The Galaxy S21 and the iPhone 12 are still two popular models on the smartphone market in 2023. The Galaxy S21 was released in January 2021, just a few months after Apple released the iPhone 12 in September 2020. Let's see how these two competing flagship models stack up.

Camera

When it comes to camera quality, both phones offer great quality and features. The Galaxy S21 has a 3 lens rear camera system, consisting of a 12 MP wide, 12MP ultra-wide and 64MP telephoto cameras. The iPhone 12 has just 2 lenses including a 12MP wide and a 12MP ultra-wide. The Galaxy S21 also allows for up to 30x optical zoom, which is particularly impressive considering the detail that is kept on far away objects compared to the iPhone 12's zoom quality.

That said, you'll find that one camera takes better shots than the other in certain conditions and vice-versa. Some people prefer the more true-to-life and vibrant colors that the iPhone 12 seems to capture, while others prefer the detail and contrast that the S21 provides.

Battery

The Galaxy S21 wins out on battery size with a 4000 mAH battery compared to the iPhone 12's 2815 mAh. That said, both phones seem to underperform in battery life compared to other models within their respective brand. The iPhone 12 for example might get you through the whole day on a single charge if you use it lightly. The S21 is more likely to make it through the entire day, but it's worth noting that 5G connectivity has been proven to be hard on battery life.

Display

The Galaxy S21 features a 6.2 inch display with 2400 x 1080 px resolution while the iPhone 12 features a 6.1 inch display with 2532 x 1170 px resolution. While both have slightly different screen specs, the quality differences are virtually unnoticeable to the naked eye. However, Samsung gets the edge here thanks to a higher refresh range rate. The Galaxy S21 offers an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz, which is double the max rate on the iPhone 12. This will give you a noticeably smoother scrolling and gameplay experience.

Storage

Both the iPhone 12 and Galaxy S21 offer the same internal storage options at 128 and 256 GB, but the iPhone 12 also offers an additional lower storage option at 64 GB for those who do not save or download much content and would like to save a few dollars.

Processor

Processor chip performance is where Apple tends to excel compared to Samsung and the iPhone 12 is no exception. The iPhone 12 is equipped with Apple's A14 Bionic chip, which typically outmatches average Geekbench scores from the Galaxy S21's Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. In terms of actual usage, you likely won't see much of a difference between these two phones first-hand, but generally, the iPhone 12 should provide a faster processing experience.

Both the Galaxy S21 and iPhone 12 are exceptional smartphones, so it's hard to go wrong with a decision here. Your purchase is likely going to come down to your preference between Android and iOS. If you can make due with either operating system, then consider what you value most in a phone. Both offer 5G support and have very capable cameras and displays, but if you need better zoom capabilities, more battery life and the highest quality for video streaming and scrolling, then you'll want to go with the Galaxy S21. If you want to put your money on a phone that delivers faster processing speeds, then you'll want to pick the iPhone 12.