Home Phone comparison Google Pixel 9a and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon) - Which is better?

Google Pixel 9a vs Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)

76 out 100
Google Pixel 9a
VS
88 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
Google Pixel 9a
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)

Compared 2 smartphones : Google Pixel 9a Manufactured in April, 2025, with display 6.3 with chipsetGoogle Tensor G4, 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 9a
  • Higher pixel density: 422ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 5100mAh vs 4300mAh
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
  • Lighter design: 167g vs 186g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5.3
  • Supports Dolby Atmos

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Google Pixel 9a 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.
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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
Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)

Display

Display quality comparison
Type POLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.3 in 6.3 in
Resolution 1080x2424 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 422 ppi 411 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 2700 nits n/a
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 84.5 % 90.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 154.7 mm (6.09 in) 149.6 mm (5.89 in)
Width 73.3 mm (2.89 in) 71.7 mm (2.82 in)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 in) 7.2 mm (0.28 in)
Weight 186 g (6.56 oz) 167 g (5.89 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP68
Cooling system n/a Vapor chamber
Back panel Plastic Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Red
- Purple		 - White
- Black
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Google Pixel 9a
84.5 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
90.9 %

Performance

Testing Google Pixel 9a and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Google Tensor G4 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Max Frequency 3100 MHz 4740 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 3 + 4) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 4/1.92 (Cortex-A520)
- 3/2.6 (Cortex-A720)
- 1/3.1 (Cortex-X4)		 - 6/3.63 (Oryon Gen 3 Performance)
- 2/4.61 (Oryon Gen 3 Prime)
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Yes Hexagon
Graphics Mali-G715 MP7 Adreno 840
GPU Cores 896 1536
GPU Frequency 940 MHz 1200 MHz
FLOPS 1792 GFLOPS 3686.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Google Pixel 9a
1677
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
3378
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Google Pixel 9a
4067
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
11097
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)16773378
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)406711097
Geekbench Compute (GPU)7784n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Google Pixel 9a], [Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Google Pixel 9a
991079
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
3586464
CPU1617371039672
GPU4648651390228
Memory191750419821
UX172727736743
NanoReview Score9910793586464

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 4200 MHz 5300 MHz
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB		256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 3.1UFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 15 Android 16
OS Size n/a 31.6 GB
UI Skin Stock Android One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 5100 mAh 4300 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

Main camera

Matrix 48 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 8000x6000 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: 50 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
Matrix50 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.7f/1.8
Focal length25 mm24 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5KGN3
Sensor size1/1.21/1.56 (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
Sensorn/aSony IMX564
Sensor size1/3.11/2.55 (0.39)
Pixel sizen/a1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 13 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4032x3024 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 20 mm 26 mm
Sensor CMOS Samsung S5K3LU
Sensor size 1/3.1 1/3.2 (0.31)
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus n/a Phase autofocus
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 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 Yes Yes, DP 1.2
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Galileo		 - 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 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19UMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
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/B14/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41/B48/B66/B71)
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo n/a
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos No Yes

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced March, 2025 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date April, 2025 yr March, 2026 yr
Launch Price ($) 499 n/a
MSRP ($) n/a 899
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 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.

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