Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy M21 and Honor X9d - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy M21 vs Honor X9d

45 out 100
Samsung Galaxy M21
VS
74 out 100
Honor X9d
Samsung Galaxy M21
Honor X9d

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy M21 Manufactured in March, 2020, with display 6.4 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 7 Octa 9611, vs Honor X9d, Manufactured in October, 2025 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4. 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 193g
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
Reasons to choose Honor X9d
  • Larger display: 6.79in
  • Higher pixel density: 427ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 8300mAh vs 6000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 4/64 GB
- 6/128 GB		 - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy M21 and Honor X9d
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.
Customize your score
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
Honor X9d

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Super AMOLED AMOLED
Size 6.4 in 6.79 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1200x2640 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.85:9
Pixel density 403 ppi 427 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes
Max brightness 630 nits 1800 nits
HDR support No Yes, HDR10
Screen-to-body ratio 84.2 % 90.8 %
Features Always-On Display - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy M21
608 nits
Honor X9d
n/a
sRGB gamut141.3 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)215 Hzn/a
Response time9 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy M21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 159 mm (6.26 in) 161.9 mm (6.37 in)
Width 75.1 mm (2.96 in) 76.1 mm (3 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 188 g (6.63 oz) 193 g (6.81 oz)
Water resistance No IP69
Back panel Plastic Plastic
Frame Plastic Plastic
Colors - Black
- Blue
- Green		 - Black
- Gold
- Green
- Brown
Fingerprint sensor Yes rear Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy M21
84.2 %
Honor X9d
90.8 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy M21 and Honor X9d In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 9611 Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4
Max Frequency 2300 MHz 2300 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (4 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.7 (Cortex-A53)
- 4/2.3 (Cortex-A73)		 - 4/1.8 (Kryo Silver (Cortex-A520))
- 3/2.2 (Kryo Gold (Cortex-A720))
- 1/2.3 (Kryo Prime (Cortex-A720))
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 10 nm 4 nm
Neural Processor Yes Hexagon
Graphics Mali-G72 MP3 Adreno 810
GPU Cores 54 256
GPU Frequency 850 MHz 895 MHz
FLOPS 113.8 GFLOPS 458.2 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy M21
514
Honor X9d
1086
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy M21
1558
Honor X9d
3103
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)5141086
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)15583103
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy M21
266455
Honor X9d
977304
CPU76468358049
GPU45756160718
Memory70269210830
UX73962247707
NanoReview Score266455977304
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy M21
816
Honor X9d
n/a
Max Surface Temp.44.1 °Cn/a
Stability73 %n/a
Graphics Test4 fpsn/a
Graphics Score816n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy M21]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 4 GB
- 6 GB		 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 1866 MHz n/a
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 64 GB
- 128 GB		256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.1UFS 3.1
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 10.0 (Upgradeable to Android 12.0) Android 15
OS Size 14.5 GB n/a
UI Skin One Ui 4.1 MagicOS 9.0

Battery

Volume 6000 mAh 8300 mAh
Max Charging Power 15 W 66 W
Battery Type Li-ion Silicon Carbon (Si/C)
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No No
Reverse Charging No Yes
Fast Charging Yes Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (25% in 30 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 2:35 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy M21
24:03
Honor X9d
n/a
Web Browsing10:07 hn/a
Video Playback13:59 hn/a
Games05:35 hn/a
Standby Mode115 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 108 MP
Photo resolution 8000x6000 pixels 12000x9000 pixels
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Digital Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (720p) n/a
Wide-angle lens 123 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Depth: 5 MP		 Standard: 108 MP
Ultra-wide: 5 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix48 MP108 MP
Aperturef/2.0f/1.8
Focal length26 mmn/a
SensorSamsung S5KGM2n/a
Sensor size1/2.01/1.67
Pixel size0.8 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationDigitalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix8 MP5 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length12 mmn/a
Sensor size1/4.0n/a
Pixel size1.12 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 20 MP 16 MP
Photo resolution 5184x3888 pixels 3456x4608 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.5
Focal length 26 mm n/a
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 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
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 5.3
Bluetooth features PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a No
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No Yes
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900n/a
3G BandsB1 (2100), B2 (1900), B5(850), B8 (900)n/a
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20/B38/B40/B41)n/a
LTE category12n/a
5G SupportNoYes

Sound

Speakers Mono n/a
3.5 mm Jack Yes No
FM Radio Yes No
Dolby Atmos Yes No
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy M21
83.8 dB
Honor X9d
n/a

Other

Class Mid-range Mid-range
Announced March, 2020 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date March, 2020 yr October, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 210 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 350
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included n/a Yes, 66 W
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Honor X9d the clear winner in this comparison.

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