Xiaomi Redmi 10 vs Samsung Galaxy S21
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.5-inch Xiaomi Redmi 10 (with MediaTek Helio G88) that was released on August 19, 2021, against the Samsung Galaxy S21, which is powered by Exynos 2100 and came out 8 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Xiaomi Redmi 10
- Shows 36% longer battery life (35:02 vs 25:44 hours)
- Comes with 1000 mAh larger battery capacity: 5000 vs 4000 mAh
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.1)
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 512GB
- Has a 0.3 inch larger screen size
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
- The phone is 8-months newer
- Has a built-in infrared port
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- 2.7x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (806K versus 293K)
- Delivers 81% higher peak brightness (864 against 478 nits)
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Handles wireless charging up to 15W
- Optical image stabilization
- The rear camera has a 1.1x optical zoom
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Ability to record video in 4K resolution
- More energy-efficient CPU – Exynos 2100
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Dynamic AMOLED display (versus competitor''s IPS LCD)
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | IPS LCD | Dynamic AMOLED |
| Size | 6.5 inches | 6.2 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 405 ppi | 421 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 90 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 400 nits | 800 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 83.5% | 87.2% |
| Display features | - |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | - | 99.5% |
| PWM | - | 240 Hz |
| Response time | 35.4 ms | 5 ms |
| Contrast | 2464:1 | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 161.9 mm (6.37 inches) | 151.7 mm (5.97 inches) |
| Width | 75.5 mm (2.97 inches) | 71.2 mm (2.8 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) | 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) |
| Weight | 181 g (6.38 oz) | 169 g (5.96 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | IP68 |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Metal |
| Colors | White, Gray, Blue | White, Gray, Pink, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | MediaTek Helio G88 | Samsung Exynos 2100 |
| Max clock | 2000 MHz | 2900 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 6) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 2 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A75 |
- 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 3 cores at 2.81 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
| Lithography process | 12 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G52 MP2 | Mali-G78 MP14 |
| GPU shading units | 48 | 896 |
| GPU clock | 1000 MHz | 854 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~96 GFLOPS | ~1530.4 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 107714 | 150223 |
| GPU | 45227 | 340353 |
| Memory | 73563 | 151885 |
| UX | 66208 | 158712 |
| Total score | 293671 | 806977 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 39.3 °C | 38.9 °C |
| Stability | - | 66% |
| Graphics test | - | 34 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 5714 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | - | 12591 |
| Video editing | - | 7113 |
| Photo editing | - | 29385 |
| Data manipulation | - | 10438 |
| Writing score | - | 16561 |
Memory
| RAM size | 4, 6 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 1866 MHz | 2750 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 64, 128 GB | 128, 256 GB |
| Storage type | eMMC 5.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | No |
| Memory card max size | Up to 512 GB | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | MIUI 14 | One UI 5.1 |
| OS size | 22.4 GB | 28.1 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 4000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 18 W | 25 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | Yes (15 W) |
| Reverse charging | Yes | Yes, (wireless) |
| Fast charging | Yes (26% in 30 min) | Yes (55% in 50 min) |
| Full charging time | 2:13 hr | 1:35 hr |
| Web browsing | 11:59 hr | 07:27 hr |
| Watching video | 11:32 hr | 12:26 hr |
| Gaming | 06:07 hr | 04:31 hr |
| Standby | 140 hr | 92 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8700 x 5800 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Zoom | Digital | Optical, 1.1x |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Digital | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | Up to 24FPS |
| 4K video recording | No | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 120 FPS (720p) | 960 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 120° |
| Lenses | 4 (50 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP) | 3 (12 MP + 64 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 50 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Pixel size: 0.64 micron - Sensor: 1/2.76", Samsung S5KJN1 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
- 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 | - |
- 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 |
- 8 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.14 micron - Sensor: 1/2.8", Sony IMX355 (Exmor-RS 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) |
| Macro lens |
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Pixel size: 1.12 micron |
- |
| Depth lens |
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 |
- |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | - | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 10 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 3872 x 2592 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 27 mm | 26 mm |
| Pixel size | - | 1.22 microns |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | - | 1/3.24" |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | 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, HID, A2DP | 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 * | Depends on the region | 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 * | 7 | 24 |
| 5G support | No | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | No |
| FM radio | Yes | No |
| Dolby Atmos | No | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Budget | Flagship |
| Announced | August 2021 | January 2021 |
| Release date | August 2021 | February 2021 |
| SAR (head) | - | 0.46 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | - | 1.51 W/kg |
| Sensors |
- Proximity sensor
- Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Yes, 22 W | - |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Samsung Galaxy S21 is definitely a better buy.