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Galaxy A50 vs Moto G7 vs Pixel 3a, battle on the carriers' midrange hill

by Daniel Petrov / Jul 09, 2019, 7:20 AM

Front view
Side view

Google Pixel 3a

Dimensions

5.96 x 2.76 x 0.32 inches

151.3 x 70.1 x 8.2 mm

Weight

5.19 oz (147 g)

Samsung Galaxy A50

Dimensions

6.24 x 2.93 x 0.3 inches

158.5 x 74.7 x 7.7 mm

Weight

5.86 oz (166 g)

Motorola Moto G7

Dimensions

6.18 x 2.96 x 0.31 inches

157 x 75.3 x 8 mm

Weight

6.07 oz (172 g)

LG Stylo 5

Dimensions

6.3 x 3.06 x 0.33 inches

160 x 77.7 x 8.4 mm

Weight

6.3 oz (179 g)

Google Pixel 3a

Dimensions

5.96 x 2.76 x 0.32 inches

151.3 x 70.1 x 8.2 mm

Weight

5.19 oz (147 g)

Samsung Galaxy A50

Dimensions

6.24 x 2.93 x 0.3 inches

158.5 x 74.7 x 7.7 mm

Weight

5.86 oz (166 g)

Motorola Moto G7

Dimensions

6.18 x 2.96 x 0.31 inches

157 x 75.3 x 8 mm

Weight

6.07 oz (172 g)

LG Stylo 5

Dimensions

6.3 x 3.06 x 0.33 inches

160 x 77.7 x 8.4 mm

Weight

6.3 oz (179 g)

To see the phones in real size or compare them with other models, visit our Visual Phone Size Comparison page

In the good old times, when carriers ate the iPhone or Galaxy S-line price above $200 with subsidies, there was a veritable dearth of midrange option on US carriers for the simple fact that nobody cared about going cheaper than $200 or $300 if they could get less than a flagship for that tag.

Now that carriers managed to shift that full price phone burden to subscribers, people are either keeping their phones longer, or increasingly looking into affordable midrangers that now do most of what you can do with a flagship, save for the camera prowess. This market shift has slowly started to increase the number and quality of midrange offerings from carriers, even though the US still lags behind other countries in that respect.

It was usually last year's flagship from Samsung, LG, Apple and the like, that is this year's midranger, but with the arrival of Samsung and Google's A-series of phones, things have shaken up a little in that particular market segment. This is why we pit the newly-minted Galaxy A50 against the perennial Moto G7 favorite and the homebrew Pixel 3a to gauge who's boss in the value-for-money segment on US carriers.

Galaxy A50 vs Moto G7 vs Pixel 3a design and specs

On paper, the A50 has the best specs of these three puppies, with the largest, 4000mAh battery, fastest charging, the highest 128GB storage amount, extra wide-angle camera, and the highest sensor resolution, if anyone is still counting pixels.

The Pixel 3a, however, beats it where it counts in the camera area - it has the largest pixel sensor size of all three, presuming a better low-light performance, as well as 4K video recording abilities. Other than that, the three phones' processors are decidedly midrange.

AnTuTu is a multi-layered, comprehensive mobile benchmark app that assesses various aspects of a device, including CPU, GPU, RAM, I/O, and UX performance. A higher score means an overall faster device.

name	Higher is better

Google Pixel 3a	130209
Samsung Galaxy A50	146732
Motorola Moto G7	107447

name	Higher is better

Google Pixel 3a	24.381
Samsung Galaxy A50	28.364
Motorola Moto G7	45.356

name	Higher is better

Google Pixel 3a	10
Samsung Galaxy A50	8.3
Motorola Moto G7	3.6

If the T-Rex HD component of GFXBench is demanding, then the Manhattan test is downright gruelling. It's a GPU-centric test that simulates an extremely graphically intensive gaming environment that is meant to push the GPU to the max. that simulates a graphically-intensive gaming environment on the screen. The results achieved are measured in frames per second, with more frames being better.

name	Higher is better

Google Pixel 3a	19
Samsung Galaxy A50	13
Motorola Moto G7	6.6

name	Higher is better

Google Pixel 3a	1173
Samsung Galaxy A50	1716
Motorola Moto G7	1256

name	Higher is better

Google Pixel 3a	3883
Samsung Galaxy A50	5653
Motorola Moto G7	4785

View all

While the A50's 6.4-inch OLED panel is brighter, with higher resolution, and the best minimum brightness compared to the 5.6" OLED display of the Pixel, or the 6.2" LCD screen of the Motorola, its color accuracy leaves something to be desired in comparison with the other two.

Display measurements and quality

	Maximum brightness Higher is better	Minimum brightness (nits) Lower is better	Contrast Higher is better
Google Pixel 3a	412 (Good)	1.7 (Excellent)	unmeasurable (Excellent)
Samsung Galaxy A50	593 (Excellent)	1 (Excellent)	unmeasurable (Excellent)
Motorola Moto G7	511 (Excellent)	3 (Excellent)	1:1599 (Excellent)

View all

The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x: CIE31' and 'y: CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.

These measurements are made using Portrait Displays' CalMAN calibration software.

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Last but not least here, design differences! The A50 and G7 have much larger screen diagonals than the Pixel 3a, yet they don't have a much bigger footprint due to the better screen-to-body ratio, and yet the Pixel feels most manageable in the hand, if you are willing to sacrifice some screen estate.

The Galaxy A50 and the Pixel are unapologetically plastic which is a breath of fresh air in a $350 phone you don't want to baby, whereas the Motorola goes with today's typical glass body. Samsung pledged to bring high-end features downmarket and the in-display finger scanner of the A50 is a case in point, making it as modern as they come at this price.

Galaxy A50 vs Moto G7 vs Pixel 3a camera prowess

Pixel 3a: 12MP f/1.8 main + 8MP front cam, 4K30 video
Galaxy A50: 25MP f/1.7 main + 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide + 5MP depth, 25MP front cam
Moto G7: 12MP + 5MP depth cam, single LED flash, 4K30 video, 8MP front cam

We know what you've gathered around for, you can live without some internal storage or a bit shorter battery life, but when it comes to picture quality, that can not be rectified once the phone is purchased, right? Well, it may come as a shocker, but the Pixel 3a is football yard ahead of the direct competition here. Not only is it the only one with an optically-stabilized camera sensor, but it is also capable of cool 4K video recording, something that the A50 lacks.

As for the image quality - well, it's the same camera kit and most of the software available on the Pixel 3, one of the best mobile cameras out there. The A50 and Moto G7 ain't bad when there is enough light around, but once the sun starts to set down or once you press the video recording button, the Pixel 3a is dribbling flawlessly around them on the way to the goal posts. Check out some of its stills and video samples for better illustration.

Moto G7 >

Pixel 3a kills it in both day and night shots

If we have to rank the cameras on the three phones, despite the wide-angle prowess of the Galaxy A50, the G7 takes slightly better shots at night, and is capable of 4K video recording, so it would go second, whereas Samsung has more pleasing day shot colors. The first place in camera abilities, however, is unequivocally for the Pixel 3a.

Galaxy A50 vs Moto G7 vs Pixel 3a battery life and charging speeds

Don't look now, but the 4000 mAh battery pack of the Galaxy A50 does what it says on the tin - keeps you powered through the longest of days, with nearly 11 hours of screen-on time on our demanding battery test.

While impressive, the difference with the Pixel and the Motorola that both behave admirably for their battery capacities, is not that big, considering the 30% larger battery pack on the A50. In short, you won't be disappointed with all three phones when it comes to endurance, and all three have fast charging that will top up their power units for about 1.5 hours which is pretty quick.

We measure battery life by running a custom web-script, designed to replicate the power consumption of typical real-life usage. All devices that go through the test have their displays set at 200-nit brightness.

name	hours Higher is better

Google Pixel 3a	9h 55 min (Good)
Samsung Galaxy A50	10h 46 min (Excellent)
Motorola Moto G7	9h 17 min (Good)

name	minutes Lower is better

Google Pixel 3a	90
Samsung Galaxy A50	101
Motorola Moto G7	92

View all

Galaxy A50 vs Moto G7 vs Pixel 3a prices and wrap-up

So, which one should you get? The Pixel 3a is $399 retail, but can go down to $299 on promo, the A50 is $349 but can be $240 with Verizon's discounts, while the Moto G7 is the cheapest of the bunch at $299, and can often be found at $200 even.

If your budget is of concern, go with the Moto G7 - it is a well-rounded midranger that doesn't excel in any one point, but will disappoint in no respect, either. For two to three Benjamins, it's a no brainer.

If the camera part is not that important to you, the Galaxy A50 steps it up many notches - from its "all-screen" design with in-display finger scanner, to its longest endurance on a charge, and the generous 128GB memory amount.

If you are the socialite type that needs good photos and videos in any situations Google's stellar computational photography algorithms and optically-stabilized video can now be had on the cheap for less than four Benjamins. Besides the aging design and the lack of LED notification light, however, the Pixel 3a downsides aren't many at that price, so if you can trade those for the excellent camera and the quick software updates, Google's midrange Pixel rings as a winner, and it should, as it is the most expensive of the bunch.

Google Pixel 3a vs Samsung Galaxy A50 vs Motorola Moto G7

Display

Size

5.6 inches

6.4 inches

6.2 inches

Resolution

1080 x 2220 pixels

1080 x 2340 pixels

1080 x 2270 pixels

Aspect Ratio

18.5:9

19.5:9

19:9

Pixel density

444 PPI

403 PPI

Technology

OLED

Super AMOLED

IPS LCD

Screen-to-body

73.93 %

85.24 %

82.58 %

Hardware & Performance

System chip

Qualcomm Snapdragon 670 SDM670

Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 9610

Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 SDM632

Processor

Octa-core, 2000 MHz, Kryo 360, 64-bit, 10 nm

Octa-core, 2300 MHz, ARM Cortex-A73 and ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit, 10 nm

Octa-core, 1800 MHz, Kryo 250, 64-bit, 14 nm

GPU

Adreno 615

Mali-G72 MP3

Adreno 506

RAM

4GB LPDDR4

4GB

4GB LPDDR4

Internal storage

64GB, not expandable

128GB

64GB

OS

Android (10, 9.0 Pie)

Android (9.0 Pie), Samsung One UI

Android (9.0 Pie)

Battery

Capacity

3000 mAh

4000 mAh

3000 mAh

Charging

USB Power Delivery

Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging

Motorola TurboPower

Talk time (3G)

23.00 hours

Internet use

3G: 12 hours; LTE: 14 hours; Wi-Fi: 15 hours

Music playback

92.00 hours

Video playback

19.00 hours

Camera

Rear

Single camera

Triple camera

Dual camera

Main camera

12.2 megapixels

25 megapixels

12 megapixels

Features

Optical image stabilization, Phase-detection autofocus

Phase-detection autofocus

Specifications

Aperture size: F1.8; Focal length: 28 mm; Sensor size: 1/2.55"; Pixel size: 1.4 μm

Aperture size: F1.7; Focal length: 27 mm; Sensor size: 1/2.8"; Pixel size: 0.9 μm

Aperture size: F1.8; Pixel size: 1.25 μm

Second camera

8 megapixels

5 megapixels

Features

Ultra-wide

Depth information

Specifications

Aperture size: F2.2; Focal Length: 13 mm; Sensor size: 1/4"; Pixel size: 1.12 μm

Third camera

5 megapixels

Features

Depth information

Specifications

Aperture size: F2.2; Focal Length: 24 mm; Sensor size: 1/5"; Pixel size: 1.12 μm

Video recording

3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (120 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (240 fps)

1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (240 fps)

3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (120 fps)

Features

Optical image stabilization, Digital image stabilization, Video calling, Video sharing

Hyperlapse, Digital image stabilization

Time-lapse video, Hyperlapse, Digital image stabilization, Video calling, Video sharing

Front

8 megapixels

25 megapixels

8 megapixels

Video capture

1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)

Design

Dimensions

5.96 x 2.76 x 0.32 inches (151.3 x 70.1 x 8.2 mm)

6.24 x 2.93 x 0.30 inches (158.5 x 74.7 x 7.7 mm)

6.18 x 2.96 x 0.31 inches (157 x 75.3 x 8 mm)

Weight

5.19 oz (147 g)

5.86 oz (166 g)

6.07 oz (172 g)

Materials

Back: Plastic

Back: Glass; Frame: Aluminum

Resistance

Splash

Biometrics

Fingerprint (touch)

2D Face unlock, In-screen fingerprint

2D Face unlock, Fingerprint (touch)

Shopping information

MSRP

$ 399

$ 350

$ 299

Options

3 Comments

1. gdawilson

Posts: 299; Member since: Jul 21, 2014

Why did you include the LG Stylo 5 in the side-by-side comparison at the top when your article doesn't even compare it to any of the devices in the article?

posted on Jul 09, 2019, 7:34 AM 0

3. inFla

Posts: 216; Member since: Aug 17, 2018

Note how the Pixel is conveniently placed first in the charts. Then the only phone showing a review rating at the end.

posted on Jul 09, 2019, 9:08 AM 0

4. yalokiy

Posts: 1124; Member since: Aug 01, 2016

Does switching between different benchmark tabs works for anyone? I've tested in multiple browsers on Mac and Android and it doesn't work in any of them for me.