Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Google Pixel 8a Specs Comparison

Design

Dimensions
5.97 x 2.80 x 0.31 inches (151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm)	5.99 x 2.84 x 0.35 inches (152.1 x 72.2 x 8.9 mm)
Weight
6.03 oz(171.0 g)	6.63 oz(188.0 g)
Materials
Back: Plastic Frame: Aluminum	Back: Plastic Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP68	Water, Dust; IP67
Biometrics
2D Face unlock, Ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint	Fingerprint (touch)
Keys
Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key	Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Phantom pink, Violet, Gray, White	Obsidian, Porcelain, Bay, Aloe

Display

Size
6.2-inch	6.1-inch
Resolution
2400x1080px, 20:9 ratio, 424 PPI	2400x1080px, 20:9 ratio, 431 PPI
Technology
Dynamic AMOLED	OLED
Refresh rate
120Hz (adaptive)	120Hz
Screen-to-body
86.06 %	81.28 %
Peak brightness
1300 cd/m2 (nit)	2000 cd/m2 (nit)
Features
HDR support, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass Victus), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	HDR support, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 3), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware

System chip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 (5 nm)	Google Tensor G3 (4 nm)
Processor
Octa-core 1x 2.84GHz Kryo 680 + 3x 2.42GHz Kryo 680 + 4x 1.80GHz Kryo 680	Nona-core 1x 3.0GHz Cortex-X3 + 4x 2.45GHz Cortex-A715 + 4x 2.15GHz Cortex-A510
GPU
Adreno 660	Immortalis-G715s MC10
RAM
8GB (LPDDR5)	8GB (LPDDR5X)
Internal storage
128GB (UFS 3.0)	128GB (UFS 3.1)
Storage expansion
not expandable	not expandable
OS
Android (13, 12, 11), Samsung One UI	Android (15, 14)

Battery

Capacity
4000 mAh	4492 mAh
Type
Li - Polymer, Not user replaceable	Li - Polymer, Not user replaceable
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, USB Power Delivery, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging, Qi and Powermat wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging	Fast charging, Qi wireless charging
Max charge speed
Wired: 25.0W Wireless: 15.0W	Wired: 18.0W Wireless: 7.5W

PhoneArena Battery Tests

Battery Life Estimate

4h 28min

Browsing

7h 47min

Video

7h 36min

Gaming

7h 9min

Battery Life Estimate

5h 51min

Browsing

13h 53min

Video

8h 34min

Gaming

7h 16min

Find out more details about battery and charging for all phones we have tested on our PhoneArena Battery Score page.

Camera

Rear
Triple camera	Dual camera
Main camera
12 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 26 mm Sensor size: 1/1.76" Pixel size: 1.8 μm	64 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.9 Focal length: 26 mm Sensor size: 1/1.73" Pixel size: 0.8 μm
Second camera
12 MP (Ultra-wide, Autofocus) Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55" Pixel size: 1.4 μm	13 MP (Ultra-wide) Aperture size: F2.2 Pixel size: 1.12 μm
Third camera
64 MP (Telephoto, OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F2.0 Focal Length: 29 mm Sensor size: 1/1.7" Pixel size: 0.8 μm
Flash
LED	LED
Video recording
7680x4320 (8K UHD) (24 fps), 3840x2160 (4K UHD) (60 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (240 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (960 fps) OIS, HDR, Hyperlapse, Continuous autofocus, Video light, EIS	3840x2160 (4K UHD) (60 fps)
Front
10 MP (PDAF, HDR), Video capture: 3840x2160 (4K UHD) (60 fps)	13 MP

PhoneArena Camera Tests

N/A

Overall

N/A

Photo

N/A

Video

134

Overall

142

Photo

127

Video

Find out more details about photo and video scores for all phones we have tested on our PhoneArena Camera Score page.

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0	5.3
Wi-Fi
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,ax(Wi-Fi 6),dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot	802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,ax(Wi-Fi 6),Wi-Fi 6E Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
USB
Type-C (reversible), USB 3.2, Features: Charging, Headphones port, OTG, Video out	Type-C (reversible), USB 3.2, Features: Charging
Hearing aid compatible
M3/T3
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, NavIC, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer
Other
NFC, ANT+	NFC

Multimedia

Headphones
No 3.5mm jack	No 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Multiple speakers	Earpiece, Multiple speakers
Features
32-Bit DAC, Dolby Atmos, aptX, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus
Screen mirroring
Wireless screen share	Wireless screen share
Radio
FM, Stereo, RDS
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation, Video recording	Noise cancellation

Cellular

5G
Bands n2, n5, n12, n25, n41, n66, n71, n77, n260, n261, SA, NSA, Sub-6, mmWave	Bands n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n20, n28, n48, n66, n71, n77, n78, n260, n261, SA, NSA, Sub-6, mmWave
4G (FDD)
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 14(700 PS), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 28(700 APT), 30(2300 WCS), 66(AWS-3), 71(600)	Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 13(700 c), 14(700 PS), 17(700 b), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+), 28(700 APT), 29(700 d), 30(2300 WCS), 66(AWS-3), 71(600)
4G (TDD)
Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+), 46, 48(3600)	Bands 38(2600), 41(2600+)
3G
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 8(900)	Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 6(800), 8(900)
Data Speed
LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS	LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s
SIM type
Nano SIM	Nano SIM, eSIM

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Dec 08, 2020 FCC ID value: A3LSMG991U
Measured SAR
Head: 0.36 W/kg Body: 1.08 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 3.96 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.09 W/kg Phablet: 2.49 W/kg

Buyers information

MSRP
$ 800	$ 499 / € 549
In The Box
C to C Data Cable, Ejection Pin	Phone, USB Type-C cable, SIM ejector tool, Papers

Availability

Officially announced
Jan 14, 2021	May 07, 2024

Alternative variants

with 256GB storage

Internal storage	256GB

With 256GB internal storage

Internal storage	256GB

for Europe

System chip	Samsung Exynos 2100 (5 nm)
Processor	Octa-core 2900 MHz 1x 2.91GHz Cortex-X1 + 3x 2.81GHz Cortex-A78 + 4x 2.2GHz Cortex-A55
GPU	Mali G78 MP14
Weight	5.96 oz(169.0 g)
5G	Bands SA, NSA, Sub-6
FCC approval	Date approved: Dec 18, 2020 FCC ID value: A3LSMG991B
Measured SAR	Head: 0.42 W/kg Body: 0.94 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 3.96 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.34 W/kg Phablet: 2.37 W/kg

Links

Full specifications
Samsung Galaxy S21 Specs	Google Pixel 8a Specs
PhoneArena Review
Samsung Galaxy S21 Review	Google Pixel 8a Review
User Reviews
Samsung Galaxy S21 User Reviews