Samsung Galaxy A52 vs Google Pixel 9a
46
out of 100
VS
67
out of 100
Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.5-inch Samsung Galaxy A52 (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G) that was released on March 17, 2021, against the Google Pixel 9a, which is powered by Google Tensor G4 and came out 4 years and 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 A52
- Shows 11% longer battery life (22:27 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
- 2.6x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1321K versus 508K)
- Delivers 144% higher peak brightness (1927 against 790 nits)
- Has 2x more RAM: 8GB versus 4GB
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Handles wireless charging up to 7.5W
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- More recent OS version: Android 17 versus 14
- More energy-efficient CPU – Tensor G4
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- The phone is 4 years and 1 month newer
- Ready for eSIM technology
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 | Super AMOLED | POLED |
| Size | 6.5 inches | 6.3 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels | 1080 x 2424 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 407 ppi | 422 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 90 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | Yes (60-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 800 nits | 2700 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | - | 1800 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 85% | 84.5% |
| Display features | - Always-On Display | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99.3% | 98.2% |
| PWM | 183 Hz | 240 Hz |
| Response time | 4.4 ms | 1 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 159.9 mm (6.3 inches) | 154.7 mm (6.09 inches) |
| Width | 75.1 mm (2.96 inches) | 73.3 mm (2.89 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.4 mm (0.33 inches) | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 189 g (6.67 oz) | 186 g (6.56 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP67 | IP68 |
| Advanced cooling | - | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue, Pink | White, Black, Red, Purple |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
| Repairability | - | Good (3.53/5) |
| Drop resistance | - | Excellent (A) · 270 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G | Google Tensor G4 |
| Max clock | 2300 MHz | 3100 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 6) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 465 Silver (Cortex-A55) - 2 cores at 2.3 GHz: Kryo 465 Gold (Cortex-A76) |
- 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 | 8 nanometers | 4 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Hexagon 692 | Yes |
| Graphics | Adreno 618 | Mali-G715 MP7 |
| GPU shading units | 256 | 896 |
| GPU clock | 750 MHz | 940 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~384 GFLOPS | ~1684.4 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 1221 | 7784 |
| Single-core score | 738 | 1677 |
| Multi-core score | 1724 | 4067 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 202719 | 445318 |
| GPU | 48709 | 410687 |
| Memory | 88581 | 175537 |
| UX | 168351 | 289527 |
| Total score | 508360 | 1321069 |
| Samples | [12 tests] | [7 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | - | 81% |
| Graphics test | - | 8 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 1060 |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | 98% | - |
| Graphics test | 1 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 313 | - |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 8030 | 10570 |
| Video editing | 6295 | 7547 |
| Photo editing | 18039 | 21264 |
| Data manipulation | 7577 | 12988 |
| Writing score | 9464 | 16308 |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy A52
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-06-23 (Itsorif) | AnTuTu 11 | 501313 |
| 📘 2026-06-07 (Itsorif) | AnTuTu 11 | 497969 |
| 📘 2026-06-05 (Dovinge) | AnTuTu 11 | 509471 |
| 📘 2026-05-31 (Rozr) | AnTuTu 11 | 492323 |
| 📘 2026-03-24 (Rikosol) | AnTuTu 11 | 470138 |
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 | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5X |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 4200 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 4 |
| Storage size | 64 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 2.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | No |
| Memory card max size | Up to 1024 GB | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 14) | Android 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 17) |
| ROM | One UI 6.1 | Stock Android |
| OS size | 25.8 GB | 14 GB |
| OS updates | 2 years | 7 years |
| Security updates | 4 years | 7 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 4500 mAh | 5100 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 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 |
| Fast charging | Yes (35% in 30 min) | Yes (47% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:30 hr | 1:41 hr |
| Battery cycles | - | 1000 cycles |
| Web browsing | 08:10 hr | 08:20 hr |
| Watching video | 12:28 hr | 12:40 hr |
| Gaming | 04:57 hr | 06:06 hr |
| Standby | 122 hr | 91 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 64 megapixels | 48 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 9000 x 7000 | 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 (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 64 MP 2) Ultrawide: 12 MP 3) Macro: 5 MP 4) Depth: 5 MP |
1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Ultrawide: 13 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Image resolution | 64 MP | 48 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.7 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 25 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX682 | Samsung GN8 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.7" (≈ 0.59 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 | 12 MP | 13 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 13 mm | 16 mm |
| Sensor | - | Sony IMX712 |
| Sensor size | - | 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 | - |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | - |
| 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 | 32 megapixels | 13 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 6528 x 4896 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 20 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX616 | CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/2.8" (≈ 0.36 inch) | 1/3.1" (≈ 0.32 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | 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 5 (802.11 b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 6E (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 | 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 | Yes | No |
| LTE Cat* | 15 | - |
| 5G support | No | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | No |
| FM radio | Yes | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | No |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Announced | March 2021 | March 2025 |
| Release date | March 2021 | April 2025 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $350 | $499 |
| Successor | - | - Google Pixel 10a |
| SAR (head) | 0.35 W/kg | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 0.84 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 |
*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