Apple iPhone XS vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Specs Comparison

Availability

Officially announced
Sep 12, 2018	Jan 14, 2021
Prices (MSRP)
$999	$800

Design

Dimensions
5.65 x 2.79 x 0.30 inches 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm	5.97 x 2.80 x 0.31 inches 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm
Weight
6.24 oz / 177.0 g	6.03 oz / 171.0 g
Materials
Back: Glass Frame: Stainless steel	Back: Plastic Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP68	Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
3D Face unlock	2D Face unlock, Ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint
Keys
Left: Volume control, Other; Right: Lock/Unlock key	Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Gold, Silver, Space gray	Phantom pink, Violet, Gray, White

Display

Size
5.8-inch, 82.64% screen-to-body	6.2-inch, 86.06% screen-to-body
Type
OLED, HDR, 625 nits	Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR, 1300 nits
Resolution
2436x1125px, 19.5:9 ratio, 459 PPI	2400x1080px, 20:9 ratio, 424 PPI
Protection
	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
Features
HDR support, Pressure-sensitive, Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

PhoneArena Display Test

Bright Max (20% APL)
Untested	Untested
Bright Min
2 (Good)	1.2 (Good)

Learn more on our PhoneArena Display Test Results page.

Hardware

System chip
Apple A12 Bionic APL1W81 (7 nm)	Snapdragon 888 (5 nm)
Processor
Hexa-core 2490 MHz Vortex and Tempest	Octa-core 1x2.84GHz Kryo 680 3x2.42GHz Kryo 680 4x1.80GHz Kryo 680
GPU
Apple 4-core GPU	Adreno 660
Memory
4GB (LPDDR4)/64GB 4GB/256GB 4GB/512GB	8GB (LPDDR5)/128GB (UFS 3.0) 8GB/256GB
Storage expansion
not expandable	not expandable
OS
iOS (15.x, 14.x, 13.x, 12.x)	Android (13, 12, 11)

Battery

Type
2659 mAh, Li - Ion	4000 mAh, Li - Polymer
Charging
USB Power Delivery Qi wireless charging	Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, USB Power Delivery, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging Qi and Powermat wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging
Charge speed
Wired: 15.0W Wireless: 7.5W	Wired: 25.0W Wireless: 15.0W

PhoneArena Battery Tests

Battery Life Estimate

Untested

Browsing

7h 49min

Video

4h 42min

Gaming

Untested

Battery Life Estimate

4h 28min

Browsing

7h 47min

Video

7h 36min

Gaming

7h 9min

Learn more on our PhoneArena Battery Test Results page

Camera

Rear
Dual camera	Triple camera
Main camera
12 MP (Sapphire crystal lens cover, OIS, PDAF, BSI sensor) Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 26 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55" Pixel size: 1.4 μm	12 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 26 mm Sensor size: 1/1.76" Pixel size: 1.8 μm
Second camera
12 MP (Telephoto, Sapphire crystal lens cover, OIS, PDAF, BSI sensor) Optical zoom: 2.0x Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 52 mm Sensor size: 1/3.4" Pixel size: 1 μm	12 MP (Ultra-wide, Autofocus) Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55" Pixel size: 1.4 μm
Third camera
	64 MP (Telephoto, OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F2.0 Focal Length: 29 mm Sensor size: 1/1.7" Pixel size: 0.8 μm
Flash
Quad LED	LED
Video recording
4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps), 720p OIS, Time-lapse video, Continuous autofocus, Picture-taking during video recording	8K UHD (24 fps), 4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps), 720p (960 fps) OIS, HDR, Hyperlapse, Continuous autofocus, Video light, EIS
Front
7 MP (HDR) Video capture: 1080p	10 MP (PDAF, HDR) Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0	5.0
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac	a,b,g,n,ac,Wi-Fi 6,dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax
USB
Lightning	Type-C, USB 3.2
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Hearing aid compatible
M3/T4	M3/T3
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Other
NFC, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling)	NFC, ANT+

Multimedia

Headphones
No 3.5mm jack	No 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Multiple speakers	Earpiece, Multiple speakers
Features
	32-Bit DAC, Dolby Atmos, aptX, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus
Screen mirroring
Wireless screen share
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation, Video recording

Cellular

5G Bands
	n2, n5, n12, n25, n41, n66, n71, n77, n260, n261, SA, NSA, Sub-6, mmWave
4G (FDD) Bands
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 66, 71
4G (TDD) Bands
34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46	38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48
3G Bands
1, 2, 4, 5, 8	1, 2, 4, 5, 8
Data Speed
LTE-A Pro Cat 16 (1000/150 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS	LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS
Dual SIM
Yes
SIM type
Nano SIM, eSIM	Nano SIM
HD Voice
Yes
VoLTE
Yes

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Sep 12, 2018 FCC ID value: BCG-E3218A	Date approved: Dec 08, 2020 FCC ID value: A3LSMG991U
Measured SAR
Head: 0.90 W/kg Body: 0.99 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.53 W/kg Wireless Router: 0.99 W/kg	Head: 0.36 W/kg Body: 1.08 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 3.96 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.09 W/kg Phablet: 2.49 W/kg

Alternative variants

with 512 GB storage

Memory	512GB
Prices (MSRP)	$1349

with 256GB storage

Memory	256GB

with 256 GB storage

Memory	256GB
Prices (MSRP)	$1149

for Europe

System chip	Samsung Exynos 2100 (5 nm)
Processor	Octa-core 2900 MHz 1x2.91GHz Cortex-X1 3x2.81G​Hz Cortex-A78 4x2.2G​Hz Cortex-A55
GPU	Mali G78 MP14
Weight	5.96 oz / 169.0 g
5G Bands	SA, NSA, Sub-6
FCC approval	Date approved: Dec 18, 2020 FCC ID value: A3LSMG991B
Measured SAR	Head: 0.42 W/kg Body: 0.94 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 3.96 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.34 W/kg Phablet: 2.37 W/kg

Links

Full specifications
Apple iPhone XS Specs	Samsung Galaxy S21 Specs
PhoneArena Review
Apple iPhone XS Review	Samsung Galaxy S21 Review
User Reviews
Apple iPhone XS User Reviews	Samsung Galaxy S21 User Reviews