Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Apple iPhone 17 Specs Comparison

Availability

Officially announced
Jan 14, 2021	Sep 09, 2025
Prices (MSRP)
$800	8GB/256GB - $799 | €949 8GB/512GB - $999 | €1199

Design

Dimensions
5.97 x 2.80 x 0.31 inches 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm	5.89 x 2.81 x 0.31 inches (~0.37 inches with camera bump) 149.6 x 71.5 x 7.95 mm (~9.3 mm with camera bump)
Weight
6.03 oz / 171.0 g	6.24 oz / 177.0 g
Materials
Back: Plastic Frame: Aluminum	Back: Glass (Ceramic Shield) Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP68	Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
2D Face unlock, Ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint	3D Face unlock
Keys
Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key	Left: Volume control, Other; Right: Lock/Unlock key, Other
Colors
Phantom pink, Violet, Gray, White	Black, White, Sage, Lavender, Mist Blue

Display

Size
6.2-inch, 86.06% screen-to-body	6.3-inch, 91.04% screen-to-body
Type
Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR, 1300 nits	OLED, 120Hz, HDR, 3000 nits
Resolution
2400x1080px, 20:9 ratio, 424 PPI	2622x1206px, 19.5:9 ratio, 458 PPI
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus	Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2
Features
	Super Retina XDR, HDR support, Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

PhoneArena Display Test

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

Learn more on our PhoneArena Display Test Results page.

Hardware

System chip
Snapdragon 888 (5 nm)	Apple A19 (3 nm)
Processor
Octa-core 1x2.84GHz Kryo 680 3x2.42GHz Kryo 680 4x1.80GHz Kryo 680	Hexa-core
GPU
Adreno 660	Apple 5-core GPU
Memory
8GB (LPDDR5)/128GB (UFS 3.0) 8GB/256GB	8GB (LPDDR5)/256GB 8GB/512GB
Storage expansion
not expandable	not expandable
OS
Android (13, 12, 11)	iOS (26.x)

PhoneArena Performance Test

GeekBench 6 Single
Untested	3527
GeekBench 6 Multi
Untested	8798
3D Mark High
Untested	Untested
3D Mark Low
Untested	Untested

Learn more on our PhoneArena Performance Test Results page.

Battery

Type
4000 mAh, Li - Polymer	3692 mAh, Li - Ion
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, USB Power Delivery, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging Qi and Powermat wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging	Fast charging Qi2 wireless charging, MagSafe wireless charging
Charge speed
Wired: 25.0W Wireless: 15.0W	Wireless: 25.0W

PhoneArena Battery Tests

Battery Life Estimate

4h 28min

Browsing

7h 47min

Video

7h 36min

Gaming

7h 9min

Battery Life Estimate

5h 53min

Browsing

16h 47min

Video

7h 19min

Gaming

6h 22min

Learn more on our PhoneArena Battery Test Results page

Camera

Rear
Triple camera	Dual camera
Main camera
12 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 26 mm Sensor size: 1/1.76" Pixel size: 1.8 μm	48 MP (Sensor-shift OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.6 Focal length: 26 mm
Second camera
12 MP (Ultra-wide, Autofocus) Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55" Pixel size: 1.4 μm	48 MP (Ultra-wide, PDAF) Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm
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
LED	Dual LED
Video recording
8K UHD (24 fps), 4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps), 720p (960 fps) OIS, HDR, Hyperlapse, Continuous autofocus, Video light, EIS	4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps) OIS, HDR, Dolby Vision HDR, Cinematic mode
Front
10 MP (PDAF, HDR) Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)	18 MP (Time-of-Flight (ToF), Autofocus, HDR) Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0	6.0
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,Wi-Fi 6,dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax	a,b,g,n,ac,Wi-Fi 6,Wi-Fi 6E,Wi-Fi 7 Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax
USB
Type-C, USB 3.2	Type-C, USB 2.0
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Emergency SOS via satellite (SMS sending/receiving), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Hearing aid compatible
M3/T3	M3/T4
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Other
NFC, ANT+	NFC, Ultra Wideband (UWB)

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	Dolby Atmos

Cellular

5G Bands
n2, n5, n12, n25, n41, n66, n71, n77, n260, n261, SA, NSA, Sub-6, mmWave	n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n14, n20, n25, n26, n28, n29, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n53, n66, n70, n71, n75, n77, n78, n79, n258, n260, n261, mmWave
4G (FDD) Bands
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 66, 71	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 66, 71
4G (TDD) Bands
38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48	34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48
3G Bands
1, 2, 4, 5, 8
Data Speed
LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS	LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s
SIM type
Nano SIM	eSIM
HD Voice
	Yes
VoLTE
	Yes

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Dec 08, 2020 FCC ID value: A3LSMG991U	Date approved: Sep 09, 2025 FCC ID value: BCG-E8947A
Measured SAR
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	Head: 1.19 W/kg Body: 1.19 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.54 W/kg

Alternative variants

with 256GB storage

Memory	256GB

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

Discover more

Full Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 Specs PA Review Samsung Galaxy S21 Review

Full Specs Apple iPhone 17 Specs