Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 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	9.1
Samsung Galaxy S8	Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Released · Apr 21, 2017	Released · Jan 29, 2021
5.8-inch · 2960x1440px	6.8-inch · 3200x1440px
Single camera	Quad camera
4GB · 64GB	12GB · 128GB
3000 mAh	5000 mAh
Check prices	Check prices

Design

Dimensions
5.86 x 2.68 x 0.31 inches 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0 mm	6.50 x 2.98 x 0.35 inches (~0.37 inches with camera bump) 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm (~9.4 mm with camera bump)
Weight
5.47 oz (155.0 g)	8.04 oz (229.0 g)
Materials
Back: Glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 5) Frame: Aluminum	Back: Glass (Corning Gorilla Glass Victus) 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, Burgundy red	Phantom black, Silver

Display

Size
5.8-inch	6.8-inch
Resolution
2960x1440px, 18.5:9 ratio, 570 PPI	3200x1440px, 20:9 ratio, 516 PPI
Technology
Super AMOLED	Dynamic AMOLED
Refresh rate
	120Hz (adaptable)
Screen-to-body
84.26 %	89.33 %
Peak brightness
	1500 cd/m2 (nit)
Features
HDR support, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 5), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	HDR support, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass Victus), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware

System chip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 MSM8998 (10 nm)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SM8350 (5 nm)
Processor
Octa-core 2350 MHz Kryo 280	Octa-core 1x 2.84GHz Kryo 680 + 3x 2.42GHz Kryo 680 + 4x 1.80GHz Kryo 680
GPU
Adreno 540	Adreno 660
Memory
4GB (LPDDR4)/64GB	12GB (LPDDR5)/128GB (UFS 3.1)
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 256 GB	not expandable
OS
Android (9.0 Pie, 8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat)	Android (14, 13, 12, 11)

Battery

Type
3000 mAh, Li - Ion	5000 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

Battery Life Estimate

Untested

Browsing

Untested

Video

Untested

Gaming

Untested

Battery Life Estimate

6h 15min

Browsing

14h 43min

Video

8h 52min

Gaming

8h 40min

Camera

Rear
Single camera	Quad 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	108 MP (OIS, Laser and PDAF) Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 24 mm Sensor size: 1/1.33" Pixel size: 0.8 μm
Second camera
	12 MP (Ultra-wide, PDAF) Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55" Pixel size: 1.4 μm
Third camera
	10 MP (Telephoto, OIS, PDAF) Optical zoom: 3.0x Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 70 mm Sensor size: 1/3.2" Pixel size: 1.22 μm
Fourth camera
	10 MP (Telephoto, Periscope, OIS, PDAF) Optical zoom: 3.0x Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 70 mm Sensor size: 1/3.2" Pixel size: 1.22 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, Video light, EIS
Front
8 MP (Wide Angle, Autofocus, HDR) Video capture: QHD	40 MP (PDAF, HDR) Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0, Yes	5.1
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot	802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,ax(Wi-Fi 6),dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
USB
Type-C, USB 3.1	Type-C, USB 3.2
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+, 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
32-Bit DAC, aptX-HD	32-Bit DAC, Dolby Atmos, aptX, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus
Screen mirroring
DLNA,Wireless screen share,MHL	Wireless screen share
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, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29(700 d), 30(2300 WCS), 66(AWS-3)	Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30(2300 WCS), 66(AWS-3), 71(600)
4G (TDD)
Bands 38, 39, 40, 41	Bands 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48
3G
Bands 1, 2, 5, 8	Bands 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, UMTS	LTE-A Pro Cat 20 (2000/150 Mbit/s)
SIM type
Nano SIM	Nano SIM
HD Voice
Yes

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Apr 06, 2017 FCC ID value: A3LSMG950U	Date approved: Dec 22, 2020 FCC ID value: A3LSMG998U
Measured SAR
Head: 0.49 W/kg Body: 0.48 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.53 W/kg Wireless Router: 0.46 W/kg	Head: 0.77 W/kg Body: 1.02 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.16 W/kg Phablet: 3.15 W/kg

Buyers information

MSRP
	$ 1200 / € 1399
In The Box
	C to C Data Cable, Ejection Pin

Availability

Officially announced
Mar 29, 2017	Jan 14, 2021

Alternative variants

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, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32(1500 L-band), 66(AWS-3)
4G (TDD)	Bands 38, 39, 40, 41
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

with 256GB storage


Memory	256GB
Colors	Phantom black
MSRP	$ 1250

for T-Mobile


4G (FDD)	Bands 2, 4, 5, 12
3G	Bands 5, 4, 2, 1
VoLTE	Yes

with 512GB storage


Memory	16GB/512GB
Colors	Phantom black
MSRP	$ 1380

for Verizon Wireless


4G (FDD)	Bands 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28
4G (TDD)	Bands 38, 39, 40, 41
3G	Bands 5, 8, 2, 1

for Europe


System chip	Samsung Exynos 2100 (5 nm)
Processor	Octa-core 1x 2.91GHz Cortex-X1 + 3x 2.81GHz Cortex-A78 + 4x 2.2GHz Cortex-A55
GPU	Mali G78 MP14
Weight	8.01 oz (227.0 g)
5G	Bands SA, NSA, Sub-6
FCC approval	Date approved: Dec 22, 2020 FCC ID value: A3LSMG998B
Measured SAR	Head: 0.16 W/kg Body: 0.72 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.34 W/kg Phablet: 3.86 W/kg

for U.S. Cellular


4G (FDD)	Bands 2, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 25
4G (TDD)	Bands 38, 39, 40
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 S8 Specs	Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Specs
PhoneArena Review
Samsung Galaxy S8 Review	Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Review
User Reviews
Samsung Galaxy S8 User Reviews	Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra User Reviews