After a lot of delays caused by the semiconductor crisis, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G finally hitten the shelves. It was supposed to be released in 2021 but we had to wait until 2022 to see it become available worldwide. That is why, while initially a lot of people thought it would be a competitor of the Xiaomi Mi 11, it became one of the main rivals of the Xiaomi 12. Should people opt for the latest flagship killer by Xiaomi or did Samsung come up with a better option? This is a comparison between the specifications of the Xiaomi 12 and the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G which will hopefully clear your ideas in regards.

Xiaomi 12 vs Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G

Xiaomi 12 Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT 152.7 x 69.9 x 8.2 mm,
179 g		 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9 mm,
177 g
DISPLAY 6.28 inches, 1080 x 2400 pixels (Full HD+), OLED 6.4 inches, 1080 x 2400 pixels (Full HD+), AMOLED
PROCESSOR Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, octa-core 3 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, octa-core 2.84 GHz
MEMORY 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB – 12 GB RAM, 256 GB 6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB
SOFTWARE Android 12, MIUI Android 12, One UI
CONNECTIVITY Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, Bluetooth, GPS
CAMERA Triple 50 + 13 + 5 MP, f/1.9 + f/2.4
32 MP front camera		 Triple 12 + 8 + 12 MP, f/1.8 + f/2.4 + f/2.2
32 MP f/2.2 front camera
BATTERY 4500 mAh, fast charging 67W and fast wireless charging 50W 4500 mAh, Fast Charging 25W, Fast wireless charging 15W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES 5G, dual SIM, reverse wireless charging 5G, dual SIM, reverse wireless charging, IP68 waterproof

Design

Xiaomi 12 and Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G have very different designs, but they are both beautiful phones. The former is very attractive because of its very compact dimensions: it measures just 152.7 x 69.9 x 8.2 mm. Further, its design is very minimalistic, with a high screen to body ratio and a compact camera module sporting the same color as the rest of the rear side. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is another beautiful device with its Contour Cut Design: it sports a camera module with the same color as the rear cover just like the Xiaomi 12, but in addition, it is waterproof with the IP68 certification. The rear side is made of plastic (unlike the Xiaomi 12), but the frame is made of aluminum and the front glass is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus.

 

Display

On the paper, the Xiaomi 12 has a better display than Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G, even though it is a way smaller panel. With its 6.28-inch diagonal, the Xiaomi 12 offers an OLED panel that shows up to one billion colors and supports a Full HD+ resolution, a 120 Hz refresh rate, the HDR10+ certification, and Dolby Vision. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G has a bigger display with a diagonal of 6.4 inches, as well as a 120 Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, and a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. But it lacks Dolby Vision and it shows just 16 million colors like most of the other phones out there. Both the phones rely on an in-display fingerprint scanner for authentication.

 

Specs & Software

The Xiaomi 12 is a lot more powerful than Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G because it sports the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform. Built with a 4 nm production process and running at a max frequency of 3 GHz, this octa-core processor is the best released by Qualcomm until now, and it is paired with up to 12 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. But the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is not disappointing with its flagship Snapdragon 888 chipset, up to 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of native storage. Both the phones run Android 12, but they have different user interfaces.

 

Camera

The main camera of the Xiaomi 12 is actually better than the one found on the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G: it is a 50 MP sensor with OIS (against an old 12 MP camera with OIS). But the Xiaomi 12 lacks a telephoto camera and the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G has one with 3x optical zoom. Further, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G even features a better 12 MP ultrawide sensor.

 

Battery

The Xiaomi 12 and the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G have the same battery capacity: 4500 mAh. But the former should be able to guarantee a longer battery life because it has a smaller display and a processor built with a 4 nm production process. Further, it charges quicker thanks to 67W fast charging and 50W fast wireless charging.

 

Price

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G starts from €750/$846 in the global market ($699 in the U.S.), while Xiaomi 12 starts from €510/$575 in China and it is still not available globally. Overall, Xiaomi 12 looks like a better device if we exclude the secondary cameras, but it is very compact and it may not be the best for productivity users and gamers.

 

Xiaomi 12 vs Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G: PRO and CONS

Xiaomi 12

PRO

  • Better hardware
  • Very compact
  • Superior main camera
  • Faster charging
  • Better display

CONS

  • Small display

 

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G

PRO

  • 3x optical zoom
  • Waterproof
  • Wider availability (temporary)

CONS

  • Inferior chipset
  • Slower charging

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