Samsung Galaxy S8+ vs Samsung Galaxy S21 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.

9.0
Samsung Galaxy S8+
8.5
Samsung Galaxy S21
Samsung Galaxy S8+ Samsung Galaxy S21
Released · Apr 21, 2017
Released · Jan 29, 2021
6.2-inch · 2960x1440px
6.2-inch · 2400x1080px
Single camera
Triple camera
4GB · 64GB
8GB · 128GB
3500 mAh
4000 mAh
Check prices

Availability

Officially announced
Mar 29, 2017 Jan 14, 2021
Prices (MSRP)
$800

Design

Dimensions
6.28 x 2.89 x 0.32 inches
159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm
5.97 x 2.80 x 0.31 inches
151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm
Weight
6.10 oz / 173.0 g 6.03 oz / 171.0 g
Materials
Back: Glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 5)
Frame: Aluminum
Back: Plastic
Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP68 Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
Iris scanner, 2D Face unlock, Fingerprint (touch) 2D Face unlock, Ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint
Keys
Left: Volume control, Other; Right: Lock/Unlock key Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Midnight black, Orchid gray, Arctic silver, Coral blue, Maple gold, Rose pink Phantom pink, Violet, Gray, White

Display

Size
6.2-inch, 83.32% screen-to-body 6.2-inch, 86.06% screen-to-body
Type
Super AMOLED, HDR Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR, 1300 nits
Resolution
2960x1440px, 18.5:9 ratio, 529 PPI 2400x1080px, 20:9 ratio, 424 PPI
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
PhoneArena Display Test
Bright Max (20% APL)
Untested Untested
Bright Min
1 (Excellent) 1.2 (Good)

Hardware

System chip
Snapdragon 835 MSM8998 (10 nm) Snapdragon 888 (5 nm)
Processor
Octa-core
2450 MHz
Kryo 280
Octa-core
1x2.84GHz Kryo 680
3x2.42GHz Kryo 680
4x1.80GHz Kryo 680
GPU
Adreno 540 Adreno 660
Memory
4GB (LPDDR4)/64GB 8GB (LPDDR5)/128GB (UFS 3.0)
8GB/256GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 256 GB not expandable
OS
Android (9.0 Pie, 8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat) Android (13, 12, 11)

Battery

Type
3500 mAh, Li - Ion 4000 mAh, Li - Polymer
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0
Qi and Powermat wireless charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, USB Power Delivery, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging
Qi and Powermat wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging
Charge speed
Wired: 25.0W
Wireless: 15.0W
PhoneArena Battery Tests
Battery Life Estimate
Untested
Browsing
Untested
Video
Untested
Gaming
Untested
Battery Life Estimate
4h 28min
Browsing
7h 47min
Video
7h 36min
Gaming
7h 9min

Camera

Rear
Single camera Triple camera
Main camera
12 MP (OIS, PDAF)
Aperture size: F1.7
Focal length: 26 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.55"
Pixel size: 1.4 μm
12 MP (OIS, PDAF)
Aperture size: F1.8
Focal length: 26 mm
Sensor size: 1/1.76"
Pixel size: 1.8 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
4K UHD (30 fps), QHD, 1080p (60 fps), 720p (240 fps)
HDR, Time-lapse video, Hyperlapse, Continuous autofocus, Object tracking, Picture-taking during video recording, Video light, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
8K UHD (24 fps), 4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps), 720p (960 fps)
OIS, HDR, Hyperlapse, Continuous autofocus, Video light, EIS
Front
8 MP (Wide Angle, Autofocus, HDR)
Video capture: QHD (30 fps)
10 MP (PDAF, HDR)
Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0, Yes 5.0
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
a,b,g,n,ac,Wi-Fi 6,dual-band
MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax
USB
Type-C, USB 3.1 Type-C, USB 3.2
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 M3/T3
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Other
NFC, ANT+, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, ANT+

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack No 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Multiple speakers
Features
Album art cover, Background playback 32-Bit DAC, Dolby Atmos, aptX, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus
Screen mirroring
DLNA,Wireless screen share,MHL
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, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 66 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 66, 71
4G (TDD) Bands
38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48
3G Bands
5, 8, 4, 2, 1 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
Data Speed
LTE-A Pro Cat 16 (1000/150 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s LTE-A, 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: Apr 06, 2017
FCC ID value: A3LSMG955U
Date approved: Dec 08, 2020
FCC ID value: A3LSMG991U
Measured SAR
Head: 0.33 W/kg
Body: 0.29 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.55 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.19 W/kg
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

Alternative variants

International version
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
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
FCC approval Date approved: Sep 25, 2017
FCC ID value: A3LSMG955F
Measured SAR Head: 0.58 W/kg
Body: 0.65 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.49 W/kg
Phablet: 3.98 W/kg
with 256GB storage
Memory 256GB
for Verizon Wireless
4G (FDD) Bands 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28
3G Bands 5, 8, 2, 1
Hearing aid compatible M4/T3
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
for T-Mobile
4G (FDD) Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 66
3G Bands 5, 4, 2, 1
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
for AT&T
4G (FDD) Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 18, 19, 20, 28, 29, 30
for Sprint
4G (FDD) Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 20, 25, 26, 28
for US Cellular
4G (FDD) Bands 2, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 18, 19, 25
3G Bands 5, 8, 2, 1
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless