VS
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 12 Pro Max, which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 3 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the gadgets.
- Differences
- Review
- Specs
- Benchmarks
- Battery life
- Camera
- Comments
Key differences
An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Comes with 1113 mAh larger battery capacity: 4800 vs 3687 mAh
- Modern USB Type-C port
- Fingerprint scanner
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
- Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
- Has 2 SIM card slots
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
- The rear camera has a 2.5x optical zoom
- Shows 16% longer battery life (35:25 vs 30:26 hours)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Samsung
- 16% higher pixel density (458 vs 394 PPI)
- 47% faster in single-core GeekBench 5 test: 1612 and 1098 points
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 tests
Display
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.7 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels | 1284 x 2778 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 394 ppi | 458 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Max rated brightness | 1300 nits | 800 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Ceramic Shield |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 88.3% | 87.4% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 98.9% | 99.4% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | 238 Hz |
| Response time | 6.2 ms | 8 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]
Design and build
| Height | 161.5 mm (6.36 inches) | 160.8 mm (6.33 inches) |
| Width | 75.6 mm (2.98 inches) | 78.1 mm (3.07 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.8 mm (0.31 inches) | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 200 gramm (7.05 oz) | 226 gramm (7.97 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Black, Silver, Gold, Red, Purple | Silver, Gold, Gray, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | No |
Performance
Tests of Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus and Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max in the benchmarks
SoC| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 2100 | Apple A14 Bionic |
| Max. clock | 2840 MHz | 3100 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 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G78 MP14 | Apple GPU |
| GPU clock | 760 MHz | - |
| RAM size | 8 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | - |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256 GB | 128, 256, 512 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
| CPU | 189103 | 199661 |
| GPU | 274155 | 262671 |
| Memory | 137436 | 132086 |
| UX | 131951 | 136404 |
| Total score | 735504 | 734755 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Stability | 67% | 75% |
| Graphics test | 33 FPS | 47 FPS |
| Graphics score | 5538 | 7881 |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 12) | iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16) |
| ROM | One UI 4.1 | - |
| OS size | 27.2 GB | 16 GB |
Battery
Specifications| Capacity | 4800 mAh | 3687 mAh |
| Charge power | 25 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (54% in 30 min) | Yes (55% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:12 hr | 1:32 hr |
| Web browsing | 09:17 hr | 12:04 hr |
| Watching video | 15:27 hr | 14:25 hr |
| Gaming | 05:07 hr | 07:11 hr |
| Standby | 101 hr | 122 hr |
Camera
Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Optical, 1.1x | Optical, 2.5x |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual 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° | 120° |
| Lenses | 3 (12 MP + 64 MP + 12 MP) | 4 (12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP + 0 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/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.7 micron - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - 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/2.2 - Focal length: 65 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX613 (Exmor-RS 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) | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4", Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
| Depth lens | - | Yes |
| 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 12 Pro Max from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 10 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3872 x 2592 | 4290 x 2800 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 23 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.22 microns | 1 microns |
| Sensor type | Exmor-RS CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.24" | - |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
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 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | No |
| USB version | 3.2 | - |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG | - Charging - USB-Storage mode |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| 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 | 18 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | January 2021 | October 2020 |
| Release date | February 2021 | November 2020 |
| 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 | - Hall-effect sensor - 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.
Cast your vote
So, which phone would you choose?
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
197 (77.6%)
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
57 (22.4%)
Total votes: 254
Related comparisons
You can share your opinion or ask a question in the comments below
Is iPhone 12 Pro better than Samsung S21 Plus?
In general, the pro models of the S21 line have better zoom chops than the higher-end iPhone 12s. For instance, the S21 Pro has a dedicated 64-megapixel telephoto camera that can zoom to a 30x magnification, while the iPhone 12 Pro, which has a fantastic telephoto camera, maxes out at 12x.
Which is better iPhone 12 or S21+?
Samsung Galaxy S21 vs iPhone 12: takeaway
The Samsung Galaxy S21 has more cameras than the iPhone 12, plus more RAM, a bigger battery, a slightly larger screen, a higher refresh rate, and more storage in the entry-level model.
Is S21 plus better than iPhone?
The Galaxy S21 Plus has a bigger display with faster refresh rate and longer battery life, so if those are more important to you, then Samsung is the way to go here. At $999, you're getting a lot for your money. Ultimately, you'll need to ask yourself whether you prefer Android or iOS.
Does Samsung S21 have better camera than iPhone 12?
The iPhone 12, meanwhile, excels in performance and its over-the-top water resistance. It also beat the S21 in some of our camera tests, though it also fell behind in other shots. Ultimately, which phone actually ends up being better for you comes down to whether you prefer Android or iOS.