Samsung Galaxy A36 5G vs Google Pixel 9a
63
out of 100
VS
67
out of 100
Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.7-inch Samsung Galaxy A36 5G (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 ) that was released on March 2, 2025, against the Google Pixel 9a, which is powered by Google Tensor G4 and came out 1 month 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 A36 5G
- Shows 23% longer battery life (24:52 vs 20:15 hours)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.4)
- Has a 0.4 inch larger screen size
- Supports higher wattage charging (45W versus 23W)
- Has 2 SIM card slots
- Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 9a
- 56% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1321K versus 844K)
- Delivers 57% higher peak brightness (1927 against 1224 nits)
- Handles wireless charging up to 7.5W
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
- More recent OS version: Android 17 versus 16
- 10% higher pixel density (422 vs 385 PPI)
- 67% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1677 and 1004 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 | POLED |
| Size | 6.7 inches | 6.3 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 1080 x 2424 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 385 ppi | 422 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (60-120 Hz) | Yes (60-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 1200 nits | 2700 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1900 nits | 1800 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus Plus | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 86.5% | 84.5% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99.9% | 98.2% |
| PWM | 120 Hz | 240 Hz |
| Response time | 1 ms | 1 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Screen space comparison
Galaxy A36 5G
6.7″ (19.5:9 ratio) = 17.1 in2
Pixel 9a
6.3″ (20:9 ratio) = 14.9 in2
~14% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 162.9 mm (6.41 inches) | 154.7 mm (6.09 inches) |
| Width | 78.2 mm (3.08 inches) | 73.3 mm (2.89 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 195 g (6.88 oz) | 186 g (6.56 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP67 | IP68 |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Glass | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Green, Purple | White, Black, Red, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
| Repairability | Good (3.19/5) | Good (3.53/5) |
| Drop resistance | Good (C) · 90 drops | Excellent (A) · 270 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 | Google Tensor G4 |
| Max clock | 2400 MHz | 3100 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (4 + 4) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 4 cores at 2.4 GHz: Cortex-A78 |
- 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 | Samsung | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 4 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Hexagon | Yes |
| Graphics | Adreno 710 | Mali-G715 MP7 |
| GPU shading units | 256 | 896 |
| GPU clock | 1010 MHz | 940 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~517.1 GFLOPS | ~1684.4 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 3506 | 7784 |
| Single-core score | 1004 | 1677 |
| Multi-core score | 2919 | 4067 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 311567 | 445318 |
| GPU | 134619 | 410687 |
| Memory | 162720 | 175537 |
| UX | 235541 | 289527 |
| Total score | 844447 | 1321069 |
| Samples | [66 tests] | [7 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 98% | 81% |
| Graphics test | 2 FPS | 8 FPS |
| Graphics score | 315 | 1060 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 14144 | 10570 |
| Video editing | 7296 | 7547 |
| Photo editing | 24677 | 21264 |
| Data manipulation | 10326 | 12988 |
| Writing score | 14497 | 16308 |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-10-12 (Jhzinnn) | AnTuTu 12 | 934820 |
| 📘 2026-10-04 -> Arcticmonkeys98 | AnTuTu 12 | 953956 |
| 📘 2026-10-02 (A36XQHYPER) | AnTuTu 12 | 938148 |
| 📘 2026-09-30 (kazew_) | AnTuTu 12 | 1005038 |
| 📘 2026-09-27 (Abdulgani) | AnTuTu 12 | 991604 |
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 | 6 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5X |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 4200 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 4 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 16) | Android 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 17) |
| ROM | One UI 8.5 | Stock Android |
| OS size | 22.6 GB | 14 GB |
| OS updates | 6 years | 7 years |
| Security updates | 6 years | 7 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5100 mAh |
| Max charge power | 45 W | 23 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | Yes (7.5 W) |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Bypass charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (60% in 30 min) | Yes (47% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:14 hr | 1:41 hr |
| Battery cycles | 2000 cycles | 1000 cycles |
| Web browsing | 10:13 hr | 08:20 hr |
| Watching video | 16:02 hr | 12:40 hr |
| Gaming | 04:55 hr | 06:06 hr |
| Standby | 115 hr | 91 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 48 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8192 x 6144 | 8000 x 6000 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 8 MP 3) Macro: 5 MP |
1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Ultrawide: 13 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 48 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.7 |
| Focal length | - | 25 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX882 | Samsung GN8 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.96" (≈ 0.51 inch) | 1/2" (≈ 0.5 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | 0.8 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 8 MP | 13 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | - | 16 mm |
| Sensor | GalaxyCore GC08A3 | Sony IMX712 |
| Sensor size | 1/4.0" (≈ 0.25 inch) | 1/3.06" (≈ 0.33 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | 5 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | - |
| Sensor | GalaxyCore GC05A3 | - |
| Stabilization | Digital | - |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | - | 145 |
| Zoom | - | 99 |
| Samples | - | Photo samples of Google Pixel 9a from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 13 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3184 x 2388 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | - | 20 mm |
| Sensor | GalaxyCore GC12A2 | CMOS |
| Sensor size | - | 1/3.1" (≈ 0.32 inch) |
| Pixel size | - | 1.12 micron |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - 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 | 5.4 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | 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 | No | Yes |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | 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* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | No |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Announced | March 2025 | March 2025 |
| Release date | March 2025 | April 2025 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $399 | $499 |
| Successor | - Samsung Galaxy A37 5G | - Google Pixel 10a |
| SAR (head) | 0.53 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.29 W/kg | 1.39 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - 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
If the camera, performance, gaming, and connectivity are more important to you, then choose the Google Pixel 9a. But if the battery life, software, design, and sound are more of a priority – go for the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 34