The Xiaomi 12 clearly challenges the Samsung Galaxy S21 on the compact flagship phone turf, with a subtle change in focus and a reduction in size.
It will be interesting to see if a comparison of these two phones is now on its way to the Samsung Galaxy S22 - a phone that, by all accounts, is very similar to its predecessor.
We haven't had a chance to try out the Xiaomi 12, but here's how it compares with the phone that inspired it.
Price and Availability: Xiaomi 12 vs. Samsung Galaxy S21
Xiaomi launched Xiaomi 12 in China on 31 December. We don't know when the phone will go on sale in the rest of the world, but it will probably happen in February or March.
CNY3,699 (about $580/£430/AU$800) is the starting price of the phone in China. Naturally, the final price will be higher in the West, but the point is that it is a more affordable flagship phone than the Xiaomi Mi 11.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 was released on January 29, 2021, and like the previous releases, it took a slightly more budget-friendly approach. The 128GB model was priced at $799 / £769 / AU$1,249, while the 256GB model was priced at $850 / £819 / AU$1,349.
Since the Galaxy S21 has been on the market for a while, you might be able to find a better deal if you shop around. When the Galaxy S22 is released, those prices will drop even further.
Despite this, the Xiaomi 12 is clearly the less expensive of the two phones.
The best Xiaomi 12 and Samsung Galaxy S21 deals of the day are listed below.
Design
These are the two tiniest Android smartphones you'll ever see. The size of the Xiaomi 12 is 152.7 x 69.9 x 8.2mm, while the size of the Samsung Galaxy S21 is 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9mm.
It's a toss-up as to which phone is bigger. The Galaxy S21, on the other hand, weighs 169 grams versus 179 grams.
Part of the difference is due to the size of the battery, which we'll talk about later. Another thing to note is that the back cover of the Galaxy S21 is made of what Samsung calls 'Glasstic', while the Xiaomi 12 is made out of the far more elegant (and bulky) Gorilla Glass Victus.
However, the curvy 'contour cut' camera module on the Galaxy S21 attracts us more. It blends in much better with the body and, in general, turns the often distracting ingredient into an attractive feature.
Xiaomi has taken a step back from the curved camera module design of the Xiaomi Mi 11. It has been replaced by a normal rectangular module similar to Samsung's own Galaxy Note 20.
With its curved display, the Xiaomi 12 reclaims some style points, while the Galaxy S21 opts for a more practical but less attractive flat display. When it comes to performances…
Display from the back of the Samsung Galaxy S21 (Photo courtesy of TechRadar)
As stated earlier, these are two of the smallest Android flagships on the market, so both phones have smaller-than-average displays.
The Xiaomi 12 sports a 6.28-inch display, while the Galaxy S21 has a 6.2-inch screen. It contains very little information.
Both the phones feature vibrant OLED displays with 2400 x 1080 (FHD+) resolution and 120Hz refresh rate.
With a peak brightness of 1300 nits, Samsung wins in the brightness category. The Xiaomi 12 can be quite bright, but only up to 1100 nits.
To determine the display quality of the Xiaomi 12, we have to get our hands on it. All we know for sure is that the Galaxy S21's screen is of exceptional quality, and that it's a risky proposition to bet against Samsung's display technology in a face-to-face comparison.
With their camera technology, Samsung and Xiaomi have taken very different approaches. On paper, they don't share much.
Both systems have three cameras, but the cameras themselves are quite different.
A 50MP 1/1.56-inch wide sensor with f/1.9 aperture serves as the focal point of the Xiaomi 12 camera. The 12MP 1/1.76-inch-wide sensor is shown on the Samsung Galaxy S21. To achieve the same result, Xiaomi uses pixel binning, while Samsung uses fewer but larger individual pixels.
The Xiaomi 12 sports a 13MP 1/3.06-inch 123-degree sensor with f/2.4 aperture, while the Samsung Galaxy S21 sports a 12MP 1/2.55-inch 120-degree ultra-wide sensor.
However, it is the third sensor that makes all the difference. The Xiaomi 12 has a slightly gimmicky - but undeniably good - 5MP 'telemacro' camera, similar to the Xiaomi Mi 11 iteration before it. From a reasonable distance, you can take extreme close-ups.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 features a 64MP telephoto sensor in the opposite corner, allowing for 1.1x optical zoom and 3x hybrid zoom shots.
We'll take Samsung's 'holy trinity' approach any day from Apple, as having a telephoto lens gives you more shooting options in a wider range of situations. Of course, if macro photography is your thing, you may have a different opinion.
We'll take Samsung's 'holy trinity' approach any day from Apple, as having a telephoto lens gives you more shooting options in a wider range of situations. Of course, if macro photography is your thing, you may have a different opinion.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 packs a 10MP selfie camera, while the Xiaomi 12 packs a more impressive-sounding 32MP selfie camera. Of course, because these are smaller sensors, more pixels doesn't always equal better selfies.
The camera hardware of both the phones is almost identical (Image credit: TechRadar).
There is a clear performance difference between these two phones, which are one year and one generation apart. The Xiaomi 12 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, while the Samsung Galaxy S21 is powered by two Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chips from the previous generation.
The Snapdragon 888, which is the immediate predecessor of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, will be available in the United States and China, while the rest of the world will get Samsung's Exynos 2100. This is similar to the Snapdragon 888's lower GPU performance, but with .
Xiaomi 12 outperforms all other chips in terms of performance. Although the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 isn't a significant improvement in terms of CPU performance (at least according to early benchmarks), its GPU is.
Of course, we'll have to wait and see how well Xiaomi performs in daily life. The Galaxy S21 might not have as much headroom as the Galaxy S9, but if it's optimized better and has more stable software, the hardware advantage won't be as significant.
The Xiaomi 12 has 8GB or 12GB of RAM, while the Galaxy S21 only has 8GB. Storage options on both phones are 128 or 256GB.
Both phones have good stereo speakers, with AKG on the Galaxy S21 and Harman Kardon on the Xiaomi 12.
Battery
The Xiaomi 12 is slightly thicker and heavier than the Samsung Galaxy S21, thanks to its larger battery. It has a 4,500mAh battery, compared to the Galaxy S21's 4,000mAh.
The endurance of the Xiaomi 12 will have to be seen, but the Xiaomi Mi 11 in 2021 was not particularly impressive.
However, the Galaxy S21's endurance didn't impress us. Our tester could last a full day on a single charge, but excessive use would empty the tank before going to sleep.
When it comes to charging, the Xiaomi 12 beats the Samsung Galaxy S21. Thanks to the included 67-watt charger in the box, it can go from 0% to 100% in 39 minutes.
Samsung, on the other hand, only supports 25W charging and doesn't include a charging brick.
The wireless charging gap is the same: 50W for Xiaomi and 15W for Samsung. This is an area that really needs improvement.
From the bottom edge of the Samsung Galaxy S21 (Photo courtesy of TechRadar)
This year, Xiaomi's Xiaomi 12 is apparently based on Samsung's Galaxy S21. It's smaller and less expensive than its predecessor, just like Samsung's phones, making it an attractive alternative to more expensive flagships.
It is still unclear whether Xiaomi's move, which in some ways can be considered a managed downgrade, was successful. With Samsung's own efforts only partially successful, the Xiaomi 12 has a chance to outperform it.
It appears that Xiaomi is on the right track with more power and a more premium design than Samsung's Galaxy S21. It will all come down to the Xiaomi 12's software, camera quality, battery life, and overall feel, which we won't be able to evaluate until the global model is released.
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