Samsung Galaxy S9 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 S9	Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Released · Mar 16, 2018	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

Availability

Officially announced
Feb 25, 2018	Jan 14, 2021
Prices (MSRP)
$720	$1200 \| €1399

Design

Dimensions
5.81 x 2.70 x 0.33 inches 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5 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
5.75 oz (163.0 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
Features
Notification light
Keys
Left: Volume control, Other; Right: Lock/Unlock key	Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Midnight black, Coral blue, Titanium gray, Lilac purple, Burgundy red, Sunrise gold, Ice blue	Phantom black, Silver

Display

Size
5.8-inch, 84.36% screen-to-body	6.8-inch, 89.33% screen-to-body
Type
Super AMOLED, HDR	Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR, 1500 nits
Resolution
2960x1440px, 18.5:9 ratio, 568 PPI	3200x1440px, 20:9 ratio, 516 PPI
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass 5	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus

Hardware

System chip
Snapdragon 845 SDM845 (10 nm)	Snapdragon 888 SM8350 (5 nm)
Processor
Octa-core 2800 MHz Kryo 385	Octa-core 1x2.84GHz Kryo 680 3x2.42GHz Kryo 680 4x1.80GHz Kryo 680
GPU
Adreno 630	Adreno 660
Memory
4GB (LPDDR4)/64GB 4GB/128GB 4GB/256GB	12GB (LPDDR5)/128GB (UFS 3.1) 12GB/256GB 16GB/512GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 400 GB	not expandable
OS
Android (10, 9.0 Pie, 8.0 Oreo)	Android (14, 13, 12, 11)

Battery

Type
3000 mAh, Li - Ion	5000 mAh, Li - Polymer
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging 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: F1.5/F2.4 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 (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	8K UHD (24 fps), 4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps), 720p (960 fps) OIS, HDR, Hyperlapse, Video light, EIS
Front
8 MP (Autofocus, HDR) Video capture: QHD (30 fps)	40 MP (PDAF, HDR) Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0	5.1
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
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Other
NFC, ANT+	NFC, ANT+

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack	No 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Multiple speakers	Earpiece, Multiple speakers
Features
32-Bit DAC, aptX-HD	32-Bit DAC, Dolby Atmos, aptX, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus
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, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 66, 71	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	38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48
3G Bands
5, 8, 4, 2, 1	1, 2, 4, 5, 8
Data Speed
LTE-A Pro Cat 18 (1200/150 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA	LTE-A Pro Cat 20 (2000/150 Mbit/s)
SIM type
Nano SIM	Nano SIM

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Jan 11, 2018 FCC ID value: A3LSMG960U	Date approved: Dec 22, 2020 FCC ID value: A3LSMG998U
Measured SAR
Head: 0.35 W/kg Body: 0.96 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg Wireless Router: 0.95 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

Alternative variants

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

with 256GB storage


Memory	256GB
Colors	Phantom black
Prices (MSRP)	$1250

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 512GB storage


Memory	16GB/512GB
Colors	Phantom black
Prices (MSRP)	$1380

with 256 GB storage


Memory	256GB
Prices (MSRP)	$820

for Europe


System chip	Samsung Exynos 2100 (5 nm)
Processor	Octa-core 1x2.91GHz Cortex-X1 3x2.81GHz Cortex-A78 4x2.2GHz 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

with 128 GB storage


Memory	128GB
Prices (MSRP)	$770

Links

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