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Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) Battery test

This device has been retested in the latest version of our protocol. This summary has been fully updated. For detailed information, check the What’s New article
OTHER AVAILABLE TESTS FOR THIS DEVICE

We put the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) through our rigorous DXOMARK Battery test suite to measure its performance in autonomy, charging and efficiency. In these test results, we will break down how it fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases.

Overview

Key specifications:

  • Battery capacity: 4500mAh
  • 25W charger (not included)
  • Wireless charging – 15W
  • 6.4-Inch 1080 x 2400 120 Hz OLED display
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G (5nm)
  • Tested ROM/RAM combination: 128GB + 6GB

Scoring

Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.


Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
82
battery
56

221

100

195

95

198

102
Charging
110

224

95

212

112

205

68

194

Key performances

Charging Time
1 day 14h
Battery life
Charging Time
0h53
80% Charging time
Charging Time
1h42
Full charging time
Quick Boost
2h08 autonomy
after 5-minute charge

Pros

  • Strong autonomy when calling on the go
  • Very low residual power drain

Cons

  • 5% of power drained during the night in a typical usage scenario
  • Poor autonomy recovered after a quick boost
  • Very high discharge current when gaming
  • Very slow wireless charging

Impressive specifications on the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), such as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G chipset, a 4500 mAh battery and wireless charging, could not help the device overcome an overall poor performance. The autonomy is low, and the charging time is quite long, whether wired or wireless. It stands near the last in our general database, as well as in its price segment.

Test Summary

About DXOMARK Battery tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, DXOMARK engineers perform a variety of objective tests over a week-long period both indoors and outdoors. (See our introductory and how we test articles for more details about our smartphone Battery protocol.)

The following section gathers key elements of our exhaustive tests and analyses performed in DXOMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluation reports are available upon request. Please contact us on how to obtain them.

The table below shows the battery capacity, tested charger, display type and resolution, and processor specifications for the comparison devices.

Battery Charger Wireless Display Processor
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) 4500mAh 25W
(not included)
15W OLED
1080 x 2400
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G
Apple iPhone 13 3227mAh 20W
(not included)
15W OLED
1170 x 2532
Apple A15 Bionic
OnePlus 9 4500mAh 65W
(included)
15W OLED
1080 x 2400
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888

Autonomy

72

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)

195

Honor X7b
How Autonomy score is composed

Autonomy score is composed of three performance sub-scores: Stationary, On the go, and Calibrated use cases. Each sub-score comprises the results of a comprehensive range of tests for measuring autonomy in all kinds of real-life scenarios.

Light Usage
54h
Light Usage
Active: 2h30/day
Moderate Usage
38h
Moderate Usage
Active: 4h/day
Intense Usage
24h
Intense Usage
Active: 7h/day

Home/Office

56

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)

221

Honor X7b

A robot housed in a Faraday cage performs a set of touch-based user actions during what we call our “typical usage scenario” (TUS) — making calls, video streaming, etc. — 4 hours of active use over the course of a 16-hour period, plus 8 hours of “sleep.” The robot repeats this set of actions every day until the device runs out of power.

Typical Usage Scenario discharge curves

On the go

100

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)

195

Samsung Galaxy M51

Using a smartphone on the go takes a toll on autonomy because of extra “hidden” demands, such as the continuous signaling associated with cellphone network selection, for example. DXOMARK Battery experts take the phone outdoors and perform a precisely defined set of activities while following the same three-hour travel itinerary (walking, taking the bus, the subway…) for each device

Autonomy for on the go use cases (full charge)

Calibrated

95

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)

198

Samsung Galaxy M51

For this series of tests, the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and our robots repeatedly perform actions linked to one specific use case (such as gaming, video streaming, etc.) at a time. Starting from an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have expended at least 5% of their battery power.

Autonomy for calibrated use cases (full charge)

Charging

102

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)

218

Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
How Charging score is composed

Charging is fully part of the overall battery experience. In some situations where autonomy is at a minimum, knowing how fast you can charge becomes a concern. The DXOMARK Battery charging score is composed of two sub-scores, (1) Full charge and (2) Quick boost.

Wired
Wired
48%
in 30 min
0h53
0 - 80%
1h42
Full charge
Wireless
Wireless
21%
in 30 min
1h48
0 - 80%
2h37
Full charge

Full charge

110

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)

224

Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)

Full charge tests assess the reliability of the battery power gauge; measure how long and how much power the battery takes to charge from zero to 80% capacity, from 80 to 100% as shown by the UI, and until an actual full charge.

Two charts here below illustrate the full charge performance of the smartphone: (1) The charging curves, in wired and wireless (if available) showing the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the power consumption in watts during the stages of charging toward full capacity.
(2) The time to full charge chart breaks down the necessary time to reach 80%, 100% and full charge.

Power consumption and battery level during full charge
Power consumption and battery level during wireless full charge
Time to full charge
Time to full charge

Quick boost

95

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)

212

Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)

With the phone at different charge levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%), Quick boost tests measure the amount of charge the battery receives after being plugged in for 5 minutes. The chart here compares the average autonomy gain from a quick 5-minute charge.

Average autonomy gain for a 5 minute charge (wired)

Efficiency

80

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)

154

Oppo Reno6 5G
How Efficiency score is composed

The DXOMARK power efficiency score consists of two sub-scores, Charge up and Discharge rate, both of which combine data obtained during robot-based typical usage scenario, calibrated tests and charging evaluation, taking into consideration the device’s battery capacity. DXOMARK calculate the annual power consumption of the product, shown on below graph, which is representative of the overall efficiency during a charge and when in use.

Annual Consumption Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)
5.6 kWh
Efficient
Good
Bad
Inefficient

Charge up

112

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)

205

Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro

The charge up sub-score is a combination of four factors: the overall efficiency of a full charge, related to how much energy you need to fill up the battery compared to the energy that the battery can provide; the efficiency of the travel adapter when it comes to transferring power from an outlet to your phone; the residual consumption when your phone is fully charged and still plugged into the charger; and the residual consumption of the charger itself, when the smartphone is disconnected from it. The chart here below shows the overall efficiency of a full charge in %.

Overall charge efficiency

Discharge

68

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon)

194

Apple iPhone 14 Pro

The discharge subscore rates the speed of a battery’s discharge during a test, which is independent of the battery’s capacity. It is the ratio of a battery’s capacity divided by its autonomy. A small-capacity battery could have the same autonomy as a large-capacity battery, indicating that the device is well-optimized, with a low discharge rate.

Average discharge current

 

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