Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Specs Comparison

Availability

Officially announced
Jan 14, 2021	Feb 01, 2023
Prices (MSRP)
$800	$800

Design

Dimensions
5.97 x 2.80 x 0.31 inches 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm	5.76 x 2.79 x 0.30 inches (~0.36 inches with camera bump) 146.3 x 70.9 x 7.6mm (~9.02 mm with camera bump)
Weight
6.03 oz (171.0 g)	5.93 oz (168.0 g)
Materials
Back: Plastic Frame: Aluminum	Back: Glass (Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2) Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP68	Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
2D Face unlock, Ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint	2D Face unlock, Ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint
Keys
Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key	Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Phantom pink, Violet, Gray, White	Phantom Black, Cream, Green, Lavender

Display

Size
6.2-inch, 86.06% screen-to-body	6.1-inch, 88.57% screen-to-body
Type
Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR, 1300 nits	Super AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR, 1750 nits
Resolution
2400x1080px, 20:9 ratio, 424 PPI	2340x1080px, 19.5:9 ratio, 422 PPI
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2

Hardware

System chip
Snapdragon 888 (5 nm)	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SM8550-AC (4 nm)
Processor
Octa-core 1x2.84GHz Kryo 680 3x2.42GHz Kryo 680 4x1.80GHz Kryo 680	Octa-core 1x3.36GHz Kryo Prime 4x2.8GHz Kryo Gold 3x2.0GHz Kryo Silve
GPU
Adreno 660	Adreno 740
Memory
8GB (LPDDR5)/128GB (UFS 3.0) 8GB/256GB	8GB (LPDDR5X)/128GB (UFS 4.0) 8GB/256GB
Storage expansion
not expandable	not expandable
OS
Android (13, 12, 11)	Android (14, 13)

Battery

Type
4000 mAh, Li - Polymer	3900 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 Qi wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging
Charge speed
Wired: 25.0W Wireless: 15.0W	Wired: 25.0W Wireless: 10.0W

PhoneArena Battery Tests

Battery Life Estimate

4h 28min

Browsing

7h 47min

Video

7h 36min

Gaming

7h 9min

Battery Life Estimate

6h 3min

Browsing

15h 21min

Video

8h 6min

Gaming

8h 1min

Learn more on our PhoneArena Battery Test Results page

Camera

Rear
Triple camera	Triple 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	50 MP (OIS, PDAF) Sensor name: Samsung ISOCELL Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 23 mm Sensor size: 1/1.56" Pixel size: 1.0 μm
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	12 MP (Ultra-wide) Sensor name: Sony IMX564 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	12 MP (Telephoto, OIS) Sensor name: Samsung S5K3K1 Optical zoom: 3.0x Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 64 mm Sensor size: 1/3.94" Pixel size: 1.0 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	8K UHD (30 fps), 4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (960 fps) OIS, HDR
Front
10 MP (PDAF, HDR) Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)	12 MP Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)

PhoneArena Camera Tests

N/A

Overall

N/A

Photo

N/A

Video

137

Overall

139

Photo

134

Video

Learn more on our PhoneArena Camera Test Results page

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0	5.3
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 Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax
USB
Type-C, USB 3.2	Type-C
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Hearing aid compatible
M3/T3
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

Cellular

5G Bands
n2, n5, n12, n25, n41, n66, n71, n77, n260, n261, SA, NSA, Sub-6, mmWave	n1, n7, n25, n28, n41, n66, n71, n78, n258, n260, n261, SA, NSA, Sub-6, mmWave, 5G Ready
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, 20, 25, 26, 28, 66, 71
4G (TDD) Bands
38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48	38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48
3G Bands
1, 2, 4, 5, 8	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	Dual Nano SIM + eSIM

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Dec 08, 2020 FCC ID value: A3LSMG991U	Date approved: Jan 17, 2023 FCC ID value: A3LSMS911U
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: 0.95 W/kg Body: 0.88 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.58 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.24 W/kg

Alternative variants

with 256GB storage

Memory	256GB

With 256GB internal storage

Memory	256GB
Prices (MSRP)	$860

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

International

5G Bands	n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n75, n77, n78, SA, NSA, Sub-6
4G (FDD) Bands	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 66
4G (TDD) Bands	38, 39, 40, 41

Links

Full specifications
Samsung Galaxy S21 Specs	Samsung Galaxy S23 Specs
PhoneArena Review
Samsung Galaxy S21 Review	Samsung Galaxy S23 Review
User Reviews
Samsung Galaxy S21 User Reviews	Samsung Galaxy S23 User Reviews