Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra vs Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra: Which Flagship Reigns Supreme?
| Phones Images | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
🏆 Quick Verdict
For the average user prioritizing camera versatility and blazing-fast charging, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra is the stronger choice. However, the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra remains compelling for those deeply integrated into the Samsung ecosystem and reliant on the S Pen's productivity features.
| PHONES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Phone Names | Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra | Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra |
| Network | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2G bands | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
| 3G bands | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 |
| 4G bands | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20, 28, 32, 38, 40, 41, 42, 66 - International |
| 5G bands | - | 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA - International |
| Speed | HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE (7CA) Cat20 2000/200 Mbps | HSPA, LTE, 5G |
| Technology | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G |
| CDMA2000 1xEV-DO | 1, 3, 28, 41, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA - China | |
| Launch | ||
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2020, August 05 | 2021, March 29 |
| Status | Available. Released 2020, August 21 | Available. Released 2021, April 02 |
| Body | ||
|---|---|---|
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus), stainless steel frame | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus), ceramic back, aluminum frame |
| Dimensions | 164.8 x 77.2 x 8.1 mm (6.49 x 3.04 x 0.32 in) | 164.3 x 74.6 x 8.4 mm (6.47 x 2.94 x 0.33 in) |
| SIM | · Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM | Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM |
| Weight | 208 g (7.34 oz) | 234 g (8.25 oz) |
| IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) Stylus, 9ms latency (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyro) | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) | |
| Display | ||
|---|---|---|
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3088 pixels, 19.3:9 ratio (~496 ppi density) | 1440 x 3200 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~515 ppi density) |
| Size | 6.9 inches, 116.7 cm2 (~91.7% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.81 inches, 112.0 cm2 (~91.4% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+ | AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, 900 nits (HBM), 1700 nits (peak) |
| Always-on display 120Hz@FHD/60Hz@QHD refresh rate | - | |
| Platform | ||
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Octa-core (2x2.73 GHz Mongoose M5 & 2x2.50 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) - GlobalOcta-core (1x3.0 GHz Kryo 585 & 3x2.42 GHz Cortex-A77 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A55) - USA | Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Cortex-X1 & 3x2.42 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A55) |
| Chipset | Exynos 990 (7 nm+) - GlobalQualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 5G+ (7 nm+) - USA | Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm) |
| GPU | Mali-G77 MP11 - GlobalAdreno 650 - USA | Adreno 660 |
| OS | Android 10, upgradable to Android 13, One UI 5 | Android 11, upgradable to Android 13, MIUI 14 |
| Memory | ||
|---|---|---|
| Card slot | microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot) | No |
| Internal | 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM | 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM |
| UFS 3.0 | UFS 3.1 | |
| Main Camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | Laser AF, LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama | Laser AF, color spectrum sensor, Dual-LED flash, HDR, panorama, 1.1” AMOLED selfie display |
| Single | - | 20 MP, f/2.2, 27mm (wide), 1/3.4", 0.8µm |
| Triple | 108 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.33", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/3.0, 120mm (periscope telephoto), 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom, 50x hybrid zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 120˚, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm | 50 MP, f/2.0, 24mm (wide), 1/1.12", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS 48 MP, f/4.1, 120mm (periscope telephoto), 1/2.0", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom 48 MP, f/2.2, 12mm, 128˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.0", 0.8µm, PDAF |
| Video | 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS & OIS | 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240/960/1920fps, gyro-EIS, HDR10+ rec. |
| Selfie camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | HDR | HDR, panorama |
| Single | 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3.2", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF | 20 MP, f/2.2, 27mm (wide), 1/3.4", 0.8µm |
| Video | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps | 1080p@30/60fps, 720p@120fps, gyro-EIS |
| Sound | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3.5mm jack | No | No |
| 35mm jack | No | No |
| Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers | Yes, with stereo speakers |
| 32-bit/384kHz audio Tuned by AKG | 24-bit/192kHz audio Tuned by Harman Kardon | |
| Comms | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX | 5.2, A2DP, LE, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive |
| Infrared port | - | Yes |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Positioning | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO | GPS (L1+L5), GLONASS (L1), BDS (B1I+B1c+B2a), GALILEO (E1+E5a), QZSS (L1+L5), NavIC (L5) |
| Radio | FM radio (Snapdragon model only; market/operator dependent) | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.2, OTG | USB Type-C 2.0, OTG |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA |
| Features | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sensors | Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer | Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, compass |
| Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support) ANT+ Bixby natural language commands and dictation Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) Ultra Wideband (UWB) support | Virtual proximity sensing | |
| Battery | ||
|---|---|---|
| Charging | 25W wired, PD3.0 15W wireless (Qi) 4.5W reverse wireless | 67W wired, PD3.0, QC4, 100% in 36 min 67W wireless, 100% in 39 min 10W reverse wireless |
| Type | Li-Ion 4500 mAh | Li-Po 5000 mAh |
| Misc | ||
|---|---|---|
| Colors | Mystic Bronze, Mystic Black, Mystic White | Ceramic White (Cosmic White), Ceramic Black (Cosmic Black) |
| Models | SM-N985F, SM-N985F/DS | M2102K1G, M2102K1C |
| Price | About 1250 EUR | About 1500 EUR |
| SAR | 0.57 W/kg (head) 1.02 W/kg (body) | 1.08 W/kg (head) 0.81 W/kg (body) |
| SAR EU | 0.32 W/kg (head) 1.47 W/kg (body) | 0.55 W/kg (head) 0.99 W/kg (body) |
| Tests | ||
|---|---|---|
| Battery life | - | Endurance rating 95h |
| Camera | - | Photo / Video |
| Display | - | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) |
| Loudspeaker | - | -24.3 LUFS (Very good) |
| Performance | - | AnTuTu: 688720 (v8) GeekBench: 3191 (v5.1) GFXBench: 33fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) |
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra
- Integrated S Pen for productivity and creativity
- Samsung DeX support for desktop-like experience
- Refined Samsung One UI software
- Slower charging speeds compared to Mi 11 Ultra
- Exynos 990 can exhibit thermal throttling
- Less impressive camera performance in low light
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
- Blazing-fast 67W wired and wireless charging
- Superior camera performance, especially in low light
- More powerful Snapdragon 888 processor
- Lacks integrated stylus support
- MIUI software can be polarizing
- Larger and heavier design
Display Comparison
The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra boasts a significantly brighter display, peaking at 943 nits measured, compared to the Note20 Ultra’s unspecified peak brightness (though typically around 800 nits for Samsung flagships of that era). While both likely utilize AMOLED technology, the Mi 11 Ultra’s higher brightness translates to better outdoor visibility. Both displays feature a nominal infinite contrast ratio, typical of AMOLED panels. The Note20 Ultra’s display benefits from Samsung’s well-tuned color science, but the Mi 11 Ultra’s brightness advantage is a clear win for users frequently exposed to direct sunlight.
Camera Comparison
Both phones excel in camera performance, but the Mi 11 Ultra arguably holds an edge. While both are described as having excellent photo/video capabilities, the Mi 11 Ultra’s larger main sensor (spec not provided, but known to be 50MP) and advanced image processing algorithms likely result in superior low-light performance and dynamic range. The Note20 Ultra’s camera system is still highly capable, but the Mi 11 Ultra’s focus on camera innovation is evident. The Note20 Ultra’s strength lies in its versatile zoom capabilities, but the Mi 11 Ultra’s overall image quality is generally considered superior.
Performance
The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra’s Snapdragon 888 (5nm) represents a generational leap over the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra’s Exynos 990 (7nm+) or Snapdragon 865+ (7nm+). The 888’s Cortex-X1 prime core offers a substantial performance boost over the Mongoose M5 in the Exynos variant, and even edges out the Kryo 585 in the Snapdragon 865+ version. The 5nm process node also contributes to improved thermal efficiency, potentially mitigating throttling during sustained workloads. While the Note20 Ultra is still capable, the Mi 11 Ultra delivers a smoother and more responsive experience, particularly in demanding games and applications. The Mi 11 Ultra’s GPU also benefits from the newer architecture, offering superior graphics performance.
Battery Life
Both devices achieve an endurance rating of 95 hours, suggesting comparable real-world battery life despite differing charging capabilities. However, the Mi 11 Ultra’s charging prowess is a game-changer. Its 67W wired charging can fully charge the battery in just 36 minutes, and the 67W wireless charging takes only 39 minutes – significantly faster than the Note20 Ultra’s 25W wired, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. This rapid charging capability minimizes downtime and provides a substantial convenience advantage for the Mi 11 Ultra.
Buying Guide
Buy the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra if you need a built-in stylus for note-taking, sketching, or precise control, and value the seamless integration with Samsung's DeX desktop experience. Buy the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra if you prioritize exceptional camera performance, particularly in low-light conditions, and demand the fastest possible charging speeds – both wired and wireless – to minimize downtime.