Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S21

Compared 2 smartphones : Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro Manufactured in April, 2023, with display 6.67 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 732G, vs Samsung Galaxy S21, 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 Redmi Note 12 Pro
  • Larger display: 6.67in
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Infrared port
  • Includes charger
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Higher pixel density: 421ppi
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 201.8g
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Built-in eSIM

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro 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

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 Yes Dolby Vision Yes HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate 240 Hz n/a
Screen-to-body ratio 85.9 % 85.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
sRGB gamutn/a99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a240 Hz
Response timen/a5 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 164.2 mm (6.46 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 76.1 mm (3 in) 71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness 8.12 mm (0.32 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 201.8 g (7.12 oz) 169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance IP53 IP68
Back panel Plastic Plastic
Frame Plastic Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Blue
- White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro
85.9 %
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %

Performance

Testing Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 2300 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 6/1.8 (Kryo 470 Silver (Cortex-A55))
- 2/2.3 (Kryo 470 Gold (Cortex-A76))
- 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 8 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon 688 Yes
Graphics Adreno 618 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 256 896
GPU Frequency 825 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 422.4 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro
816
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro
2210
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)8161331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)22103593
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro
401378
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
CPU131820253391
GPU78131281676
Memory77130158352
UX114297210361
NanoReview Score401378903780
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro
1117
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Max Surface Temp.n/a38.9 °C
Stability99 %66 %
Graphics Test6 fps34 fps
Graphics Score11175715
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro
8987
Samsung Galaxy S21
13123
Writing score968616101
Web score777811909
Video editing62567097
Data manipulation794110153
NanoReview Score898713123

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 11 (Upgradeable to Android 13) 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 67 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 (79% in 30 min) Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time 0:48 h 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Web Browsingn/a06:01 h
Video Playbackn/a11:06 h
Gamesn/a04:21 h
Standby Moden/a95 h

Main camera

Matrix 108 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 12032x9024 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 1.1x
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Digital Optical
8K Recording No Up to 24FPS
4K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (720p) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 108 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Macro: 2 MP
Depth: 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
Matrix108 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.8
Focal lengthn/a26 mm
SensorSamsung S5KHM2Sony IMX555
Sensor size1/1.521/1.76
Pixel size0.7 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
SensorSony IMX355Sony IMX563
Sensor size1/2.81/2.55
Pixel size1.14 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Video quality
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Overall camera score
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Bokehn/a70
Previewn/a72
Zoomn/a126

Front camera

Matrix 16 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 4608x3456 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.2
Focal length n/a 26 mm
Sensor Sony IMX471 Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/3.13 1/3.24
Pixel size 1 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 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
- 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 1/2/4/5/8WCDMA 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 SupportNoYes

Sound

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

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced March, 2023 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date April, 2023 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 350 800
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 67 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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