Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Google Pixel 6

Samsung Galaxy S21 Google Pixel 6

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S21 (with Exynos 2100) that was released on January 14 2021 against the Google Pixel 6 which is powered by Google Tensor and came out 9 months after. On this page you will find tests full specs strengths and weaknesses of each of the gadgets.

Differences
Review
Specs
Benchmarks
Battery life
Camera
Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S21

Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
The rear camera has a 1.1x optical zoom
Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
Has 2 SIM card slots
Weighs 38 grams less
The front-facing camera can record video at 4K

Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 6

Shows 18% longer battery life (30:01 vs 25:31 hours)
Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
Comes with 614 mAh larger battery capacity: 4614 vs 4000 mAh
The phone is 9-months newer

Review

Display Screen quality color accuracy brightness Galaxy S21 87 Pixel 6 84 Performance CPU/GPU performance in apps and games Galaxy S21 78 Pixel 6 77 Battery Battery life charging type and speed Galaxy S21 71 Pixel 6 79 Camera Photo and video recording quality Galaxy S21 76 Pixel 6 74 Connectivity Networks ports data transmission Galaxy S21 94 Pixel 6 85 NanoReview score Final comparison evaluation Galaxy S21 79 Pixel 6 78

Value for money

You can enter your local price of these phones (in USD or any other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money. Samsung Galaxy S21 Price Google Pixel 6 Calculate

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests Phone: Galaxy S21 vs Pixel 6

Display

Type	Dynamic AMOLED	OLED
Size	6.2 inches	6.4 inches
Resolution	1080 x 2400 pixels	1080 x 2400 pixels
Aspect ratio	20:9	20:9
PPI	421 ppi	411 ppi
Refresh rate	120 Hz	90 Hz
Max rated brightness	800 nits	500 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR	-	800 nits
HDR support	Yes HDR10+	Yes HDR10+
Screen protection	Gorilla Glass Victus	Gorilla Glass Victus
Screen-to-body ratio	87.2%	83.4%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display

Display tests
RGB color space	99.5%	99.8%
PWM	240 Hz	397 Hz
Response time	5 ms	5 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Peak brightness test (auto) Galaxy S21 +2% 863 nits Pixel 6 846 nits Sources: NotebookCheck [3] [4]

Design and build

Height	151.7 mm (5.97 inches)	158.6 mm (6.24 inches)
Width	71.2 mm (2.8 inches)	74.8 mm (2.94 inches)
Thickness	7.9 mm (0.31 inches)	8.9 mm (0.35 inches)
Weight	169 gramm (5.96 oz)	207 gramm (7.3 oz)
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Rear material	Plastic	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	White Gray Pink Purple	Black Blue Yellow
Fingerprint scanner	Yes in-display	Yes in-display

Screen-to-body ratio Galaxy S21 +5% 87.2% Pixel 6 83.4%

Performance

Tests of Samsung Galaxy S21 and Google Pixel 6 in the benchmarks

SoC
Chipset	Samsung Exynos 2100	Google Tensor
Max. clock	2900 MHz	2800 MHz
CPU cores	8 (1 + 3 + 4)	8 (2 + 2 + 4)
Architecture	- 4 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 3 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 2.9 GHz: Cortex-X1	- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex A55 - 2 cores at 2.25 GHz: Cortex A76 - 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-X1
L3 cache	-	4 MB
Lithography process	5 nanometers	5 nanometers
Graphics	Mali-G78 MP14	Mali-G78 MP20
GPU clock	760 MHz	848 MHz
FLOPS	-	~2171 GFLOPS

Memory
RAM size	8 GB	8 GB
Memory type	LPDDR5	LPDDR5
Memory clock	2750 MHz	3200 MHz
Channels	2	2

Storage
Storage size	128 256 GB	128 256 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.1	UFS 3.1
Memory card	No	No

Benchmarks

Geekbench 5 (Single-Core) Galaxy S21 1033 Pixel 6 +1% 1040 Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core) Galaxy S21 +12% 3252 Pixel 6 2912 AnTuTu Benchmark 9 Galaxy S21 +2% 745218 Pixel 6 729126

CPU	191727	187698
GPU	274242	298218
Memory	124945	100887
UX	146972	137683
Total score	745218	729126

3DMark Wild Life Performance Galaxy S21 5659 Pixel 6 +13% 6370

Stability	66%	55%
Graphics test	33 FPS	38 FPS
Graphics score	5659	6370
PCMark 3.0 score	13812	10558

Best Smartphones in AnTuTu (108th and 113th place) Sources: 3DMark [3] [4] ▶️ Submit your AnTuTu result

Software

Operating system	Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)	Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)
ROM	One UI 5.0	Stock Android
OS size	28.1 GB	17.6 GB

Battery

Specifications
Capacity	4000 mAh	4614 mAh
Charge power	25 W	30 W
Battery type	Li-Ion	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	Yes (15 W)	Yes (21 W)
Reverse charging	Yes (wireless)	Yes (wireless)
Fast charging	Yes (55% in 50 min)	Yes (41% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:35 hr	1:53 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	07:17 hr	08:58 hr
Watching video	12:26 hr	16:38 hr
Gaming	04:20 hr	05:24 hr
Standby	92 hr	92 hr

General battery life Galaxy S21 25:31 hr Pixel 6 +18% 30:01 hr

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones

Main camera
Matrix	12 megapixels	50 megapixels
Image resolution	4000 x 3000	8192 x 6144
Zoom	Optical 1.1x	Digital
Flash	Dual LED	Dual LED
Stabilization	Optical	Optical
8K video recording	Up to 24FPS	No
4K video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
Slow motion	960 FPS (720p)	240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens	120°	114°
Lenses	3 (12 MP + 64 MP + 12 MP)	2 (50 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.76" Sony IMX555 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization	- 50 MP - Aperture: f/1.9 - Focal length: 25 mm - Pixel size: 1.2 micron - Sensor: 1/1.31" Samsung GN1 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Laser autofocus - Optical stabilization
Telephoto lens	- 64 MP - Aperture: f/2.0 - Focal length: 28 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.72" Samsung Bright S5KGW2 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization	-
Ultra-wide lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55" Sony IMX563 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 17 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support
Samples	Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S21 from DxOMark	Photo samples of Google Pixel 6 from DxOMark

Selfie camera
Megapixels	10 megapixels	8 megapixels
Image resolution	3872 x 2592	3840 x 2160
Aperture	f/2.2	f/2.0
Focal length	26 mm	24 mm
Pixel size	1.22 microns	1.12 microns
Sensor type	CMOS	CMOS
Sensor size	1/3.24"	-
Video resolution	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS	1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS

DxOMark camera tests

Photo quality Galaxy S21 123 Pixel 6 +17% 144 Video quality Galaxy S21 93 Pixel 6 +24% 115 Generic camera score Galaxy S21 116 Pixel 6 +14% 132

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard	Wi-Fi 6 (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	5.2
Bluetooth features	LE A2DP	LE A2DP
USB type	USB Type-C	USB Type-C
USB version	3.2	3.1
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - USB-Host mode - OTG	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG
GPS	GPS GLONASS Beidou Galileo	GPS GLONASS Beidou Galileo QZSS
NFC*	Yes	Yes
Infrared port	No	No

Network
Number of SIM*	2	1
Type of SIM card	Nano	Nano
Multi SIM mode	Standby	-
eSIM support*	Yes	Yes
Hybrid slot	No	No
LTE Cat*	24	20
5G support	Yes	Yes

Sound

Speakers	Stereo	Stereo
Headphone audio jack	No	No
FM radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes

Speakers test Max. loudness Galaxy S21 +1% 87 dB Pixel 6 86.3 dB

Other

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	January 2021	October 2021
Release date	February 2021	October 2021
SAR (head)	0.46 W/kg	-
SAR (body)	1.51 W/kg	-
Sensors	- Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint

*Disclaimer! NFC GSM network support and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

If the software and connectivity are more important to you then choose the Samsung Galaxy S21. But if the battery life and design are more of a priority – go for the Google Pixel 6.

Cast your vote

So which phone would you choose? Samsung Galaxy S21 127 (43.3%) Google Pixel 6 166 (56.7%) Vote Total votes: 293

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