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AudioReleased in January 2021 at a price that places it in the Premium segment ($600-$799), the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos) comes with a triple-camera setup and stereo speakers, among other attractive features. Let’s take a look at how its battery performed in our DXOMARK Battery protocol tests.
Key specifications:
- Battery capacity: 4000 mAh
- 25W (charger not included)
- 6.2-inch, 1080 x 2400, 120 Hz OLED display
- Exynos 2100 (5 nm) chipset
- Tested RAM / storage combination: 8 GB + 128 GB
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. This article highlights the most important results of our testing. (See our introductory and how we test articles for more details about our smartphone Battery protocol.)
Test summary
Scoring
Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.
Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
Key performances
These key points are derived from the lab measurements during testing and do not figure into the overall score. The lab measurements, however, are used for the overall score.
151st
29th
Pros
- Decent efficiency, especially charge up
- Supports wireless charging
Cons
- Despite smaller battery, slower charging speed than competition
The Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos) smartphone comes with a smaller battery and a slower charger than the two Premium devices used for comparison in this review, the Xiaomi Mi 11 and the Oppo Find X3 Neo. The table below shows the battery capacity, charger, display type and resolution, and processor specifications for the three devices.
|
Samsung Galaxy S21 (Exynos) |
Xiaomi Mi 11 | Oppo Find X3 Neo | |
| Battery capacity (mAh) |
4000 |
4600 | 4500 |
| Charger |
25W |
55W | 65W |
| Wireless charging |
15W |
50W |
No |
|
Display type, max Hz |
OLED | OLED |
OLED |
|
Display resolution |
1080 x 2400 | 1440 x 3200 |
1080 x 2400 |
|
Chipset |
Exynos 2100 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G |
Autonomy (51)
How long a battery charge lasts depends not only on battery capacity, but also other aspects of the phone’s hardware and software. The DXOMARK Battery autonomy score is composed of three performance sub-scores: (1) Stationary, (2) On the go, and (3) 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.
The overall autonomy score for the Exynos version of the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G places it between the Xiaomi Mi 11 (36) and the Oppo Find X3 Neo (60). The Samsung provides relatively good autonomy despite its small 4000 mAh battery, while the Xiaomi struggles with a more power-consuming QHD+ display.
Stationary
Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
54
104
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.
Lasting 51 hours 27 minutes in our TUS tests, the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos) lands in the bottom quarter of the DXOMARK database. While it is still ahead of the Xiaomi Mi 11, the Oppo lasts 7 hours 30 minutes longer.
On the go
Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
54
96
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 outside and perform a precisely defined set of activities while following the same three-hour travel itinerary for each device.
The Samsung device goes head to head with the Oppo Find X3 Neo in all mobility use cases, and both the Samsung and the Oppo perform slightly better than the Xiaomi Mi 11.
Calibrated
Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
52
100
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.
While the performance of the Exynos version of the Galaxy S21 5G for gaming and for video and music streaming via 4G was disappointing, the device did a good job for both video streaming via WiFi and video playback. But the Oppo Find X3 Neo had better autonomy in all calibrated use cases.
Charging (73)
The DXOMARK Battery charging score is composed of two sub-scores, Full charge and Quick boost. Full charge tests assess the reliability of the battery power gauge; measure how long it takes to charge a battery from 0% to 80% capacity and from 80% to 100%; and measure how long and how much power the battery takes to go from an indicated 100% to an actual full charge. 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 S21 5G (Exynos)’s charging performance is average among all devices tested, but its rivals do better, especially the Oppo Find X3 Neo, one of the top scorers for this attribute to date.
Full charge
Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
75
121
It takes the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos) 48 minutes to go from 0 to an 80% charge, which is good. However, the Xiaomi Mi 11 takes just 30 minutes to achieve the same charge, and the Find X3 Neo takes even less time — only 23 minutes.
Quick boost
Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
66
111
Users can expect only 2 hours 30 minutes of additional battery life after charging the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos) for 5 minutes with 20% power remaining, which is a poor showing when compared to the Oppo Find X3 Neo in particular.
| Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos) | Xiaomi Mi 11 | Oppo Find X3 Neo | ||
| Autonomy boost (hh:mm) | 20% | 2:33 | 2:52 | 8:20 |
| 40% | 2:36 | 3:09 | 6:26 | |
| 60% | 2:05 | 2:54 | 5:29 | |
| 80% | 2:01 | 1:51 | 4:14 | |
| Percentage boost | 20% | 7.4 % | 11.2 % | 22.1 % |
| 40% | 7.6 % | 12.3 % | 17 % | |
| 60% | 6.1 % | 11.3 % | 14.5 % | |
| 80% | 5.9 % | 7.3 % | 11.2 % | |
| Energy consumed | 20% | 1458 mWh | 2674 mWh | 4712 mWh |
| 40% | 1487 mWh | 2945 mWh | 3637 mWh | |
| 60% | 1192 mWh | 2709 mWh | 3103 mWh | |
| 80% | 1148 mWh | 1735 mWh | 2399 mWh |
Efficiency (75)
Our Efficiency score comprises two sub-scores, Charge up and Discharge. Charge up is the efficiency of a full charge (how much energy is drained from the wall outlet vs the energy capacity of the battery, as well as the efficiency of the charger and its residual consumption). Discharge is how much current the smartphone drains from the battery when in use (the ratio of battery capacity to autonomy). Better autonomy with a smaller battery means better efficiency.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos) posts an average overall score in our Efficiency testing. Among its rivals, it is far ahead of the Xiaomi (46) but behind the Oppo (87).
Charge up
Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
79
105
The Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)’s adapter is very efficient and consumes almost nothing (just 11 mW) when the phone is detached. By contrast, however, users should unplug the Samsung’s wireless charger when not in use.
Discharge
Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos)
73
121
The Samsung device lands between the Xiaomi (46) and the Oppo (85) for discharge efficiency, and despite its relatively small battery capacity (4000 mAh), it offers decent autonomy.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Exynos) is a well-built device, which is reflected in its decent scores for efficiency. While it lands in the bottom half of our database among all devices tested to date, it is well within the norms for Premium segment devices. The Xiaomi and Oppo smartphones have much better charging times compared to the S21 5G, but the Samsung device’s charging is nonetheless very efficient.
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