Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC vs Samsung Galaxy S21
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.67-inch Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G) that was released on September 7, 2020, against the Samsung Galaxy S21, which is powered by Exynos 2100 and came out 4 months after. 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 NFC
- Shows 36% longer battery life (34:55 vs 25:44 hours)
- Comes with 1160 mAh larger battery capacity: 5160 vs 4000 mAh
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.1)
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 256GB
- Has a 0.47 inch larger screen size
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
- Has a built-in infrared port
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21
- 2x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (806K versus 399K)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Delivers 36% higher peak brightness (864 against 633 nits)
- Handles wireless charging up to 15W
- Optical image stabilization
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- The rear camera has a 1.1x optical zoom
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 2750 MHz
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
- More recent OS version: Android 13 versus 12
- 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 | 6.67 inches | 6.2 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 395 ppi | 421 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 450 nits | 800 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 84.6% | 87.2% |
| Display features | - |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99.7% | 99.5% |
| PWM | 2358 Hz | 240 Hz |
| Response time | 35.4 ms | 5 ms |
| Contrast | - | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 165.3 mm (6.51 inches) | 151.7 mm (5.97 inches) |
| Width | 76.8 mm (3.02 inches) | 71.2 mm (2.8 inches) |
| Thickness | 9.4 mm (0.37 inches) | 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) |
| Weight | 215 g (7.58 oz) | 169 g (5.96 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP53 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Gray, Blue | White, Gray, Pink, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G | Samsung Exynos 2100 |
| Max clock | 2300 MHz | 2900 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 6) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 470 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 2 cores at 2.3 GHz: Kryo 470 Gold (Cortex-A76) |
- 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 | 8 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 618 | Mali-G78 MP14 |
| GPU shading units | 256 | 896 |
| GPU clock | 825 MHz | 854 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~422.4 GFLOPS | ~1530.4 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 129962 | 150223 |
| GPU | 96729 | 340353 |
| Memory | 63272 | 151885 |
| UX | 108170 | 158712 |
| Total score | 399182 | 806977 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 42.6 °C | 38.9 °C |
| Stability | 99% | 66% |
| Graphics test | 6 FPS | 34 FPS |
| Graphics score | 1108 | 5714 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 6776 | 12591 |
| Video editing | 6098 | 7113 |
| Photo editing | 16804 | 29385 |
| Data manipulation | 7582 | 10438 |
| Writing score | 9783 | 16561 |
Memory
| RAM size | 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 | UFS 2.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | No |
| Memory card max size | Up to 256 GB | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 12) | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | MIUI 14 | One UI 5.1 |
| OS size | 20.5 GB | 28.1 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 5160 mAh | 4000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 33 W | 25 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | Yes (15 W) |
| Reverse charging | No | Yes, (wireless) |
| Fast charging | Yes (55% in 30 min) | Yes (55% in 50 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:15 hr | 1:35 hr |
| Web browsing | 13:21 hr | 07:27 hr |
| Watching video | 13:01 hr | 12:26 hr |
| Gaming | 05:07 hr | 04:31 hr |
| Standby | 119 hr | 92 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 64 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 9248 x 6920 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Zoom | Digital | Optical, 1.1x |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Digital | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | Up to 24FPS |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 960 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 119° | 120° |
| Lenses | 4 (64 MP + 13 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP) | 3 (12 MP + 64 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 64 MP
- Aperture: f/1.9 - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.73", Sony IMX682 (Exmor-RS 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 |
- 13 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Pixel size: 1 micron |
- 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: 1.75 micron |
- |
| Depth lens |
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Pixel size: 1.75 micron |
- |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC from DxOMark | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 20 megapixels | 10 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 5963 x 3354 | 3872 x 2592 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | - | 26 mm |
| Pixel size | 0.8 microns | 1.22 microns |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.4" | 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, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 3.2 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS | 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 | Yes | No |
| LTE Cat * | 15 | 24 |
| 5G support | No | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | No |
| FM radio | Yes | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Flagship |
| Announced | September 2020 | January 2021 |
| Release date | September 2020 | February 2021 |
| SAR (head) | 0.558 W/kg | 0.46 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 0.986 W/kg | 1.51 W/kg |
| Sensors |
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - 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 Samsung Galaxy S21 is definitely a better buy.