Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Comparison and Differences
Smartphone 1
Samsung Galaxy S23
Smartphone 2
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
Smartphone 3
Differences between Samsung Galaxy S23 and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G - Which to Choose?
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S23:
- Newer model with more up-to-date specifications and features
- Equipped with the latest Qualcomm SM8550-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset
- Higher AnTuTu benchmark scores indicating better overall performance
- Better power efficiency with newer manufacturing process (4nm)
- Comes with the latest Android 13 operating system with One UI 5.1
- Improved screen protection with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2
- Smaller and lighter design for better portability
- Higher peak brightness of 1750 nits for better outdoor visibility
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G:
- Larger screen size (6.8 inches) ideal for media consumption and productivity
- Higher resolution main camera sensor (108MP) and additional periscope telephoto lens for versatile photography
- Larger battery capacity (5000 mAh) which may result in longer battery life
- More RAM and storage options available including a variant with 16GB RAM
- Higher pixel density (515 PPI) for crisper and sharper display
- Includes S Pen stylus support adding functionality for note-taking and drawing
- FM radio available in Snapdragon model for listening to over-the-air broadcasts (S21 Ultra)
- Offers Ultra Wideband (UWB) support for precise spatial awareness
Both smartphones are high-end models from Samsung with their own set of advantages. The Galaxy S23 benefits from the latest technology and performance improvements, while the S21 Ultra 5G has features that cater to users looking for a larger display, superior camera versatility, and additional productivity tools like the S Pen.
Samsung Galaxy S23 or Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Specs Comparison
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Common specs
| Brand and model | Samsung Galaxy S23 | Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G | |
| Rating | (+0) | (+0) | |
| Release date | 2023, February 01 | 2021, January 14 | |
| Dimensions (HxWxD) | 146.3 x 70.9 x 7.6 mm | 5.76 x 5.76 x 2.79 in | 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm | 6.5 x 6.5 x 2.98 in | |
| Weight | 168 g | 5.93 oz | 227 g | 8.01 oz | |
| Body Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus), aluminum frame | |
| Case | buy from Amazon | buy from Amazon | |
| Colors | Phantom Black, Cream, Green, Lavender, Graphite, Lime | Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, Phantom Titanium, Phantom Navy, Phantom Brown | |
| Battery | 3900 mAh, Li-Ion, non-removable | 5000 mAh, Li-Ion, non-removable | |
| Approximate price | 950 EUR | $ 960 | |
| 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 | 6.1" in | 6.8" in | |
| Screen area | 90.1 cm2 | 112.1 cm2 | |
| Screen format | 19.5:9 (height:width) | 20:9 (height:width) | |
| Screen to body ratio | 86.8% | 89.8% | |
| Screen resolution | 1080 x 2340 px | 1440 x 3200 px | |
| Screen PPI /points per inch/ | 425 PPI | 515 PPI | |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus | |
| Other specs | - Always-on display -120Hz -HDR10+ -1200 nits (HBM) -1750 nits (peak) |
- Always-on display -120Hz -HDR10+ -1500 nits (peak) |
|
| Screen protector | buy from Amazon | buy from Amazon |
Camera and Video
| Rear camera, main | 50 MP, Triple | 108 MP, Quad | |
| Camera specs | -50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 1/1.56", 1.0µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS -10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm (telephoto), 1/3.94", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom -12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55" 1.4µm, Super Steady video |
-108 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 1/1.33", 0.8µm, PDAF, Laser AF, OIS -10 MP, f/4.9, 240mm (periscope telephoto), 1/3.24", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 10x optical zoom -10 MP, f/2.4, 70mm (telephoto), 1/3.24", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom -12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, Super Steady video |
|
| Functions | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama | |
| Video | 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 1080p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS | 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS | |
| DxOMark Main Score | 133 | 121 | |
| DxOMark Photo | 129 | 128 | |
| DxOMark Video | 137 | 98 | |
| Front camera, selfie | 12 MP, Single | 40 MP, Single | |
| Specifications | 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), Dual Pixel PDAF | 40 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/2.8'', 0.7µm, PDAF | |
| Functions | Dual video call, Auto-HDR, HDR10+ | Dual video call, Auto-HDR | |
| Video | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps | |
| DxOMark Selfie Score | 101 | ||
| DxOMark Photo | 104 | ||
| DxOMark Video | 95 |
Performance
| Operating system - OS | Android 13, One UI 5.1 | Android 11, One UI 3.1 | |
| Chipset | - Qualcomm SM8550-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm) | - Exynos 2100 (5 nm) - Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 (5 nm) - USA/China |
|
| CPU | - Octa-core (1x3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510) | - 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 |
|
| GPU | Adreno 740 | Mali-G78 MP14 - International Adreno 660 - USA/China |
|
| External memory | No | No | |
| Internal memory | 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM | 128GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM |
Benchmark
| Antutu 10 Total | 1484787 | 744835 | |
| Antutu 10 CPU | 369395 | 199654 | |
| Antutu 10 GPU | 583300 | 229735 | |
| Antutu 10 Mem | 270880 | 150252 | |
| Antutu 10 UX | 369395 | 199654 | |
| Antutu 9 Total | 1250123 | ||
| Antutu 8 Total | 638987 | ||
| GeekBench 6 Single Core | 1854 | ||
| GeekBench 6 Multi Core | 4901 | ||
| GeekBench 6 OpenCL | 8397 | ||
| GeekBench 6 Vulkan | 6233 | ||
| GeekBench 5 Single Core | 1380 | 960 | |
| GeekBench 5 Multi-Core | 4870 | 3177 |
Communication and Connectivity
| SIM card | Nano-SIM and eSIMDual SIM (2 Nano-SIMs and eSIM, dual stand-by) | Single SIM (Nano-SIM and/or eSIM)Dual SIM (Nano-SIM and/or eSIM, 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 - International |
-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 |
|
| Speed | HSPA, LTE, 5G | HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (CA), 5G | |
| GPRS | Yes | Yes | |
| Edge | Yes | Yes | |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot | |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO | |
| NFC | Yes | Yes | |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.2, OTG | USB Type-C 3.2, USB On-The-Go | |
| Bluetooth | 5.3, A2DP, LE | 5.2, A2DP, LE | |
| Harmful irradiation |
SAR - 0.95 W/kg (head) 0.88 W/kg (body) SAR EU - 0.96 W/kg (head) 1.30 W/kg (body) |
SAR - 0.77 W/kg (head) 1.02 W/kg (body) SAR EU - 0.77 W/kg (head) 1.02 W/kg (body) |
Music and Audio
| Radio | No | FM radio (Snapdragon only) | |
| 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) -Bixby natural language commands and dictation -Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) - Fast charging 25W, 50% in 30 min -Power Delivery 3.0 -Wireless charging 15W (Qi/PMA) -Reverse wireless charging 4.5W - IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) -Armor aluminum frame with tougher drop and scratch resistance |
- 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) -Stylus support |
|
| Versions |
- Versions: SM-G998B, SM-G998B/DS (International); SM-G998U (USA); SM-G998U1 (USA unlocked); SM-G998W (Canada); SM-G998N (Korea); SM-G9980 (China) |
Reviews and Opinions on Samsung Galaxy S23 and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
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