Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Samsung Galaxy S9 Specs Comparison

Availability

Officially announced
Jan 14, 2021	Feb 25, 2018
Prices (MSRP)
$800	$720

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, 86.06% screen-to-body	5.8-inch, 84.36% screen-to-body
Type
Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR, 1300 nits	Super AMOLED, HDR
Resolution
2400x1080px, 20:9 ratio, 424 PPI	2960x1440px, 18.5:9 ratio, 568 PPI
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus	Corning Gorilla Glass 5

PhoneArena Display Test

Bright Max (20% APL)
Untested	Untested
Bright Min
1.2 (Good)	1 (Excellent)

Learn more on our PhoneArena Display Test Results page.

Hardware

System chip
Snapdragon 888 (5 nm)	Snapdragon 845 SDM845 (10 nm)
Processor
Octa-core 1x2.84GHz Kryo 680 3x2.42GHz Kryo 680 4x1.80GHz Kryo 680	Octa-core 2800 MHz Kryo 385
GPU
Adreno 660	Adreno 630
Memory
8GB (LPDDR5)/128GB (UFS 3.0) 8GB/256GB	4GB (LPDDR4)/64GB 4GB/128GB 4GB/256GB
Storage expansion
not expandable	microSDXC up to 400 GB
OS
Android (13, 12, 11)	Android (10, 9.0 Pie, 8.0 Oreo)

Battery

Type
4000 mAh, Li - Polymer	3000 mAh, 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

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: F1.5/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
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), 720p (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: 4K UHD (60 fps)	8 MP (Autofocus, HDR) Video capture: QHD (30 fps)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0	5.0
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,dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
USB
Type-C, USB 3.2	Type-C, USB 3.1
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer, 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
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
Radio
	FM
Additional microphone(s)
	Noise cancellation

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, 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, 66, 71
4G (TDD) Bands
38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48	38, 39, 40, 41, 46
3G Bands
1, 2, 4, 5, 8	5, 8, 4, 2, 1
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

Alternative variants

with 256GB storage

Memory	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 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

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

Memory	256GB
Prices (MSRP)	$820

with 128 GB storage

Memory	128GB
Prices (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