Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Galaxy S10
57
out of 100
VS
54
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 (with Exynos 2100) that was released on January 14, 2021, against the Samsung Galaxy S10, which is powered by Exynos 9 Octa 9820 and came out 1 year and 11 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
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Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- 45% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1081K versus 747K)
- More recent OS version: Android 15 versus 12
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
- Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
- Supports higher wattage charging (25W versus 15W)
- The phone is 1 year and 11 months newer
- Ready for eSIM technology
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S10
- Shows 28% longer battery life (22:50 vs 17:54 hours)
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
- 31% higher pixel density (551 vs 421 PPI)
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 512GB
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
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
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Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | Dynamic AMOLED |
| Size | 6.2 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels | 1440 x 3040 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19:9 |
| PPI | 421 ppi | 551 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (48-120 Hz) | No |
| Max rated brightness | 800 nits | 1215 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 85.9% | 88% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99.5% | 98.1% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | 240 Hz |
| Response time | 5 ms | 4.8 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 151.7 mm (5.97 inches) | 149.9 mm (5.9 inches) |
| Width | 71.2 mm (2.8 inches) | 70.4 mm (2.77 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) | 7.8 mm (0.31 inches) |
| Weight | 169 g (5.96 oz) | 157 g (5.54 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Plastic | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Gray, Pink, Purple | White, Black, Blue, Green |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 2100 | Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9820 |
| Max clock | 2900 MHz | 2730 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (2 + 2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 3 cores at 2.81 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
- 4 cores at 1.95 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 2 cores at 2.31 GHz: Cortex-A75 - 2 cores at 2.73 GHz: Mongoose M4 |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 8 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Yes | Yes |
| Graphics | Mali-G78 MP14 | Mali G76 MP12 |
| GPU shading units | 448 | 288 |
| GPU clock | 854 MHz | 702 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~765.2 GFLOPS | ~404.4 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 6754 | 4837 |
| Single-core score | 1484 | 986 |
| Multi-core score | 3767 | 2961 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 418023 | 303198 |
| GPU | 191872 | 133774 |
| Memory | 170606 | 148749 |
| UX | 301277 | 161536 |
| Total score | 1081778 | 747257 |
| Samples | [17 tests] | [16 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 72% | 81% |
| Graphics test | 2 FPS | 3 FPS |
| Graphics score | 328 | 367 |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | 64% | 82% |
| Graphics test | 10 FPS | 5 FPS |
| Graphics score | 1800 | 949 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 13238 | 7433 |
| Video editing | 7092 | 5772 |
| Photo editing | 29658 | 18351 |
| Data manipulation | 10433 | 7663 |
| Writing score | 15614 | 10349 |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy S21
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-10-14 (Vadim250905) | AnTuTu 12 | 1268986 |
| 📘 2026-09-30 (Luckyy) | AnTuTu 12 | 1281558 |
| 📘 2026-07-10 (TechNova0627) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 1446 / 3772 |
| 📘 2026-07-10 (TechNova0627) | AnTuTu 11 | 1115971 |
| 📘 2026-07-05 (Luckyy) | AnTuTu 11 | 1086158 |
Samsung Galaxy S10
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-10-15 (Sv1at) | AnTuTu 12 | 929674 |
| 📘 2026-09-27 (Arifz) | AnTuTu 12 | 769471 |
| 📘 2026-09-26 (Lurky) | AnTuTu 12 | 932812 |
| 📘 2026-09-26 (Rip) | AnTuTu 12 | 625310 |
| 📘 2026-09-06 (Nythoxx) | AnTuTu 11 | 777426 |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 2.1 |
| Memory card | No | MicroSD |
| Memory card max size | - | Up to 512 GB |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 15) | Android 9.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 12) |
| ROM | One UI 7.0 | One UI 4.0 |
| OS size | 28.1 GB | 9.5 GB |
| OS updates | 2 years | 2 years |
| Security updates | 4 years | 4 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 4000 mAh | 3400 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 15 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | Yes, Qi/PMA (9 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | Yes, (wireless) |
| Bypass charging | No | - |
| Fast charging | Yes (55% in 30 min) | Yes, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (50% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:13 hr | 1:35 hr |
| Web browsing | 06:01 hr | 13:03 hr |
| Watching video | 11:06 hr | 14:48 hr |
| Gaming | 04:21 hr | 05:16 hr |
| Standby | 95 hr | 73 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Zoom | Optical, 1.1x | Optical, 2x |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 24FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 240FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 960 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 123° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Telephoto: 64 MP 3) Ultrawide: 12 MP |
1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Telephoto: 12 MP 3) Ultrawide: 16 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.5 - 2.4 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX555 | Samsung SAK2L4 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.76" (≈ 0.57 inch) | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.8 micron | 1.4 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 64 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/1.5 |
| Focal length | 28 mm | 52 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung Bright S5KGW2 | Samsung S5K3M3 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.72" (≈ 0.58 inch) | 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | 1 micron |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 16 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 13 mm | 12 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX563 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) | 1/3.1" (≈ 0.32 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.4 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 70 | - |
| Preview | 61 | - |
| Zoom | 114 | - |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 from DxOMark | - |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 10 megapixels | 10 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3872 x 2592 | 4320 x 2432 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/1.9 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX374 | Samsung S5K3J1 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.24" (≈ 0.31 inch) | 1/2.65" (≈ 0.38 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.22 micron | 1.22 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 3.1 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | Yes | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | Yes |
| LTE Cat* | 24 | 20 |
| 5G support | Yes | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | Yes |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | January 2021 | February 2019 |
| Release date | February 2021 | March 2019 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $800 | $900 |
| Successor | - Samsung Galaxy S22 | - Samsung Galaxy S25 FE |
| SAR (head) | 0.46 W/kg | 0.48 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.51 W/kg | 1.59 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the display, performance, gaming, connectivity, and software are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy S21. But if the camera, battery life, design, and sound are more of a priority – go for the Samsung Galaxy S10.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 787