Samsung Galaxy A16 5G vs Galaxy A03s

Here we compared two budget smartphones: the 6.7-inch Samsung Galaxy A16 5G (with Exynos 1330) that was released on October 7, 2024, against the Samsung Galaxy A03s, which is powered by MediaTek Helio P35 and came out 3 years and 2 months before. 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 A16 5G
  • Water-resistant body (IP54 classification)
  • 3x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (576K versus 193K)
  • Delivers 132% higher peak brightness (818 against 353 nits)
  • Higher display refresh rate – 90 Hz
  • 43% higher pixel density (385 vs 270 PPI)
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
  • More recent OS version: Android 16 versus 13
  • More energy-efficient CPU – Exynos 1330
  • Has 2x more RAM: 4GB versus 2GB
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 5 wireless networks
  • Slow-motion recording at 120FPS
  • The phone is 3 years and 2 months newer
  • Super AMOLED display (versus competitor's PLS TFT)
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A03s
  • Shows 26% longer battery life (25:37 vs 20:24 hours)
  • Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy A16 5G and Galaxy A03s 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
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Value for money (Beta)

Should I update?
No 57% Yes
Maybe, but mainly if you specifically want better display.
This is a situational upgrade. It makes the most sense if better display matters to you.
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 Super AMOLED PLS TFT
Size 6.7 inches 6.5 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2340 pixels 720 x 1600 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
PPI 385 ppi 270 ppi
Refresh rate 90 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 800 nits 400 nits
HDR support No No
Screen protection Tempered glass Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio 86% 81.9%
Display features - DCI-P3 -
Display tests
RGB color space 99.1% 93.9%
PWM 360 Hz 806 Hz
Response time 3 ms 43 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity 1126:1
Screen space comparison
Galaxy A16 5G
6.7″ (19.5:9 ratio) = 17.1 in2
Galaxy A03s
6.5″ (20:9 ratio) = 15.8 in2
~8% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
818 nits
353 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 164.4 mm (6.47 inches) 164.2 mm (6.46 inches)
Width 77.9 mm (3.07 inches) 75.9 mm (2.99 inches)
Thickness 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) 9.1 mm (0.36 inches)
Weight 200 g (7.05 oz) 196 g (6.91 oz)
Waterproof IP54 No
Rear material Plastic Plastic
Frame material Plastic Plastic
Colors White, Gray, Blue, Green White, Black, Blue
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-button Yes, in-button
Repairability Good (3.2/5) -
Drop resistance Very good (B) · 180 drops -
Screen-to-body ratio
86%
81.9%

Performance

Chipset specifications of Samsung Galaxy A16 5G and Samsung Galaxy A03s
SoC
Chipset Samsung Exynos 1330 MediaTek Helio P35
Max clock 2400 MHz 2350 MHz
CPU cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 6 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 2 cores at 2.4 GHz: Cortex-A78
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A53
- 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Cortex-A53
Manufacturing Samsung TSMC
Lithography process 5 nanometers 12 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Yes No
GPU
Graphics Mali-G68 MP2 PowerVR GE8320
GPU shading units 64 32
GPU clock 949 MHz 680 MHz
FLOPS ~121.5 GFLOPS ~43.5 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Samsung Galaxy A16 5G and Samsung Galaxy A03s
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
960
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
1826
Compute Score (GPU)
Compute Score (GPU) 1284 -
Single-core score 960 478
Multi-core score 1826 1521
Sources: Geekbench [3]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
576249
193935
CPU 244407 85523
GPU 42598 14063
Memory 110301 37405
UX 178943 56944
Total score 576249 193935
Samples [2 tests] Less than 3
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
Stability 98% -
Graphics test 1 FPS -
Graphics score 139 -
Sources: 3DMark [5], [6]
PCMark 3.0
12226
Web score 13054 4559
Video editing 6777 3397
Photo editing 21291 7779
Data manipulation 9362 3974
Writing score 15837 5533

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-08-15 (Julian Ludwig)Geekbench 6 GPU1286
📘 2026-08-15 (Julian Ludwig)Geekbench 6 CPU960 / 1826
📘 2025-12-10 (Nait)AnTuTu 11576249
📘 2025-11-14 (Nait)AnTuTu 11491818
Samsung Galaxy A03s
No benchmark results yet

Memory

RAM
RAM size 4 GB 2 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X -
Memory clock 2133 MHz -
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 128 GB 32 GB
Storage type UFS 2.2 eMMC 5.1
Memory card MicroSD MicroSD
Memory card max size Up to 1536 GB Up to 1024 GB

Software

Operating system Android 14 (Can be upgraded to Android 16) Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)
ROM One UI 8.5 One UI Core 5.0
OS size 26 GB 13.2 GB
OS updates 2 years 2 years
Security updates 3 years 4 years

Battery

Capacity 5000 mAh 5000 mAh
Max charge power 25 W 15 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No No
Reverse charging No No
Bypass charging No -
Fast charging Yes (47% in 30 min) Yes (15% in 30 min)
Full charging time 1:21 hr 3:38 hr
Battery cycles 1200 cycles -
Battery life tests
Web browsing 08:05 hr 11:05 hr
Watching video 11:26 hr 15:35 hr
Gaming 06:26 hr 06:17 hr
Standby 100 hr 116 hr
General battery life
20:24 hr
25:37 hr

Main camera

Matrix 50 megapixels 13 megapixels
Image resolution 8160 x 6120 4128 x 3096
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 30FPS
Slow motion 120 FPS (720p) No
Lenses 1) Standard: 50 MP
2) Ultrawide: 5 MP
3) Macro: 2 MP
1) Standard: 13 MP
2) Macro: 2 MP
3) Depth: 2 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- Bokeh mode
Standard lens
Image resolution 50 MP 13 MP
Aperture f/1.8 f/1.8
Sensor Samsung ISOCELL S5KJN1 -
Sensor size 1/2.76" (≈ 0.36 inch) -
Pixel size 0.64 micron -
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 5 MP -
Aperture f/2.2 -
Sensor SmartSens SC501 -
Sensor size 1/5" (≈ 0.2 inch) -
Pixel size 1.12 micron -
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
Bokeh 55 -
Preview 52 -
Zoom 49 -
Samples Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A16 5G from DxOMark -

Selfie camera

Megapixels 13 megapixels 5 megapixels
Image resolution 4160 x 3120 2560 x 1960
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm -
Sensor GalaxyCore GC13A0 CMOS
Sensor size 1/3.1" (≈ 0.32 inch) -
Pixel size 1.12 micron -
Autofocus No No
Stabilization No 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 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 4 (802.11 b/g/n)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 5
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
DisplayPort No -
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC* Depends on the region 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* - 4
5G support Yes No

Sound

Speakers Mono Mono
Headphone audio jack No Yes
FM radio No Yes
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness
93.3 dB
86.5 dB

Other

Category Budget Budget
Announced October 2024 August 2021
Release date October 2024 August 2021
Launch price (MSRP) $199 $159
Successor - Samsung Galaxy A17 5G - Samsung Galaxy A05s
SAR (head) 0.38 W/kg 0.36 W/kg
SAR (body) 0.94 W/kg 1.09 W/kg
Sensors - Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
- Proximity sensor
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Fingerprint
Bundled charger Not included Yes, 15 W
*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 A16 5G is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
4 (80%)
1 (20%)
Total votes: 5

User opinions

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