Samsung Galaxy A12 vs Galaxy A05s

Here we compared two budget smartphones: the 6.5-inch Samsung Galaxy A12 (with MediaTek Helio P35) that was released on November 24, 2020, against the Samsung Galaxy A05s, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 and came out 2 years and 11 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

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A12
  • Shows 14% longer battery life (26:02 vs 22:55 hours)
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A05s
  • 2.1x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (434K versus 204K)
  • Higher display refresh rate – 90 Hz
  • 46% higher pixel density (393 vs 270 PPI)
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.1)
  • More recent OS version: Android 15 versus 13
  • More energy-efficient CPU – Snapdragon 680
  • Has 2x more RAM: 4GB versus 2GB
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR4X 2133 MHz
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 5 wireless networks
  • Slow-motion recording at 120FPS
  • Supports higher wattage charging (25W versus 15W)
  • The phone is 2 years and 11 months newer

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy A12 and Galaxy A05s 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
DeviceFacts Score
Final comparison evaluation
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate DeviceFacts Score
📱 Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

Should I update?
No 43% Yes
Mostly no. The difference is too small to matter in everyday use.
The overall difference between Samsung Galaxy A12 and Samsung Galaxy A05s is not big enough to justify updating.
Main improvements: display, performance, and connectivity.
Be aware: the newer phone is weaker in battery life.

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Display

Type PLS TFT PLS TFT
Size 6.5 inches 6.7 inches
Resolution 720 x 1600 pixels 1080 x 2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
PPI 270 ppi 393 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 90 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 450 nits 450 nits
HDR support No No
Screen protection Tempered glass Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio 82.1% 82.9%
Display tests
RGB color space 96.3% 98.8%
PWM 337 Hz Not detected
Response time 52 ms 30 ms
Contrast 864:1 1444:1
Peak brightness test (auto)
470 nits
465 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 164 mm (6.46 inches) 168 mm (6.61 inches)
Width 75.8 mm (2.98 inches) 77.8 mm (3.06 inches)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) 8.8 mm (0.35 inches)
Weight 205 g (7.23 oz) 194 g (6.84 oz)
Waterproof No No
Rear material Plastic Plastic
Frame material Plastic Plastic
Colors White, Black, Blue, Red Black, Silver, Green, Purple
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-button Yes, in-button
Screen-to-body ratio
82.1%
82.9%

Performance

Chipset specifications of Samsung Galaxy A12 and Samsung Galaxy A05s
SoC
Chipset MediaTek Helio P35 Qualcomm Snapdragon 680
Max clock 2300 MHz 2400 MHz
CPU cores 8 (4 + 4) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A53
- 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Cortex-A53
- 4 cores at 1.9 GHz: Kryo 265 Silver (Cortex-A53)
- 4 cores at 2.4 GHz: Kryo 265 Gold (Cortex-A73)
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC
Lithography process 12 nanometers 6 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) No Hexagon 686
GPU
Graphics IMG PowerVR GE8320 Adreno 610
GPU shading units 32 128
GPU clock 680 MHz 1114 MHz
FLOPS ~43.5 GFLOPS ~285.2 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Samsung Galaxy A12 and Samsung Galaxy A05s
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
414
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
1400
Compute Score (GPU)
Compute Score (GPU) - 347
Single-core score 300 414
Multi-core score 824 1400
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
204161
Galaxy A05s +113%
434109
CPU 98355 182403
GPU 9461 27317
Memory 57623 107950
UX 38722 116439
Total score 204161 434109
Samples [2 tests] [9 tests]
PCMark 3.0
Web score - 9262
Video editing - 4242
Photo editing - 14814
Data manipulation - 6512
Writing score - 9717

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Samsung Galaxy A12
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-09-25 -> a05stechAnTuTu 12261637
📘 2026-08-09 (Fintex)AnTuTu 11193141
📘 2026-06-12 -> Karlue392007CPU Throttle78%
📘 2026-06-03 (Renzs)AnTuTu 11204161
Samsung Galaxy A05s
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-10-14 (Supera05s)AnTuTu 12592776
📘 2026-10-13 -> karl1994AnTuTu 12459609
📘 2026-10-02 -> Tran Gia Bao VNAnTuTu 12501899
📘 2026-09-07 -> Tran Gia BaoAnTuTu 12468687
📘 2026-08-21 -> a05stechAnTuTu 11448569

Memory

RAM
RAM size 2 GB 4 GB
Memory type LPDDR4 LPDDR4X
Memory clock 1866 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 32 GB 64 GB
Storage type eMMC 5.1 eMMC 5.1
Memory card MicroSD MicroSD
Memory card max size Up to 1024 GB Up to 1024 GB

Software

Operating system Android 10.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) Android 13 (Can be upgraded to Android 15)
ROM One UI Core 5.1 One UI 7.0 Core
OS size 13 GB -
OS updates 2 years 2 years
Security updates 4 years 3 years

Battery

Capacity 5000 mAh 5000 mAh
Max charge power 15 W 25 W
Battery type Li-Po Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No No
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes (20% in 30 min) Yes (43% in 30 min)
Full charging time 3:03 hr 1:26 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 11:00 hr 08:37 hr
Watching video 13:25 hr 11:33 hr
Gaming 06:03 hr 05:18 hr
Standby 133 hr 127 hr
General battery life
Galaxy A12 +14%
26:02 hr
22:55 hr

Main camera

Matrix 48 megapixels 50 megapixels
Image resolution 8000 x 6000 8192 x 6144
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Digital Digital
8K video recording No No
4K video recording No No
1080p video recording Up to 30FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion No 120 FPS (720p)
Angle of widest lens 123° -
Lenses 1) Standard: 48 MP
2) Ultrawide: 5 MP
3) Macro: 2 MP
4) Depth: 2 MP
1) Standard: 50 MP
2) Macro: 2 MP
3) Depth: 2 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
Standard lens
Image resolution 48 MP 50 MP
Aperture f/2.0 f/1.8
Focal length 26 mm -
Sensor Samsung S5KGM2 -
Sensor size 1/2" (≈ 0.5 inch) 1/2.8" (≈ 0.36 inch)
Pixel size 0.8 micron -
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 5 MP -
Aperture f/2.2 -
Stabilization Digital -
Macro lens
Image resolution 2 MP 2 MP
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.4
Stabilization No Digital

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
Samples Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A12 from DxOMark -

Selfie camera

Megapixels 8 megapixels 13 megapixels
Image resolution 3264 x 2448 -
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.0
Sensor CMOS CMOS
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 4 (802.11 b/g/n) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5.1
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 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
NFC* Yes Depends on the region
Infrared port No 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* 7 13
5G support No No

Sound

Speakers Mono Mono
Headphone audio jack Yes Yes
FM radio Yes No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness
80.9 dB
80.3 dB

Other

Category Budget Budget
Announced November 2020 September 2023
Release date December 2020 October 2023
Launch price (MSRP) $180 $149
Successor - Samsung Galaxy A17 4G -
SAR (head) 0.67 W/kg 0.58 W/kg
SAR (body) 1.38 W/kg 1.31 W/kg
Sensors - Proximity sensor
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Fingerprint
- Proximity sensor
- Ambient light sensor
- 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 Samsung Galaxy A05s is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
16 (22.5%)
55 (77.5%)
Total votes: 71

User opinions

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