Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G vs Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G Comparison and Differences
Smartphone 1
Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
Smartphone 2
Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G
Smartphone 3
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
or
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 | |
| Case | buy from Amazon | buy from Amazon | |
| 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 | |
| Check price | from Amazon | from Amazon |
Screen
| Technology | Dynamic AMOLED 2X | Dynamic AMOLED 2X | |
| Touchscreen | capacitive touchscreen | capacitive touchscreen | |
| Display colors | 16M | 16M | |
| Screen size | 6.7" in | 6.7" in | |
| 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 |
|
| Screen protector | buy from Amazon | buy from Amazon |
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 |
|
| 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 |
|
| 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) |
Reviews and Opinions on Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G and Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G
If you had to recommend one of these phones to a friend, which one would it be and why? Share your arguments using the Add Opinion button!