Home > Smartphone comparison > Redmi Note 8 vs Galaxy A21s – which one to choose?

Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 vs Samsung Galaxy A21s

40 out of 100
Xiaomi Redmi Note 8
VS
36 out of 100
Samsung Galaxy A21s
Xiaomi Redmi Note 8
Samsung Galaxy A21s

Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.3-inch Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 665) that was released on August 29, 2019, against the Samsung Galaxy A21s, which is powered by Exynos 850 and came out 8 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory
  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8
  • 51% higher pixel density (409 vs 270 PPI)
  • Delivers 28% higher peak brightness (636 against 496 nits)
  • Slow-motion recording at 240FPS
  • 28% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (329K versus 258K)
  • Ability to record video in 4K resolution
  • Has 50% more RAM: 3GB versus 2GB
  • 69% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 508 and 300 points
  • Has a built-in infrared port
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A21s
  • Comes with 1000 mAh larger battery capacity: 5000 vs 4000 mAh
  • Shows 30% longer battery life (25:00 vs 19:18 hours)
  • More recent OS version: Android 12 versus 11
  • More energy-efficient CPU – Exynos 850
  • Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology
  • The phone is 8 months newer

Review

Evaluation of Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 and Samsung Galaxy A21s crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
πŸ“± Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

To get an accurate value-for-money index, update the default prices with actual prices from your country’s retailers (for the selected memory configs) and press the "Calculate" button.
Currency
3 / 32 GB
VS
2 / 32 GB
67.7
(Good)
Value Index
109.2
(Excellent)

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
Redmi Note 8
vs
Galaxy A21s

Display

Type IPS LCD PLS TFT
Size 6.3 inches 6.5 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2340 pixels 720 x 1600 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
PPI 409 ppi 270 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 450 nits 540 nits
HDR support No No
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio 81.8% 82.9%
Display tests
RGB color space - 88.4%
PWM - 500 Hz
Response time - 30.4 ms
Contrast - 1500:1
Peak brightness test (auto)
Redmi Note 8 +28%
636 nits
Galaxy A21s
496 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3]

Design and build

Height 158.3 mm (6.23 inches) 163.6 mm (6.44 inches)
Width 75.3 mm (2.96 inches) 75.3 mm (2.96 inches)
Thickness 8.4 mm (0.33 inches) 8.9 mm (0.35 inches)
Weight 190 g (6.7 oz) 192 g (6.77 oz)
Waterproof No No
Rear material Glass Plastic
Frame material Plastic Plastic
Colors White, Black, Blue Black, Blue, Red
Fingerprint scanner Yes, rear Yes, rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Redmi Note 8
81.8%
Galaxy A21s +1%
82.9%

Performance

Chipset specifications of Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 and Samsung Galaxy A21s
SoC
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 Samsung Exynos 850
Max clock 2000 MHz 2000 MHz
CPU cores 8 (4 + 4) 8 (8)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 260 Silver (Cortex-A53)
- 4 cores at 2 GHz: Kryo 260 Gold (Cortex-A73)		 - 8 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55
Manufacturing Samsung Samsung
Lithography process 11 nanometers 8 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Hexagon 686 No
GPU
Graphics Adreno 610 Mali-G52 MP6
GPU shading units 128 16
GPU clock 950 MHz 1001 MHz
FLOPS ~243.2 GFLOPS ~48 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 and Samsung Galaxy A21s
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Redmi Note 8 +69%
508
Galaxy A21s
300
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Redmi Note 8 +85%
1549
Galaxy A21s
836
Single-core score 508 300
Multi-core score 1549 836
Sources: Geekbench [3]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
Redmi Note 8 +28%
329457
Galaxy A21s
258064
CPU 147902 100392
GPU 24130 18008
Memory 68847 86289
UX 88578 53375
Total score 329457 258064
Samples [5 tests] [4 tests]
PCMark 3.0
Redmi Note 8 +18%
6596
Galaxy A21s
5593
Web score 6072 4948
Video editing 5062 5163
Photo editing 11822 8993
Data manipulation 5151 3929
Writing score 6677 5825
Submit your benchmark results

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Xiaomi Redmi Note 8
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-10-12 (Marcel)AnTuTu 12353594
πŸ“˜ 2026-08-17 (SR Saani)AnTuTu 11345256
πŸ“˜ 2026-06-05 (Thomas πŸ‡§πŸ‡·)AnTuTu 11319538
πŸ“˜ 2026-05-10 -> NursAnTuTu 11329457
πŸ“˜ 2026-05-09 -> NursAnTuTu 11329457
Add View all (6)
Samsung Galaxy A21s
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-18 -> HABIBOAnTuTu 12304257
πŸ“˜ 2026-05-16 (Abdul ahad)AnTuTu 11258064
πŸ“˜ 2026-03-29 -> quandzvl12AnTuTu 11316736
πŸ“˜ 2025-10-08 (MinxK)AnTuTu 11231817
πŸ“˜ 2025-10-04 (zayedbinnahyan)AnTuTu 11218341
Add View all (5)

Memory

RAM
RAM size 3 GB 2 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory clock 1866 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 32 GB 32 GB
Storage type eMMC 5.1 eMMC 5.1
Memory card MicroSD MicroSD
Memory card max size Up to 256 GB Up to 512 GB

Software

Operating system Android 9.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 11) Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 12)
ROM MIUI 12.5 Enhanced One UI 4.1
OS size - 12 GB
OS updates - 2 years
Security updates - 4 years

Battery

Capacity 4000 mAh 5000 mAh
Max charge power 18 W 15 W
Battery type Li-Po Li-Po
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No No
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes, Quick Charge 4.0 (50% in 35 min) Yes (50% in 60 min)
Full charging time 2:05 hr 2:10 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 07:46 hr 09:45 hr
Watching video 12:22 hr 14:13 hr
Gaming 05:10 hr 05:34 hr
Standby 88 hr 128 hr
General battery life
Redmi Note 8
19:18 hr
Galaxy A21s +30%
25:00 hr
Add your battery life

Main camera

Matrix 48 megapixels 48 megapixels
Image resolution 8000 x 6000 8000 x 6000
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Digital Digital
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 30FPS No
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 30FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (720p) No
Angle of widest lens 118Β° 123Β°
Lenses 1) Standard: 48 MP
2) Ultrawide: 8 MP
3) Macro: 2 MP
4) Depth: 2 MP
1) Standard: 48 MP
2) Ultrawide: 8 MP
3) Macro: 2 MP
4) Depth: 2 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh mode
Standard lens
Image resolution 48 MP 48 MP
Aperture f/1.8 f/2.0
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor Samsung S5KGM2 Samsung S5KGM2
Sensor size 1/2" (β‰ˆ 0.5 inch) 1/2.0" (β‰ˆ 0.5 inch)
Pixel size 0.8 micron 0.8 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 8 MP 8 MP
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 13 mm -
Sensor Omnivision OV8856 -
Sensor size 1/5" (β‰ˆ 0.2 inch) 1/4.0" (β‰ˆ 0.25 inch)
Pixel size 1.12 micron 1.12 micron
Stabilization Digital Digital
Macro lens
Image resolution 2 MP 2 MP
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.4
Sensor Omnivision OV02A10 -
Sensor size 1/5" (β‰ˆ 0.2 inch) -
Pixel size 1.75 micron -
Stabilization Digital Digital

Selfie camera

Megapixels 13 megapixels 13 megapixels
Image resolution 4224 x 3136 4128 x 3096
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 28.21 mm -
Sensor Omnivision OV13855 CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.9" (β‰ˆ 0.34 inch) 1/3.1" (β‰ˆ 0.32 inch)
Pixel size 1.12 micron 1.12 micron
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features LE, HID, A2DP PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC* No Yes
Infrared port Yes No
Network
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* 12 13
5G support No No

Sound

Speakers Mono Mono
Headphone audio jack Yes Yes
FM radio Yes Yes
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness
Redmi Note 8 +2%
81.3 dB
Galaxy A21s
79.5 dB

Other

Category Mid-range Budget
Announced August 2019 May 2020
Release date September 2019 June 2020
Launch price (MSRP) $190 $200
Successor - Xiaomi Redmi Note 17 4G - Samsung Galaxy A24 4G
SAR (head) 0.191 W/kg 0.23 W/kg
SAR (body) 1.034 W/kg 1.38 W/kg
Sensors - Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint		 - Hall-effect sensor
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
356 (49.9%)
357 (50.1%)
Total votes: 713

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