Screen size
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5GWinner: 6.8"+1.5%
Galaxy S26 FE6.7"
Quick verdict
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G leads the measured specs 8-5.
Measured wins
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
8
spec wins
Overall winner
Ties
10
equal specs
Galaxy S26 FE
5
spec wins
Screen size
Technology
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G
Galaxy S26 FE
GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G
2G bands
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 , CDMA 800 / 1900 & TD-SCDMA
Galaxy S26 FE
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G bands
Galaxy S21 Ultra 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 Ultra 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
equal specsBluetooth
USB
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-G998U1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66 - SM-G998B
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 Ultra 5G
2, 5, 25, 41, 66, 71, 260, 261 SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave - SM-G998U1, 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 77, 78 SA/NSA/Sub6 - SM-G998B
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 Ultra 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 Ultra 5G
2021, January 14
Galaxy S26 FE
2026, August 27
Status
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
Available. Released 2021, January 29
Galaxy S26 FE
Available. Released 2026, September 04
Dimensions
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm (6.5 x 2.98 x 0.35 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 Ultra 5G
227 g (Sub6), 229 g (mmWave) (8.01 oz)
Galaxy S26 FE
193 g (6.81 oz)
Build
Galaxy S21 Ultra 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 Ultra 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 Ultra 5G
IP68 dust tight and water resistant (immersible up to 1.5m for 30 min) Stylus support
Galaxy S26 FE
IP68 dust tight and water resistant (immersible up to 1.5m for 30 min)
Type
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1500 nits (peak)
Galaxy S26 FE
Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1900 nits (HBM)
Size
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
6.8 inches, 112.1 cm2 (~89.8% screen-to-body ratio)
Galaxy S26 FE
6.7 inches, 110.2 cm2 (~88.7% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
1440 x 3200 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~515 ppi density)
Galaxy S26 FE
1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~385 ppi density)
Protection
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
Galaxy S26 FE
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+
OS
Galaxy S21 Ultra 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 Ultra 5G
Exynos 2100 (5 nm) - InternationalQualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm) - USA/China
Galaxy S26 FE
Exynos 2500 (3 nm)
CPU
Galaxy S21 Ultra 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 Ultra 5G
Mali-G78 MP14 - InternationalAdreno 660 - USA/China
Galaxy S26 FE
Xclipse 950
Card slot
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
No
Galaxy S26 FE
No
Internal
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
128GB 8GB RAM, 128GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 16GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM
Galaxy S26 FE
128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM
Other
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
UFS 3.1
Galaxy S26 FE
UFS 4.0
Quad
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
108 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 1/1.33", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS 10 MP, f/2.4, 72mm (telephoto), 1/3.24", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom 10 MP, f/4.9, 240mm (periscope telephoto), 1/3.24", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS, 10x optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, Super Steady video
Galaxy S26 FE
-
Features
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
Laser AF, LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama
Galaxy S26 FE
LED flash, HDR, panorama, Best Face
Video
Galaxy S21 Ultra 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+
Triple
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
-
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
Single
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
40 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/2.8", 0.7µm, PDAF
Galaxy S26 FE
12 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1/3.2", 1.12µm
Features
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
HDR
Galaxy S26 FE
-
Video
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps
Galaxy S26 FE
4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps; gyro-EIS, HDR10+
Loudspeaker
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
Yes, with stereo speakers
Galaxy S26 FE
Yes, with stereo speakers
3.5mm jack
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
No
Galaxy S26 FE
No
Other
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
High-bitrate audio support
Galaxy S26 FE
-
WLAN
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, 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 Ultra 5G
5.2, A2DP, LE
Galaxy S26 FE
5.4, A2DP, LE
Positioning
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
Galaxy S26 FE
GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
NFC
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
Yes
Galaxy S26 FE
Yes
Radio
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
FM radio (Snapdragon model only; market/operator dependent)
Galaxy S26 FE
No
USB
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
USB Type-C 3.2, OTG
Galaxy S26 FE
USB Type-C 2.0, OTG
Sensors
Galaxy S21 Ultra 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 Ultra 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 Ultra 5G
Li-Ion 5000 mAh
Galaxy S26 FE
Li-Ion 4900 mAh
Charging
Galaxy S21 Ultra 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 Ultra 5G
Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, Phantom Titanium, Phantom Navy, Phantom Brown, Navy
Galaxy S26 FE
Blueberry, Graphite, Pistachio
Models
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
SM-G998B, SM-G998B/DS, SM-G998U, SM-G998U1, SM-G998W, SM-G998N, SM-G9980
Galaxy S26 FE
SM-S741B, SM-S741B/DS
SAR
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
0.77 W/kg (head) 1.02 W/kg (body)
Galaxy S26 FE
-
SAR EU
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
0.71 W/kg (head) 1.58 W/kg (body)
Galaxy S26 FE
0.50 W/kg (head) 1.32 W/kg (body)
Price
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
$ 200.79 / C$ 407.99 / £ 207.95 / € 259.99
Galaxy S26 FE
$ 599.99 / £ 599.00 / € 546.99 / ₹ 67,000