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
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
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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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Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
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 |
RGB color space | 100% | - |
PWM | 90 Hz | - |
Response time | 2.4 ms | - |
Contrast | ∞ Infinity | - |
Peak brightness test (auto)
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
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)
Memory
RAM size | 12, 16, 18 GB | 12, 16 GB |
Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 2750 MHz |
Channels | 2 | 2 |
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
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 |
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
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 |
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
Photo quality
Video quality
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 |
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
Total votes: 34