Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S21 and Xiaomi Mi 9T - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Xiaomi Mi 9T

65 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S21
VS
47 out 100
Xiaomi Mi 9T
Samsung Galaxy S21
Xiaomi Mi 9T

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S21 Manufactured in February, 2021, with display 6.2 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100, vs Xiaomi Mi 9T, Manufactured in June, 2019with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 730. 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 S21
  • Higher pixel density: 421ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 191g
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose Xiaomi Mi 9T
  • Larger display: 6.39in

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S21 and Xiaomi Mi 9T
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 S21
vs
Xiaomi Mi 9T

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED AMOLED
Size 6.2 in 6.39 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 421 ppi 403 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (48-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 800 nits 430 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10
Screen-to-body ratio 85.9 % 86.1 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
Xiaomi Mi 9T
646 nits
sRGB gamut99.5 %95.1 %
PWM (Flicker)240 Hz245 Hz
Response time5 ms3.6 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S21], [Xiaomi Mi 9T]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 151.7 mm (5.97 in) 156.7 mm (6.17 in)
Width 71.2 mm (2.8 in) 74.3 mm (2.93 in)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 in) 8.8 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 169 g (5.96 oz) 191 g (6.74 oz)
Water resistance IP68 No
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple		 - Black
- Blue
- Red
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %
Xiaomi Mi 9T
86.1 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S21 and Xiaomi Mi 9T In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Samsung Exynos 2100 Qualcomm Snapdragon 730
Max Frequency 2900 MHz 2200 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)		 - 6/1.8 (Kryo 470 Silver (Cortex-A55))
- 2/2.2 (Kryo 470 Gold (Cortex-A76))
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 5 nm 8 nm
Neural Processor Yes Qualcomm Hexagon 688
Graphics Mali-G78 MP14 Adreno 618
GPU Cores 896 256
GPU Frequency 854 MHz 700 MHz
FLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS 358.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Xiaomi Mi 9T
670
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Xiaomi Mi 9T
1797
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)1331670
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)35931797
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
Xiaomi Mi 9T
363688
CPU253391130482
GPU28167664564
Memory15835271242
UX21036197400
NanoReview Score903780363688
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Xiaomi Mi 9T
875
Max Surface Temp.38.9 °C38.6 °C
Stability66 %99 %
Graphics Test34 fps5 fps
Graphics Score5715875
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy S21], [Xiaomi Mi 9T]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S21
13123
Xiaomi Mi 9T
8064
Writing score161019099
Web score119096144
Video editing70975542
Data manipulation101537012
NanoReview Score131238064

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 6 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2750 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		- 64 GB
- 128 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 2.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 9.0 (Upgradeable to Android 11)
OS Size 28.1 GB 11.3 GB
UI Skin One UI 6.0 MIUI 12.5

Battery

Volume 4000 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 18 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (15 W) No
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (55% in 50 min) Yes (45% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:35 h 1:25 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Xiaomi Mi 9T
21:41
Web Browsing06:01 h08:09 h
Video Playback11:06 h12:36 h
Games04:21 h04:15 h
Standby Mode95 h114 h

Main camera

Matrix 12 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 8000x6000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 1.1x Optical, 2x
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Digital
8K Recording Up to 24FPS No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 124 °
Lenses count Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 48 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Ultra-wide: 13 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix12 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX555Sony IMX582
Sensor size1/1.761/2
Pixel size1.8 μm0.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalDigital
Telephoto
Matrix64 MP8 MP
Aperturef/2.0f/2.4
Focal length28 mm53 mm
SensorSamsung Bright S5KGW2Omnivision OV8865
Sensor size1/1.721/4
Pixel size0.8 μm1.12 μm
StabilizationOpticalDigital
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP13 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.4
Focal length13 mm12 mm
SensorSony IMX563Samsung S5K3L6
Sensor size1/2.551/3.1
Pixel size1.4 μm1.12 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Xiaomi Mi 9T
n/a
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Xiaomi Mi 9T
n/a
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Xiaomi Mi 9T
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview72n/a
Zoom126n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Front camera

Matrix 10 MP 20 MP
Photo resolution 3872x2592 pixels 5184x3880 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 18 mm
Sensor Sony IMX374 Samsung S5K3T2
Sensor size 1/3.24 1/3.4
Pixel size 1.22 μm 0.8 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (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 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP LE, A2DP
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
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
NFC* Yes Yes
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 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsWCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
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 (B800/B850/B900/B1800/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)
LTE category2415
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Mono
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No Yes
Dolby Atmos Yes No
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB
Xiaomi Mi 9T
89 dB

Other

Class Flagship Mid-range
Announced January, 2021 yr May, 2019 yr
Release Date February, 2021 yr June, 2019 yr
Launch Price ($) 800 290
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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

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