Samsung Galaxy S21 vs A56 5G
57
out of 100
VS
66
out of 100
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 (with Exynos 2100) that was released on January 14, 2021, against the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G, which is powered by Exynos 1580 and came out 4 years and 3 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21
- Handles wireless charging up to 15W
- The rear camera has a 1.1x optical zoom
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
- Reverse charging feature
- Weighs 29 grams less
- Better grip in hands – the body is 6.3 mm narrower
- 10% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1484 and 1354 points
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G
- Shows 60% longer battery life (28:42 vs 17:54 hours)
- Comes with 1000 mAh larger battery capacity: 5000 vs 4000 mAh
- Delivers 41% higher peak brightness (1214 against 861 nits)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- Has a 0.5 inch larger screen size
- 16% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1251K versus 1081K)
- The phone is 4 years and 3 months newer
- More recent OS version: Android 16 versus 15
- Supports higher wattage charging (45W versus 25W)
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | Super AMOLED |
| Size | 6.2 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 421 ppi | 385 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (48-120 Hz) | Yes (60-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 800 nits | 1200 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | - | 1900 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Gorilla Glass Victus Plus |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 85.9% | 87.6% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99.5% | 99.1% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Response time | 5 ms | 1 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Screen space comparison
Galaxy A56 5G
6.7″ (19.5:9 ratio) = 17.1 in2
Galaxy S21
6.2″ (20:9 ratio) = 14.4 in2
~18% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 151.7 mm (5.97 inches) | 162.2 mm (6.39 inches) |
| Width | 71.2 mm (2.8 inches) | 77.5 mm (3.05 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 169 g (5.96 oz) | 198 g (6.98 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP67 |
| Advanced cooling | - | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Plastic | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Gray, Pink, Purple | Black, Gray, Green, Pink |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
| Repairability | - | Good (3.19/5) |
| Drop resistance | - | Excellent (A) · 270 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 2100 | Samsung Exynos 1580 |
| Max clock | 2900 MHz | 2900 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 3 cores at 2.81 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
- 4 cores at 1.95 GHz: Cortex-A520 - 3 cores at 2.6 GHz: Cortex-A720 - 1 core at 2.9 GHz: Cortex-A720 |
| L3 cache | - | 4 MB |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 4 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Yes | Yes |
| Graphics | Mali-G78 MP14 | Xclipse 540 |
| GPU shading units | 448 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 854 MHz | 1300 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~765.2 GFLOPS | ~1331.2 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 6754 | 6865 |
| Single-core score | 1484 | 1354 |
| Multi-core score | 3767 | 3789 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 418023 | 490457 |
| GPU | 191872 | 296896 |
| Memory | 170606 | 173263 |
| UX | 301277 | 290896 |
| Total score | 1081778 | 1251512 |
| Samples | [17 tests] | [130 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 72% | 97% |
| Graphics test | 2 FPS | 5 FPS |
| Graphics score | 328 | 641 |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | 64% | - |
| Graphics test | 10 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 1800 | - |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 13238 | 14131 |
| Video editing | 7092 | 7744 |
| Photo editing | 29658 | 22842 |
| Data manipulation | 10433 | 11699 |
| Writing score | 15614 | 18128 |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy S21
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-30 (Luckyy) | AnTuTu 12 | 1281558 |
| 📘 2026-07-10 (TechNova0627) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 1446 / 3772 |
| 📘 2026-07-10 (TechNova0627) | AnTuTu 11 | 1115971 |
| 📘 2026-07-05 (Luckyy) | AnTuTu 11 | 1086158 |
| 📘 2026-06-28 (forneusgang) | AnTuTu 11 | 1087003 |
Samsung Galaxy A56 5G
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-24 (.) | CPU Throttle | 82% |
| 📘 2026-09-24 (.) | Geekbench 7 GPU | 5755 |
| 📘 2026-09-24 (.) | Geekbench 7 CPU | 1191 / 3814 |
| 📘 2026-09-24 (.) | AnTuTu 12 | 1017323 |
| 📘 2026-09-24 -> CR7 | AnTuTu 12 | 1030440 |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 3200 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 15) | Android 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 16) |
| ROM | One UI 7.0 | One UI 8.5 |
| OS size | 28.1 GB | 21.5 GB |
| OS updates | 2 years | 6 years |
| Security updates | 4 years | 6 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 4000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 45 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | No |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Bypass charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (55% in 30 min) | Yes (65% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:13 hr | 1:13 hr |
| Battery cycles | - | 2000 cycles |
| Web browsing | 06:01 hr | 11:28 hr |
| Watching video | 11:06 hr | 19:50 hr |
| Gaming | 04:21 hr | 04:53 hr |
| Standby | 95 hr | 131 hr |
General battery life
Smartphones With Long Battery Life (#70th place)
Main camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 8192 x 6144 |
| Zoom | Optical, 1.1x | Digital |
| Flash | Dual LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 24FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 123° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Telephoto: 64 MP 3) Ultrawide: 12 MP |
1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 12 MP 3) Macro: 5 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | - |
| Sensor | Sony IMX555 | Sony IMX906 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.76" (≈ 0.57 inch) | 1/1.56" (≈ 0.64 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.8 micron | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 64 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | - |
| Focal length | 28 mm | - |
| Sensor | Samsung Bright S5KGW2 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/1.72" (≈ 0.58 inch) | - |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Optical | - |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 13 mm | - |
| Sensor | Sony IMX563 | Sony IMX258 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) | 1/3.06" (≈ 0.33 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.4 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | - | 5 MP |
| Aperture | - | f/2.4 |
| Stabilization | - | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 70 | 145 |
| Preview | 61 | - |
| Zoom | 114 | 59 |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 from DxOMark | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A56 5G from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 10 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3872 x 2592 | - |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | - |
| Sensor | Sony IMX374 | Samsung S5K3LC |
| Sensor size | 1/3.24" (≈ 0.31 inch) | - |
| Pixel size | 1.22 micron | - |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| 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 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | - | No |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 24 | - |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Mid-range |
| Announced | January 2021 | March 2025 |
| Release date | February 2021 | March 2025 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $800 | $499 |
| Successor | - Samsung Galaxy S22 | - Samsung Galaxy A57 5G |
| SAR (head) | 0.46 W/kg | 0.61 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.51 W/kg | 1.05 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | - | Not included |
*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 A56 5G is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 224