Home Phone comparison Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy M21 - Which is better?

Xiaomi 15 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy M21

95 out 100
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
VS
45 out 100
Samsung Galaxy M21
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy M21

Compared 2 smartphones : Xiaomi 15 Ultra Manufactured in February, 2025, with display 6.73 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, vs Samsung Galaxy M21, Manufactured in March, 2020 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 7 Octa 9611. 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 15 Ultra
  • Larger display: 6.73in
  • Higher pixel density: 522ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 6.0 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Infrared port
  • Built-in eSIM
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy M21
  • Lighter design: 188g vs 226g
  • Higher battery capacity: 6000mAh vs 5410mAh

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 12/256 GB
- 16/512 GB
- 16/1024 GB		 - 4/64 GB
- 6/128 GB

Review

Key Specs Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy M21
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 15 Ultra
vs
Samsung Galaxy M21

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED Super AMOLED
Size 6.73 in 6.4 in
Resolution 1440x3200 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 522 ppi 403 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (1-120 Hz) No
Max brightness n/a 630 nits
HDR support Yes Dolby Vision No
Touch Sampling Rate 300 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 90 % 84.2 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DC dimming		 Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
1599 nits
Samsung Galaxy M21
608 nits
sRGB gamut99.7 %141.3 %
PWM (Flicker)120 Hz215 Hz
Response time1 ms9 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Xiaomi 15 Ultra], [Samsung Galaxy M21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 161.3 mm (6.35 in) 159 mm (6.26 in)
Width 75.3 mm (2.96 in) 75.1 mm (2.96 in)
Thickness 9.35 mm (0.37 in) 8.9 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 226 g (7.97 oz) 188 g (6.63 oz)
Water resistance IP68 No
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Metal Plastic
Colors - White
- Black
- Silver
- Green		 - Black
- Blue
- Green
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
90 %
Samsung Galaxy M21
84.2 %

Performance

Testing Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy M21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 9611
Max Frequency 4320 MHz 2300 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 6/3.53 (Oryon (Phoenix M))
- 2/4.32 (Oryon (Phoenix L))		 - 4/1.7 (Cortex-A53)
- 4/2.3 (Cortex-A73)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 3 nm 10 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Yes
Graphics Adreno 830 Mali-G72 MP3
GPU Cores 1536 54
GPU Frequency 1100 MHz 850 MHz
FLOPS 3379.2 GFLOPS 113.8 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
3008
Samsung Galaxy M21
514
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
9065
Samsung Galaxy M21
1558
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)3008514
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)90651558
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Xiaomi 15 Ultra]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
2544373
Samsung Galaxy M21
266455
CPU55858676468
GPU104016145756
Memory52030070269
UX42532673962
NanoReview Score2544373266455
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
n/a
Samsung Galaxy M21
816
Max Surface Temp.n/a44.1 °C
Stabilityn/a73 %
Graphics Testn/a4 fps
Graphics Scoren/a816
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy M21]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 12 GB - 4 GB
- 6 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 5333 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity256 GB- 64 GB
- 128 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.1UFS 2.1
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS Android 15 Android 10.0 (Upgradeable to Android 12.0)
OS Size 23.9 GB 14.5 GB
UI Skin HyperOS 2.0 One Ui 4.1

Battery

Volume 5410 mAh 6000 mAh
Max Charging Power 90 W 15 W
Battery Type Silicon Carbon (Si/C) Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (80 W) No
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (72% in 30 min) Yes Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (25% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 0:51 h 2:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
30:03
Samsung Galaxy M21
24:03
Web Browsing12:19 h10:07 h
Video Playback18:43 h13:59 h
Games06:45 h05:35 h
Standby Mode141 h115 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 8000x6000 pixels
Zoom Optical, 4.3x Digital
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Digital
8K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
Slow Motion 1920 fps (1080p) 240 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 115 ° 123 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 200 MP
Telephoto: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 50 MP
Depth		 Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Depth: 5 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.63f/2.0
Focal length23 mm26 mm
SensorSony LYT-900Samsung S5KGM2
Sensor size1/1.01/2.0
Pixel size1.6 μm0.8 μm
AutofocusLaser autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalDigital
Telephoto
Matrix200 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.6n/a
Focal length100 mmn/a
SensorSamsung ISOCELL S5KHP9n/a
Sensor size1/1.4n/a
Pixel size0.56 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix50 MP8 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length14 mm12 mm
SensorSamsung S5KJN5n/a
Sensor size1/2.761/4.0
Pixel size0.64 μm1.12 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
158
Samsung Galaxy M21
n/a
Video quality
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
134
Samsung Galaxy M21
n/a
Overall camera score
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
153
Samsung Galaxy M21
n/a
Bokeh80n/a
Preview89n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Xiaomi 15 Ultra]

Front camera

Matrix 32 MP 20 MP
Photo resolution 6528x4896 pixels 5184x3888 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.0
Focal length 22 mm 26 mm
Sensor Omnivision OV32B CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.14 n/a
Pixel size 0.7 μm n/a
Autofocus No 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 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) 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
Bluetooth version 6.0 5
Bluetooth features LE PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes 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 *YesNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 2/3/5/8GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsWCDMA 1/2/4/5/6/8/19B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B5(850), B8 (900)
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B18/B19/B20/B26/B28/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B48/B66)LTE (B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20/B38/B40/B41)
LTE categoryn/a12
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers n/a Mono
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No Yes
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
92.1 dB
Samsung Galaxy M21
83.8 dB

Other

Class Flagship Mid-range
Announced February, 2025 yr March, 2020 yr
Release Date February, 2025 yr March, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) n/a 210
MSRP ($) 1099 n/a
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included Yes 90 W n/a

Note

Xiaomi 15 Ultra:

The Chinese version of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra has a 6000 mAh battery, while the international model comes with 5410 mAh, leading to a noticeable difference in battery life.

* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Xiaomi 15 Ultra the clear winner in this comparison.

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