Samsung Galaxy S21 vs Google Pixel 9a Specs Comparison

Availability

Officially announced
Jan 14, 2021	Mar 19, 2025
Prices (MSRP)
$800	8GB/128 - $499 | €599 8GB/256GB - $599 | €649

Design

Dimensions
5.97 x 2.80 x 0.31 inches 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm	6.09 x 2.88 x 0.35 inches (~0.37 inches with camera bump) 154.7 x 73.2 x 8.9mm (~9.4 mm with camera bump)
Weight
6.03 oz / 171.0 g	6.56 oz / 186.0 g
Materials
Back: Plastic Frame: Aluminum	Back: Plastic Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP68	Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
2D Face unlock, Ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint	Optical in-screen fingerprint
Keys
Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key	Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Phantom pink, Violet, Gray, White	Obsidian, Porcelain, Iris, Peony

Display

Size
6.2-inch, 86.06% screen-to-body	6.3-inch, 79.39% screen-to-body
Type
Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR, 1300 nits	P-OLED, 120Hz, HDR, 2700 nits
Resolution
2400x1080px, 20:9 ratio, 424 PPI	2424x1080px, 20:9 ratio, 421 PPI
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus	Corning Gorilla Glass 3

PhoneArena Display Test

Bright Max (20% APL)
Untested	2561 (Excellent)
Bright Min
1.2 (Good)	1.8 (Good)

Learn more on our PhoneArena Display Test Results page.

Hardware

System chip
Snapdragon 888 (5 nm)	Google Tensor G4 (4 nm)
Processor
Octa-core 1x2.84GHz Kryo 680 3x2.42GHz Kryo 680 4x1.80GHz Kryo 680	Octa-core 1x3.1GHz Cortex-X4 3x2.6GH​z Cortex-A720 4x1.9​2GHz Cortex-A520
GPU
Adreno 660	Mali-G715 MC7
Memory
8GB (LPDDR5)/128GB (UFS 3.0) 8GB/256GB	8GB (LPDDR5X)/128GB (UFS 3.1) 8GB/256GB
Storage expansion
not expandable	not expandable
OS
Android (13, 12, 11)	Android (15)

PhoneArena Performance Test

GeekBench 6 Single
Untested	1687
GeekBench 6 Multi
Untested	4385
3D Mark High
Untested	2625
3D Mark Low
Untested	2124

Learn more on our PhoneArena Performance Test Results page.

Battery

Type
4000 mAh, Li - Polymer	5100 mAh, Li - Ion
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
Charge speed
Wired: 25.0W Wireless: 15.0W	Wired: 23.0W Wireless: 7.5W

PhoneArena Battery Tests

Battery Life Estimate

4h 28min

Browsing

7h 47min

Video

7h 36min

Gaming

7h 9min

Battery Life Estimate

8h 11min

Browsing

19h 39min

Video

10h 57min

Gaming

12h 30min

Learn more on our PhoneArena Battery Test Results 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	48 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.7 Focal length: 25 mm Sensor size: 1/2" 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 Sensor size: 1/3.1" 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	Dual LED
Video recording
8K UHD (24 fps), 4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps), 720p (960 fps) OIS, HDR, Hyperlapse, Continuous autofocus, Video light, EIS	4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps)
Front
10 MP (PDAF, HDR) Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)	13 MP Video capture: 4K UHD (30 fps)

PhoneArena Camera Tests

N/A

Overall

N/A

Photo

N/A

Video

134

Overall

143

Photo

126

Video

Learn more on our PhoneArena Camera Test Results page

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0	5.3
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,Wi-Fi 6,dual-band MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax	a,b,g,n,ac,Wi-Fi 6,Wi-Fi 6E Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax
USB
Type-C, USB 3.2	Type-C, USB 3.2
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
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
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

Cellular

5G Bands
n2, n5, n12, n25, n41, n66, n71, n77, n260, n261, SA, NSA, Sub-6, mmWave	n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n20, n28, n48, n66, n71, n77, n78, n260, n261, SA, NSA, Sub-6, mmWave
4G (FDD) Bands
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 66, 71	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 66, 71
4G (TDD) Bands
38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 48	38, 41
3G Bands
1, 2, 4, 5, 8	1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8
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

Alternative variants

with 256GB storage

Memory	256GB

With 512GB internal storage

Memory	512GB

for Europe

System chip	Samsung Exynos 2100 (5 nm)
Processor	Octa-core 2900 MHz 1x2.91GHz Cortex-X1 3x2.81G​Hz Cortex-A78 4x2.2G​Hz 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 9a Specs
PhoneArena Review
Samsung Galaxy S21 Review	Google Pixel 9a Review
User Reviews
Samsung Galaxy S21 User Reviews	Google Pixel 9a User Reviews