Xiaomi 12 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S21

79 out of 100

70 out of 100

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.73-inch Xiaomi 12 Pro (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1) that was released on December 28, 2021, against the Samsung Galaxy S21, which is powered by Exynos 2100 and came out 12 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Differences
Review
Specs
Benchmarks
Battery life
Camera
Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone

Reasons to consider the Xiaomi 12 Pro

Has a 0.53 inch larger screen size
Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
Supports higher wattage charging (120W versus 25W)
44% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1162K versus 806K)
The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
Comes with 600 mAh larger battery capacity: 4600 vs 4000 mAh
Delivers 22% higher peak brightness (1055 against 864 nits)
Slow-motion recording at 1920FPS
24% higher pixel density (521 vs 421 PPI)
The phone is 1-year newer
Has a built-in infrared port

Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21

Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
More recent OS version: Android 13 versus 12
Weighs 35 grams less
The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
Ready for eSIM technology

Review

Evaluation of Xiaomi 12 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	AMOLED	Dynamic AMOLED
Size	6.73 inches	6.2 inches
Resolution	1440 x 3200 pixels	1080 x 2400 pixels
Aspect ratio	20:9	20:9
PPI	521 ppi	421 ppi
Refresh rate	120 Hz	120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	Yes	No
Max rated brightness	970 nits	800 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR	1500 nits	-
HDR support	Yes, Dolby Vision	Yes, HDR10+
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass Victus	Gorilla Glass Victus
Screen-to-body ratio	89.6%	87.2%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display

RGB color space	99.8%	99.5%
PWM	367 Hz	240 Hz
Response time	5 ms	5 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Height	163.6 mm (6.44 inches)	151.7 mm (5.97 inches)
Width	74.6 mm (2.94 inches)	71.2 mm (2.8 inches)
Thickness	8.66 mm (0.34 inches)	7.9 mm (0.31 inches)
Weight	204 g (7.2 oz)	169 g (5.96 oz)
Waterproof	No	IP68
Advanced cooling	Vapor chamber	-
Rear material	Glass	Plastic
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	Black, Blue, Green, Pink	White, Gray, Pink, Purple
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in-display	Yes, in-display

Chipset	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1	Samsung Exynos 2100
Max clock	3000 MHz	2900 MHz
CPU cores	8 (1 + 3 + 4)	8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture	- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A510 - 3 cores at 2.5 GHz: Cortex-A710 - 1 core at 3 GHz: Cortex-X2	- 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 3 cores at 2.81 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X1
L3 cache	6 MB	-
Lithography process	4 nanometers	5 nanometers
Graphics	Adreno 730	Mali-G78 MP14
GPU shading units	1536	896
GPU clock	818 MHz	854 MHz
FLOPS	~2512.8 GFLOPS	~1530.4 GFLOPS

CPU	310850	150223
GPU	404697	340353
Memory	206389	151885
UX	238519	158712
Total score	1162829	806977

Max surface temperature	41.2 °C	38.9 °C
Stability	68%	66%
Graphics test	55 FPS	34 FPS
Graphics score	9302	5714

Web score	11824	12591
Video editing	7637	7113
Photo editing	29183	29385
Data manipulation	9393	10438
Writing score	14790	16561

RAM size	8, 12 GB	8 GB
Memory type	LPDDR5	LPDDR5
Memory clock	3200 MHz	2750 MHz
Channels	2	2

Storage size	128, 256 GB	128, 256 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.1	UFS 3.1
Memory card	No	No

Operating system	Android 12	Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)
ROM	MIUI 13	One UI 5.1
OS size	26.5 GB	28.1 GB

Capacity	4600 mAh	4000 mAh
Max charge power	120 W	25 W
Battery type	Li-Po	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes (50 W)	Yes (15 W)
Reverse charging	Yes, (wireless)	Yes, (wireless)
Fast charging	Yes (50% in 8 min)	Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full charging time	0:21 hr	1:35 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	08:57 hr	07:27 hr
Watching video	10:04 hr	12:26 hr
Gaming	05:05 hr	04:31 hr
Standby	89 hr	92 hr

Main camera
Matrix	50 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	8700 x 5800	4000 x 3000
Zoom	Optical, 2x	Optical, 1.1x
Flash	Dual LED	Dual LED
Stabilization	Optical	Optical
8K video recording	Up to 24FPS	Up to 24FPS
4K video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
Slow motion	1920 FPS (720p)	960 FPS (720p)
Angle of widest lens	115°	120°
Lenses	3 (50 MP + 50 MP + 50 MP)	3 (12 MP + 64 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens	- 50 MP - Aperture: f/1.9 - Focal length: 24 mm - Pixel size: 1.22 micron - Sensor: 1/1.28", Sony IMX707 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.76", Sony IMX555 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens	- 50 MP - Aperture: f/1.9 - Focal length: 48 mm - Pixel size: 0.64 micron - Sensor: 1/2.76", Samsung JN1 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Phase autofocus	- 64 MP - Aperture: f/2.0 - Focal length: 28 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.72", Samsung Bright S5KGW2 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization
Ultra-wide lens	- 50 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 14 mm - Pixel size: 0.64 micron - Sensor: 1/2.76", Samsung JN1 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS)	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX563 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support
Samples	Photo samples of Xiaomi 12 Pro from DxOMark	Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 from DxOMark

Selfie camera
Megapixels	32 megapixels	10 megapixels
Image resolution	6528 x 4896	3872 x 2592
Aperture	f/2.5	f/2.2
Focal length	26 mm	26 mm
Pixel size	0.7 microns	1.22 microns
Sensor type	CMOS	CMOS
Sensor size	1/3.14"	1/3.24"
Video resolution	1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS

Wi-Fi standard	Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)	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	5.2	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

Number of SIM *	2	2
Type of SIM card	Nano	Nano
Multi SIM mode	Standby	Standby
eSIM support *	No	Yes
Hybrid slot	No	No
LTE Cat *	20	24
5G support	Yes	Yes

Speakers	Stereo	Stereo
Headphone audio jack	No	No
FM radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	December 2021	January 2021
Release date	December 2021	February 2021
SAR (head)	-	0.46 W/kg
SAR (body)	-	1.51 W/kg
Sensors	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint	- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint
Bundled charger	Yes, 120 W	-

Xiaomi 12 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S21

Xiaomi 12 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S21

Key differences

Review

Value for money

Tests and specifications

Display

Design and build

Performance

Benchmarks

Memory

Software

Battery

Camera

DxOMark camera tests

Connectivity

Sound

Other

Conclusion