Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Samsung Galaxy S8 Specs Comparison

Design

Dimensions
5.97 x 2.80 x 0.31 inches 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm	5.86 x 2.68 x 0.31 inches 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0 mm
Weight
6.03 oz (171.0 g)	5.47 oz (155.0 g)
Materials
Back: Plastic Frame: Aluminum	Back: Glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 5) Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP68	Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
2D Face unlock, Ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint	Iris scanner, 2D Face unlock, Fingerprint (touch)
Keys
Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key	Left: Volume control, Other; Right: Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Phantom pink, Violet, Gray, White	Midnight black, Orchid gray, Arctic silver, Coral blue, Maple gold, Rose pink, Burgundy red

Display

Size
6.2-inch	5.8-inch
Resolution
2400x1080px, 20:9 ratio, 424 PPI	2960x1440px, 18.5:9 ratio, 570 PPI
Technology
Dynamic AMOLED	Super AMOLED
Refresh rate
120Hz (adaptive)
Screen-to-body
86.06 %	84.26 %
Peak brightness
1300 cd/m2 (nit)
Features
HDR support, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass Victus), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	HDR support, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 5), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware

System chip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 (5 nm)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 MSM8998 (10 nm)
Processor
Octa-core 1x 2.84GHz Kryo 680 + 3x 2.42GHz Kryo 680 + 4x 1.80GHz Kryo 680	Octa-core 2350 MHz Kryo 280
GPU
Adreno 660	Adreno 540
RAM
8GB (LPDDR5)	4GB (LPDDR4)
Internal storage
128GB (UFS 3.0)	64GB
Storage expansion
not expandable	microSDXC up to 256 GB
OS
Android (13, 12, 11), Samsung One UI	Android (9.0 Pie, 8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat), Samsung One UI

Battery

Capacity
4000 mAh	3000 mAh
Type
Li - Polymer	Li - Ion
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, USB Power Delivery, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging, Qi and Powermat wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging	Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, Qi and Powermat wireless charging
Charge speed
Wired: 25.0W Wireless: 15.0W

PhoneArena Battery Tests

Battery Life Estimate

4h 28min

Browsing

7h 47min

Video

7h 36min

Gaming

7h 9min

Battery Life Estimate

Untested

Browsing

Untested

Video

Untested

Gaming

Untested

Learn more on our PhoneArena Battery Test Results page

Camera

Rear
Triple camera	Single 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	12 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.7 Focal length: 26 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55" Pixel size: 1.4 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
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	LED
Video recording
7680x4320 (8K UHD) (24 fps), 3840x2160 (4K UHD) (60 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (240 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (960 fps) OIS, HDR, Hyperlapse, Continuous autofocus, Video light, EIS	3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 2560x1440 (QHD), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (240 fps) HDR, Time-lapse video, Hyperlapse, Continuous autofocus, Object tracking, Picture-taking during video recording, Video light, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
Front
10 MP (PDAF, HDR), Video capture: 3840x2160 (4K UHD) (60 fps)	8 MP (Wide Angle, Autofocus, HDR), Video capture: 2560x1440 (QHD)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0	5.0, Yes
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,ax(Wi-Fi 6),dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot	802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
USB
Type-C, USB 3.2	Type-C, USB 3.1
Hearing aid compatible
M3/T3	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
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer
Other
NFC, ANT+	NFC, ANT+, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync

Multimedia

Headphones
No 3.5mm jack	3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Multiple speakers	Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features
32-Bit DAC, Dolby Atmos, aptX, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus	32-Bit DAC, aptX-HD
Screen mirroring
Wireless screen share	DLNA,Wireless screen share,MHL
Radio
FM, Stereo, RDS
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation, Video recording	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(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 14(700 PS), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 28(700 APT), 30(2300 WCS), 66(AWS-3), 71(600)	Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 17(700 b), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 28(700 APT), 29(700 d), 30(2300 WCS), 66(AWS-3)
4G (TDD)
Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+), 46, 48(3600)	Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+)
3G
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 8(900)	Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 5(850), 8(900)
Data Speed
LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS	LTE-A Pro Cat 16 (1000/150 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS
SIM type
Nano SIM	Nano SIM
HD Voice
	Yes

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Dec 08, 2020 FCC ID value: A3LSMG991U	Date approved: Apr 06, 2017 FCC ID value: A3LSMG950U
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: 0.49 W/kg Body: 0.48 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.53 W/kg Wireless Router: 0.46 W/kg

Buyers information

MSRP
$ 800
In The Box
C to C Data Cable, Ejection Pin

Availability

Officially announced
Jan 14, 2021	Mar 29, 2017

Alternative variants

with 256GB storage

Internal storage	256GB

International version

System chip	Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 8895 (10 nm)
Processor	Octa-core 2300 MHz Exynos M2 "Mongoose" and ARM Cortex-A53
GPU	Mali-G71 MP20
4G (FDD)	Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 17(700 b), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 28(700 APT), 32(1500 L-band), 66(AWS-3)
4G (TDD)	Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+)
FCC approval	Date approved: Sep 05, 2017 FCC ID value: A3LSMG950F
Measured SAR	Head: 0.38 W/kg Body: 0.75 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.55 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.09 W/kg

for Europe

System chip	Samsung Exynos 2100 (5 nm)
Processor	Octa-core 2900 MHz 1x 2.91GHz Cortex-X1 + 3x 2.81GHz Cortex-A78 + 4x 2.2GHz 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

for T-Mobile

4G (FDD)	Bands 2(1900), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 12(700 a)
3G	Bands 5(850), 4(1700/2100), 2(1900), 1(2100)
VoLTE	Yes

for Verizon Wireless

4G (FDD)	Bands 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 13(700 c), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 26(850+), 28(700 APT)
4G (TDD)	Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+)
3G	Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100)

for U.S. Cellular

4G (FDD)	Bands 2(1900), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 17(700 b), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 25(1900+)
4G (TDD)	Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300)
Data Speed	LTE-A, HSPA, UMTS

with Dual SIM

System chip	Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 8895 (10 nm)
Processor	Octa-core 2500 MHz Exynos M2 "Mongoose"and ARM Cortex-A53
GPU	Mali-G71 MP20
Dual SIM	Yes

Links

Full specifications
Samsung Galaxy S21 Specs	Samsung Galaxy S8 Specs
PhoneArena Review
Samsung Galaxy S21 Review	Samsung Galaxy S8 Review
User Reviews
Samsung Galaxy S21 User Reviews	Samsung Galaxy S8 User Reviews