Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy M21 and Apple iPhone XS Max - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy M21 vs Apple iPhone XS Max

45 out 100
Samsung Galaxy M21
VS
54 out 100
Apple iPhone XS Max
Samsung Galaxy M21
Apple iPhone XS Max

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy M21 Manufactured in March, 2020, with display 6.4 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 7 Octa 9611, vs Apple iPhone XS Max, Manufactured in September, 2018 with chipsetApple A12 Bionic. 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 Samsung Galaxy M21
  • Lighter design: 188g vs 208g
  • Higher battery capacity: 6000mAh vs 3174mAh
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone XS Max
  • Larger display: 6.5in
  • Higher pixel density: 456ppi
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 4/64 GB
- 6/128 GB		 - 4/64 GB
- 4/256 GB
- 4/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy M21 and Apple iPhone XS Max
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
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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:
Samsung Galaxy M21
vs
Apple iPhone XS Max

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Super AMOLED OLED
Size 6.4 in 6.5 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1242x2688 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.4:9
Pixel density 403 ppi 456 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 630 nits 625 nits
HDR support No Yes Dolby Vision
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 120 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 84.2 % 85.4 %
Features Always-On Display DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy M21
608 nits
Apple iPhone XS Max
657 nits
sRGB gamut141.3 %98.8 %
PWM (Flicker)215 Hz240 Hz
Response time9 ms11.2 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy M21], [Apple iPhone XS Max]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 159 mm (6.26 in) 157.5 mm (6.2 in)
Width 75.1 mm (2.96 in) 77.4 mm (3.05 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 7.7 mm (0.3 in)
Weight 188 g (6.63 oz) 208 g (7.34 oz)
Water resistance No IP68
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Plastic Metal
Colors - Black
- Blue
- Green		 - Silver
- Gold
- Gray
Fingerprint sensor Yes rear No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy M21
84.2 %
Apple iPhone XS Max
85.4 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy M21 and Apple iPhone XS Max In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 9611 Apple A12 Bionic
Max Frequency 2300 MHz 2490 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (4 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.7 (Cortex-A53)
- 4/2.3 (Cortex-A73)		 - 4/1.6 (Tempest)
- 2/2.49 (Vortex)
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 10 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Yes Neural Engine
Graphics Mali-G72 MP3 Apple A12 GPU
GPU Cores 54 256
GPU Frequency 850 MHz 1100 MHz
FLOPS 113.8 GFLOPS 576 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy M21
514
Apple iPhone XS Max
1310
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy M21
1558
Apple iPhone XS Max
3458
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)5141310
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)15583458
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy M21
266455
Apple iPhone XS Max
700191
CPU76468198067
GPU45756185355
Memory70269152138
UX73962164631
NanoReview Score266455700191
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy M21
816
Apple iPhone XS Max
5703
Max Surface Temp.44.1 °C45.2 °C
Stability73 %66 %
Graphics Test4 fps34 fps
Graphics Score8165703
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy M21], [Apple iPhone XS Max]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 4 GB
- 6 GB		 4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 1866 MHz n/a
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 64 GB
- 128 GB		- 64 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.1NVMe
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 10.0 (Upgradeable to Android 12.0) iOS 12 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2)
OS Size 14.5 GB 16 GB
UI Skin One Ui 4.1 n/a

Battery

Volume 6000 mAh 3174 mAh
Max Charging Power 15 W 18 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes Qi (10 W)
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (25% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 2:35 h 03:29 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy M21
24:03
Apple iPhone XS Max
17:28
Web Browsing10:07 h06:43 h
Video Playback13:59 h10:28 h
Games05:35 h04:11 h
Standby Mode115 h87 h

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8000x6000 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 2x
Flash LED Quad LED
Stabilization Digital Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Depth: 5 MP		 Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix48 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.0f/1.8
Focal length26 mm28 mm
SensorSamsung S5KGM2Apple iSight X
Sensor size1/2.01/2.5
Pixel size0.8 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationDigitalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a12 MP
Aperturen/af/2.4
Focal lengthn/a52 mm
Sensor sizen/a1/3.4
Pixel sizen/a1 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix8 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length12 mmn/a
Sensor size1/4.0n/a
Pixel size1.12 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy M21
n/a
Apple iPhone XS Max
110
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy M21
n/a
Apple iPhone XS Max
96
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy M21
n/a
Apple iPhone XS Max
105
Sources: DxOMark [Apple iPhone XS Max]

Front camera

Matrix 20 MP 7 MP
Photo resolution 5184x3888 pixels 3088x2316 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 32 mm
Sensor CMOS BSI CMOS
Autofocus No Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy M21
n/a
Apple iPhone XS Max
97
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy M21
n/a
Apple iPhone XS Max
119

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		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C No
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*21
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsB1 (2100), B2 (1900), B5(850), B8 (900)HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20/B38/B40/B41)LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2600)
LTE category1216
5G SupportNoNo

Sound

Speakers Mono Stereo
3.5 mm Jack Yes No
FM Radio Yes No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy M21
83.8 dB
Apple iPhone XS Max
77.2 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced March, 2020 yr September, 2018 yr
Release Date March, 2020 yr September, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 210 1100
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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