Home Phone comparison Xiaomi 13 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S21 - Which is better?

Xiaomi 13 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S21

81 out 100
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
VS
65 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S21
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S21

Compared 2 smartphones : Xiaomi 13 Ultra Manufactured in April, 2023, with display 6.73 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, vs Samsung Galaxy S21, Manufactured in February, 2021 with 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 13 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.73in
  • Higher pixel density: 522ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 227g
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB
- 16/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB		 - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Xiaomi 13 Ultra 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 13 Ultra
vs
Samsung Galaxy S21

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.73 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1440x3200 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
Pixel density 522 ppi 421 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1300 nits 800 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 89.7 % 85.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
1201 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
sRGB gamut97.4 %99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)120 Hz240 Hz
Response time1 ms5 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Xiaomi 13 Ultra], [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 163.18 mm (6.42 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 74.64 mm (2.94 in) 71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness 9.06 mm (0.36 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 227 g (8.01 oz) 169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Eco Leather Plastic
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Green		 - White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
89.7 %
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %

Performance

Testing Xiaomi 13 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 3200 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 2 + 2 + 3) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 3/2 (Cortex-A510)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A710)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A715)
- 1/3.2 (Cortex-X3)		 - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 4 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Yes
Graphics Adreno 740 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 1536 896
GPU Frequency 680 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 2089 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
1995
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
5419
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)19951331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)54193593
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
1524921
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
CPU389140253391
GPU596405281676
Memory297015158352
UX242361210361
NanoReview Score1524921903780
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
11992
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Max Surface Temp.52 °C38.9 °C
Stability89 %66 %
Graphics Test71 fps34 fps
Graphics Score119925715
Sources: 3DMark [Xiaomi 13 Ultra], [Samsung Galaxy S21]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
13123
Writing scoren/a16101
Web scoren/a11909
Video editingn/a7097
Data manipulationn/a10153
NanoReview Scoren/a13123

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 12 GB
- 16 GB		 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1024 GB		- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 13 (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 5000 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 90 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (50 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging Yes Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (58% in 15 min) Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time 0:40 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
23:30
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Web Browsing09:36 h06:01 h
Video Playback13:10 h11:06 h
Games05:28 h04:21 h
Standby Mode117 h95 h

Main camera

Matrix 503 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 5x 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 (1080p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 122 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50.3 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Depth		 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
Matrix503 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.9 - 4.0f/1.8
Focal length23 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX989Sony IMX555
Sensor size1/11/1.76
Pixel size1.6 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix50 MP64 MP
Aperturef/3.0f/2.0
Focal length120 mm28 mm
SensorSony IMX858Samsung Bright S5KGW2
Sensor size1/2.511/1.72
Pixel size0.64 μm0.8 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix50 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/2.2
Focal length12 mm13 mm
SensorSony IMX858Sony IMX563
Sensor size1/2.511/2.55
Pixel size0.64 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
138
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Video quality
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
137
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Overall camera score
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
140
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Bokeh6570
Preview7272
Zoom147126
Sources: DxOMark [Xiaomi 13 Ultra], [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Front camera

Matrix 32 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 6528x4896 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 22 mm 26 mm
Sensor CMOS Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/3.14 1/3.24
Pixel size 0.7 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus 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
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
123
Samsung Galaxy S21
n/a
Video quality
Xiaomi 13 Ultra
137
Samsung Galaxy S21
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) 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 5.3 5
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes DP 1.2 n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- 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 B3 / B5 / B8GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsWCDMA B1 / B4 / B5 / B6 / B8 / B19WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B26/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42)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 13 Ultra
89.5 dB
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced April, 2023 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date April, 2023 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 1499 800
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included Yes 90 W n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Xiaomi 13 Ultra the clear winner in this comparison.

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