Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus vs Apple iPhone XS Max
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.7-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus (with Exynos 2100) that was released on January 14, 2021, against the Apple iPhone XS Max, which is powered by Apple A12 Bionic and came out 29 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the gadgets.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Comes with 1626 mAh larger battery capacity: 4800 vs 3174 mAh
- Has 2x more RAM: 8GB versus 4GB
- Modern USB Type-C port
- Shows 20% longer battery life (30:26 vs 25:24 hours)
- 37% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (737K versus 538K)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Compatible with the latest Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Delivers 35% higher peak brightness (890 against 658 nits)
- Fingerprint scanner
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone XS Max
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
- Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
- 16% higher pixel density (456 vs 394 PPI)
We may receive a commission from Amazon for purchases made using the links below, but this has no bearing on our assessment methodology.
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Performance
CPU/GPU performance in apps and games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview score
Final comparison evaluation
Value for money
You can enter your local price of these phones (in USD or any other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.7 inches | 6.5 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels | 1242 x 2688 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.4:9 |
| PPI | 394 ppi | 456 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Max rated brightness | 1300 nits | 625 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 88.3% | 85.41% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 98.9% | 98.8% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | 240 Hz |
| Response time | 6.2 ms | 11.2 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 161.5 mm (6.36 inches) | 157.5 mm (6.2 inches) |
| Width | 75.6 mm (2.98 inches) | 77.4 mm (3.05 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.8 mm (0.31 inches) | 7.7 mm (0.3 inches) |
| Weight | 200 g (7.05 oz) | 208 g (7.34 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Silver, Gold, Red, Purple | Silver, Gold, Gray |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 2100 | Apple A12 Bionic |
| Max. clock | 2840 MHz | 2490 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 3 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 2.9 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
- 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Tempest - 2 cores at 2.49 GHz: Vortex |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 7 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G78 MP14 | Apple A12 Bionic GPU |
| GPU clock | 760 MHz | 1100 MHz |
| FLOPS | - | ~560 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 189103 | 145567 |
| GPU | 274155 | 170450 |
| Memory | 137436 | 100025 |
| UX | 131951 | 112820 |
| Total score | 737350 | 538212 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Stability | 67% | 66% |
| Graphics test | 33 FPS | 34 FPS |
| Graphics score | 5538 | 5726 |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | - |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256 GB | 64, 256, 512 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | iOS 12 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16.2) |
| ROM | One UI 5.0 | - |
| OS size | 27.2 GB | 16 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4800 mAh | 3174 mAh |
| Charge power | 25 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | Yes, Qi (10 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (54% in 30 min) | Yes (50% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:12 hr | 03:29 hr |
| Web browsing | 09:17 hr | 09:13 hr |
| Watching video | 15:27 hr | 10:50 hr |
| Gaming | 05:07 hr | 04:41 hr |
| Standby | 101 hr | 80 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Optical, 1.1x | Optical, 2x |
| Flash | Dual LED | Quad LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 24FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | - |
| Lenses | 3 (12 MP + 64 MP + 12 MP) | 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.76", Sony IMX555 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 28 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.5", Apple iSight X (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens | - 64 MP - Aperture: f/2.0 - Focal length: 28 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.72", Samsung Bright S5KGW2 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 52 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4" (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX563 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
- |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus from DxOMark | Photo samples of Apple iPhone XS Max from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 10 megapixels | 7 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3872 x 2592 | 3088 x 2316 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 32 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.22 microns | - |
| Sensor type | Exmor-RS CMOS | BSI CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.24" | - |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | No |
| USB version | 3.2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | - |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 24 | 16 |
| 5G support | Yes | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max. loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | January 2021 | September 2018 |
| Release date | February 2021 | September 2018 |
| SAR (head) | 0.54 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.33 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 68