Samsung Galaxy M12 vs Oppo Realme C21Y
Here we compared two budget smartphones: the 6.5-inch Samsung Galaxy M12 (with Exynos 850) that was released on November 24, 2020, against the Oppo Realme C21Y, which is powered by Unisoc T610 and came out 7 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the gadgets.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy M12
- Higher display refresh rate – 90 Hz
- Modern USB Type-C port
- Supports 15W fast charging
- More energy-efficient CPU – Exynos 850
- Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
- More recent OS version: Android 12 versus 11
- Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology
Reasons to consider the Oppo Realme C21Y
- 31% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (193K versus 147K)
- Reverse charging feature
- 2x faster in single-core GeekBench 5 test: 349 and 178 points
- The phone is 7-months newer
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Performance
CPU/GPU performance in apps and games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview score
Final comparison evaluation
Value for money
You can enter your local price of these phones (in USD or any other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | PLS TFT | IPS LCD |
| Size | 6.5 inches | 6.5 inches |
| Resolution | 720 x 1600 pixels | 720 x 1600 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 270 ppi | 270 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 90 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Max rated brightness | 450 nits | 400 nits |
| HDR support | No | No |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 81.9% | 81.6% |
| RGB color space | 93.3% | - |
| Response time | 39 ms | - |
| Contrast | 926:1 | - |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 164 mm (6.46 inches) | 164.5 mm (6.48 inches) |
| Width | 75.9 mm (2.99 inches) | 76 mm (2.99 inches) |
| Thickness | 9.7 mm (0.38 inches) | 9.1 mm (0.36 inches) |
| Weight | 214 gramm (7.55 oz) | 200 gramm (7.05 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | No |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Colors | Black, Blue, Green | Black, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in home button | Yes, rear |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 850 | Unisoc T610 |
| Max. clock | 2000 MHz | 1800 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (8) | 8 (2 + 6) |
| Architecture | - 8 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 | - 6 cores at 1.82 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 2 cores at 1.82 GHz: Cortex-A75 |
| L3 cache | - | 1 MB |
| Lithography process | 8 nanometers | 12 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G52 MP1 | ARM Mali G52 MP2 |
| GPU clock | 680 MHz | 614 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~126 GFLOPS | ~71.2 GFLOPS |
| RAM size | 3, 4 GB | 3, 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 1866 MHz | 1866 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 32, 64, 128 GB | 32, 64 GB |
| Storage type | eMMC 5.1 | eMMC 5.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | MicroSD |
| Memory card max. size | Up to 1024 GB | Up to 256 GB |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 44756 | 66485 |
| GPU | 24822 | 32103 |
| Memory | 36022 | 37779 |
| UX | 42192 | 57506 |
| Total score | 147737 | 193264 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Stability | 98% | - |
| Graphics test | 2 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 427 | - |
| PCMark 3.0 score | 6062 | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 12) | Android 11 |
| ROM | One UI Core 4.1 | Realme UI 2.0 |
| OS size | 14 GB | - |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Charge power | 15 W | 10 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | Yes |
| Fast charging | Yes (40% in 60 min) | No |
| Full charging time | 2:30 hr | 3:00 hr |
Camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 13 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8000 x 6000 | 4128 x 3096 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | No | No |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| Slow motion | No | No |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | - |
| Lenses | 4 (48 MP + 5 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP) | 3 (13 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 48 MP - Aperture: f/2.0 - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/2", Samsung S5KGM2 (CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
- 13 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 26 mm - Sensor: 1/3.06" (CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
| Ultra-wide lens | - 5 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/5.0" (CMOS) |
- |
| Macro lens | - 2 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 |
- 2 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Pixel size: 1.75 micron |
| Depth lens | - 2 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 |
- 2 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode |
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 5 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 2560 x 1960 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | - | 27 mm |
| Pixel size | - | 1.12 microns |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | - | 1/5" |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 4 (802.11 b/g/n) | Wi-Fi 4 (802.11 a/b/g/n) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
- Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP | LE, HID, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | Micro USB |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou |
| NFC* | Yes | No |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | No | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 7 | 7 |
| 5G support | No | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Mono | Mono |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | Yes |
| FM radio | Yes | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | No |
Speakers test
Max. loudness
Other
| Category | Budget | Budget |
| Announced | November 2020 | June 2021 |
| Release date | April 2021 | July 2021 |
| SAR (head) | 0.54 W/kg | - |
| SAR (body) | 1.39 W/kg | - |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the display, software, battery life, camera, connectivity, and sound are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy M12. But if the performance is more of a priority – go for the Oppo Realme C21Y.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 33