Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus vs S21 Plus
46
out of 100
VS
57
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus (with Exynos 9 Octa 9810) that was released on February 25, 2018, against the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus, which is powered by Exynos 2100 and came out 2 years and 11 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 S9 Plus
- 35% higher pixel density (531 vs 393 PPI)
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 400GB
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- 88% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1017K versus 540K)
- Comes with 1300 mAh larger battery capacity: 4800 vs 3500 mAh
- Has 2x more RAM: 8GB versus 4GB
- Shows 25% longer battery life (20:53 vs 16:44 hours)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Delivers 40% higher peak brightness (885 against 634 nits)
- Has a 0.5 inch larger screen size
- More recent OS version: Android 15 versus 10
- More energy-efficient CPU – Exynos 2100
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Supports higher wattage charging (25W versus 15W)
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 | Super AMOLED | Dynamic AMOLED |
| Size | 6.2 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 2960 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 18.5:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 531 ppi | 393 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | Yes (48-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 631 nits | 1300 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 83.6% | 88.7% |
| Display features | - Always-On Display | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | - | 98.9% |
| PWM | 215 Hz | 240 Hz |
| Response time | 7 ms | 6.2 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Screen space comparison
Galaxy S21 Plus
6.7″ (20:9 ratio) = 16.8 in2
Galaxy S9 Plus
6.2″ (18.5:9 ratio) = 15.1 in2
~11% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 158.1 mm (6.22 inches) | 161.5 mm (6.36 inches) |
| Width | 73.8 mm (2.91 inches) | 75.6 mm (2.98 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.5 mm (0.33 inches) | 7.8 mm (0.31 inches) |
| Weight | 189 g (6.67 oz) | 200 g (7.05 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Gold, Gray, Red, Purple | Black, Silver, Gold, Red, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, rear | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810 | Samsung Exynos 2100 |
| Max clock | 2900 MHz | 2900 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (4 + 4) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.9 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 4 cores at 2.9 GHz: Exynos M3 |
- 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 3 cores at 2.81 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 10 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Yes | Yes |
| Graphics | Mali-G72MP18 | Mali-G78 MP14 |
| GPU shading units | 216 | 448 |
| GPU clock | 572 MHz | 854 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~247.1 GFLOPS | ~765.2 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 4338 | 6699 |
| Single-core score | 772 | 1259 |
| Multi-core score | 2229 | 3255 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 231778 | 380634 |
| GPU | 92936 | 187261 |
| Memory | 117962 | 186352 |
| UX | 97635 | 263526 |
| Total score | 540311 | 1017773 |
| Samples | [16 tests] | [9 tests] |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 5779 | - |
| Video editing | 5456 | - |
| Photo editing | 9308 | - |
| Data manipulation | 5607 | - |
| Writing score | 6203 | - |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-08-10 -> skaele | AnTuTu 11 | 635840 |
| 📘 2026-06-23 (AGZL) | AnTuTu 11 | 669835 |
| 📘 2026-05-28 -> W1lkyy | AnTuTu 11 | 614260 |
| 📘 2026-05-14 -> TranHongPhuc | Geekbench 6 GPU | 4338 |
| 📘 2026-05-14 -> TranHongPhuc | Geekbench 6 CPU | 686 / 1855 |
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-01 (Md. Iqbal Talukder) | AnTuTu 11 | 1014567 |
| 📘 2026-05-30 (Júnior) | AnTuTu 11 | 1049711 |
| 📘 2026-05-08 (Arcytechsure) | AnTuTu 11 | 1125806 |
| 📘 2026-04-18 (Aziz Jr) | Geekbench 6 GPU | 6699 |
| 📘 2026-04-18 (Aziz Jr) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 1124 / 3273 |
Memory
| RAM size | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 1794 MHz | 2750 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 64 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 2.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | No |
| Memory card max size | Up to 400 GB | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 8.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 10) | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 15) |
| ROM | One UI 2.5 | One UI 7.0 |
| OS size | 13.9 GB | 27.2 GB |
| OS updates | - | 2 years |
| Security updates | - | 4 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 3500 mAh | 4800 mAh |
| Max charge power | 15 W | 25 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes, Qi/PMA (10 W) | Yes (15 W) |
| Reverse charging | No | Yes, (wireless) |
| Fast charging | Yes (40% in 30 min) | Yes (54% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:40 hr | 1:12 hr |
| Web browsing | 06:05 hr | 07:28 hr |
| Watching video | 10:25 hr | 13:15 hr |
| Gaming | 04:17 hr | 05:04 hr |
| Standby | 84 hr | 105 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Zoom | Optical, 2x | Optical, 1.1x |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | Up to 24FPS |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 240FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 960 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | - | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Telephoto: 12 MP |
1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Telephoto: 64 MP 3) Ultrawide: 12 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.5 - 2.4 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung SAK2L3 | Sony IMX555 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) | 1/1.76" (≈ 0.57 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.4 micron | 1.8 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 64 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | 52 mm | 28 mm |
| Sensor | - | Samsung Bright S5KGW2 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) | 1/1.72" (≈ 0.58 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1 micron | 0.8 micron |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | - | 12 MP |
| Aperture | - | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | - | 13 mm |
| Sensor | - | Sony IMX563 |
| Sensor size | - | 1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch) |
| Pixel size | - | 1.4 micron |
| Stabilization | - | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | - | 70 |
| Preview | - | 60 |
| Zoom | - | 114 |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus from DxOMark | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 10 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 3872 x 2592 |
| Aperture | f/1.7 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 25 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung S5K3H1 | Sony IMX374 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.6" (≈ 0.28 inch) | 1/3.24" (≈ 0.31 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.22 micron | 1.22 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 1440p at 30 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
DxOMark front camera
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.1 | 3.2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| 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* | No | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | Yes | No |
| LTE Cat* | 18 | 24 |
| 5G support | No | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | February 2018 | January 2021 |
| Release date | March 2018 | February 2021 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $840 | $1000 |
| Successor | - Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra | - Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus |
| SAR (head) | 0.294 W/kg | 0.54 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.35 W/kg | 1.33 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
*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: 107
