Samsung Galaxy A21s vs A16 5G
36
out of 100
VS
47
out of 100
Here we compared two budget smartphones: the 6.5-inch Samsung Galaxy A21s (with Exynos 850) that was released on May 15, 2020, against the Samsung Galaxy A16 5G, which is powered by Exynos 1330 and came out 4 years and 5 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A21s
- Shows 23% longer battery life (25:00 vs 20:24 hours)
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
- Water-resistant body (IP54 classification)
- 2.2x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (576K versus 258K)
- Higher display refresh rate – 90 Hz
- Delivers 67% higher peak brightness (818 against 491 nits)
- 43% higher pixel density (385 vs 270 PPI)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- More recent OS version: Android 16 versus 12
- Has 2x more RAM: 4GB versus 2GB
- The phone is 4 years and 5 months newer
- Slow-motion recording at 120FPS
- Super AMOLED display (versus competitor's PLS TFT)
- Supports higher wattage charging (25W versus 15W)
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate DeviceFacts Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | PLS TFT | Super AMOLED |
| Size | 6.5 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 720 x 1600 pixels | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 270 ppi | 385 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 90 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 540 nits | 800 nits |
| HDR support | No | No |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 82.9% | 86% |
| Display features | - | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 88.4% | 99.1% |
| PWM | 500 Hz | 360 Hz |
| Response time | 30.4 ms | 3 ms |
| Contrast | 1500:1 | ∞ Infinity |
Screen space comparison
Galaxy A16 5G
6.7″ (19.5:9 ratio) = 17.1 in2
Galaxy A21s
6.5″ (20:9 ratio) = 15.8 in2
~8% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 163.6 mm (6.44 inches) | 164.4 mm (6.47 inches) |
| Width | 75.3 mm (2.96 inches) | 77.9 mm (3.07 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) | 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) |
| Weight | 192 g (6.77 oz) | 200 g (7.05 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | IP54 |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Colors | Black, Blue, Red | White, Gray, Blue, Green |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, rear | Yes, in-button |
| Repairability | - | Good (3.2/5) |
| Drop resistance | - | Very good (B) · 180 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 850 | Samsung Exynos 1330 |
| Max clock | 2000 MHz | 2400 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (8) | 8 (2 + 6) |
| Architecture | - 8 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 | - 6 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 2 cores at 2.4 GHz: Cortex-A78 |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 8 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | No | Yes |
| Graphics | Mali-G52 MP6 | Mali-G68 MP2 |
| GPU shading units | 16 | 64 |
| GPU clock | 1001 MHz | 949 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~48 GFLOPS | ~121.5 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | - | 1284 |
| Single-core score | 300 | 960 |
| Multi-core score | 836 | 1826 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 100392 | 244407 |
| GPU | 18008 | 42598 |
| Memory | 86289 | 110301 |
| UX | 53375 | 178943 |
| Total score | 258064 | 576249 |
| Samples | [4 tests] | [2 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | - | 98% |
| Graphics test | - | 1 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 139 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 4948 | 13054 |
| Video editing | 5163 | 6777 |
| Photo editing | 8993 | 21291 |
| Data manipulation | 3929 | 9362 |
| Writing score | 5825 | 15837 |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy A21s
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-18 -> HABIBO | AnTuTu 12 | 304257 |
| 📘 2026-05-16 (Abdul ahad) | AnTuTu 11 | 258064 |
| 📘 2026-03-29 -> quandzvl12 | AnTuTu 11 | 316736 |
| 📘 2025-10-08 (MinxK) | AnTuTu 11 | 231817 |
| 📘 2025-10-04 (zayedbinnahyan) | AnTuTu 11 | 218341 |
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-08-15 (Julian Ludwig) | Geekbench 6 GPU | 1286 |
| 📘 2026-08-15 (Julian Ludwig) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 960 / 1826 |
| 📘 2025-12-10 (Nait) | AnTuTu 11 | 576249 |
| 📘 2025-11-14 (Nait) | AnTuTu 11 | 491818 |
Memory
| RAM size | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 1866 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 32 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | eMMC 5.1 | UFS 2.2 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | MicroSD |
| Memory card max size | Up to 512 GB | Up to 1536 GB |
Software
| Operating system | Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 12) | Android 14 (Can be upgraded to Android 16) |
| ROM | One UI 4.1 | One UI 8.5 |
| OS size | 12 GB | 26 GB |
| OS updates | 2 years | 2 years |
| Security updates | 4 years | 3 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 15 W | 25 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Bypass charging | - | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (50% in 60 min) | Yes (47% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 2:10 hr | 1:21 hr |
| Battery cycles | - | 1200 cycles |
| Web browsing | 09:45 hr | 08:05 hr |
| Watching video | 14:13 hr | 11:26 hr |
| Gaming | 05:34 hr | 06:26 hr |
| Standby | 128 hr | 100 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8000 x 6000 | 8160 x 6120 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | No | No |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| Slow motion | No | 120 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | - |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Ultrawide: 8 MP 3) Macro: 2 MP 4) Depth: 2 MP |
1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 5 MP 3) Macro: 2 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 48 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | - |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KGM2 | Samsung ISOCELL S5KJN1 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.0" (≈ 0.5 inch) | 1/2.76" (≈ 0.36 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | 0.64 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | 8 MP | 5 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Sensor | - | SmartSens SC501 |
| Sensor size | 1/4.0" (≈ 0.25 inch) | 1/5" (≈ 0.2 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | 2 MP | 2 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.4 |
| Stabilization | Digital | No |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | - | 55 |
| Preview | - | 52 |
| Zoom | - | 49 |
| Samples | - | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A16 5G from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 13 megapixels | 13 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4128 x 3096 | 4160 x 3120 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | - | 26 mm |
| Sensor | CMOS | GalaxyCore GC13A0 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.1" (≈ 0.32 inch) | 1/3.1" (≈ 0.32 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | No |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | - | No |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Depends on the region |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | No | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 13 | - |
| 5G support | No | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Mono | Mono |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | No |
| FM radio | Yes | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Budget | Budget |
| Announced | May 2020 | October 2024 |
| Release date | June 2020 | October 2024 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $200 | $199 |
| Successor | - Samsung Galaxy A24 4G | - Samsung Galaxy A17 5G |
| SAR (head) | 0.23 W/kg | 0.38 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.38 W/kg | 0.94 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | - | Not included |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Samsung Galaxy A16 5G is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 3