Samsung Galaxy A12 vs Google Pixel 9a
37
out of 100
VS
67
out of 100
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.5-inch Samsung Galaxy A12 (with MediaTek Helio P35) that was released on November 24, 2020, against the Google Pixel 9a, which is powered by Google Tensor G4 and came out 4 years and 5 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
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A12
- Shows 29% longer battery life (26:02 vs 20:15 hours)
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1024GB
- Has 2 SIM card slots
- Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 9a
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- 6.5x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1321K versus 204K)
- Delivers 310% higher peak brightness (1927 against 470 nits)
- Has 4x more RAM: 8GB versus 2GB
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- 56% higher pixel density (422 vs 270 PPI)
- Handles wireless charging up to 7.5W
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- Optical image stabilization
- More recent OS version: Android 17 versus 13
- Ability to record video in 4K resolution
- More energy-efficient CPU – Tensor G4
Review
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
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate DeviceFacts Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | PLS TFT | POLED |
| Size | 6.5 inches | 6.3 inches |
| Resolution | 720 x 1600 pixels | 1080 x 2424 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 270 ppi | 422 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | Yes (60-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 450 nits | 2700 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | - | 1800 nits |
| HDR support | No | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 82.1% | 84.5% |
| Display features | - | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 96.3% | 98.2% |
| PWM | 337 Hz | 240 Hz |
| Response time | 52 ms | 1 ms |
| Contrast | 864:1 | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 164 mm (6.46 inches) | 154.7 mm (6.09 inches) |
| Width | 75.8 mm (2.98 inches) | 73.3 mm (2.89 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 205 g (7.23 oz) | 186 g (6.56 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | IP68 |
| Advanced cooling | - | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue, Red | White, Black, Red, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-display |
| Repairability | - | Good (3.53/5) |
| Drop resistance | - | Excellent (A) · 270 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | MediaTek Helio P35 | Google Tensor G4 |
| Max clock | 2300 MHz | 3100 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (4 + 4) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A53 - 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Cortex-A53 |
- 4 cores at 1.92 GHz: Cortex-A520 - 3 cores at 2.6 GHz: Cortex-A720 - 1 core at 3.1 GHz: Cortex-X4 |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 12 nanometers | 4 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | No | Yes |
| Graphics | IMG PowerVR GE8320 | Mali-G715 MP7 |
| GPU shading units | 32 | 896 |
| GPU clock | 680 MHz | 940 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~43.5 GFLOPS | ~1684.4 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | - | 7784 |
| Single-core score | 300 | 1677 |
| Multi-core score | 824 | 4067 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 98355 | 445318 |
| GPU | 9461 | 410687 |
| Memory | 57623 | 175537 |
| UX | 38722 | 289527 |
| Total score | 204161 | 1321069 |
| Samples | [2 tests] | [7 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | - | 81% |
| Graphics test | - | 8 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 1060 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | - | 10570 |
| Video editing | - | 7547 |
| Photo editing | - | 21264 |
| Data manipulation | - | 12988 |
| Writing score | - | 16308 |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy A12
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-25 -> a05stech | AnTuTu 12 | 261637 |
| 📘 2026-08-09 (Fintex) | AnTuTu 11 | 193141 |
| 📘 2026-06-12 -> Karlue392007 | CPU Throttle | 78% |
| 📘 2026-06-03 (Renzs) | AnTuTu 11 | 204161 |
Google Pixel 9a
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-08-21 (Leif) | AnTuTu 11 | 1590049 |
| 📘 2026-05-13 (kiriguap) | AnTuTu 11 | 1182042 |
| 📘 2026-03-09 (d1ldo) | AnTuTu 11 | 943849 |
| 📘 2026-01-03 (Joy) | AnTuTu 11 | 1487240 |
| 📘 2025-11-11 (VLAD) | AnTuTu 11 | 1507185 |
Memory
| RAM size | 2 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4 | LPDDR5X |
| Memory clock | 1866 MHz | 4200 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 4 |
| Storage size | 32 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | eMMC 5.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | No |
| Memory card max size | Up to 1024 GB | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 10.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 17) |
| ROM | One UI Core 5.1 | Stock Android |
| OS size | 13 GB | 14 GB |
| OS updates | 2 years | 7 years |
| Security updates | 4 years | 7 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5100 mAh |
| Max charge power | 15 W | 23 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Bypass charging | - | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (20% in 30 min) | Yes (47% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 3:03 hr | 1:41 hr |
| Battery cycles | - | 1000 cycles |
| Web browsing | 11:00 hr | 08:20 hr |
| Watching video | 13:25 hr | 12:40 hr |
| Gaming | 06:03 hr | 06:06 hr |
| Standby | 133 hr | 91 hr |
General battery life
Smartphones With Long Battery Life (#138th place)
Main camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 48 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8000 x 6000 | 8000 x 6000 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Digital | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | No | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | No | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Ultrawide: 5 MP 3) Macro: 2 MP 4) Depth: 2 MP |
1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Ultrawide: 13 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Image resolution | 48 MP | 48 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/1.7 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 25 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KGM2 | Samsung GN8 |
| Sensor size | 1/2" (≈ 0.5 inch) | 1/2" (≈ 0.5 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | 0.8 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Digital | Optical |
| Image resolution | 5 MP | 13 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | - | 16 mm |
| Sensor | - | Sony IMX712 |
| Sensor size | - | 1/3.06" (≈ 0.33 inch) |
| Pixel size | - | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | 2 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | - |
| Stabilization | No | - |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | - | 145 |
| Zoom | - | 99 |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A12 from DxOMark | Photo samples of Google Pixel 9a from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 13 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | - | 20 mm |
| Sensor | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | - | 1/3.1" (≈ 0.32 inch) |
| Pixel size | - | 1.12 micron |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 4 (802.11 b/g/n) | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 3.2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | - | Yes |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | No | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 7 | - |
| 5G support | No | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Mono | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | No |
| FM radio | Yes | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | No |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Budget | Mid-range |
| Announced | November 2020 | March 2025 |
| Release date | December 2020 | April 2025 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $180 | $499 |
| Successor | - Samsung Galaxy A17 4G | - Google Pixel 10a |
| SAR (head) | 0.67 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.38 W/kg | 1.39 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | - | Not included |
*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 Google Pixel 9a is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 1