Mind map/Android
Android Flagship 2021: the hardware map
A hardware map of the 2021 Android flagships: Snapdragon 888, Exynos 2100 and Google Tensor, with ranges for screens, batteries, memory and cameras.
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This mind map summarises the hardware of the Android flagship phones of 2021. The centre is the year, and each branch is a component, from the chip and memory to the screen, battery and cameras. A line with an arrow, such as 4000 mAh ↗ 6000 mAh, is a range: from the lowest figure found among that year's flagships up to the highest. A bar between values lists alternatives that exist on different phones. It covers flagships from Samsung, Google, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Honor, Sony and Asus.
Three chip families on one 5 nm process
Most 2021 Android flagships ran the Snapdragon 888, which pairs a Cortex-X1 prime core at 2.84 GHz with Adreno 660 graphics and an X60 5G modem. The 888+ raised the prime core to 2.995 GHz and appeared in the ROG Phone 5s, Honor Magic3 series, Xiaomi Mix 4 and vivo X70 Pro+. Samsung's Exynos 2100 powered the international Galaxy S21 series, and Google's first Tensor chip arrived in the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro with two X1 cores instead of one.
All three chips are made on a Samsung 5 nm process. Memory was LPDDR5, from 8 GB to 18 GB, with UFS 3.1 storage from 128 GB to 512 GB.
Screens, batteries and charging
Screens ran from 5.9 inches on the Zenfone 8 to 6.81 inches on the Xiaomi Mi 11 family, with a 7.6-inch inner display on the Galaxy Z Fold3. Refresh rates went from 90 Hz on the Pixel 6 to 144 Hz on the ROG Phone 5. The OnePlus 9 Pro and Oppo Find X3 Pro advertised LTPO panels that drop to 1 Hz, while the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Pixel 6 Pro went down to 10 Hz. Sony's Xperia 1 III used a 4K panel at 643 ppi.
Batteries ran from 4,000 mAh to 6,000 mAh. Wired charging went from 21 W on the Pixel 6 to 120 W on the Xiaomi Mix 4; wireless charging from about 10 W to 67 W on the Mi 11 Ultra. Reverse wireless charging, where rated, ran from 4.5 W to 10 W.
What was dropped and what was added
The Galaxy S21 series, Pixel 6 and OnePlus 9 Pro have no microSD slot. Only Sony's Xperia 1 III and 5 III kept one, with support up to 1 TB. The 3.5 mm headphone jack survived on the Sony Xperias, the ROG Phone 5 family and the Zenfone 8. Wi-Fi 6E appeared on phones such as the Pixel 6, Galaxy S21 Ultra and Mi 11 Ultra, and UWB on the Galaxy S21+, S21 Ultra, Z Fold3 and Pixel 6 Pro.
Main cameras reached 108 MP, the S21 Ultra added a 10x periscope lens, and 8K video topped out at 30 fps. The Galaxy Z Fold3 and Xiaomi Mix 4 hid the selfie camera under the display. Android 12 shipped only on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro; the other flagships launched with Android 11.
FAQ
Questions about this map
Short answers to what readers ask about it.
Mostly the Snapdragon 888 and its 888+ refresh, both built on 5 nm with a Cortex-X1 prime core. Samsung used its own Exynos 2100 in the international Galaxy S21 series, and Google's first Tensor chip powered the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.
Did 2021 flagships still have microSD slots or headphone jacks?
Rarely. Sony's Xperia 1 III and 5 III kept a microSD slot that supports cards up to 1 TB. The 3.5 mm jack remained on the Sony Xperias, the ROG Phone 5 family and the Zenfone 8. The Galaxy S21, Pixel 6 and OnePlus 9 Pro had neither.
How fast could 2021 Android flagships charge?
Wired charging ranged from 21 W on the Pixel 6 to 120 W on the Xiaomi Mix 4. Wireless charging ran from about 10 W up to 67 W on the Mi 11 Ultra. Battery capacities ranged from 4,000 mAh to 6,000 mAh, the largest being the ROG Phone 5 family.
Which Android version did 2021 flagships ship with?
Almost all launched with Android 11. The exceptions were the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, announced in October 2021, which shipped with Android 12 and Google's first Tensor chip instead of a Snapdragon.