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Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Snapdragon) Camera test

June 15, 2021
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119
camera

Samsung’s Galaxy S21+ 5G is the middle seat of the company’s current high-end S21 series, squeezed between the slightly smaller S21 5G and the top-of-the-line S21 Ultra 5G. It sports a 120 Hz, 6.7-inch AMOLED screen, slightly larger than its sibling S21, but with the same resolution (2400 x 1080), and has a centered hole punch for the selfie camera. Here we are testing the US and China version, powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chipset, as opposed to the Exynos version available in the rest of the world. Both have 8 GB memory with either 128 GB or 256 GB storage.

There are three cameras on the back, with specs that exactly mirror the smaller S21. The primary camera has a 12 MP coupled with a 26 mm-equivalent optically stabilized lens. The ultra-wide offers 12 MP and has a 13 mm-equivalent lens. The tele camera used a wide-angle lens (29 mm-equivalent) but uses a 64 MP sensor, which gets binned down to 12 MP output.

The Galaxy S21+ 5G shoots video at up to 8K resolution at 24 fps; however, just like on the S21 Ultra and the standard S21 we used 4K and 60 fps for testing. Lower resolutions and higher frame rates are also available for recording in slow motion.

Key camera specifications:

  • Primary: 12 MP 1/1.76-inch sensor with 1.8 μm pixels, 26 mm-equivalent f/1.8 lens, dual-pixel PDAF, OIS
  • Ultra-wide: 12 MP sensor with 1.4μm pixels, 13 mm-equivalent f/2.2 lens
  • Tele: 64 MP 1/1.72-inch sensor with 0.8μm pixels, 29 mm-equivalent f/2.0 lens
  • LED flash
  • 8K at 24 fps, 4K at 60 fps (tested), HDR10+

Achieving an overall score of 119, the Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Snapdragon) captures almost identical image quality to the more diminutive S21 5G (Snapdragon); no surprise as the two models share the same camera hardware. We couldn’t get a cigarette paper between them in our analysis, so if you want to save a few bucks and can live with a smaller screen and lower capacity battery, the standard S21 5G (Snapdragon) is just as good for photography.

Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Snapdragon), neutral white balance and pleasant color rendering
Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon), neutral white balance and pleasant color rendering

Given the almost identical results, we are posting only this short article for the Galaxy S21+ 5G (Snapdragon). For a full set of sample images and measurements as well as a complete analysis, please click on the link below and read the full review of the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon).

Go to the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon) Camera review


Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Snapdragon)
119
camera
124
Photo
Exposure
83

111

Color
101

107

Autofocus
90

109

Texture
94

111

Noise
71

102

Artifacts
63

77

Night
59

82

Bokeh
70

80

Preview
60

80

73
Zoom
Tele
91

140

Wide
46

58

101
Video
Exposure
90

118

Color
95

107

Autofocus
89

109

Texture
70

99

Noise
69

105

Artifacts
76

94

Stabilization
98

103

CAMERA
Position in Global Ranking
51st
1. Honor Magic4 Ultimate
146
2. Huawei P50 Pro
144
3. Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
143
4. Huawei Mate 40 Pro+
139
5. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
137
5. Apple iPhone 13 Pro
137
7. Huawei Mate 40 Pro
136
8. Google Pixel 6 Pro
135
8. Vivo X70 Pro+
135
10. Asus Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders
133
10. Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra
133
12. Google Pixel 6
132
12. Huawei P40 Pro
132
14. Honor Magic4 Pro
131
14. Oppo Find X3 Pro
131
14. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
131
14. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
131
14. Vivo X70 Pro (MediaTek)
131
14. Vivo X50 Pro+
131
14. Xiaomi 12 Pro
131
21. Apple iPhone 13 mini
130
21. Apple iPhone 13
130
21. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
130
24. Apple iPhone 12 Pro
128
24. Vivo X60 Pro+
128
24. Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro
128
24. Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro
128
28. OnePlus 10 Pro
127
29. Oppo Find X2 Pro
126
29. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
126
29. Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos)
126
29. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
126
33. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
124
33. OnePlus 9 Pro
124
33. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
124
36. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
123
36. Xiaomi 12
123
38. Apple iPhone 12
122
38. Apple iPhone 12 mini
122
38. Oppo Find X5
122
41. Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
121
41. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
121
43. Asus Zenfone 8
120
43. Google Pixel 5
120
43. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
120
43. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
120
43. Samsung Galaxy Note20 (Exynos)
120
43. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 (Exynos)
120
43. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Snapdragon)
120
43. Xiaomi Mi 11
120
51. Apple iPhone 11
119
51. Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Snapdragon)
119
51. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon)
119
54. Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
118
54. OnePlus 8 Pro
118
54. Vivo X60 Pro 5G (Exynos)
118
54. Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G
118
58. Motorola Edge+
117
58. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
117
58. TCL 20 Pro 5G
117
58. Xiaomi 11T Pro
117
62. OnePlus Nord 2 5G
116
62. Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Exynos)
116
62. Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
116
62. Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G (Exynos)
116
66. OnePlus 9
115
66. Oppo Reno 10x Zoom
115
66. Oppo Find X3 Neo
115
66. Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (Exynos)
115
66. Sony Xperia 1 III
115
71. Vivo X51 5G
114
72. Google Pixel 4
113
73. Black Shark 4S Pro
112
73. Huawei P40
112
73. Oppo Reno5 Pro+ 5G
112
73. Samsung Galaxy Note20 (Snapdragon)
112
73. Sony Xperia 1 II
112
78. Google Pixel 4a
111
78. OnePlus 8T
111
78. Sony Xperia 5 II
111
78. Xiaomi Mi 11i
111
78. Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G
111
83. LG Wing
110
84. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G
109
84. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2
109
86. OnePlus Nord
108
86. Oppo Reno4 Pro 5G
108
86. Oppo A94 5G
108
86. Xiaomi Redmi K40 Pro+
108
86. Xiaomi 11T
108
91. Oppo Reno6 5G
107
91. ZTE Axon 30 Ultra
107
93. Oppo Find X5 Lite
106
93. Realme GT Neo 2 5G
106
93. Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
106
96. Motorola Edge 20 Pro
105
96. Oppo Reno4 5G
105
96. Oppo Find X3 Lite
105
96. Oppo Find X2 Neo
105
96. Samsung Galaxy A72
105
96. Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
105
96. Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
105
96. Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
105
96. Vivo V21 5G
105
105. Apple iPhone SE (2020)
103
105. POCO X3 NFC
103
105. Realme 8 Pro
103
108. OnePlus Nord CE 5G
102
108. Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
102
110. Oppo Reno5 Pro 5G
100
111. Xiaomi Mi 10T 5G
98
112. Vivo Y72 5G
94
113. Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S
92
114. Samsung Galaxy A71 5G
88
114. Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
88
116. Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
87
116. Sony Xperia 1
87
116. ZTE Axon 20 5G
87
119. Nokia 8.3 5G
86
120. Oppo A16s 5G
80
121. Samsung Galaxy A50
76
CAMERA
Position in Ultra-Premium Ranking
37th
1. Honor Magic4 Ultimate
146
2. Huawei P50 Pro
144
3. Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
143
4. Huawei Mate 40 Pro+
139
5. Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
137
5. Apple iPhone 13 Pro
137
7. Huawei Mate 40 Pro
136
8. Google Pixel 6 Pro
135
8. Vivo X70 Pro+
135
10. Asus Smartphone for Snapdragon Insiders
133
10. Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra
133
12. Huawei P40 Pro
132
13. Honor Magic4 Pro
131
13. Oppo Find X3 Pro
131
13. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon)
131
13. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos)
131
13. Vivo X50 Pro+
131
13. Xiaomi 12 Pro
131
19. Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
130
20. Apple iPhone 12 Pro
128
20. Vivo X60 Pro+
128
20. Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro
128
20. Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro
128
24. OnePlus 10 Pro
127
25. Oppo Find X2 Pro
126
25. Samsung Galaxy S22+ (Exynos)
126
25. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
126
28. Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
124
28. OnePlus 9 Pro
124
28. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
124
31. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
123
32. Oppo Find X5
122
33. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
121
34. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Exynos)
120
34. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 (Exynos)
120
34. Samsung Galaxy Note20 (Exynos)
120
37. Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Snapdragon)
119
38. OnePlus 8 Pro
118
39. Motorola Edge+
117
39. Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon)
117
41. Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Exynos)
116
41. Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G (Exynos)
116
43. Sony Xperia 1 III
115
44. Samsung Galaxy Note20 (Snapdragon)
112
44. Sony Xperia 1 II
112
46. Sony Xperia 5 II
111
47. LG Wing
110
48. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G
109
48. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2
109
50. Sony Xperia 1
87

Pros

  • Neutral white balance and pleasant color rendering in most photos and videos
  • Accurate target exposure in most photos
  • High detail in outdoor and indoor photos and videos
  • Pleasant bokeh photos with mainly accurate depth estimation
  • Very wide field of view on ultra-wide shots
  • Effective stabilization on walking videos
  • Good white balance and color rendering on indoor and outdoor videos
  • Accurate autofocus on most videos

Cons

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