Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Samsung Galaxy S9 Specs Comparison

Compare mobile phone specifications of up to three devices at once. Our specs comparison tool helps you find and compare the perfect phone for your needs.

8.5	9.0
Samsung Galaxy S21	Samsung Galaxy S9
Released · Jan 29, 2021	Released · Mar 16, 2018
6.2-inch · 2400x1080px	5.8-inch · 2960x1440px
Triple camera	Single camera
8GB · 128GB	4GB · 64GB
4000 mAh	3000 mAh
Check prices	Check prices

Design

Dimensions
5.97 x 2.80 x 0.31 inches 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm	5.81 x 2.70 x 0.33 inches 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5 mm
Weight
6.03 oz (171.0 g)	5.75 oz (163.0 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)
Features
	Notification light
Keys
Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key	Left: Volume control, Other; Right: Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Phantom pink, Violet, Gray, White	Midnight black, Coral blue, Titanium gray, Lilac purple, Burgundy red, Sunrise gold, Ice blue

Display

Size
6.2-inch	5.8-inch
Resolution
2400x1080px, 20:9 ratio, 424 PPI	2960x1440px, 18.5:9 ratio, 568 PPI
Technology
Dynamic AMOLED	Super AMOLED
Refresh rate
120Hz (adaptive)
Screen-to-body
86.06 %	84.36 %
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 845 SDM845 (10 nm)
Processor
Octa-core 1x 2.84GHz Kryo 680 + 3x 2.42GHz Kryo 680 + 4x 1.80GHz Kryo 680	Octa-core 2800 MHz Kryo 385
GPU
Adreno 660	Adreno 630
RAM
8GB (LPDDR5)	4GB (LPDDR4)
Internal storage
128GB (UFS 3.0)	64GB
Storage expansion
not expandable	microSDXC up to 400 GB
OS
Android (13, 12, 11), Samsung One UI	Android (10, 9.0 Pie, 8.0 Oreo), 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, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging, Qi and Powermat wireless charging
Charge speed
Wired: 25.0W Wireless: 15.0W

Battery Life Estimate

4h 28min

Browsing

7h 47min

Video

7h 36min

Gaming

7h 9min

Battery Life Estimate

Untested

Browsing

Untested

Video

Untested

Gaming

Untested

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: F1.5/F2.4 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) (60 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (240 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (960 fps) HDR, Time-lapse video, Hyperlapse, Continuous autofocus, Object tracking, Picture-taking during video recording, Video calling, Video sharing
Front
10 MP (PDAF, HDR), Video capture: 3840x2160 (4K UHD) (60 fps)	8 MP (Autofocus, HDR), Video capture: 2560x1440 (QHD) (30 fps)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0	5.0
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
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer
Other
NFC, ANT+	NFC, ANT+

Multimedia

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

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), 14(700 PS), 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), 71(600)
4G (TDD)
Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+), 46, 48(3600)	Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+), 46
3G
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 8(900)	Bands 5(850), 8(900), 4(1700/2100), 2(1900), 1(2100)
Data Speed
LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS	LTE-A Pro Cat 18 (1200/150 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA
SIM type
Nano SIM	Nano SIM

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Dec 08, 2020 FCC ID value: A3LSMG991U	Date approved: Jan 11, 2018 FCC ID value: A3LSMG960U
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: 0.35 W/kg Body: 0.96 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg Wireless Router: 0.95 W/kg

Buyers information

MSRP
$ 800	$ 720
In The Box
C to C Data Cable, Ejection Pin

Availability

Officially announced
Jan 14, 2021	Feb 25, 2018

Alternative variants

with 256GB storage


Internal storage	256GB

International version


System chip	Samsung Exynos 9 9810 (10 nm)
Processor	Octa-core 2900 MHz Exynos M3 and ARM Cortex-A55
GPU	Mali-G72 MP18
FCC approval	Date approved: Dec 27, 2017 FCC ID value: A3LSMG960F
Measured SAR	Head: 0.26 W/kg Body: 1.00 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.56 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.04 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

with Dual SIM


System chip	Samsung Exynos 9 9810 (10 nm)
Processor	Octa-core 2900 MHz Exynos M3 and ARM Cortex-A55
GPU	Mali-G72 MP18
Dual SIM	Yes

with 256 GB storage


Internal storage	256GB
MSRP	$ 820

with 128 GB storage


Internal storage	128GB
MSRP	$ 770

Links

Full specifications
Samsung Galaxy S21 Specs	Samsung Galaxy S9 Specs
PhoneArena Review
Samsung Galaxy S21 Review	Samsung Galaxy S9 Review
User Reviews
Samsung Galaxy S21 User Reviews	Samsung Galaxy S9 User Reviews