Home Phone comparison Google Pixel 7a and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon) - Which is better?

Google Pixel 7a vs Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)

68 out 100
Google Pixel 7a
VS
88 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
Google Pixel 7a
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)

Compared 2 smartphones : Google Pixel 7a Manufactured in May, 2023, with display 6.1 with chipsetGoogle Tensor G2, vs Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon), Manufactured in March, 2026with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. 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 7a
  • Higher pixel density: 429ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 4385mAh vs 4300mAh
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
  • Larger display: 6.3in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 167g vs 193.5g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5.3
  • Supports DisplayPort

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options 8/128 GB - 12/256 GB
- 12/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Google Pixel 7a and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
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 7a
vs
Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.1 in 6.3 in
Resolution 1080x2400 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 429 ppi 411 ppi
Refresh rate 90 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 700 nits n/a
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 81.1 % 90.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Google Pixel 7a
1067 nits
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
sRGB gamut98.4 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)218 Hzn/a
Response time2 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Google Pixel 7a]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 152 mm (5.98 in) 149.6 mm (5.89 in)
Width 72.9 mm (2.87 in) 71.7 mm (2.82 in)
Thickness 9 mm (0.35 in) 7.2 mm (0.28 in)
Weight 193.5 g (6.83 oz) 167 g (5.89 oz)
Water resistance IP67 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Gray
- Blue
- Orange		 - White
- Black
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Google Pixel 7a
81.1 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
90.9 %

Performance

Testing Google Pixel 7a and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Google Tensor G2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Max Frequency 2850 MHz 4740 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (2 + 2 + 4) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Cortex-A55)
- 2/2.35 (Cortex-A78)
- 2/2.85 (Cortex-X1)		 - 6/3.63 (Oryon Gen 3 Performance)
- 2/4.61 (Oryon Gen 3 Prime)
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 5 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Next-gen Tensor Processing Unit Hexagon
Graphics Mali-G710 MP7 Adreno 840
GPU Cores 672 1536
GPU Frequency 850 MHz 1200 MHz
FLOPS 1142.4 GFLOPS 3686.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Google Pixel 7a
1443
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
3378
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Google Pixel 7a
3493
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
11097
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)14433378
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)349311097
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Google Pixel 7a], [Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Google Pixel 7a
930436
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
3586464
CPU2555761039672
GPU3256231390228
Memory149843419821
UX199394736743
NanoReview Score9304363586464
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Google Pixel 7a
6343
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
Max Surface Temp.50.8 °Cn/a
Stability65 %n/a
Graphics Test37 fpsn/a
Graphics Score6343n/a
Sources: 3DMark [Google Pixel 7a]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Google Pixel 7a
10609
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
Writing score15048n/a
Web score7500n/a
Video editing6362n/a
Data manipulation10504n/a
NanoReview Score10609n/a

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5 LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 3200 MHz 5300 MHz
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 15) Android 16
OS Size n/a 31.6 GB
UI Skin Stock Android One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 4385 mAh 4300 mAh
Max Charging Power 18 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (20% in 36 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 1:57 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Google Pixel 7a
19:16
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
Web Browsing08:24 hn/a
Video Playback13:40 hn/a
Games05:06 hn/a
Standby Mode76 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 64 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 9000x7000 pixels 8160x6120 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 3x
Flash Dual LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Yes (Up to 30 fps)
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 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 13 MP		 Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix64 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.9f/1.8
Focal length26 mm24 mm
SensorSony IMX787Samsung ISOCELL S5KGN3
Sensor size1/1.731/1.56 (0.64)
Pixel size0.8 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a10 MP
Aperturen/af/2.4
Focal lengthn/a67 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5K3K1
Sensor sizen/a1/3.94 (0.25)
Pixel sizen/a1 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix13 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
SensorSony IMX712Sony IMX564
Sensor size1/3.061/2.55 (0.39)
Pixel size1.12 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Google Pixel 7a
138
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
Video quality
Google Pixel 7a
133
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
Overall camera score
Google Pixel 7a
133
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
Bokeh70n/a
Preview69n/a
Zoom105n/a
Sources: DxOMark [Google Pixel 7a]

Front camera

Matrix 13 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture n/a f/2.2
Focal length n/a 26 mm
Sensor n/a Samsung S5K3LU
Sensor size n/a 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size n/a 1.12 μm
Autofocus n/a Phase autofocus
Stabilization n/a Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Google Pixel 7a
136
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
Video quality
Google Pixel 7a
146
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
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 5.3 5.4
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort n/a Yes, DP 1.2
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo
- QZSS
- NAVIC		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA: Bands 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19UMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
LTE Bands*LTE (B/B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B38/B40/B41/B48/B66/B71)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41/B48/B66/B71)
LTE category20n/a
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Google Pixel 7a
90.4 dB
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced May, 2023 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date May, 2023 yr March, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 499 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 899
Sensors - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon) the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

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