Huawei Honor Play vs Samsung Galaxy M21: specs comparison

Key differences

Calculated from recorded specifications using minimum difference thresholds. These are differences, not an overall ranking. For three phones, numeric highlights compare the two extremes.

Display technology

OLED versus LCD

Honor Play:

LCD

Galaxy M21:

OLED
Weight

Honor Play: 12 g lighter

Honor Play:

176 g

Galaxy M21:

188 g
Chipset

Honor Play:

Hisilicon Kirin 970 (10 nm)

Galaxy M21:

Exynos 9611 (10nm)
Rear camera layout

Honor Play:

Dual

Galaxy M21:

Triple
Depth

Honor Play: 1.4 mm thinner

Honor Play:

7.5 mm

Galaxy M21:

8.9 mm
Release year

Honor Play:

2018

Galaxy M21:

2020

Physical size

Relative size, not calibrated actual size. Front and side outlines share one scale and a bottom baseline. Generic outlines use recorded body dimensions, excluding camera bumps.

1. Honor Play

Height:

157.9 mm
Width:

74.3 mm
Depth:

7.5 mm
2. Galaxy M21

Height:

159 mm
Width:

75.1 mm
Depth:

8.9 mm +1.4 mm versus Honor Play

Weight

Bars start at zero and share a scale within this chart.

1. Honor Play

176 g
2. Galaxy M21

188 g

+12 g versus Honor Play

Screen size

Approximate rectangular screens calculated from recorded diagonal and aspect ratio at one relative scale. Rounded corners and cutouts are not subtracted. These are not phone outlines or calibrated actual sizes.

1. Honor Play

Screen diagonal:

6.3 in

Aspect ratio (height:width):

19.5:9

Approximate rectangular screen area:

97.4 cm²
2. Galaxy M21

Screen diagonal:

6.4 in

Aspect ratio (height:width):

19.5:9

Approximate rectangular screen area:

100.5 cm²

Galaxy M21 has approximately 3.2% more rectangular screen area than Honor Play.

Memory variants

Each row compares the same storage capacity. Cells show recorded RAM alternatives, not combined maxima. Not recorded does not mean unavailable in every market.

Recorded RAM for Honor Play, Galaxy M21, compared at the same storage capacity.
Storage	Honor Play	Galaxy M21
64 GB	Unknown	4 GB RAM
128 GB	Unknown	6 GB RAM

Honor Play: Original memory entry

64 GB · 4/6 GB RAM

Practical features

Explicit Yes and No values are shown directly. Qualified or regional records retain their details. Unknown means the record is missing.

1. Honor Play

NFC:: No
Headphone jack:: Yes
Memory card support:: See details microSD · up to 256 GB (uses SIM 2 slot)

2. Galaxy M21

NFC:: Unknown
Headphone jack:: Yes
Memory card support:: See details microSDXC (dedicated slot)

Battery capacity

Capacity is not battery life. No endurance test is implied.

Recorded battery capacity

Bars start at zero and share a scale within this chart.

1. Honor Play

3750 mAh
2. Galaxy M21

6000 mAh

+2250 mAh versus Honor Play

Specifications

Open a section for more detail. On narrow screens, swipe sideways or use Left/Right arrow keys while the table is focused. Unknown means missing data, not No. Recorded zero values are shown as recorded.

1. Honor Play2. Galaxy M21

Everyday essentials

Everyday essentials — specifications for Honor Play, Galaxy M21.
Specification	Honor Play	Galaxy M21
Dimensions (HxWxD)	157.9 Х 74.3 Х 7.5 mm	159 Х 75.1 Х 8.9 mm
Weight	176 g	188 g
Technology	IPS LCD	Super AMOLED
Screen size	6.3" inch	6.4" inch
Screen resolution	1080 x 2340 px	1080 x 2340 px
Internal memory Recorded storage / RAM variants. Entries are alternatives, not a combined maximum. Ambiguous formats stay as recorded.	64 GB 4/6 GB RAM	64GB 4GB RAM 128GB 6GB RAM
Memory card support	microSD up to 256 GB (uses SIM 2 slot)	microSDXC (dedicated slot)
Battery Capacity is not battery life. No endurance test is implied.	3750 mAh Non-removable Li-Po	6000 mAh Non-removable Li-Po
Operating system OS	Android 8.1 (Oreo); EMUI 8.2	Android 10.0; One UI 2
Chipset	Hisilicon Kirin 970 (10 nm)	Exynos 9611 (10nm)
NFC	No	Unknown
Headphone jack	Yes	Yes

Display

Display — specifications for Honor Play, Galaxy M21.
Specification	Honor Play	Galaxy M21
Touchscreen	capacitive touchscreen	capacitive touchscreen
Display colors	16M	16M
Screen area	97.4 cm2	100.5 cm2
Screen format	19.5:9 (height:width)	19.5:9 (height:width)
Screen to body ratio	83.0%	84.2%
PPI /points per inch/	409 PPI	403 PPI
Screen protection	Unknown	Corning Gorilla Glass 3

Camera and Video

Camera and Video — specifications for Honor Play, Galaxy M21.
Specification	Honor Play	Galaxy M21
Rear camera, main	16 MP Dual	48 MP Triple
Camera specs	16 MP f/2.2 PDAF -2 MP f/2.4 depth sensor	48 MP f/2.0 26mm (wide) 1/2.0'' 0.8µm PDAF -8 MP f/2.2 12mm (ultrawide) 1/4.0'' 1.12µm -5 MP (depth)
Functions	LED flash HDR panorama	HDR
Video	1080p@30fps	1080p@30fps
Front camera, selfie	16 MP Single	20 MP Single
Specifications	16 MP f/2.0 1.0µm	20 MP f/2.0 26mm (wide)

Performance

Scores marked * are historical catalogue entries. Test conditions are unspecified; no new testing is implied.

Performance — specifications for Honor Play, Galaxy M21.
Specification	Honor Play	Galaxy M21
Processor CPU	Octa-core (4x2.4 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A53)	Octa-core (4x2.3 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4x1.7 GHz Cortex-A53)
Graphics processor GPU	Mali-G72 MP12	Mali-G72 MP3
Antutu 7 score *	207232	Unknown
Antutu 8 score *	226029	182451
GeekBench 5 Single Core *	349	Unknown
GeekBench 5 Multi-Core *	1241	Unknown

General specs

General specs — specifications for Honor Play, Galaxy M21.
Specification	Honor Play	Galaxy M21
Release date	2018 July	2020 March 18
Colors	Midnight Black Navy Blue Violet Player Edition Red Player Edition Black	Midnight Blue Raven Black
Historical recorded price Legacy catalogue value; date unknown. Not a current offer.	320 EUR	160 EUR
Body build	Unknown	Glass front (Gorilla Glass 3) plastic back plastic frame

Communication and Connectivity

Communication and Connectivity — specifications for Honor Play, Galaxy M21.
Specification	Honor Play	Galaxy M21
SIM card	Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM dual stand-by)	Dual SIM (Nano-SIM dual stand-by)
Network	Show all network frequencies: -2G - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 CDMA 800 & TD-SCDMA - China -3G - HSDPA 850 / 900 / 2100 -4G - LTE band 1(2100) 3(1800) 5(850) 8(900) 38(2600) 39(1900) 40(2300) 41(2500) - China	Show all network frequencies: -2G - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 -3G - HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 -4G - LTE band 1(2100) 3(1800) 5(850) 7(2600) 8(900) 20(800) 38(2600) 40(2300) 41(2500)
Speed	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps LTE-A (3CA) Cat16 1024/150 Mbps	HSPA LTE-A
GPRS	Yes	Yes
Edge	Yes	Yes
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band Wi-Fi Direct hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band Wi-Fi Direct hotspot
GPS	Yes with A-GPS GLONASS BDS	Yes with A-GPS GLONASS BDS
USB	2.0 Type-C 1.0 reversible connector	2.0 Type-C 1.0 reversible connector
Bluetooth	4.2 A2DP LE EDR aptX HD	5.0 A2DP LE
Harmful irradiation	Unknown	SAR - 0.47 W/kg (head)

Music and Audio

Music and Audio — specifications for Honor Play, Galaxy M21.
Specification	Honor Play	Galaxy M21
Radio	No	FM radio RDS recording
Others	Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic	420 nits max brightness

Other features

Other features — specifications for Honor Play, Galaxy M21.
Specification	Honor Play	Galaxy M21
Dop	Sensors Fingerprint (rear-mounted) accelerometer gyro proximity compass - Fast battery charging 18W - Versions: COR-AL00 (China); COR-AL10 (India); Global	Sensors Fingerprint (rear-mounted) accelerometer gyro proximity compass - Fast charging 15W

Huawei Honor Play vs Samsung Galaxy M21