Samsung Galaxy A26 5G vs Nothing Phone (3a)
55
out of 100
VS
66
out of 100
Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.7-inch Samsung Galaxy A26 5G (with Exynos 1380) that was released on March 2, 2025, against the Nothing Phone (3a), which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3. 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 A26 5G
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 2048GB
- Waterproof body (IP67 classification)
- Slow-motion recording at 480FPS
- Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology
Reasons to consider the Nothing Phone (3a)
- Has 2x more RAM: 8GB versus 4GB
- Shows 29% longer battery life (25:03 vs 19:28 hours)
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
- Delivers 62% higher peak brightness (1261 against 777 nits)
- 37% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1050K versus 768K)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.4)
- Supports higher wattage charging (50W versus 25W)
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Stereo speakers
- 14% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1158 and 1015 points
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
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
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 | Super AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Size | 6.7 inches | 6.77 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 1080 x 2392 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.9:9 |
| PPI | 385 ppi | 387 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (60-120 Hz) | Yes (60-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 800 nits | 1300 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | - | 3000 nits |
| HDR support | No | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus Plus | Panda Glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 86.7% | 87.7% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
| RGB color space | 100% | 99.8% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | 90 Hz |
| Response time | 2 ms | 1 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 164 mm (6.46 inches) | 163.52 mm (6.44 inches) |
| Width | 77.5 mm (3.05 inches) | 77.5 mm (3.05 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.7 mm (0.3 inches) | 8.35 mm (0.33 inches) |
| Weight | 200 g (7.05 oz) | 201 g (7.09 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP67 | IP64 |
| Advanced cooling | - | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Colors | White, Black, Green, Pink | White, Black, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-display |
| Repairability | Good (3.22/5) | Average (2.84/5) |
| Drop resistance | Very good (B) · 269 drops | Good (C) · 90 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 1380 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 |
| Max clock | 2400 MHz | 2500 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (4 + 4) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 4 cores at 2.4 GHz: Cortex-A78 |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo Silver (Cortex-A520) - 3 cores at 2.4 GHz: Kryo Gold (Cortex-A720) - 1 core at 2.5 GHz: Kryo Prime (Cortex-A720) |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | - |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 4 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Yes | Yes |
| Graphics | Mali-G68 MP5 | Adreno 810 |
| GPU shading units | 160 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 949 MHz | 1050 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~303.7 GFLOPS | ~537.6 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 3046 | 4435 |
| Single-core score | 1015 | 1158 |
| Multi-core score | 2899 | 3276 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 320350 | 402549 |
| GPU | 83203 | 179108 |
| Memory | 129434 | 194640 |
| UX | 230611 | 274304 |
| Total score | 768287 | 1050601 |
| Samples | [27 tests] | [38 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 98% | 98% |
| Graphics test | 2 FPS | 3 FPS |
| Graphics score | 274 | 379 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 11515 | 11533 |
| Video editing | 7315 | 6290 |
| Photo editing | 24850 | 20294 |
| Data manipulation | 10288 | 10511 |
| Writing score | 17482 | 16899 |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy A26 5G
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-10-07 (bes) | AnTuTu 12 | 872304 |
| 📘 2026-10-04 (Subzero) | AnTuTu 12 | 919003 |
| 📘 2026-10-03 (twisee) | AnTuTu 11 | 793564 |
| 📘 2026-09-29 (Saveloy) | AnTuTu 12 | 717743 |
| 📘 2026-09-26 (maks🇰🇿) | AnTuTu 12 | 871135 |
Nothing Phone (3a)
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-07-10 -> ratulislam-55 | CPU Throttle | 82% |
| 📘 2026-07-10 -> ratulislam-55 | Geekbench 6 GPU | 3328 |
| 📘 2026-07-10 -> ratulislam-55 | Geekbench 6 CPU | 1158 / 3276 |
| 📘 2026-06-07 (Aames Ng) | AnTuTu 11 | 1069149 |
| 📘 2026-06-03 (xperz3650) | AnTuTu 11 | 1065584 |
Memory
| RAM size | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 2.2 | UFS 2.2 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | No |
| Memory card max size | Up to 2048 GB | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 16) | Android 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 16) |
| ROM | One UI 8.5 | Nothing OS 4.0 |
| OS size | 21.7 GB | - |
| OS updates | 6 years | 3 years |
| Security updates | 6 years | 4 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 50 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Bypass charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (51% in 30 min) | Yes (61% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:26 hr | 1:06 hr |
| Battery cycles | 1200 cycles | 1400 cycles |
| Web browsing | 06:42 hr | 08:06 hr |
| Watching video | 12:14 hr | 16:25 hr |
| Gaming | 05:11 hr | 05:49 hr |
| Standby | 100 hr | 131 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8192 x 6144 | 8192 x 6144 |
| Zoom | Digital | Optical, 2x |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 480 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 8 MP 3) Macro: 2 MP |
1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Telephoto: 50 MP 3) Ultrawide: 8 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.9 |
| Focal length | 27 mm | 24 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung ISOCELL S5KJN1 | Samsung ISOCELL S5KGN9 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.76" (≈ 0.36 inch) | 1/1.57" (≈ 0.64 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.64 micron | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | - | 50 MP |
| Aperture | - | f/2.6 |
| Focal length | - | 50 mm |
| Sensor | - | Samsung ISOCELL |
| Sensor size | - | 1/2.74" (≈ 0.36 inch) |
| Pixel size | - | 0.64 micron |
| Stabilization | - | Optical |
| Image resolution | 8 MP | 8 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | - | 15 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung S5K4HA | Sony IMX355 |
| Sensor size | 1/4" (≈ 0.25 inch) | 1/4.0" (≈ 0.25 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | 2 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | - |
| Sensor | GalaxyCore GC02M1 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/5" (≈ 0.2 inch) | - |
| Pixel size | 1.75 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Digital | - |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 13 megapixels | 32 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4160 x 3120 | 6560 x 4928 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | - | 22 mm |
| Sensor | Hynix Hi-1339 | Samsung ISOCELL |
| Sensor size | 1/3.06" (≈ 0.33 inch) | 1/3.44" (≈ 0.29 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | - |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.3 | 5.4 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| 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 | No |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Depends on the region | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | No | No |
| Hybrid slot | Yes | No |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Mono | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | - | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | No |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Announced | March 2025 | March 2025 |
| Release date | March 2025 | March 2025 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $190 | $329 |
| Successor | - | - Nothing Phone (4a) |
| SAR (head) | 0.41 W/kg | - |
| SAR (body) | 0.96 W/kg | - |
| Sensors | - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Not included | 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 Nothing Phone (3a) is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 9