Two of the biggest smartphones of 2021 have arrived, and we’ve compared the Samsung Galaxy S21 and Xiaomi Mi 11 so you can see how they fit together and whether it’s worth spending your money on.
After an exclusive opening in China in late December, the Xiaomi Mi 11 had a global launch in early February, ready for (digital) store shelves. We already knew the specifications of the phone, but now we have a better idea of its price and availability, so we can really see how it displays its price.
Launched on January 14, the Samsung Galaxy S21 was the first flagship of 2021, and is the last in its range, with the Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra costing more money.
The S21 and Mi 11 have a lot in common, like the Snapdragon 888 chipset and the high refresh rate of the display, but there are also many differences, which is why we divide them beat by beat.
Xiaomi Mi 11 vs Samsung Galaxy S21 price
The Samsung Galaxy S21 will cost you a good amount – it starts at $ 799 / £ 769 / AU $ 1,249 for 128 GB of storage and goes up to $ 849 / £ 819 / AU $ 1,349 for 256 GB.
We still don’t have prices for Xiaomi Mi 11 in most regions, but we do have costs in euros. For 128 GB of storage, you will pay € 749 (about $ 900, £ 660, AU $ 1,175), and for 256 GB, you will pay € 799 (about $ 960, £ 700, AU $ 1,250). These conversions are loose and do not represent accurate prices in other regions, but in general, it seems that phones cost similar values.
It is worth mentioning that both smartphones are more accessible than their predecessors, the Samsung Galaxy S20 and Xiaomi Mi 10 (or at least the latter is based on the limited price information we have), so both are economical in this department.
Another thing worth knowing is that, for the most part, Xiaomi does not launch its phones in the United States, so if you live there, your choice is much easier.
Design and display
The Xiaomi Mi 11 is considerably bigger than the Galaxy S21. The Mi 11 has dimensions of 164.3 x 74.6 x 8.1 mm and a weight of 196g, so in all departments it is more fierce than the Samsung phone with 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm and 169g.
Both phones have rear cameras in the upper left corner, but while this one on the Samsung phone is made of ‘Glasstic’, which is plastic that looks like glass, Xiaomi uses a new type of glass called Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, which is supposedly incredibly resistant.
Neither phone has a 3.5 mm headphone jack or expandable storage and both use the USB-C standard for charging. In addition, both have fingerprint readers on the display.
Speaking of the screen, this is where the size of the Xiaomi Mi 11 becomes most apparent – its screen is 6.81 inches diagonally, which surpasses the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S21.
The Mi 11’s AMOLED screen has a resolution of 1440 x 3200, also known as 2K, as well as HDR10 +, a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a maximum brightness of 1,500 nits. The Samsung Galaxy S21 has some of the same specs, but only a resolution of 1080 x 2400 and a higher brightness of 1,300 nits.
Although the Xiaomi Mi 11 has a high resolution screen, because the screen is much larger, the actual pixel count per inch is not much higher – although it still wins there.
Both phones use perforated cutouts for the front camera – in the upper left corner for the Xiaomi phone and in the upper center for the Samsung device – and they also use the aforementioned Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, so they are supposedly difficult to scratch.
Another thing worth mentioning is that the Xiaomi Mi 11 has a curved edge screen, while the Samsung Galaxy S21 has a flat screen.
Cameras and battery
Both the Samsung Galaxy S21 and the Xiaomi Mi 11 have four cameras, but they are very different combinations.
The Galaxy phone has a 12MP main, 12MP ultra-wide, 64MP telephoto (with 3x hybrid zoom) and a 10MP selfie camera. Although Samsung does not win the megapixel battle, as we will see shortly, the sensors used are large, so the photos have more light.
In comparison, the Xiaomi device has a main camera of 108 MP, ultra-wide of 13 MP, telemacro of 5 MP and selfie camera of 20 MP – therefore, you will take photos of much higher resolution with the Mi 11, but the sniper telemacro may not be as useful as telephoto – it certainly has less megapixels.
Both phones have AI optimization to enhance your photos, but another point of comparison is the various camera modes they have, which can improve your photography or videography.
Samsung has the Single Take feature, which allows you to take a variety of photos and videos of a subject just by pressing the shutter button once, which is a great tool for taking fantastic snapshots. It also has Director View, which allows you to record video from the front and rear cameras at the same time.
Xiaomi has the latter mode, as well as night video and night photography on the main, ultra-wide and front cameras. There is also AI Erase, which allows you to remove people from the background of your photos, and many other tools for video recording.
When it comes to battery capacity, the Xiaomi Mi 11 has a significantly larger power pack with 4,600mAh, compared to the Galaxy’s 4,000mAh. However, thanks to its larger screen, the battery life may not be much different.
The Samsung phone has 25 W corded charging, 15 W wireless charging, and 4.5 W reverse wireless charging, which occurs when you use the phone to connect other wireless devices. Xiaomi exceeds these specifications across the line with 55W, 50W and 10W respectively.
Specifications and performance
The Samsung Galaxy S21 and Xiaomi Mi 11 use Qualcomm’s cutting-edge Snapdragon 888 chipset, so they are probably at the same level in terms of performance – well, except in Europe, where the Samsung phone uses the Exynos 2100 chipset. so powerful too.
They also have 8 GB of RAM and both phones run Android 11, but have their companies’ overlays to provide a different experience. The Galaxy S21 uses One UI, and the Mi 11 uses MIUI – the big differences between them are their appearance and some brand-specific features as well.
As with most new flagship phones released, the Samsung Galaxy S21 and Xiaomi Mi 11 are 5G phones – your mileage with this next-generation connectivity will depend more on your network and location than on the phone, so we can’t really use that point of comparison.
Take away
If any of these smartphones were significantly cheaper than the other, it would be the clear winner, but as it stands, it is very close to paying.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 has a large, high-resolution screen that is perfect for playing games or watching movies, something that its next-generation processor will undoubtedly help.
For photography fans, however, the Samsung Galaxy S21’s three impressive cameras and range of shooting features and modes can make it the best choice, with Single Take a true game changer when it comes to phone photography.
However, using your smartphone probably dictates which of these devices is best for you.