ZTE Nubia Red Magic 6s Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.8-inch ZTE Nubia Red Magic 6s Pro (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Plus 5G) that was released on September 6, 2021, against the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, which is powered by Exynos 2100 and came out 8 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the ZTE Nubia Red Magic 6s Pro
  • Higher display refresh rate – 165 Hz
  • 17% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (879K versus 751K)
  • Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
  • The phone is 8-months newer
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
  • Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
  • The rear camera has a 10x optical zoom
  • 33% higher pixel density (515 vs 387 PPI)
  • Delivers 45% higher peak brightness (1024 against 708 nits)
  • Supports wireless charging up to 15W
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
  • Optical image stabilization
  • More recent OS version: Android 13 versus 11
  • Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
  • The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
  • Ready for eSIM technology
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

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Price

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Display

Type AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.8 inches 6.8 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2400 pixels 1440 x 3200 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
PPI 387 ppi 515 ppi
Refresh rate 165 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes
Max rated brightness 530 nits 1500 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR 700 nits -
HDR support Yes, HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass Gorilla Glass Victus
Screen-to-body ratio 85.1% 89.8%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC Dimming
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space 100% -
PWM 90 Hz -
Response time 2.4 ms -
Contrast ∞ Infinity -
Peak brightness test (auto)
1024 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 169.86 mm (6.69 inches) 165.1 mm (6.5 inches)
Width 77.2 mm (3.04 inches) 75.6 mm (2.98 inches)
Thickness 9.8 mm (0.39 inches) 8.9 mm (0.35 inches)
Weight 220 g (7.76 oz) 227 g (8.01 oz)
Waterproof No IP68
Advanced cooling Active fan -
Rear material Glass Glass
Frame material Metal Metal
Colors White, Black Black, Silver, Gray, Blue
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-display Yes, in-display
Screen-to-body ratio

Performance

Tests of ZTE Nubia Red Magic 6s Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra in the benchmarks
SoC
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Plus 5G Samsung Exynos 2100
Max clock 3000 MHz 2840 MHz
CPU cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 680 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 3 cores at 2.42 GHz: Kryo 680 Gold (Cortex-A78)
- 1 core at 2.995 GHz: Kryo 680 Prime (Cortex-X1)
- 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 3 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A78
- 1 core at 2.9 GHz: Cortex-X1
L3 cache 4 MB -
Lithography process 5 nanometers 5 nanometers
Graphics Adreno 660 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU clock 840 MHz 760 MHz

Benchmarks

Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
CPU 221498 191240
GPU 328894 256481
Memory 152969 151369
UX 175054 149052
Total score 879728 751805
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Max surface temperature 41.2 °C 40.8 °C
Stability - 69%
Graphics test - 31 FPS
Graphics score - 5221
AnTuTu 9 Results (83rd and 145th place)
Sources: 3DMark [3]

Memory

RAM
RAM size 12, 16, 18 GB 12, 16 GB
Memory type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
Memory clock 2750 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 128, 256, 512 GB 128, 256, 512 GB
Storage type UFS 3.1 UFS 3.1
Memory card No No

Software

Operating system Android 11 Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)
ROM Redmagic 4.5 One UI 5.0
OS size - 26.4 GB

Battery

Specifications
Capacity 5050 mAh 5000 mAh
Charge power 66 W 25 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No Yes (15 W)
Reverse charging No Yes, (wireless)
Fast charging Yes (75% in 30 min) Yes (54% in 30 min)
Full charging time 0:53 hr 1:11 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 10:07 hr 10:13 hr
Watching video 13:18 hr 15:32 hr
Gaming 05:27 hr 05:26 hr
Standby 109 hr 98 hr
General battery life

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera
Matrix 64 megapixels 108 megapixels
Image resolution 9000 x 7000 12000 x 9000
Zoom Digital Optical, 10x
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Digital Optical
8K video recording Up to 30FPS Up to 24FPS
4K video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 480 FPS (720p) 960 FPS (720p)
Angle of widest lens 120° 120°
Lenses 3 (64 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP) 4 (108 MP + 10 MP + 10 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens - 64 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Focal length: 26 mm
- Pixel size: 0.8 micron
- Sensor: 1/1.97", Samsung GW3 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS)
- Phase autofocus
- 108 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Focal length: 26 mm
- Pixel size: 0.8 micron
- Sensor: 1/1.33", Samsung S5KHM3 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS)
- Laser autofocus
- Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens - - 10 MP
- Aperture: f/4.9
- Focal length: 240 mm
- Pixel size: 1.22 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.65", Samsung S5K3J1 (ISOCELL CMOS)
- Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
- Optical stabilization
Ultra-wide lens - 8 MP
- Aperture: f/2.0
- Focal length: 13 mm
- Pixel size: 1.12 micron
- Sensor: 1/4", Hynix HI-846 (CMOS)
- 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)
Macro lens - 2 MP
- Pixel size: 1.75 micron
- Sensor: 1/2.8", Omnivision OV02A10 (CMOS)
-
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Samples - Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra from DxOMark
Selfie camera
Megapixels 8 megapixels 40 megapixels
Image resolution 3264 x 2448 7864 x 5200
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length - 26 mm
Pixel size 1.12 microns 0.7 microns
Sensor type CMOS ISOCELL CMOS
Sensor size 1/4.0" 1/2.65"
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS

DxOMark camera tests

Generic camera score

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6E (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 5.1 5.2
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM* 2 2
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode Standby Standby
eSIM support* No Yes
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat* 22 24
5G support Yes Yes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack Yes No
FM radio No No
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness

Other

Category Flagship Flagship
Announced September 2021 January 2021
Release date September 2021 February 2021
SAR (head) - 0.71 W/kg
SAR (body) - 1.58 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 Ultra is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
18 (52.9%)
16 (47.1%)
Total votes: 34

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