International); SM-G991U (USA); SM-G991U1 (USA unlocked); SM-G991W (Canada); SM-G991N (Korea); SM-G9910 (China)