First up, XIAOMI! Let’s begin with the name . You ask, “What’s in a name?” Well, a lot!

Xiaomi’s name has quite an interesting backstory. The name basically means ‘millet’ in
Chinese. But, that’s not all. In 2011, the CEO said that the name did not have just the
literal meaning but also some hidden meanings. The ‘Xiao’ part of the name refers to the
Buddhist concept that "a single grain of rice of a Buddhist is as great as a mountain"
emphasising that Xiaomi wanted to focus more on the simple, subtle and little things by
improving them rather than outright striving for absolute perfection. Even the
seemingly little ‘Mi’ part has a meaning which according to the CEO stands for Mobile
Internet and even Mission Impossible to refer to the immense problems and obstacles
faced by them in starting the company. On a lighter note, the CEO also finds the name to
be cute (I don’t, personally. Do you?). Phew, such immense stuff behind those little
words written on our phones. Who knew, right?

Next up, SAMSUNG! In comparison to Xiaomi, Samsung doesn’t seem to have much
up its sleeve in terms of the meaning behind their name (etymology, as you might call
it). According to Samsung's founder, the meaning of the Korean Hanja word Samsung is
"tri-star" or "three stars". The word "three" represents something "big, numerous and
powerful". Yup, pretty standard fare when you compare to Xiaomi.

So, the winner? Xiaomi, by a mile!

• ROUND 2

Next up, a little bit of history. Nope, seriously, I’m not going to bore you on this one.
Just a little bit of backstory to know what we’re dealing here with.

Let’s start off with Samsung in this round. Samsung was founded by Lee Byung-chull in
1938 (Yup, even my grandmother must have been a little kid back then). Hilariously,
now known so widely for their electronic products, Samsung actually started out a small
trading company dealing in dried-fish, locally-grown groceries and noodles (Yeah, you
read that right). With the passage of time, Samsung grew immensely and exponentially.
It might be surprising to know, but Samsung is actually a respected name in
shipbuilding, engineering, construction and whatnot. Samsung was actually a part of the
construction companies at work for building the Burj Khalifa, the Petronas Towers and
also the Taipei 101. Phew! In 2015, Samsung has been granted more U.S. patents than
any other company - including IBM, Google, Sony, Microsoft and Apple. The company
received 7,679 utility patents through 11 December. As of April 2011, the Samsung
Group comprised 59 unlisted companies and 19 listed companies, all of which had their
primary listing on the Korea Exchange. If I were to go anymore into details, you would
get bored. So…..

Xiaomi’s turn! Compared to the age of Samsung, this little bunny (Xiaomi’s mascot is a
white bunny wearing a traditional Chinese hat) is just an infant. It was founded by eight
partners on 6 April, 2010. But, in just a span of 7 years, it has gained quite a following
and recognition in the digital world. Over the years, Xiaomi has developed quite a
handful of mobile phones and has even expanded to many other products like TVs,
Fitness Bands, Air Purifiers, Laptops etc. Heck, they even make portable water cups, key
chains, plush dolls, luggage and personal transportation vehicles.
No doubt, this isn’t a fair round considering how old and big Samsung is, compared to
Xiaomi. But the little millet, Xiaomi also gave a tough fight to the big guy. But, for now
atleast, Samsung wins this round hands down.

Finally, the round you’ve been waiting for!

• ROUND 3

Let’s come to the main topic of discussion, their phones! Samsung has had quite a
history with phones and that clearly shows with it being the largest smartphone maker
in the world. Samsung phones (smartphones especially) had always been made of
plastic, which though were of premium quality, could not really hold their ground
against metal bodied smartphones (Yeah, I’m pointing at Apple smartphones). But all
this changed with the advent of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. That marked their
beginning with metal smartphones. While I personally like Samsung designs, yet their
lower end smartphones and even some mid range ones look very curvaceous to me. I
prefer lines over curves in terms of phone designs. However, the lower end Samsungs
are still mainly plastic. But their metal smartphones surely have a charm about them. Go
take a look at the 2017 A5 and A7 smartphones and you’ll know what I’m saying. And if
you got them bucks, go for the S8 Edge without hesitation as it is beyond stunning.
However, if you are searching for something low to mid range, be sure about the specs of
the phones before buying since they’re priced pretty close. You could get a better phone
by just shelling a 1000 bucks or two more. I suggest On Max and J7 Pro as some of the
better Samsungs under 20k. Why 20K? Since Samsungs start getting better from that
price bracket onwards as opposed to the ones you get under 10K or even 15K. Samsung’s
Touchwiz UI is pretty beautiful and most people will be happy to live with it. However,
the UI does tend to get laggy after you fill the storage of the phone to the brim or get too
enthusiastic by playing titles like GTA V at the highest graphic settings. Of course, I’m
talking about the budget Samsungs. I’ve never owned a flagship Samsung, so I can’t
comment about them. But going by the reviews, it seems Samsung phones are now
much better optimised with their UI and hence ensure a far smoother UI experience
than before. So, if you’re buying a mid-range Samsung, don’t worry, it will be lag free for
almost everything you use it for.

Now comes Xiaomi, the world’s fifth largest smartphone maker. Xiaomi’s humble
beginnings like its 1st smartphone, Mi 1 have now come a long way. It now makes some
of the most bang-for-the- buck smartphones in the market. Most of the current Xiaomis
are metal bodied. Even it’s 2nd lowest priced offering in India, the Redmi 4, comes with
a metal body (albeit with some hints of plastic at the back towards the top and bottom).
Its phones are pretty good to hold in hand too and provide an ‘affordable premium’
experience. While Xiaomi has certainly taken the budget smartphone market by storm
(currently being dominated by its Redmi 4 and Redmi Note 4 range), it also has some
quite capable flagships like the MI6. The Xiaomi phones come with MIUI (with the
exception of the Mi A1), Xiaomi’s own UI that has an essence of the Apple ios. The UI is
pretty good, simple and lag-free for most of the time(as per my experience) but won’t
give you any thrills. The UI is highly customizable though. Xiaomis are the sort of
phones that give you the most out of your money - a good to hold phone and lag free
interface, all without breaking the bank. And of course, every Xiaomi comes with an IR
Blaster. And don’t forget about the breathtaking Mi Mix smartphones.

Who wins this round? You choose! Phones are something about personal choice.

I currently own a Xiaomi and have used Samsung devices in the past. Both Xiaomi and
Samsung phones have their own fair share of pros and cons. I’m not here to give any
reviews on phones. There are tons of videos for that on the internet. I tried giving you
here just the mere introduction of the way these two companies and most importantly
their phones, vary from each other and let you decide which one of them is the better
one of the lot.

(NOTE: Phone models mentioned in this answer were in context with the Indian mark

Sources : Xiaomi - Wikipedia

Samsung - Wikipedia