Home Phone comparison Xiaomi Poco X5 and Samsung Galaxy S21 - Which is better?

Xiaomi Poco X5 vs Samsung Galaxy S21

54 out 100
Xiaomi Poco X5
VS
65 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S21
Xiaomi Poco X5
Samsung Galaxy S21

Compared 2 smartphones : Xiaomi Poco X5 Manufactured in February, 2023, with display 6.67 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 695, 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 Poco X5
  • Larger display: 6.67in
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.1 vs 5
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Higher pixel density: 421ppi
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 189g
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Xiaomi Poco X5 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 Poco X5
vs
Samsung Galaxy S21

Display

Display quality comparison
Type AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.67 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
Pixel density 395 ppi 421 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness 700 nits 800 nits
HDR support No Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 84.9 % 85.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Xiaomi Poco X5
725 nits
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
sRGB gamut99.3 %99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)486 Hz240 Hz
Response time1 ms5 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Xiaomi Poco X5], [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 165.88 mm (6.53 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 76.21 mm (3 in) 71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness 7.98 mm (0.31 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 189 g (6.67 oz) 169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance IP53 IP68
Back panel Plastic Plastic
Frame Plastic Metal
Colors - Black
- Blue
- Green		 - White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Xiaomi Poco X5
84.9 %
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %

Performance

Testing Xiaomi Poco X5 and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 2200 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 6/1.8 (Kryo 660 Silver (Cortex-A55))
- 2/2.2 (Kryo 660 Gold (Cortex-A78))		 - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 6 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon 686 Yes
Graphics Adreno 619 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 256 896
GPU Frequency 950 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 430.1 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Xiaomi Poco X5
888
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Xiaomi Poco X5
1918
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)8881331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)19183593
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Xiaomi Poco X5
440731
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
CPU155778253391
GPU81807281676
Memory96142158352
UX107004210361
NanoReview Score440731903780
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Xiaomi Poco X5
1204
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Max Surface Temp.35.2 °C38.9 °C
Stability99 %66 %
Graphics Test7 fps34 fps
Graphics Score12045715
Sources: 3DMark [Xiaomi Poco X5], [Samsung Galaxy S21]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Xiaomi Poco X5
9182
Samsung Galaxy S21
13123
Writing score1241016101
Web score841811909
Video editing46847097
Data manipulation809910153
NanoReview Score918213123

Memory

RAM
RAM Size - 6 GB
- 8 GB		 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.2UFS 3.1
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 12 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size 17 GB 28.1 GB
UI Skin HyperOS 1.0 One UI 6.0

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 33 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (63% in 30 min) Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time 1:06 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Xiaomi Poco X5
21:22
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Web Browsing07:11 h06:01 h
Video Playback11:58 h11:06 h
Games04:56 h04:21 h
Standby Mode120 h95 h

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8000x6000 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 1.1x
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Digital Optical
8K Recording No Up to 24FPS
4K Recording No Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 120 fps (720p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 118 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Macro: 2 MP		 Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix48 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal lengthn/a26 mm
SensorOmniVision OV48BSony IMX555
Sensor size1/2.01/1.76
Pixel size0.8 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationDigitalOptical
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
Matrix8 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
SensorOmniVisionSony IMX563
Sensor size1/4.41/2.55
Pixel size1 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Xiaomi Poco X5
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Video quality
Xiaomi Poco X5
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Overall camera score
Xiaomi Poco X5
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Bokehn/a70
Previewn/a72
Zoomn/a126
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Front camera

Matrix 13 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 4208x3120 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.5 f/2.2
Focal length n/a 26 mm
Sensor Samsung 3L6 Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/3 1/3.24
Pixel size 1.12 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 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- 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 5.1 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		 - 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 SlotYesNo
2G BandsGSM 850 900 1800 1900MHzGSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsWCDMA B1/2/4/5/8WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B20/B28/B38/B40/B41/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 category1824
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Mono Stereo
3.5 mm Jack Yes No
FM Radio Yes No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Xiaomi Poco X5
93 dB
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced February, 2023 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date February, 2023 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 250 800
Sensors - 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 33 W n/a
* 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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