Samsung Galaxy S21 FE vs. Google Pixel 6

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• Google’s Pixel 6 has better battery life, cameras, and even better screen tech.
• Samsung’s Galaxy S21 FE has zoom, but its 120Hz display destroys battery life.
• We recommend the Pixel 6 for most people, but the Galaxy S21 FE shouldn’t be ignored.

For phone shoppers who don’t want to spend big on the most premium flagships, Samsung’s $700 Galaxy S21 FE and Google’s $600 Pixel 6 are the Android phones to consider.

Both phones are equipped with high-end processors for fast performance, as well as high-end cameras and features, making them direct competitors.

Samsung’s Galaxy S21 FE is a slightly slimmed down version of its 2021 flagship phone, the Galaxy S21, which means it’s not quite the best Samsung has to offer. Meanwhile, Google’s Pixel 6 is the best Google has to offer, aside from the larger $900 Pixel 6 Pro which comes with an extra zoom lens, bigger screen, and slightly sleeker design.

The upshot is that both phones excel in different areas that different people value. In great detail, here’s why the Google Pixel 6 wins in this competition of performance, battery life, cameras, displays, design, Android updates and value.

Google Pixel 6 specs vs Samsung Galaxy S21 FE

Performance

Unusual for the premium Android world, the two phones run on different processors. The Pixel 6 runs on Google’s Tensor processor, while the Galaxy S21 FE runs on a more traditional Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 that powered high-end Android phones in 2021.

Head-to-head, the two processors perform similarly in the benchmark results, especially in the Geekbench CPU benchmark test, with a negligible advantage towards the Galaxy S21 FE:

In day-to-day use, both phones feel fast – they open and run apps equally quickly and well, except the Pixel 6 feels a bit stuttered when scrolling through certain apps, namely Twitter and Reddit.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S21 FE

Battery life

Both phones have 6.4-inch screens, which means we should expect similar battery life. However, that is not the case here at all. Google’s Pixel 6 has significantly longer battery life than the Galaxy S21 FE in our video

Diffusion

test, where we stream the same YouTube video with maximum screen brightness at the phone’s default 1080p screen resolution.

In normal use, we could also say that the Pixel 6 lasts longer than the Galaxy S21 FE.

Winner: Google Pixel 6

Cameras

The Pixel 6 has a dual-lens camera, including a main camera and an ultra-wide camera. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S21 FE has a triple-lens camera system that includes a 3x zoom lens, resulting in sharper and clearer zoomed photos.

Both phones take great photos in good lighting conditions. In fact, these photos taken with the two phones look almost identical:

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE

Google Pixel 6

The Galaxy S21 FE has a dedicated zoom lens with 3x optical zoom, which produces sharper, higher quality photos than the digital zoom of the Pixel 6:

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE

Google Pixel 6

Darkness is the S21 FE camera’s weakness, where photos become noticeably less sharp and grainy. However, that’s not really a problem for the Pixel 6:

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE

Google Pixel 6

Winner: Pixel 6 for overall quality. Galaxy S21 FE for zoom lens versatility.

Display

Both phone screens have a resolution of 1080p, which is very crisp, and we’re also not stopping for higher resolutions than you might find on more expensive phones.

Both phones also use bright and vibrant OLED panels, which produce exceptional contrast and make everything on screen look better than standard LED screens. That said, the Pixel 6 can get brighter than the Galaxy S21 FE, as seen in the photo above.

They begin to differ with the refresh rate, which determines the smoothness of animations. Higher refresh rates make a big difference to the standard 60Hz – they make the phone faster and more powerful as the display refreshes the screen image more frequently.

The Google Pixel 6’s screen has a 90Hz refresh rate, while the Galaxy S21 FE’s screen can go up to 120Hz. Technically, that means the Galaxy S21 FE has a smoother screen, but there’s a big asterisk here. Running the Galaxy S21 FE’s screen at a full 120Hz refresh rate has a detrimental effect on its battery life, and you can get much better battery life by adjusting the screen to 60Hz. We recommend Galaxy S21 FE owners set their screens to 60Hz if they value battery life, which is already worse than the Pixel 6.

Even at 90Hz, the Pixel 6’s screen is still fluid. Also, you can really tell the difference between 60Hz and 90Hz, but not as much between 90Hz and 120Hz.

Winner: Google Pixel 6

Design

Simply put, the Pixel 6 is bold and unique, while the Galaxy S21 FE is plain and simple.

The Pixel 6 also has a glass back, which is more premium than the Galaxy S21’s FE plastic, but that’s not necessarily a winning point for the Pixel – I’m not hooking up a phone to have plastic backs lightweight and durable.

There is no winner here, as design preferences are subjective.

Android updates

According to Google’s statements, the Pixel 6 will receive Android OS updates until October 2024, which means the latest version of Android it can get will be Android 15, if the release cycle Android’s annual report maintains its course. Google will also support the Pixel 6 with security updates until October 2026.

Samsung is also promising to deliver three generations of Android OS upgrades, which means the Galaxy S21 FE will also receive Android 15. Security updates will be delivered until at least 2026.

Winner: Tie

Price and value

It feels like you get fewer higher quality features with the Pixel 6, while you get more features with the Galaxy S21 FE that are fine, but not as high quality.

The main element of the Galaxy S21 is its extra zoom camera. Whether it’s worth the extra $100 will be up to you and your needs.

Winner: Google Pixel 6

The verdict

Google’s Pixel 6 is the phone to get here, but the Galaxy S21 FE is still a good phone, if a bit overpriced.

We recommend the Google Pixel 6 over the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE for its superior battery life, display and cameras.

That said, the Galaxy S21 FE will serve those who specifically want zoom for sharper shots of subjects further away. For those folks, that alone may justify the $100 premium over the starting price of the Pixel 6.