Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy S23 and Google Pixel 6a - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy S23 vs Google Pixel 6a

75 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S23
VS
62 out 100
Google Pixel 6a
Samsung Galaxy S23
Google Pixel 6a

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy S23 Manufactured in February, 2023, with display 6.1 with chipsetSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy, vs Google Pixel 6a, Manufactured in June, 2022with chipsetGoogle Tensor. 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 Samsung Galaxy S23
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 168g vs 178g
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5.2
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 3.1
  • Supports DisplayPort
  • Supports Dolby Atmos
Reasons to choose Google Pixel 6a
  • Higher pixel density: 429ppi
  • Higher battery capacity: 4410mAh vs 3900mAh

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB		 6/128 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy S23 and Google Pixel 6a
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:
Samsung Galaxy S23
vs
Google Pixel 6a

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED OLED
Size 6.1 in 6.1 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1080x2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
Pixel density 425 ppi 429 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (24-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 800 nits 500 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes HDR10+
Screen-to-body ratio 88 % 82.2 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy S23
1197 nits
Google Pixel 6a
869 nits
sRGB gamut98.9 %96.9 %
PWM (Flicker)240 Hz240 Hz
Response time1 ms3 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy S23], [Google Pixel 6a]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 146.3 mm (5.76 in) 152.2 mm (5.99 in)
Width 70.9 mm (2.79 in) 71.8 mm (2.83 in)
Thickness 7.6 mm (0.3 in) 8.9 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 168 g (5.93 oz) 178 g (6.28 oz)
Water resistance IP68 IP67
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Gray
- Green
- Purple
- Yellow		 - White
- Black
- Green
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy S23
88 %
Google Pixel 6a
82.2 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy S23 and Google Pixel 6a In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy Google Tensor
Max Frequency 3360 MHz 2800 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 2 + 2 + 3) 8 (2 + 2 + 4)
Architecture - 3/2 (Cortex-A510)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A710)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A715)
- 1/3.2 (Cortex-X3)		 - 4/1.8 (Cortex A55)
- 2/2.25 (Cortex A76)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-X1)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 4 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Tensor Processing Unit
Graphics Adreno 740 Mali-G78 MP20
GPU Cores 1536 1280
GPU Frequency 719 MHz 848 MHz
FLOPS 2089 GFLOPS 2170.9 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23
1831
Google Pixel 6a
1448
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy S23
4914
Google Pixel 6a
3412
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)18311448
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)49143412
Geekbench Compute (GPU)9422n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Samsung Galaxy S23], [Google Pixel 6a]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy S23
1522811
Google Pixel 6a
909498
CPU380535250722
GPU598896324786
Memory273271143829
UX270109190161
NanoReview Score1522811909498
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy S23
12039
Google Pixel 6a
6194
Max Surface Temp.34.3 °C41.4 °C
Stability60 %56 %
Graphics Test72 fps37 fps
Graphics Score120396194
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy S23], [Google Pixel 6a]
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Samsung Galaxy S23
15602
Google Pixel 6a
9940
Writing score1933015353
Web score142626280
Video editing78405843
Data manipulation126749519
NanoReview Score156029940

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 6 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5
Memory Frequency n/a 3200 MHz
Channels 4 4
Storage
Storage Capacity- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB		128 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0UFS 3.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 14) Android 12 (Upgradeable to Android 15)
OS Size 29.7 GB 14.3 GB
UI Skin One UI 6.1 Stock Android

Battery

Volume 3900 mAh 4410 mAh
Max Charging Power 25 W 18 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging Yes (10 W) No
Reverse Charging Yes (Wireless) No
Fast Charging Yes (57% in 30 min) Yes (42% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:16 h 1:51 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy S23
22:02
Google Pixel 6a
20:44
Web Browsing08:12 h08:25 h
Video Playback13:41 h14:20 h
Games05:20 h05:34 h
Standby Mode109 h89 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 122 MP
Photo resolution 8160x6120 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Digital
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 120 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (1080p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 120 ° 114 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP		 Standard: 12.2 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP122 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.7
Focal length23 mm27 mm
SensorSamsung S5KGN3Sony IMX363
Sensor size1/1.571/2.55
Pixel size1 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix10 MPn/a
Aperturef/2.4n/a
Focal length70 mmn/a
SensorSamsung S5K3K1n/a
Sensor size1/3.94n/a
Pixel size1 μmn/a
StabilizationOpticaln/a
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix12 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal length13 mm17 mm
SensorSony IMX564Sony IMX386
Sensor size1/2.551/2.9
Pixel size1.4 μm1.12 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Samsung Galaxy S23
129
Google Pixel 6a
133
Video quality
Samsung Galaxy S23
137
Google Pixel 6a
126
Overall camera score
Samsung Galaxy S23
133
Google Pixel 6a
122
Bokeh7065
Preview7267
Zoom12674
Sources: DxOMark [Samsung Galaxy S23], [Google Pixel 6a]

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 8 MP
Photo resolution 4000x3000 pixels 3840x2160 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length 26 mm 24 mm
Sensor Samsung S5K3LU Sony IMX355
Sensor size 1/3.24 1/2.8
Pixel size 1.12 μm 1.12 μm
Autofocus Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 60 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 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 5.3 5.2
Bluetooth features LE LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes DP 1.2 n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM 850/1700/1900/2100MhzGSM/EDGE Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
3G BandsUMTS 6/5/8/34UMTS/HSPA+/HSDPA 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19
LTE Bands*LTE (B/B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B16/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B27/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41/B66/B71)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 category2020
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes No
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy S23
91.5 dB
Google Pixel 6a
87.4 dB

Other

Class Flagship Mid-range
Announced February, 2023 yr May, 2022 yr
Release Date February, 2023 yr June, 2022 yr
Launch Price ($) 799 449
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No No

Note

Samsung Galaxy S23:

The 128GB version uses slower UFS 3.1 memory, while the 256GB and 512GB models have UFS 4.0.

* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S23 the clear winner in this comparison.

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