Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Xiaomi Poco C85

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.8 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs Xiaomi Poco C85, Manufactured in September, 2025 with chipsetMediaTek Helio G81 Ultra. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
  • Higher pixel density: 515ppi
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose Xiaomi Poco C85
  • Larger display: 6.9in
  • Lighter design: 205g vs 227g
  • Higher battery capacity: 6000mAh vs 5000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5.2
  • Includes charger

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/128 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/256 GB
- 16/512 GB
- 6/128 GB
- 8/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Xiaomi Poco C85
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

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED IPS LCD
Size 6.8 in 6.9 in
Resolution 1440x3200 pixels 720x1600 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
Pixel density 515 ppi 254 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (10-120 Hz) Yes (60-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1500 nits 810 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ No
Screen-to-body ratio 89.5 % 84.3 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
n/a
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1019 nits
Xiaomi Poco C85
n/a

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 165.1 mm (6.5 in) 171.56 mm (6.75 in)
Width 75.6 mm (2.98 in) 79.47 mm (3.13 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 7.99 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 227 g (8.01 oz) 205 g (7.23 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP64
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Metal Plastic
Colors - Black
- Silver
- Gray
- Blue
- Black
- Green
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Button
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
89.5 %
Xiaomi Poco C85
84.3 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Xiaomi Poco C85 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 MediaTek Helio G81 Ultra
Max Frequency 2900 MHz 2000 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
- 6/1.7 (Cortex-A55)
- 2/2 (Cortex-A75)
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 12 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
Graphics Mali-G78 MP14 Mali-G52 MP2
GPU Cores 896 48
GPU Frequency 854 MHz 820 MHz
FLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS 78.7 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
1449
Xiaomi Poco C85
408
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
3892
Xiaomi Poco C85
1375
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)1449408
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)38921375
Geekbench Compute (GPU)n/a971
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
843008
Xiaomi Poco C85
272913
CPU23235882711
GPU25635634920
Memory16300769962
UX19121785320
NanoReview Score843008272913
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
5221
Xiaomi Poco C85
n/a
Max Surface Temp.40.8 °Cn/a
Stability69 %n/a
Graphics Test31 fpsn/a
Graphics Score5221n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 12 GB
- 16 GB
6 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz 1800 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
128 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1eMMC 5.1
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 15
OS Size 26.4 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 6 HyperOS 2.0

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 6000 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 33 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) No
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes
Fast Charging Yes (54% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 31 min)
Full Charge Time 1:11 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
22:05
Xiaomi Poco C85
n/a
Web Browsing07:58 hn/a
Video Playback13:59 hn/a
Games05:14 hn/a
Standby Mode111 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 108 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 12000x9000 pixels 8160x6144 pixels
Zoom Optical, 10x Digital
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Digital
8K Recording Up to 24FPS No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) No
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) n/a
Wide-angle lens 120 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 108 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 50 MP
Depth
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix108 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mm28 mm
SensorSamsung S5KHM3n/a
Sensor size1/1.331/2
Pixel size0.8 μmn/a
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalDigital
Telephoto
Matrix10 MPn/a
Aperturef/4.9n/a
Focal length240 mmn/a
SensorSamsung S5K3J1n/a
Sensor size1/2.65n/a
Pixel size1.22 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length13 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX563n/a
Sensor size1/2.55n/a
Pixel size1.4 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
121
Xiaomi Poco C85
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
100
Xiaomi Poco C85
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
115
Xiaomi Poco C85
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview67n/a
Zoom106n/a

Front camera

Matrix 40 MP 8 MP
Photo resolution 7864x5200 pixels n/a
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length 26 mm n/a
Sensor Samsung S5KGH1 CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.65 1/4.0
Pixel size 0.7 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus No
Stabilization Digital No
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
133
Xiaomi Poco C85
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
140
Xiaomi Poco C85
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.2 5.4
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a No
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Varies by region
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHzGSM 2/3/5/8
3G BandsWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8WCDMA 1/2/4/5/8/6/19
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B38/B40/B41/B66)
LTE category24n/a
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No Yes
Dolby Atmos Yes No
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
88 dB
Xiaomi Poco C85
n/a

Other

Class Flagship Budget
Announced January, 2021 yr September, 2025 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr September, 2025 yr
Launch Price ($) 1200 n/a
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included n/a Yes, 33 W
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra the clear winner in this comparison.

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