Home Phone comparison Google Pixel 9a and Samsung Galaxy S21 - Which is better?

Google Pixel 9a vs Samsung Galaxy S21

76 out 100
Google Pixel 9a
VS
65 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S21
Google Pixel 9a
Samsung Galaxy S21

Compared 2 smartphones : Google Pixel 9a Manufactured in April, 2025, with display 6.3 with chipsetGoogle Tensor G4, vs Samsung Galaxy S21, Manufactured in February, 2021with chipsetSamsung Exynos 2100. 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 9a
  • Larger display: 6.3in
  • Higher pixel density: 422ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 5100mAh vs 4000mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
  • Supports DisplayPort
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S21
  • Lighter design: 169g vs 186g
  • Supports Dolby Atmos

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Google Pixel 9a and Samsung Galaxy S21
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 9a
vs
Samsung Galaxy S21

Display

Display quality comparison
Type POLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.3 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1080x2424 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
Pixel density 422 ppi 421 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) Yes (48-120 Hz)
Max brightness 2700 nits 800 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 84.5 % 85.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Google Pixel 9a
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
854 nits
sRGB gamutn/a99.5 %
PWM (Flicker)n/a240 Hz
Response timen/a5 ms
Contrastn/a∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 154.7 mm (6.09 in) 151.7 mm (5.97 in)
Width 73.3 mm (2.89 in) 71.2 mm (2.8 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 186 g (6.56 oz) 169 g (5.96 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Back panel Plastic Plastic
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Red
- Purple		 - White
- Gray
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Google Pixel 9a
84.5 %
Samsung Galaxy S21
85.9 %

Performance

Testing Google Pixel 9a and Samsung Galaxy S21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Google Tensor G4 Samsung Exynos 2100
Max Frequency 3100 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (1 + 3 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.92 (Cortex-A520)
- 3/2.6 (Cortex-A720)
- 1/3.1 (Cortex-X4)		 - 4/2.2 (Cortex-A55)
- 3/2.81 (Cortex-A78)
- 1/2.91 (Cortex-X1)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 4 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
Graphics Mali-G715 MP7 Mali-G78 MP14
GPU Cores 896 896
GPU Frequency 940 MHz 854 MHz
FLOPS 1792 GFLOPS 1530.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Google Pixel 9a
1677
Samsung Galaxy S21
1331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Google Pixel 9a
4067
Samsung Galaxy S21
3593
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)16771331
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)40673593
Geekbench Compute (GPU)7784n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Google Pixel 9a]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Google Pixel 9a
991079
Samsung Galaxy S21
903780
CPU161737253391
GPU464865281676
Memory191750158352
UX172727210361
NanoReview Score991079903780
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Google Pixel 9a
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
5715
Max Surface Temp.n/a38.9 °C
Stabilityn/a66 %
Graphics Testn/a34 fps
Graphics Scoren/a5715
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy S21]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Google Pixel 9a
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
13123
Writing scoren/a16101
Web scoren/a11909
Video editingn/a7097
Data manipulationn/a10153
NanoReview Scoren/a13123

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency 4200 MHz 2750 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 15 Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 14)
OS Size n/a 28.1 GB
UI Skin Stock Android One UI 6.0

Battery

Volume 5100 mAh 4000 mAh
Max Charging Power 23 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (7.5 W) Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging n/a Yes (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 30 min) Yes (55% in 50 min)
Full Charge Time n/a 1:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Google Pixel 9a
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
17:54
Web Browsingn/a06:01 h
Video Playbackn/a11:06 h
Gamesn/a04:21 h
Standby Moden/a95 h

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 8000x6000 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 1.1x
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Up to 24FPS
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) 960 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 13 MP		 Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 64 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.7f/1.8
Focal length25 mm26 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX555
Sensor size1/1.21/1.76
Pixel size0.8 μm1.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a64 MP
Aperturen/af/2.0
Focal lengthn/a28 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung Bright S5KGW2
Sensor sizen/a1/1.72
Pixel sizen/a0.8 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix13 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
Sensorn/aSony IMX563
Sensor size1/3.11/2.55
Pixel sizen/a1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Google Pixel 9a
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
129
Video quality
Google Pixel 9a
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
137
Overall camera score
Google Pixel 9a
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
133
Bokehn/a70
Previewn/a72
Zoomn/a126
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S21]

Front camera

Matrix 13 MP 10 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 3872x2592 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 20 mm 26 mm
Sensor CMOS Sony IMX374
Sensor size 1/3.1 1/3.24
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus n/a Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (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 5.3 5
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
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
- USB-Host mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*12
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM Moden/aDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM/EDGE: Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsUMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19WCDMA Band 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B38/B41/B48/B66/B71)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66)
LTE categoryn/a24
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Google Pixel 9a
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S21
87 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced March, 2025 yr January, 2021 yr
Release Date April, 2025 yr February, 2021 yr
Launch Price ($) 499 800
Sensors - 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 n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Google Pixel 9a the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
0 (0%)
0 (0%)
Total Votes: 0

User comments

Share your opinion or ask questions below