Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus vs Google Pixel 9a

57 out of 100

VS

67 out of 100

Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.7-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus (with Exynos 2100) that was released on January 14, 2021, against the Google Pixel 9a, which is powered by Google Tensor G4 and came out 4 years and 3 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

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone

Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus

The rear camera has a 1.1x optical zoom
Has a 0.4 inch larger screen size
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
Has 2 SIM card slots
Reverse charging feature
Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology

Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 9a

Delivers 119% higher peak brightness (1927 against 878 nits)
Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
More recent OS version: Android 17 versus 15
30% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1321K versus 1017K)
The phone is 4 years and 3 months newer
33% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1677 and 1259 points

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus and Google Pixel 9a crucial features

Display

Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness

Type	Dynamic AMOLED	POLED
Size	6.7 inches	6.3 inches
Resolution	1080 x 2400 pixels	1080 x 2424 pixels
Aspect ratio	20:9	20:9
PPI	394 ppi	422 ppi
Refresh rate	120 Hz	120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate	Yes (48-120 Hz)	Yes (60-120 Hz)
Max rated brightness	1300 nits	2700 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR	-	1800 nits
HDR support	Yes, HDR10+	Yes, HDR10+
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass Victus	Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Screen-to-body ratio	88.7%	84.5%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display

RGB color space	98.9%	98.2%
PWM	240 Hz	240 Hz
Response time	6.2 ms	1 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Height	161.5 mm (6.36 inches)	154.7 mm (6.09 inches)
Width	75.6 mm (2.98 inches)	73.3 mm (2.89 inches)
Thickness	7.8 mm (0.31 inches)	8.9 mm (0.35 inches)
Weight	200 g (7.05 oz)	186 g (6.56 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Advanced cooling	-	Vapor chamber
Rear material	Glass	Plastic
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	Black, Silver, Gold, Red, Purple	White, Black, Red, Purple
Fingerprint scanner	Yes, in-display	Yes, in-display
Repairability	-	Good (3.53/5)
Drop resistance	-	Excellent (A) · 270 drops

Chipset	Samsung Exynos 2100	Google Tensor G4
Max clock	2900 MHz	3100 MHz
CPU cores	8 (1 + 3 + 4)	8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture	- 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 3 cores at 2.81 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 2.91 GHz: Cortex-X1	- 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	5 nanometers	4 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU)	Yes	Yes

Graphics	Mali-G78 MP14	Mali-G715 MP7
GPU shading units	448	896
GPU clock	854 MHz	940 MHz
FLOPS	~765.2 GFLOPS	~1684.4 GFLOPS

Compute Score (GPU)	6699	7784
Single-core score	1259	1677
Multi-core score	3255	4067

CPU	380634	445318
GPU	187261	410687
Memory	186352	175537
UX	263526	289527
Total score	1017773	1321069
Samples	[9 tests]	[7 tests]

Web score	-	10570
Video editing	-	7547
Photo editing	-	21264
Data manipulation	-	12988
Writing score	-	16308

Date	Benchmark	Result
📘 2026-09-01 (Md. Iqbal Talukder)	AnTuTu 11	1014567
📘 2026-05-30 (Júnior)	AnTuTu 11	1049711
📘 2026-05-08 (Arcytechsure)	AnTuTu 11	1125806
📘 2026-04-18 (Aziz Jr)	Geekbench 6 GPU	6699
📘 2026-04-18 (Aziz Jr)	Geekbench 6 CPU	1124 / 3273

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

Stability	-	81%
Graphics test	-	8 FPS
Graphics score	-	1060

RAM
RAM size	8 GB	8 GB
Memory type	LPDDR5	LPDDR5X
Memory clock	2750 MHz	4200 MHz
Channels	2	4

Storage
Storage size	128 GB	128 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.1	UFS 3.1
Memory card	No	No

Operating system	Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 15)	Android 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 17)
ROM	One UI 7.0	Stock Android
OS size	27.2 GB	14 GB
OS updates	2 years	7 years
Security updates	4 years	7 years

Capacity	4800 mAh	5100 mAh
Max charge power	25 W	23 W
Battery type	Li-Ion	Li-Po
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes (15 W)	Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse charging	Yes, (wireless)	No
Bypass charging	-	No
Fast charging	Yes (54% in 30 min)	Yes (47% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:12 hr	1:41 hr
Battery cycles	-	1000 cycles

Web browsing	07:28 hr	08:20 hr
Watching video	13:15 hr	12:40 hr
Gaming	05:04 hr	06:06 hr
Standby	105 hr	91 hr

Matrix	12 megapixels	48 megapixels
Image resolution	4000 x 3000	8000 x 6000
Zoom	Optical, 1.1x	Digital
Flash	Dual LED	Dual LED
Stabilization	Optical	Optical
8K video recording	Up to 24FPS	No
4K video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
Slow motion	960 FPS (720p)	240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens	120°	120°
Lenses	1) Standard: 12 MP 2) Telephoto: 64 MP 3) Ultrawide: 12 MP	1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Ultrawide: 13 MP
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support

Image resolution	12 MP	48 MP
Aperture	f/1.8	f/1.7
Focal length	26 mm	25 mm
Sensor	Sony IMX555	Samsung GN8
Sensor size	1/1.76" (≈ 0.57 inch)	1/2" (≈ 0.5 inch)
Pixel size	1.8 micron	0.8 micron
Autofocus	Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)	Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization	Optical	Optical

Image resolution	64 MP	-
Aperture	f/2.0	-
Focal length	28 mm	-
Sensor	Samsung Bright S5KGW2	-
Sensor size	1/1.72" (≈ 0.58 inch)	-
Pixel size	0.8 micron	-
Stabilization	Optical	-

Image resolution	12 MP	13 MP
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.2
Focal length	13 mm	16 mm
Sensor	Sony IMX563	Sony IMX712
Sensor size	1/2.55" (≈ 0.39 inch)	1/3.06" (≈ 0.33 inch)
Pixel size	1.4 micron	1.12 micron
Stabilization	Digital	Digital

Bokeh	70	145
Preview	60	-
Zoom	114	99
Samples	Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus from DxOMark	Photo samples of Google Pixel 9a from DxOMark

Megapixels	10 megapixels	13 megapixels
Image resolution	3872 x 2592	4032 x 3024
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.2
Focal length	26 mm	20 mm
Sensor	Sony IMX374	CMOS
Sensor size	1/3.24" (≈ 0.31 inch)	1/3.1" (≈ 0.32 inch)
Pixel size	1.22 micron	1.12 micron
Autofocus	Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)	No
Stabilization	Digital	Digital
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS	2160p (4K) at 30 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D)	No	No

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	5.3
Bluetooth features	LE, A2DP	LE
USB type	USB Type-C	USB Type-C
USB version	3.2	3.2
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - USB-Host 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*	Yes	Yes
Hybrid slot	No	No
LTE Cat*	24	-
5G support	Yes	Yes

Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus vs Google Pixel 9a

Key differences

Review

Value for money (Beta)

Tests and specifications

Display

Design and build

Performance

Benchmarks

Recent User Tests

Memory

Software

Battery

Main camera

DxOMark main camera tests

Selfie camera

Connectivity

Sound

Other

Conclusion

Cast your vote

Related comparisons

User opinions

Speakers	Stereo	Stereo
Headphone audio jack	No	No
FM radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	No

Category	Flagship	Mid-range
Announced	January 2021	March 2025
Release date	February 2021	April 2025
Launch price (MSRP)	$1000	$499
Successor	- Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus	- Google Pixel 10a
SAR (head)	0.54 W/kg	0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)	1.33 W/kg	1.39 W/kg
Sensors	- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint	- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint
Bundled charger	-	Not included