Screen size
equal specsGalaxy S21+ 5G6.7"
Galaxy S26 FE6.7"
Quick verdict
Galaxy S26 FE leads the measured specs 9-3.
Measured wins
Galaxy S21+ 5G
3
spec wins
Ties
11
equal specs
Galaxy S26 FE
9
spec wins
Overall winner
Screen size
equal specsTechnology
Galaxy S21+ 5G
GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G
Galaxy S26 FE
GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G
2G bands
Galaxy S21+ 5G
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 , CDMA 800 / 1900 & TD-SCDMA
Galaxy S26 FE
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G bands
Galaxy S21+ 5G
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 , CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
Galaxy S26 FE
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
4G bands
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Resolution
Refresh rate
equal specsPeak brightness
Pixel density
CPU speed
RAM
equal specsStorage
equal specsMain camera
Front camera
Battery
Wired charging
Weight
Thickness
IP rating
equal specsWi‑Fi
Bluetooth
equal specsUSB
5G support
equal specsNFC
equal specs3.5mm jack
equal specsSD card
equal specsStereo speakers
equal specs1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48, 66, 71 - SM-G996U1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66 - SM-G996B
Galaxy S26 FE
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 38, 40, 41, 66 - International, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66 - India
5G bands
Galaxy S21+ 5G
2, 5, 25, 41, 66, 71, 260, 261 SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave - SM-G996U1, 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 77, 78 SA/NSA/Sub6 - SM-G996B
Galaxy S26 FE
1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 75, 77, 78 SA/NSA/Sub6 - International, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 26, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 77, 78 SA/NSA/Sub6 - India
Speed
Galaxy S21+ 5G
HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE (7CA) Cat20 2000/200 Mbps, 5G (5+ Gbps DL)
Galaxy S26 FE
HSPA, LTE, 5G
Announced
Galaxy S21+ 5G
2021, January 14
Galaxy S26 FE
2026, August 27
Status
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Available. Released 2021, January 29
Galaxy S26 FE
Available. Released 2026, September 04
Dimensions
Galaxy S21+ 5G
161.5 x 75.6 x 7.8 mm (6.36 x 2.98 x 0.31 in)
Galaxy S26 FE
161.6 x 76.9 x 7.4 mm (6.36 x 3.03 x 0.29 in)
Weight
Galaxy S21+ 5G
200 g (Sub6), 202 g (mmWave) (7.05 oz)
Galaxy S26 FE
193 g (6.81 oz)
Build
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus), aluminum frame
Galaxy S26 FE
Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus+), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus+), aluminum frame
SIM
Galaxy S21+ 5G
· Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time)
Galaxy S26 FE
Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time)
Other
Galaxy S21+ 5G
IP68 dust tight and water resistant (immersible up to 1.5m for 30 min)
Galaxy S26 FE
IP68 dust tight and water resistant (immersible up to 1.5m for 30 min)
Type
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1300 nits (peak)
Galaxy S26 FE
Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1900 nits (HBM)
Size
Galaxy S21+ 5G
6.7 inches, 107.8 cm2 (~88.3% screen-to-body ratio)
Galaxy S26 FE
6.7 inches, 110.2 cm2 (~88.7% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution
Galaxy S21+ 5G
1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~394 ppi density)
Galaxy S26 FE
1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~385 ppi density)
Protection
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
Galaxy S26 FE
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+
OS
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Android 11, up to 4 major Android upgrades, One UI 6.1
Galaxy S26 FE
Android 17, up to 7 major OS updates, One UI 9
Chipset
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Exynos 2100 (5 nm) - InternationalQualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm) - USA/China
Galaxy S26 FE
Exynos 2500 (3 nm)
CPU
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Octa-core (1x2.9 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3x2.80 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x2.2 GHz Cortex-A55) - InternationalOcta-core (1x2.84 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3x2.42 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A55) - USA/China
Galaxy S26 FE
10-core (1x3.3GHz Cortex-X925 & 2x2.74GHz Cortex-A725 & 5x2.36GHz Cortex-A725 & 2x1.8GHz Cortex-A520)
GPU
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Mali-G78 MP14 - InternationalAdreno 660 - USA/China
Galaxy S26 FE
Xclipse 950
Card slot
Galaxy S21+ 5G
No
Galaxy S26 FE
No
Internal
Galaxy S21+ 5G
128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM
Galaxy S26 FE
128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM
Other
Galaxy S21+ 5G
UFS 3.1
Galaxy S26 FE
UFS 4.0
Triple
Galaxy S21+ 5G
12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.76", 1.8µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS 64 MP, f/2.0, 29mm (telephoto), 1/1.72", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS, 1.1x optical zoom, 3x hybrid zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55" 1.4µm, Super Steady video
Galaxy S26 FE
50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 1/1.56", 1.0µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS 8 MP, f/2.4, 69mm (telephoto), 1/4.4", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 123˚ (ultrawide), 1/3.2", 1.12µm
Features
Galaxy S21+ 5G
LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama
Galaxy S26 FE
LED flash, HDR, panorama, Best Face
Video
Galaxy S21+ 5G
8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS
Galaxy S26 FE
8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps; gyro-EIS, HDR10+
Single
Galaxy S21+ 5G
10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.24", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF
Galaxy S26 FE
12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.2", 1.12µm
Features
Galaxy S21+ 5G
HDR
Galaxy S26 FE
-
Video
Galaxy S21+ 5G
4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps
Galaxy S26 FE
4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps; gyro-EIS, HDR10+
Loudspeaker
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Yes, with stereo speakers
Galaxy S26 FE
Yes, with stereo speakers
3.5mm jack
Galaxy S21+ 5G
No
Galaxy S26 FE
No
Other
Galaxy S21+ 5G
High-bitrate audio support
Galaxy S26 FE
-
WLAN
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct
Galaxy S26 FE
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, dual-band or tri-band (market/region dependent), Wi-Fi Direct
Bluetooth
Galaxy S21+ 5G
5.0, A2DP, LE
Galaxy S26 FE
5.4, A2DP, LE
Positioning
Galaxy S21+ 5G
GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
Galaxy S26 FE
GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
NFC
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Yes
Galaxy S26 FE
Yes
Radio
Galaxy S21+ 5G
FM radio (Snapdragon model only; market/operator dependent)
Galaxy S26 FE
No
USB
Galaxy S21+ 5G
USB Type-C 3.2, OTG
Galaxy S26 FE
USB Type-C 2.0, OTG
Sensors
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Galaxy S26 FE
Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Other
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support) Ultra Wideband (UWB) support
Galaxy S26 FE
Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support)
Type
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Li-Ion 4800 mAh
Galaxy S26 FE
Li-Ion 4900 mAh
Charging
Galaxy S21+ 5G
25W wired, PD3.0 15W wireless (Qi) 4.5W reverse wireless
Galaxy S26 FE
45W wired, PD, QC2, 69% in 30 min 15W wireless, Qi2 compatible Reverse wireless
Colors
Galaxy S21+ 5G
Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, Phantom Violet, Phantom Pink, Phantom Gold, Phantom Red
Galaxy S26 FE
Blueberry, Graphite, Pistachio
Models
Galaxy S21+ 5G
SM-G996B, SM-G996B/DS, SM-G996U, SM-G996U1, SM-G996W, SM-G996N, SM-G9960
Galaxy S26 FE
SM-S741B, SM-S741B/DS
SAR
Galaxy S21+ 5G
0.65 W/kg (head) 0.95 W/kg (body)
Galaxy S26 FE
-
SAR EU
Galaxy S21+ 5G
0.54 W/kg (head) 1.33 W/kg (body)
Galaxy S26 FE
0.50 W/kg (head) 1.32 W/kg (body)
Price
Galaxy S21+ 5G
$ 167.66 / £ 249.00 / € 189.00
Galaxy S26 FE
$ 599.99 / £ 599.00 / € 565.30 / ₹ 69,999