Samsung Galaxy S21 FE vs Xiaomi 12: these are the differences

The new Samsung Galaxy S21 FE has finally been announced. How does the latest variant of the S21 series compare to the Xiaomi 12? Which one deserves your attention? You will find out in this article.

Comparison: Samsung Galaxy S21 FE and Xiaomi 12

He kept us waiting for a long time, but the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE has now finally been announced. It is the latest variant from the S21 series that offers a larger screen than the regular S21 without the price going up sharply. The Xiaomi 12, which was introduced last week, also manages to significantly reduce the price compared to its predecessor. But which flagship suits you best? We discuss it in this comparison. Below you can see the specifications side by side for the first time.

Specifications

– Read more under the specifications –

Glass and plastic, whether or not water resistant

The Xiaomi 12 was launched on December 28 and got a new design, while Samsung naturally took the mustard from the S21 series for its S21 FE. Samsung’s S21 phones all have a back that is made of a type of plastic that still feels high-quality. Xiaomi, on the other hand, still opts for glass, but it does use the stronger Gorilla Glass Victus.

The Xiaomi phone is also slightly more compact this year, but at the same time it is slightly thicker and heavier. Although the difference is limited. Xiaomi’s flagship does not have a certificate proving its water and dust resistance, while the S21 FE does. The phone is IP68 water resistant. Although you should of course not rely too much on such certificates.

Difference in screen size

Like last year’s S20 FE, the S21 FE also has a larger screen compared to the standard Galaxy S21. It has again become a 6.5 inch panel. Xiaomi on the other hand leaves the larger works to the Pro version of the Xiaomi 12. The regular variant got a 6.28 inch panel.

If we compare both screens on paper, we see that they are similar in terms of refresh rate and resolution. We do know that the panel brightness of the Xiaomi 12 is now up to 1100 nits, which makes it lower compared to the screen of the Mi 11. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the brightness of the screen of the S21 FE. .

Xiaomi is the fastest

Just like last year, Samsung uses a processor from Qualcomm in its Fan Edition instead of its own Exynos chipsets. Only this time the S21 FE has come with a delay, so it does not come with the latest generation of Snapdragon processors. The new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, on the other hand, did get a place in the Xiaomi 12.

Qualcomm itself shares about the new chipset that the processor performs 20 percent faster and for the gpu there is a performance gain of 30 percent compared to the previous generation. If you look at that together with the 8 GB or 12 GB of RAM, we expect Xiaomi to have the most powerful phone of the two. Although that is mainly the case on paper, because in practice the differences will not be so bad.

The S21 FE charges slower

Both phones have the same battery size, but Xiaomi is expected to have a slight advantage in terms of the phone’s consumption with its smaller screen. Although only a real test will be able to show which smartphone can last the longest with one charge.

Where we don’t have to test is in the field of fast charging. Xiaomi ships a 67W fast charger with the phone while Samsung’s 25W charger is available separately. The S21 FE can also charge much faster wirelessly with a power of 50W.

Telecamera vs Telemacro

Both the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE and the Xiaomi 12 come with three cameras on the back. Both main lenses come with optical image stabilization and on paper the differences between the wide-angle cameras are also limited.

Both companies go a different way with the third lens. As we are used to, Samsung opts for a telephoto camera that is good for 3x optical zoom. Xiaomi, on the other hand, uses its telemacro camera, a camera that we have already seen on more Xiaomi devices. This allows you to zoom in up to 2x and the camera is also intended for photographing subjects from very close by. An extensive camera test will show how these cameras perform.

OneUI 4.0 and MIUI 13

Samsung’s Galaxy S21 FE comes out of the box with Android 12 and its own One UI 4.0 software shell. Like Xiaomi’s shell, it is known for being very feature-rich. In One UI 4.0, users get a new design where the colors of the interface are determined based on the background you set. There are also new privacy features, widgets, camera improvements and more.

Even less is known about MIUI 13, the new software shell of Xiaomi phones. The brand is committed to stability and performance and it also announced features that should protect users against fraud. Although we do not yet know exactly which improvements will be part of the globalversion of MIUI 13. At the moment, Xiaomi was only talking about the Chinese variant.

Conclusion

If we look at everything together, we see that Xiaomi and Samsung lay different accents with their latest flagships. Samsung’s phone has an already familiar design and a plastic housing with a water-resistant design. Xiaomi opts for a new design made of glass.

On paper, the Xiaomi 13 must be the fastest phone that can also charge the fastest. The S21 FE, on the other hand, has a slightly larger screen that may be brighter, and the telephoto camera could also guarantee better zoom performance.

If we then take the price, it is noticeable that the suggested retail price of the S21 FE was 50 euros lower compared to the price of the regular S21 about a year ago. There is currently no official price known for the Xiaomi 12, but the device should receive a starting price of around 620 euros. That makes the phone a lot cheaper compared to its predecessor, the Mi 11, but also compared to the S21 FE. The phone is expected to be officially presented in the Netherlands and Belgium only next month.

Buy Samsung Galaxy S21 FE

The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is available in the colors Green, Lavender, White and Graphite. The Galaxy S21 FE can be ordered from January 4 and will be in stores from January 11.

What do you think of both flagships? Which of these two phones appeals to you the most? Let us know in the comments at the bottom of this article.

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