The position of best phones under Rs.15000 has been occupied by Xiaomi or Realme for the past 1-2 years.Its a welcome surprise that Samsung also will have its name in this segment this year.Yes Samsung Galaxy M21 is a budget phone launched on 18th March,2020.
The 4GB/64GB variant costs minimum Rs.12,699 on Amazon and it comes with really attractive specs.It will face serious competition from the Realme 6 priced at Rs.13999 for the same storage variant.Realme 6 has 6GB/128GB and 8GB/128GB variants priced higher and the M21 also has a 6GB/128GB variant that may not come to India.So we will have a look at the base variant of both these phones.
Under Rs.15000 it is very difficult to choose from these two phones as they offer so much.It will come down to the user at last to make the final choice.Let’s dive into the detailed comparison of specs of these two phones.
Table of Contents
DESIGN AND BODY
SAMSUNG GALAXY M21
The Samsung Galaxy M21 is similar to the M31 in looks.It has a triple camera module at the back with surprisingly no camera bump and a tear drop notch front camera.The power button and volume rockers are on the right side at a perfect height for one handed use and the sim tray is on the right.It supports dual sim and has a dedicated slot for Micro SD card.The USB port,3.5mm jack and speaker is at the bottom.There is also a physical fingerprint sensor on the back.
The dimensions are 159mm x 75.1mm x 8.9mm.It weighs 188g.It has Gorilla Glass 3 front and plastic back and frame.
REALME 6
In terms of looks and design Realme 6 is definitely better than the Samsung.Its colour variants are called Comet Blue and White.The names come from the design on the back.On exposure to light you will see a streak of light down the middle of the back resembling a comet.Realme 6 has a quad camera module at the back and its fingerprint sensor is mounted on the power button.The front has a punch hole selfie camera on the top left corner.The position of sim tray is on the left side and is similar to that of the M21 and USB port,3.5mm jack and speaker is at the bottom.
The dimensions are 162.1mm x 74.8mm x 8.9mm.It weighs 191g.It also has Gorilla Glass front and plastic back and frame.In addition the Realme 6 is splash resistant.
DISPLAY
GALAXY M21
The phone features a 6.4″ Super Amoled Infinity U display with 1080 x 2340 resolution,84.2% screen to body ratio,19.5:9 aspect ratio and ~403ppi.It has an advertised brightness of max.420nits.
A Samsung super amoled display guarantees you vibrant colours and brightness.It also features the ambient light sensor.Its a pretty good display for its budget.
REALME 6
The display is 6.5″IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with 1080 x 2400 resolution,84.2%screen to body ratio,20:9 aspect ratio and ~405ppi.The maximum brightness is advertised at 480 nits.
Besides the difference of Amoled and IPS LCD displays these two phones have quite similar displays in terms of specs.But the Realme 6 overshines by its 90Hz refresh rate display,truly surprising for a phone of this budget.
OS AND STORAGE
GALAXY M21
The phone runs the Samsung One UI 2.0 based on Android 10.After unboxing you will find lots of bloatware but they can be easily uninstalled.
The phone comes in two variants-4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage and 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage.With the dedicated Micro SD card slot you can add storage upto 512GB.
Onboard storage of both phones are UFS2.1.
REALME 6
It runs the Realme UI (which is similar to Color OS of Oppo) on top of Android 10.
There are 3 variants-4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage,6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage and 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage.The dedicated Micro SD card slot has the same expandable storage of 512GB.
PROCESSOR
GALAXY M21
Under the hood is the Exynos 9611 SoC with octa core processor(4×2.3GHz,4×1.7GHz).It has 10nm technology.The graphics is seen by the Mali G72 MP3 G.P.U.
REALME 6
It sports the Mediatek Helio G90 T SoC with octa core processor(2×2.05GHz,6x2GHz) which runs on 12nm technology.The G.P.U is Mali G76MC4.
In this section clearly Samsung wins with a better processor and chipset.But to be honest the difference in practical can be ignored.You may feel the difference in high graphics games like Call of Duty or PUB G but neither of the phones are made for such gaming.Rest assured you can play these games satisfactorily if you haven’t played them before on a high end phone.
CAMERAS
GALAXY M21
The rear camera is a triple camera module with primary 48MP f/2 wide sensor,a 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide sensor with 123 degrees field of view and a 5MP f/2.2 depth sensor.HDR,Panorama are supported along with autofocus.Portrait mode is good enough but low light imaging is of poor quality.The Night Mode somewhat recovers that but still is not upto the mark.
4K videos can be captured at 30fps and [email protected] max.A steady mode is also featured.
The tear drop notch front camera is a 20MP f/2.0 sensor.Portrait selfies are good with the bokeh effect.1080p videos can be shot at 30fps.
REALME 6
The quad camera module is better than the M21 with a primary 64MP f/1.8 wide sensor,a 8MP f/2.3 ultra wide sensor with 117 degrees field of view,a 2MP f/2.4 macro lens and a 2MP(B/W) f/2.4 depth sensor.It has the usual HDR,Panorama features.Ultra Image Stabilisation for videos is present.Low light imaging is also unsatisfactory but Night Vision mode helps.
4K videos at 30fps can be shot alongwith 1080p @30fps.Slow motion videos can also be captured.
The front camera is a 16MP f/2.0 sensor with customary features.1080p videos can be shot.
As is evident the main camera of the Realme 6 is better and the front camera of Samsung Galaxy M21 is better.If you are a selfie lover you know which to choose.
OTHER FEATURES
Both phones support 3.5mm jack and neither of them have stereo speakers.The Galaxy M21 claims it has Dolby Atmos for stereo headsets.NFC or IR Blaster is also not supported in any of these devices.
The Face Unlock and fingerprint sensor of both the phones are pretty fast.The fingerprint sensor of Samsung phone is rear mounted while that of Realme is side mounted.
Bluetooth,WiFi and USB Type C is supported in both.
The Galaxy M21 has Widevine L1 support which means you can stream HD videos of Netflix or Prime a very important feature to be had during these lockdown periods.In a recent update Realme 6 is also certified Widevine L1.
BATTERY AND COLOURS
GALAXY M21
It has a huge 6000mAH battery that easily lasts 2 days.It supports 15W fast charging but it takes time to be honest.
There are two colour variants-Midnight Blue and Raven Black.
REALME 6
It also has a quite big 4300mAH battery which supports 30W fast charging.
The phone comes in two colours-Comet Blue and Comet White.
CONCLUSION
Why the Samsung Galaxy M21?
- Less price.
- Slightly lighter.
- Super Amoled display
- Exynos 9611 is the better chipset
- Better front camera of 20MP
- Bigger battery of 6000mAH
- Samsung brand value.
Why the Realme 6?
- Slightly bigger display
- 90Hz refresh rate
- Better primary camera of 64MP
- 30W fast charging.
It is evident from the above that besides the 90Hz refresh rate and 64MP primary camera sensor of the Realme 6 the Samsung Galaxy M21 is the better option at a lower price.But still the choice is completely yours.
I should mention that the Samsung Galaxy M21 is a better option than the Galaxy M31 because both the handsets have the same display,processor and battery.It only differs in the camera section and I feel that for a lower price the difference is not so large.
What do you think?Please let me know in comments.
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