Samsung Galaxy S21 5G vs Samsung Galaxy S9+ Comparison and Differences

Smartphone 1

Samsung Galaxy S21 5G

Smartphone 2

Samsung Galaxy S9+

Smartphone 3

Differences between Samsung Galaxy S21 5G and Samsung Galaxy S9+ - Which to Choose?

Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G:

Newer model with more recent technology (2021 vs. 2018).
Support for 5G networks for faster data speeds.
Better performance with a newer chipset (Exynos 2100 or Snapdragon 888).
Higher screen refresh rate (120Hz) for smoother visuals.
Higher resolution cameras with more versatile photography options.
Better video recording capabilities with 8K video support.
Improved battery charging features including faster wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.
More advanced fingerprint sensor technology (under display, ultrasonic).
IP68 dust/water resistance rating.
Updated operating system with Android 11 and One UI 3.1.

Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S9+:

3.5mm headphone jack for traditional wired headphones.
MicroSD card slot for expandable storage (up to 512 GB).
Higher pixel density screen (529 ppi vs. 421 ppi).
Iris scanner for additional biometric security.
Slightly lower price at launch (620 EUR vs. 800 USD).
Features like heart rate and SpO2 sensors that are absent in the newer model.
Availability of FM radio (in some markets).
Features Samsung DeX, allowing for a desktop-like experience when connected to a monitor.

Samsung Galaxy S21 5G or Samsung Galaxy S9+ Specs Comparison

Common specs

Brand and model	Samsung Galaxy S21 5G	Samsung Galaxy S9+
Rating	(+0)	(+0)
Release date	2021, January 14	2018, February
Dimensions (HxWxD)	151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm \| 5.97 x 5.97 x 2.8 in	158.1 x 73.8 x 8.5 mm \| 6.22 x 6.22 x 2.91 in
Weight	169 g \| 5.96 oz	189 g \| 6.67 oz
Body Build	Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), plastic back, aluminum frame	Front/back glass (Gorilla Glass 5), aluminum frame
Case	buy from Amazon	buy from Amazon
Colors	Phantom Gray, Phantom White, Phantom Violet, Phantom Pink	Midnight Black, Coral Blue, Titanium Gray, Lilac Purple, Burgundy Red, Sunrise Gold, Ice Blue, Polaris Blue
Battery	4000 mAh, Li-Ion, non-removable	3500 mAh, Non-removable Li-Ion
Approximate price	$ 800	620 EUR
Check price	from Amazon	from Amazon

Screen

Technology	Dynamic AMOLED 2X	Super AMOLED
Touchscreen	capacitive touchscreen	capacitive touchscreen
Display colors	16M	16M
Screen size	6.2" in	6.2" in
Screen area	94.1 cm²	98.3 cm²
Screen format	20:9 (height:width)	18.5:9 (height:width)
Screen to body ratio	87.2%	84.2%
Screen resolution	1080 x 2400 px	1440 x 2960 px
Screen PPI /points per inch/	421 PPI	529 PPI
Screen protection	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus	Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Other specs	- Always-on display -120Hz -HDR10+ -1300 nits (peak)	- HDR10 -3D Touch (home button only) -Always-on display
Screen protector	buy from Amazon	buy from Amazon

Camera and Video

Rear camera, main	12 MP, Triple	12 MP, Dual
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/1.5-2.4, 26mm (wide), 1/2.55'', 1.4µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS -12 MP, f/2.4, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.6'', 1.0µm, AF, OIS, 2x optical zoom
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	2160p@60fps, 1080p@240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR, dual-video rec.
DxOMark Main Score	116	100
DxOMark Photo	123	105
DxOMark Video	93	91
Front camera, selfie	10 MP, Single	8 MP, Single
Specifications	10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.24'', 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF	8 MP, f/1.7, 25mm (wide), 1/3.6'', 1.22µm, AF
Functions	Dual video call, Auto-HDR	Dual video call, Auto-HDR
Video	4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps	1440p@30fps
DxOMark Selfie Score	98	81
DxOMark Photo	100	81
DxOMark Video	95	81

Performance

Operating system - OS	Android 11, One UI 3.1	Android 8.0 (Oreo)
Chipset	- Exynos 2100 (5 nm) - Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 (5 nm) - USA/China	- Exynos 9810 Octa (10 nm) - Qualcomm SDM845 Snapdragon 845 (10 nm) - USA/LATAM, China
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 (4x2.7 GHz Mongoose M3 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55) - EMEA -Octa-core (4x2.8 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4x1.7 GHz Kryo 385 Silver) - USA/LATAM, China
GPU	Mali-G78 MP14 - International Adreno 660 - USA/China	Mali-G72 MP18 - EMEA Adreno 630 - USA/LATAM, China
External memory	No	microSD, up to 512 GB (uses SIM 2 slot) - dual SIM model only
Internal memory	128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM	64/128/256 GB, 6 GB RAM - China 128 GB, 6 GB RAM - LATAM

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	320731
Antutu 7 Total
GeekBench 6 Single Core		511
GeekBench 6 Multi Core		1781
GeekBench 6 OpenCL		2023
GeekBench 6 Vulkan		1981
GeekBench 5 Single Core	945	596
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core	3061	1902
GeekBench 4 Single Core		2292
GeekBench 4 Multi-Core		8306
GeekBench 4 RenderScript		8586
GeekBench 4 Battery		4096

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)Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
Network	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE
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 - USA -3G - HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 - Global, USA CDMA2000 1xEV-DO - USA -4G - LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 25(1900), 26(850), 28(700), 32(1500), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500), 66(1700/2100) - Global LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 14(700), 17(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, 66(1700/2100), 71(600) - USA
Speed	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (CA), 5G	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (6CA) Cat18 1200/200 Mbps
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, 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	3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector
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)

Music and Audio

Radio	FM radio (Snapdragon only)	FM radio (USA & Canada only)
Headphone jack	No	Yes
Others	- 32-bit/384kHz audio -Tuned by AKG	- 32-bit/384kHz audio -Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic

Other features

Sensors	- Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer	- Iris scanner, fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, heart rate, SpO2
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 DeX (desktop experience support) -ANT+ -Bixby natural language commands and dictation - -Fast battery charging (Quick Charge 2.0) -Qi/PMA wireless charging (market dependent) - Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) -IP68 dust/water proof (up to 1.5m for 30 mins)
Versions	- Versions: SM-G991B, SM-G991B/DS (International); SM-G991U (USA); SM-G991U1 (USA unlocked); SM-G991W (Canada); SM-G991N (Korea); SM-G9910 (China)	- Versions: G965F (Europe, Global Single-SIM); G965F/DS (Europe, Global Dual-SIM); G965U (USA); G965W (Canada); G9650 (China, LATAM)