Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy A12
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.67-inch Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 860) that was released on March 22, 2021, against the Samsung Galaxy A12, which is powered by MediaTek Helio P35 and came out 4 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 Poco X3 Pro
- Water-resistant body (IP53 classification)
- 4.7x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (634K versus 133K)
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- 46% higher pixel density (395 vs 270 PPI)
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR4X 2133 MHz
- Ability to record video in 4K resolution
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 5 wireless networks
- More energy-efficient CPU – Snapdragon 860
- Stereo speakers
- Delivers 14% higher peak brightness (536 against 472 nits)
- Supports higher wattage charging (33W versus 15W)
- Has a built-in infrared port
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A12
- Shows 28% longer battery life (41:00 vs 31:56 hours)
- Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology
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 | PLS TFT |
| Size | 6.67 inches | 6.5 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels | 720 x 1600 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 395 ppi | 270 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 450 nits | 450 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 600 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | No |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 84.6% | 82.1% |
| RGB color space | 95.1% | 96.3% |
| PWM | 2404 Hz | 337 Hz |
| Response time | 37.4 ms | 52 ms |
| Contrast | 995:1 | 864:1 |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 165.3 mm (6.51 inches) | 164 mm (6.46 inches) |
| Width | 76.8 mm (3.02 inches) | 75.8 mm (2.98 inches) |
| Thickness | 9.4 mm (0.37 inches) | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 215 g (7.58 oz) | 205 g (7.23 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP53 | No |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Colors | Black, Gold, Blue | White, Black, Blue, Red |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-button |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 | MediaTek Helio P35 |
| Max clock | 2960 MHz | 2300 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (4 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A55 (Kryo 485 Silver)
- 3 cores at 2.42 GHz: Cortex-A76 (Kryo 485 Gold) - 1 core at 2.96 GHz: Cortex-A76 (Kryo 485 Prime) |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A53
- 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Cortex-A53 |
| L3 cache | 2 MB | - |
| Lithography process | 7 nanometers | 12 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 640 | PowerVR GE8320 |
| GPU shading units | 768 | 32 |
| GPU clock | 675 MHz | 680 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1036.8 GFLOPS | ~43.5 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 180108 | 49721 |
| GPU | 155187 | 16841 |
| Memory | 134861 | 34529 |
| UX | 160808 | 32377 |
| Total score | 634660 | 133842 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 44.1 °C | 44.1 °C |
| Stability | 97% | - |
| Graphics test | 20 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 3456 | - |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 7980 | - |
| Video editing | 6193 | - |
| Photo editing | 21814 | - |
| Data manipulation | 8636 | - |
| Writing score | 12480 | - |
Memory
| RAM size | 6, 8 GB | 3, 4, 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4 |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 1866 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256 GB | 32, 64, 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | eMMC 5.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | MicroSD |
| Memory card max size | Up to 1024 GB | Up to 1024 GB |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 10.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | MIUI 14 | One UI Core 5.1 |
| OS size | 13 GB | 13 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 5160 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 33 W | 15 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (55% in 30 min) | Yes (20% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:15 hr | 3:03 hr |
| Web browsing | 11:51 hr | 16:07 hr |
| Watching video | 10:33 hr | 12:14 hr |
| Gaming | 05:14 hr | 06:08 hr |
| Standby | 119 hr | 153 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 48 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8000 x 6000 | 8000 x 6000 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | Dual LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | No |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (1080p) | No |
| Angle of widest lens | 119° | 123° |
| Lenses | 4 (48 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP) | 4 (48 MP + 5 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 48 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/2.0", Sony IMX582 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
- 48 MP
- Aperture: f/2.0 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/2", Samsung S5KGM2 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
| Ultra-wide lens |
- 8 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Pixel size: 1.12 micron |
- 5 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 |
| Macro lens |
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Pixel size: 1.75 micron |
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 |
| Depth lens |
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Pixel size: 1.75 micron |
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode |
| Samples | - | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A12 from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 20 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 5480 x 3648 | 3264 x 2448 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | 25 mm | - |
| Pixel size | 0.8 microns | - |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.4" | - |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 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 4 (802.11 b/g/n) |
| Wi-Fi features |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | 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 | No |
| Hybrid slot | Yes | No |
| LTE Cat * | 20 | 7 |
| 5G support | No | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Mono |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | Yes |
| FM radio | Yes | Yes |
| Dolby Atmos | No | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Budget |
| Announced | March 2021 | November 2020 |
| Release date | April 2021 | December 2020 |
| SAR (head) | - | 0.67 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | - | 1.38 W/kg |
| Sensors |
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor
- Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Fingerprint |
*
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 Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro is definitely a better buy.