Samsung Galaxy S9 vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Specs Comparison

Availability

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

Design

Dimensions
5.81 x 2.70 x 0.33 inches 147.7 x 68.7 x 8.5 mm	5.97 x 2.80 x 0.31 inches 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm
Weight
5.75 oz (163.0 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
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 pink, Violet, Gray, White

Display

Size
5.8-inch, 84.36% 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, 568 PPI	2400x1080px, 20:9 ratio, 424 PPI
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass 5	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus

Hardware

System chip
Snapdragon 845 SDM845 (10 nm)	Snapdragon 888 (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	8GB (LPDDR5)/128GB (UFS 3.0) 8GB/256GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 400 GB	not expandable
OS
Android (10, 9.0 Pie, 8.0 Oreo)	Android (13, 12, 11)

Battery

Type
3000 mAh, Li - Ion	4000 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

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

Learn more on our PhoneArena Battery Test Results page

Camera

Rear
Single camera	Triple camera
Main camera
12 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.5/F2.4 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 (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, Continuous autofocus, Video light, EIS
Front
8 MP (Autofocus, HDR) Video capture: QHD (30 fps)	10 MP (PDAF, HDR) Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0	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
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, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS
SIM type
Nano SIM	Nano SIM

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Jan 11, 2018 FCC ID value: A3LSMG960U	Date approved: Dec 08, 2020 FCC ID value: A3LSMG991U
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: 0.36 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 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

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

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 256 GB storage

Memory	256GB
Prices (MSRP)	$820

with 128 GB storage

Memory	128GB
Prices (MSRP)	$770

Links

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