Xiaomi 13 vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus

Compared 2 smartphones : Xiaomi 13 Manufactured in December, 2022, with display 6.36 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus, Manufactured in February, 2021with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Xiaomi 13
  • Higher pixel density: 414ppi
  • Lighter design: 189g vs 200g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
  • Larger display: 6.7in
  • Higher battery capacity: 4800mAh vs 4500mAh
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Xiaomi 13 and Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
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 AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.36 in 6.7 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
Pixel density 414 ppi 394 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1900 nits 1300 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 89.4 % 88.7 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Xiaomi 13
1251 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
879 nits
sRGB gamut98.6 %98.9 %
PWM (Flicker)488 Hz240 Hz
Response time1 ms6.2 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 152.8 mm (6.02 in) 161.5 mm (6.36 in)
Width 71.5 mm (2.81 in) 75.6 mm (2.98 in)
Thickness 7.98 mm (0.31 in) 7.8 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 189 g (6.67 oz) 200 g (7.05 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Green
- Black
- Silver
- Gold
- Red
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Xiaomi 13
89.4 %
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
88.7 %

Performance

Testing Xiaomi 13 and Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 3200 MHz 2840 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
1974
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
1428
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Xiaomi 13
5320
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
3840
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)19741428
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)53203840
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Xiaomi 13
1552567
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
919348
CPU378705262973
GPU601199294382
Memory291189147307
UX281474214686
NanoReview Score1552567919348
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Xiaomi 13
12660
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
5538
Max Surface Temp.34.9 °C41.5 °C
Stability84 %67 %
Graphics Test75 fps33 fps
Graphics Score126605538

Memory

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

Software

OS Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 15) Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size 31.5 GB 27.2 GB
UI Skin HyperOS 2.0 One UI 6

Battery

Volume 4500 mAh 4800 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 Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (83% in 30 min) Yes (54% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 0:42 h 1:12 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Xiaomi 13
24:59
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
20:53
Web Browsing09:47 h07:28 h
Video Playback14:15 h13:15 h
Games05:57 h05:04 h
Standby Mode127 h105 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3.2x 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 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal length23 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX800Sony IMX555
Sensor size1/1.491/1.76
Pixel size1 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix10 MP64 MP
Aperturef/2.0f/2.0
Focal length75 mm28 mm
SensorSamsung S5K3K1Samsung Bright S5KGW2
Sensor size1/3.751/1.72
Pixel size1 μm0.8 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length15 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 13
131
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
129
Video quality
Xiaomi 13
121
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
137
Overall camera score
Xiaomi 13
130
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
133
Bokeh5570
Preview6872
Zoom131126

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 Omnivision OV32C Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/3.14 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 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

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 2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
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 *YesYes
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/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B48/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 13
91.4 dB
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus
87.8 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced December, 2022 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date December, 2022 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 999 1000
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 67 W n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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

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