By Holly, Mozillion Team
The Samsung Galaxy S21 was released back in 2021 and if you own one, you may be thinking it’s time to upgrade to the Galaxy S23. Despite the S21 still being a powerful smartphone with superb features, there are some undeniably impressive upgrades now available with the S23 which make it a viable upgrade.
Have a read through our comparison and see what you think.
Design | Samsung S23 vs S21
Unlike some phone models, you’ll be able to spot the difference between these two immediately. The contour cut camera module stands out on the S21 whereas the S23 opts for a simpler three-lens set up housed into the main body of the phone.
The S23 design is also straighter and more refined, making it look more like, dare we say it…an iPhone?
The Galaxy S23 size is similar to the Galaxy S21, with weight also being about the same.
In my opinion, the S23 looks better than the S21.
Camera | Samsung S23 vs S21
It’s through photos and videos where you’re likely to see the biggest jump in technical improvements with the S23 over the S21.
If photography and videography are your thing, both the S21 and the S23 are just the ticket to create professional looking content – Samsung make great cameras, for photos in particular. The S23 wins here overall though, mainly thanks to the substantial upgrade in the rear camera set up. Samsung have bumped the main camera lens resolution up from 12 megapixels to 50 megapixels and added a 3x optical zoom which will tend to deliver better results than the S21’s hybrid zoom.
The 50MP camera means you’ll be able to zoom in on your photos and crop to a far greater level of detail than the S21.
The S23 also benefits from the same Nightography improvements that the S23 Ultra includes, so if night shots are your thing, the S23 stands out as a clear choice here.
Round the front, the Galaxy S23 uses a 12MP selfie camera which is a slight upgrade from the Galaxy S21’s 10MP meaning your portraits should improve in quality.
In terms of video, the S23 can record at 8K 30 fps (frame per second), 4K 60 fps and 1080p 120 fps. The S21 can shoot in 8K 24 fps and 4K at 60 fps.
Processor | Samsung S23 vs S21
The S23 series has a bespoke processor that comfortably blows most other chipsets out of the water. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 For Galaxy and it means the S23 is much faster than previous models. There are loads of technical reasons for this around efficiency and heat dissipation but if it is maximum power and speed for multi-tasking, gaming and streaming you are after then the S23 is for you.
Thanks to its newer chip, the Galaxy S23 also brings advanced connectivity features like Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. It also features a more efficient 5G modem that offers faster download and upload speeds than the S21.
In day to day use, you may not notice a huge difference, but the S23’s processor upgrades really come into play when gaming.
Display | Samsung S23 vs S21
Screen wise, the S21 has a 6.2” AMOLED display with HDR and an adaptive refresh rate of 48-120Hz which helps increase battery life. The display itself is made from super-tough Gorilla Glass which means it will stand up to more knocks (although we still recommend a case).
So why upgrade to the S23? Well, despite the screen being a barely noticeable 0.1 inches smaller and having the same adaptive refresh rate feature, it is all about brightness and toughness. The brightness on the S21 measures in at 1,300 nits peak brightness whilst the S23 boasts a whopping 1,750 nits. This will be mainly noticeable in bright sunlight so the S23 makes for a better companion during summer days or travelling.
Also the S23 screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 2.0 which offers an even higher shatter resistance to the S21. Let’s face it though, no phone screen is truly invincible though so grab yourself a screen protector, regardless of which model you choose.
Battery | Samsung S23 vs S21
The Galaxy S21 definitely isn’t in the top charts for battery life – in short, the phone is just a bit too powerful for the 4,000 mAh battery, although normal use would still get you a day’s use.
The S23 drops the battery to 3,900 mAh – whaaattt? However, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor is a more efficient chipset which should help. Battery life is of course dependent on use but overall going to be about the same for both models.
Verdict | Samsung S23 vs S21
The Galaxy S21 remains a great overall phone and we’d find it hard to recommend upgrading from it to the S22, unless you found yourself a bargain or were picking it up refurbished. However, the Galaxy S23 is definitely a big enough improvement over the S21 to make it worth the upgrade, thanks to the new processor, lots of camera improvements and a brighter display.