Head to head
SamsungGalaxy S26vsSamsungGalaxy S21
- Released
- 2026-03-06endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £879Samsung Newsroom UK — Galaxy S26 series, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Released
- 2021-01-29endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £769Samsung Newsroom UK — Galaxy S21 5G and S21+ 5G, retrieved 2026-08-20
1 win for Galaxy S260 wins for Galaxy S213 differences you won’t notice
Specifications
A win is marked only where the figures can be ranked and the gap is one you could notice. Every figure carries its source.
Body
Samsung Galaxy S26Samsung Galaxy S21
Dimensions
149.6 x 71.7 x 7.2 mmOfficial
151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mmOfficial
Weight
167gOfficial
169gOfficial
You won’t notice this difference.
Build
Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame3rd party
Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), plastic back, aluminum frame3rd party
SIM
Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time) — international3rd party
Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time)3rd party
Water/dust rating
IP68Official
IP68Official
Display
Samsung Galaxy S26Samsung Galaxy S21
Display type
Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz adaptive, Vision boosterOfficial
Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O, HDR10+ certified, Adaptive 120Hz, Eye Comfort ShieldOfficial
Display size
6.3inOfficial
6.2inOfficial
Resolution
1080 x 23403rd party
1080 x 2400Official
Pixel density
411ppi3rd party
421ppiOfficial
Refresh rate
120HzOfficial
120HzOfficial
You won’t notice this difference.
Peak brightness
2600nits3rd party
1300nits3rd party
Screen protection
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 23rd party
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus3rd party
Platform
Samsung Galaxy S26Samsung Galaxy S21
Operating system
Android 16, One UI 8.5Official
Android 11Official
Chipset
Exynos 2600Official
Exynos 2100, 5nmOfficial
CPU
10-core (1x3.80GHz C1-Ultra, 3x3.25GHz C1-Pro, 6x2.75GHz C1-Pro)3rd party
Octa-core, 2.8GHz (maximum clock speed) + 2.4GHz + 1.8GHzOfficial
GPU
Xclipse 9603rd party
Mali-G78 MP143rd party
Memory
Samsung Galaxy S26Samsung Galaxy S21
Storage (base)
256GBOfficial
128GBOfficial
Storage options
256GB/512GBOfficial
128GB/256GBOfficial
RAM
12GBOfficial
8GBOfficial
Card slot
No3rd party
No3rd party
Camera
Samsung Galaxy S26Samsung Galaxy S21
Main camera
50MP Wide f/1.8 with 2x optical-quality zoom; 10MP Telephoto 3x optical zoom f/2.4; 12MP Ultra-Wide f/2.2; 12MP front f/2.2Official
12MP Wide Dual Pixel AF OIS f/1.8; 64MP Telephoto hybrid optic 3x OIS f/2.0; 12MP Ultra-Wide f/2.2 FOV 120°; 10MP front Dual Pixel AF f/2.2Official
Main sensor resolution
50MPOfficial
12MPOfficial
Main aperture
f/1.8Official
f/1.8Official
Main sensor size
1/1.56"3rd party
1/1.76"3rd party
Telephoto
10MP Telephoto, 3x optical zoom, f/2.4Official
64MP Telephoto, Hybrid Optic 3X, OIS, f/2.0Official
Ultrawide
12MP Ultra-Wide, f/2.2Official
12MP Ultra-Wide, f/2.2, FOV 120°Official
Front camera
12MP front, f/2.2Official
10MP front Dual Pixel AF, f/2.2Official
Video capture
8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, HDR10+3rd party
8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, HDR10+3rd party
Battery
Samsung Galaxy S26Samsung Galaxy S21
Battery capacity
4300mAhOfficial
4000mAhOfficial
Battery per charge
51hOfficial
No verified data
Battery lifespan
1200cyclesOfficial
No verified data
Fast charging
25WOfficial
25W3rd party
You won’t notice this difference.
Wireless charging
15W3rd party
15W3rd party
Connectivity
Samsung Galaxy S26Samsung Galaxy S21
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 7Official
Wi-Fi 63rd party
Bluetooth
5.4Official
5.03rd party
USB
USB Type-C 3.2, DisplayPort 1.2, OTG3rd party
USB Type-C, DisplayPort over USB-C (4K UHD at 60 fps)Official
NFC
Yes3rd party
YesOfficial
Positioning
GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS3rd party
GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO3rd party
Misc
Samsung Galaxy S26Samsung Galaxy S21
Colours
Cobalt Violet, White, Black, Sky Blue, Pink Gold, Silver ShadowOfficial
Phantom Violet, Phantom Grey, Phantom Pink, Phantom WhiteOfficial
SAR (EU, head)
1.21W/kg3rd party
0.46W/kg3rd party
Repairability (EU class)
COfficial
No verified data
5 attributes neither phone has a sourced figure for
Typical brightness · Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) · AnTuTu benchmark · 3DMark Wild Life Extreme · DXOMARK camera score. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.