This Pixel 5a vs the Galaxy S21 comparison will help you decide which phone is right for you.
Google’s affordable Pixel 5a has arrived. But, you may be wondering how it compares with the Samsung Galaxy S21. This Pixel 5a vs Galaxy S21 battle is all about you.
It may seem silly to compare the two phones, given the price difference. The Pixel 5a is a great phone, thanks to Google’s excellent photography. Google’s phone is very similar to Samsung’s in many areas when you have them side-by-side.
While the winner in certain categories may be obvious (the Galaxy S21 has an even better processor, for example), we wanted to give the Pixel 5 a fair chance. Even if you know the result, you might be surprised at how Google’s phone performs.
Google Pixel 5a and Samsung Galaxy S21: Prices and availability
The Pixel 5a is almost half the price of the Galaxy S21. Google charged £449 for the Pixel 5a, which is £100 more than the Pixel 4a, for a phone that has a 6.43 inch OLED display, 128GB storage, 6GB RAM, and two cameras.
The S21 is also available virtually anywhere – almost every major retailer and all the major retailers and Samsung. The Pixel 5a can only be purchased at the Google Store or via the Google Fi wireless services.
The Pixel 5a is cheaper, but it’s harder to get one, especially if you have a preferred carrier payment plan. The Galaxy S21 costs several hundred more, but there are often trade-in offers and other discounts. The two phones are intended for different markets, so it’s difficult to pick a winner here. However, the Pixel 5a’s extremely attractive price points make it the clear winner.
Winner: Pixel 5a
Google Pixel 5a vs Samsung Galaxy S21: Design
The Google Pixel 5a is very different from the Samsung Galaxy S21. The 5a has a very minimalistic and safe design. It does not stand out or make any statement, nor draw attention to its own design. It’s simply a phone with a large display and a polycarbonate body. Google has maintained a low-key design language for many years, and the Pixel 5a does not differ.
The Galaxy S21 is, however, a beautiful phone. As long as the frame is not covered with fingerprints, it shines brilliantly. The camera hump on many phones is a notoriously ugly feature. It blends seamlessly into the frame of the S21. The back of the polycarbonate is soft to the touch and made with a unique material that makes it stand out against the plastic feel of the Pixel 5a.
Both phones have IP water resistance ratings, which is a first for the Pixel A series. However, the Galaxy S21’s IP68 rating is slightly stronger. The IP67 rating of the 5a means that it can still be submerged in water.
The £350 price difference between them meant that the Galaxy S21 felt more premium than the Pixel 5a. Although they aren’t on the same level, it is interesting to see how close the Galaxy S21 comes to surpassing Samsung’s phone. The Galaxy S21 is a better phone for water resistance, design and construction. The Galaxy S21 also offers more colour options than the 5a’s one not-quite black colourway.
Winner: Galaxy S21
Google Pixel 5a vs Samsung Galaxy S21: Display
The Pixel 5a’s display is the largest since Google began releasing all-screen smartphones with the Pixel 4a. The Pixel 5a’s OLED display measures 6.43 inches and offers true blacks, nice colours, and better viewing angles than its predecessor.
The Galaxy S21’s screen, however, is even better. The screen is a smaller Super AMOLED at 6.2 inches, at 1080p. Unfortunately, the Pixel 5a’s refresh rate is only 60Hz. The S21 panel’s colours are brighter and more vivid.
The Galaxy S21 is a better choice for video and gaming, which should not surprise anyone. The S21 offers a more enjoyable viewing experience; whether it’s Genshin Impact’s saturated, anime-esque aesthetic or Call of Duty: Mobile’s gritty visuals, the S21 is better. The Pixel 5a is not bad, but it’s hard to imagine a phone that costs £449 to rival the Samsung display tech.
In our testing, the Pixel 5a achieved 119.3% of the sRGB spectrum with a Delta E colour accuracy score of 0.32 (where 0 equals best). The Galaxy S21’s Natural mode produced 109.2% of sRGB with a Delta-E score of 0.29. The S21 has better colour accuracy than Google’s phone, but it has slightly less saturation. The Galaxy S21 is also brighter than the Pixel 5a at 501 nits.
Winner: Galaxy S21
Google Pixel 5a vs Samsung Galaxy S21: Cameras
Although the Pixel 5a vs Samsung Galaxy S21 battle has not been great, Google’s smartphone can still excel in photography. Google has put a lot of effort into making the Pixel phones the best camera phones. Each year it delivers. The £349 Pixel 4a was included in our top choices for camera phones.
Google has added a second camera, a 16MP sensor with an ultrawide lens, to its Pixel 5a. This joins the 12.2MP primary shooter last year, adding to the 12-MP ultrawide lens and a 64MP Telephoto with 3x optical zoom.
This photo shows flowers on a tree. You can instantly see the two different approaches to the final product. The Pixel 5a maintained a natural tone while still delivering the vibrant colours of the greenery and flowers, but the photo is more realistic. The Galaxy S21 did the opposite and increased the saturation so that the image doesn’t look like a real-life scene. The Pixel’s image is my favourite.
The inside is a little more even, but not much. The Pixel 5a’s image is naturally cool and captures all the colours. The Galaxy S21’s photo is noticeably warmer. It looks like the phone over-compensated for the yellow candle to the right. The Pixel’s photo is my favourite, again.
The portrait mode on both phones is different once again. The Pixel 5a zoomed in a little more but maintained a substantial blur radius around my likeness. Although the Galaxy S21 zoomed in more, I prefer the bokeh effect. This comparison is not something I would choose, so I will call it a draw.
Next is a night shot. Both phones perform very well. Both images clearly show the smoker, but the Pixel 5a’s image is warmer than the Galaxy S21. Although it’s difficult to say which phone is better, it’s impressive to see a phone with a similar price to the S21 produce a night mode image that is so good. Google Night Sight, however, is quite impressive. This makes it a winner.
Surprised at how well both phones handled selfies. In all the photos I took, the Galaxy S21 came out ahead. The image on the Galaxy S21 is brighter and has better colours than the Pixel 5a. Although I’ll admit that the Galaxy S21 did too much face-smoothing, it’s still a better selfie. This one goes to the S21.
While the Pixel took better photos overall, the Galaxy S21’s extra telephoto lens gives it an advantage over the Pixel 5a. This section is won by the Pixel 5a, which has a better camera than the Pixel 5a. It is impressive that a phone this cheap can match or beat the £799 Galaxy S21 (and £999 Galaxy S21 Plus in certain photography situations).
Winner: Pixel 5a
Google Pixel 5a vs Samsung Galaxy S21: Performance
The Pixel 5a and Galaxy S21 have drastically different raw performances. The older Snapdragon 765G is used in the Pixel 5a. It’s the same chip we used in the Pixel 4a 5G last year. The S21 uses the Snapdragon 810, which is the most powerful Android phone you can buy.
The proof is in what the Samsung Galaxy S21 does in benchmark tests, outperforming the Pixel 5a. Both phones feel very similar in day-to-day usage. Simple tasks like browsing the web, messaging and scrolling through social networks don’t cause stress for either phone.
Gaming is where the Galaxy S21 excels. It can play intense titles such as Asphalt 9 and Genshin Impact with higher frame rates. The Galaxy S21 also excels in synthetic graphics benchmarks. The S21 averaged 34.8 frames per second in 3DMark’s Wild Life Unlimited, a game that tests the performance of synthetic graphics benchmarks. The Pixel 5a barely managed to capture any images that achieved 10 fps.
Geekbench 5, which measures CPU performance, gave the Pixel 5a a multicore average score of 1,345. Compare this to the 3,302 score of the Galaxy S21. This is a significant difference, even though we initially thought the Pixel 5a’s score was low for a Snapdragon765G device.
5G is supported by both the Pixel 5a and Galaxy S21, supporting mmWave networks and sub-6Ghz. This means that you can bring either phone to any US carrier, and it will work. This is to be expected with a flagship phone like the Galaxy S21. But it’s even more impressive to see that the Pixel 5a supports mmWave (which usually comes at a premium price) at £449.
Winner: Galaxy S21
Google Pixel 5a and Samsung Galaxy S21: Battery life, charging
The Pixel 5a was equipped with the largest battery at 4,680mAh by Google. Because the Galaxy S21 is a smaller phone, it uses a 4,000-mAh power pack. The 5a would have a longer battery life than the S21, but this is actually true.
The Tom’s Guide battery test requires phones to reload web pages at 150 nits brightness while connected to a cellular network. The Pixel 5a is a step forward in improving battery life. Pixels have always struggled with this issue. The new, affordable Google phone can get through the day with a time of 9 hours 45 minutes.
The Galaxy S21 is still a step ahead of the rest at 9 hours 53 minutes, with its display set to 60Hz. However, it falls to 6 hours 31 minutes in adaptive mode.
The Pixel 5a charges at 18W, while Samsung’s Galaxy S21 can charge at 25W. The Samsung phone charges faster, going from empty to 55% in just 30 minutes. At the same time, the Pixel 5a reached 43%. The S21 has wireless charging, while the Pixel 5a doesn’t.
While the Pixel 5a has a better battery life than last year’s Pixels, the Galaxy S21 can still match it if you set the display to 60Hz. It can also charge wirelessly and faster.
Winner: Galaxy S21
Google Pixel 5a and Samsung Galaxy S21: Software, special features
The Pixel 5a and the Galaxy S21 come with Android 11 right out of the box. However, each device has its own approach to the design and layout of the software. Android 11 by Google is simple and offers few customizations. It’s the stock Android feel, where the OS doesn’t get in the way and focuses only on the good.
One UI 3.1 is Samsung’s take on Android, and the Galaxy S21 includes it. Everything is completely different, including the Settings menu and notification shade. Although one UI may not be to everyone’s taste, it is definitely better than the Samsung software of years past. You’ll be able to find a lot once you get used to it.
You get updates and new versions of Android as soon as you purchase a Google smartphone. The Pixel 5a will be the first to receive Android 12, including a wide range of new features, including visual customization. It will be a while before the Galaxy S21 gets Android 12.
Both phones will receive three years’ worth of platform updates. The Galaxy S21 will also get a guarantee of four years of security patches. Google will often extend the warranty to the Pixel 5a with additional patches.
One UI by Samsung features a lot. There’s the Edge panel, a dedicated launcher for games, a one-handed mode, and many other things. The Pixel 5a will receive some of these features once Android 12 is released, but they are not available at the time of writing.
Winner: Galaxy S21
Google Pixel 5a vs Samsung Galaxy S21: Overall winner!!
It shouldn’t surprise that the Galaxy S21 took the win in this battle. Although the Pixel 5a put up an impressive fight, the S21 won the battle with its superior hardware skills. However, the Pixel 5a’s camera was better than that of the S21.
It is still impressive to see a £449 phone compared to a £799 phone. Both phones are excellent, but the Galaxy S21 packs more power. The S21’s display and battery life are also better than Samsung, although marginally better. The Pixel 5a offers more raw performance.
The Galaxy S21 won this battle, but the Pixel 5a is still a fantastic phone and a great value. You get very powerful cameras and a phone that can do most tasks well for £449. Even better, you’ll have enough battery life to last most people for a whole day.
The Pixel 5a is the best value for money, while the Galaxy S21 offers additional features.
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