Home Phone comparison Huawei Honor X9a and Samsung Galaxy M21 - Which is better?

Huawei Honor X9a vs Samsung Galaxy M21

52 out 100
Huawei Honor X9a
VS
45 out 100
Samsung Galaxy M21
Huawei Honor X9a
Samsung Galaxy M21

Compared 2 smartphones : Huawei Honor X9a Manufactured in January, 2023, with display 6.67 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 695, vs Samsung Galaxy M21, Manufactured in March, 2020 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 7 Octa 9611. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Huawei Honor X9a
  • Larger display: 6.67in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 175g vs 188g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.1 vs 5
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy M21
  • Higher pixel density: 403ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 6000mAh vs 5100mAh
  • Supports Dolby Atmos

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 6/128 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB		 - 4/64 GB
- 6/128 GB

Review

Key Specs Huawei Honor X9a and Samsung Galaxy M21
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
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Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
Huawei Honor X9a
vs
Samsung Galaxy M21

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED Super AMOLED
Size 6.67 in 6.4 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 395 ppi 403 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 800 nits 630 nits
HDR support No No
Touch Sampling Rate 300 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 89.9 % 84.2 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming		 Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Huawei Honor X9a
859 nits
Samsung Galaxy M21
608 nits
sRGB gamutn/a141.3 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a215 Hz
Response timen/a9 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy M21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 161.6 mm (6.36 in) 159 mm (6.26 in)
Width 73.9 mm (2.91 in) 75.1 mm (2.96 in)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 in) 8.9 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 175 g (6.17 oz) 188 g (6.63 oz)
Water resistance No No
Back panel Plastic Plastic
Frame Plastic Plastic
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Green		 - Black
- Blue
- Green
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Huawei Honor X9a
89.9 %
Samsung Galaxy M21
84.2 %

Performance

Testing Huawei Honor X9a and Samsung Galaxy M21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 9611
Max Frequency 2200 MHz 2300 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 6/1.8 (Kryo 660 Silver (Cortex-A55))
- 2/2.2 (Kryo 660 Gold (Cortex-A78))		 - 4/1.7 (Cortex-A53)
- 4/2.3 (Cortex-A73)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 6 nm 10 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon 686 Yes
Graphics Adreno 619 Mali-G72 MP3
GPU Cores 256 54
GPU Frequency 950 MHz 850 MHz
FLOPS 430.1 GFLOPS 113.8 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Huawei Honor X9a
912
Samsung Galaxy M21
514
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Huawei Honor X9a
2097
Samsung Galaxy M21
1558
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)912514
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)20971558
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Huawei Honor X9a]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Huawei Honor X9a
412091
Samsung Galaxy M21
266455
CPU12424576468
GPU8276045756
Memory9222170269
UX11286573962
NanoReview Score412091266455
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Huawei Honor X9a
n/a
Samsung Galaxy M21
816
Max Surface Temp.n/a44.1 °C
Stabilityn/a73 %
Graphics Testn/a4 fps
Graphics Scoren/a816
Sources: 3DMark [Huawei Honor X9a], [Samsung Galaxy M21]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 6 GB
- 8 GB		 - 4 GB
- 6 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		- 64 GB
- 128 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.2UFS 2.1
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS Android 12 (Upgradeable to Android 13) Android 10.0 (Upgradeable to Android 12.0)
OS Size n/a 14.5 GB
UI Skin Magic UI 7.2 One Ui 4.1

Battery

Volume 5100 mAh 6000 mAh
Max Charging Power 40 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No No
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes (57% in 30 min) Yes Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (25% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:13 h 2:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Huawei Honor X9a
25:08
Samsung Galaxy M21
24:03
Web Browsing08:51 h10:07 h
Video Playback13:56 h13:59 h
Games05:42 h05:35 h
Standby Mode139 h115 h

Main camera

Matrix 64 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 9216x6912 pixels 8000x6000 pixels
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Digital Digital
8K Recording No No
4K Recording No Yes (Up to 30 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
Slow Motion 120 fps (720p) 240 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens n/a 123 °
Lenses count Standard: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 5 MP
Macro: 2 MP		 Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Depth: 5 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix64 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/2.0
Focal lengthn/a26 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung S5KGM2
Sensor sizen/a1/2.0
Pixel size0.8 μm0.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix5 MP8 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal lengthn/a12 mm
Sensor sizen/a1/4.0
Pixel sizen/a1.12 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 16 MP 20 MP
Photo resolution 4608x3456 pixels 5184x3888 pixels
Aperture f/2.5 f/2.0
Focal length n/a 26 mm
Sensor CMOS CMOS
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5.1 5
Bluetooth features LE PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port Yes No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G Bandsn/aGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G Bandsn/aB1 (2100), B2 (1900), B5(850), B8 (900)
LTE Bands*n/aLTE (B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20/B38/B40/B41)
LTE category1812
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Mono Mono
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No Yes
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Huawei Honor X9a
n/a
Samsung Galaxy M21
83.8 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Mid-range
Announced January, 2023 yr March, 2020 yr
Release Date January, 2023 yr March, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) 350 210
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included Yes 40 W n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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