Home Phone comparison Google Pixel 6a and Apple iPhone XS - Which is better?

Google Pixel 6a vs Apple iPhone XS

62 out 100
Google Pixel 6a
VS
52 out 100
Apple iPhone XS
Google Pixel 6a
Apple iPhone XS

Compared 2 smartphones : Google Pixel 6a Manufactured in June, 2022, with display 6.1 with chipsetGoogle Tensor, vs Apple iPhone XS, Manufactured in September, 2018 with chipsetApple A12 Bionic. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Google Pixel 6a
  • Larger display: 6.1in
  • Higher battery capacity: 4410mAh vs 2658mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.2 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.1 vs 2
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone XS
  • Higher pixel density: 458ppi
  • Lighter design: 177g vs 178g
  • Supports Dolby Atmos

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options 6/128 GB - 4/64 GB
- 4/256 GB
- 4/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Google Pixel 6a and Apple iPhone XS
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
Google Pixel 6a
vs
Apple iPhone XS

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED OLED
Size 6.1 in 5.8 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1125x2436 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 429 ppi 458 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 500 nits 625 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes Dolby Vision
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 120 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 82.2 % 81.1 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Google Pixel 6a
869 nits
Apple iPhone XS
635 nits
sRGB gamut96.9 %98.8 %
PWM (Flicker)240 Hz240 Hz
Response time3 ms4.4 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Google Pixel 6a], [Apple iPhone XS]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 152.2 mm (5.99 in) 143.6 mm (5.65 in)
Width 71.8 mm (2.83 in) 70.9 mm (2.79 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 7.7 mm (0.3 in)
Weight 178 g (6.28 oz) 177 g (6.24 oz)
Water resistance IP67 IP68
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Green		 - Silver
- Gold
- Gray
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Google Pixel 6a
82.2 %
Apple iPhone XS
81.1 %

Performance

Testing Google Pixel 6a and Apple iPhone XS In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Google Tensor Apple A12 Bionic
Max Frequency 2800 MHz 2490 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 2 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Cortex A55)
- 2/2.25 (Cortex A76)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-X1)		 - 4/1.6 (Tempest)
- 2/2.49 (Vortex)
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 7 nm
Neural Processor Tensor Processing Unit Neural Engine
Graphics Mali-G78 MP20 Apple A12 GPU
GPU Cores 1280 256
GPU Frequency 848 MHz 1100 MHz
FLOPS 2170.9 GFLOPS 576 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Google Pixel 6a
1448
Apple iPhone XS
1307
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Google Pixel 6a
3412
Apple iPhone XS
3447
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)14481307
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)34123447
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Google Pixel 6a]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Google Pixel 6a
909498
Apple iPhone XS
733639
CPU250722202576
GPU324786217548
Memory143829146853
UX190161166662
NanoReview Score909498733639
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Google Pixel 6a
6194
Apple iPhone XS
5698
Max Surface Temp.41.4 °C44.8 °C
Stability56 %63 %
Graphics Test37 fps34 fps
Graphics Score61945698
Sources: 3DMark [Google Pixel 6a], [Apple iPhone XS]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Google Pixel 6a
9940
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Writing score15353n/a
Web score6280n/a
Video editing5843n/a
Data manipulation9519n/a
NanoReview Score9940n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 6 GB 4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB- 64 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1NVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 12 (Upgradeable to Android 15) iOS 12 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2)
OS Size 14.3 GB 11.8 GB
UI Skin Stock Android n/a

Battery

Volume 4410 mAh 2658 mAh
Max Charging Power 18 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes Qi (10 W)
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes (42% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 60 min)
Full Charge Time 1:51 h 2:40 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Google Pixel 6a
20:44
Apple iPhone XS
16:06
Web Browsing08:25 h05:44 h
Video Playback14:20 h09:44 h
Games05:34 h03:54 h
Standby Mode89 h84 h

Main camera

Matrix 122 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 2x
Flash Dual LED Quad LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 114 ° n/a
Lenses count Standard: 12.2 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix122 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.7f/1.8
Focal length27 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX363Apple iSight X
Sensor size1/2.551/2.55
Pixel size1.4 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a12 MP
Aperturen/af/2.4
Focal lengthn/a52 mm
Sensor sizen/a1/3.4
Pixel sizen/a1 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.2n/a
Focal length17 mmn/a
SensorSony IMX386n/a
Sensor size1/2.9n/a
Pixel size1.12 μmn/a
StabilizationDigitaln/a
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Google Pixel 6a
133
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Video quality
Google Pixel 6a
126
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Overall camera score
Google Pixel 6a
122
Apple iPhone XS
n/a
Bokeh65n/a
Preview67n/a
Zoom74n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Google Pixel 6a]

Front camera

Matrix 8 MP 7 MP
Photo resolution 3840x2160 pixels 3088x2316 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 24 mm 32 mm
Sensor Sony IMX355 CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.8 n/a
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
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 5.2 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C No
USB version 3.1 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B48/B66/B71)LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2600)
LTE category2016
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Google Pixel 6a
87.4 dB
Apple iPhone XS
87.3 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced May, 2022 yr September, 2018 yr
Release Date June, 2022 yr September, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 449 1000
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included No n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Google Pixel 6a the clear winner in this comparison.

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