Home Phone comparison Xiaomi 12 and Samsung Galaxy S21 - Which is better?

Xiaomi 12 vs Samsung Galaxy S21

65 out 100
Xiaomi 12
VS
65 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S21
Xiaomi 12
Samsung Galaxy S21

Compared 2 smartphones : Xiaomi 12 Manufactured in December, 2021, with display 6.28 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, vs Samsung Galaxy S21, Manufactured in February, 2021with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100. 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 Xiaomi 12
  • Larger display: 6.28in
  • Higher battery capacity: 4500mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.2 vs 5
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Higher pixel density: 421ppi
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 180g
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Xiaomi 12 and Samsung Galaxy S21
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:
Xiaomi 12
vs
Samsung Galaxy S21

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.28 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
Pixel density 419 ppi 421 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness 500 nits 800 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 480 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 89.3 % 85.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Xiaomi 12
887 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
sRGB gamutn/a99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a240 Hz
Response timen/a5 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 152.7 mm (6.01 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 69.9 mm (2.75 in) 71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness 8.16 mm (0.32 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 180 g (6.35 oz) 169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance No IP68
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Blue
- Pink		 - White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Xiaomi 12
89.3 %
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %

Performance

Testing Xiaomi 12 and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 3000 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Cortex-A510)
- 3/2.5 (Cortex-A710)
- 1/3 (Cortex-X2)		 - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 4 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Yes
Graphics Adreno 730 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 1024 896
GPU Frequency 818 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 1675.3 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Xiaomi 12
1702
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Xiaomi 12
3977
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)17021331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)39773593
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Xiaomi 12]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Xiaomi 12
1187033
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
CPU308025253391
GPU439066281676
Memory237645158352
UX212297210361
NanoReview Score1187033903780
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Xiaomi 12
8751
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Max Surface Temp.n/a38.9 °C
Stability60 %66 %
Graphics Test52 fps34 fps
Graphics Score87515715
Sources: 3DMark [Xiaomi 12], [Samsung Galaxy S21]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Xiaomi 12
12987
Samsung Galaxy S21
13123
Writing score1484016101
Web score1153411909
Video editing74527097
Data manipulation964310153
NanoReview Score1298713123

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 8 GB
- 12 GB		 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 12 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size n/a 28.1 GB
UI Skin HyperOS 1.0 One UI 6.0

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 67 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (50 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (87% in 30 min) Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time 0:46 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Xiaomi 12
15:58
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Web Browsing06:17 h06:01 h
Video Playback10:46 h11:06 h
Games04:42 h04:21 h
Standby Mode71 h95 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 1.1x
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Up to 24FPS Up to 24FPS
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 1920 fps (720p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 13 MP
Macro: 5 MP		 Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.8
Focal length26 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX766Sony IMX555
Sensor size1/1.561/1.76
Pixel size1 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a64 MP
Aperturen/af/2.0
Focal lengthn/a28 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung Bright S5KGW2
Sensor sizen/a1/1.72
Pixel sizen/a0.8 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix13 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.2
Focal length12 mm13 mm
SensorOmniVision OV13B10Sony IMX563
Sensor size1/3.061/2.55
Pixel size1.12 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Xiaomi 12
118
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Video quality
Xiaomi 12
121
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Overall camera score
Xiaomi 12
113
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Bokeh5570
Preview6972
Zoom72126
Sources: DxOMark [Xiaomi 12], [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Front camera

Matrix 32 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 6528x4896 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor OmniVision OV32B40 Sony IMX374
Sensor size n/a 1/3.24
Pixel size 0.7 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.2 5
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- NAVIC		 - 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 *NoYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850 900 1800 1900 MHzGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsWCDMA B1/2/4/5/6/8/19WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B66)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)
LTE category2024
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Xiaomi 12
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced December, 2021 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date December, 2021 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 580 800
Sensors - Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included Yes 67 W n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

No clear favorite identified yet; updates may follow as new data arrives.

Survey

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Total Votes: 2

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