Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Samsung Galaxy A42 Specs Comparison

Compare mobile phone specifications of up to three devices at once. Our specs comparison tool helps you find and compare the perfect phone for your needs.

9.0
Samsung Galaxy S8
Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy A42
Released · Apr 21, 2017
Released · Nov 06, 2020
5.8-inch · 2960x1440px
6.6-inch · 1600x720px
Single camera
Quad camera
4GB · 64GB
4GB · 128GB
3000 mAh
5000 mAh

Availability

Officially announced
Mar 29, 2017 Sep 02, 2020
Prices (MSRP)
€340

Design

Dimensions
5.86 x 2.68 x 0.31 inches
148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0 mm
6.47 x 2.99 x 0.34 inches
164.4 x 75.9 x 8.6 mm
Weight
5.47 oz / 155.0 g 6.81 oz / 193.0 g
Materials
Back: Glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 5)
Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
Iris scanner, 2D Face unlock, Fingerprint (touch) Optical in-screen fingerprint
Keys
Left: Volume control, Other; Right: Lock/Unlock key Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Midnight black, Orchid gray, Arctic silver, Coral blue, Maple gold, Rose pink, Burgundy red Prism Dot black, Prism Dot white, Prism Dot grey

Display

Size
5.8-inch, 84.26% screen-to-body 6.6-inch, 84.26% screen-to-body
Type
Super AMOLED, HDR Super AMOLED, 60Hz
Resolution
2960x1440px, 18.5:9 ratio, 570 PPI 1600x720px, 20:9 ratio, 266 PPI
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
PhoneArena Display Test
Bright Max (20% APL)
Untested Untested
Bright Min
1 (Excellent) Untested

Hardware

System chip
Snapdragon 835 MSM8998 (10 nm) Snapdragon 750G SM7225 (8 nm)
Processor
Octa-core
2350 MHz
Kryo 280
Octa-core
2x2.2GHz Kryo 570
6x1.8GHz Kryo 570
GPU
Adreno 540 Adreno 619
Memory
4GB (LPDDR4)/64GB 4GB (LPDDR4)/128GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 256 GB microSDXC up to 1000 GB
OS
Android (9.0 Pie, 8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat) Android (12, 11, 10)

Battery

Type
3000 mAh, Li - Ion 5000 mAh
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0
Qi and Powermat wireless charging
Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging
Charge speed
Wired: 15.0W

Camera

Rear
Single camera Quad camera
Main camera
12 MP (OIS, PDAF)
Aperture size: F1.7
Focal length: 26 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.55"
Pixel size: 1.4 μm
48 MP (PDAF)
Aperture size: F1.8
Pixel size: 0.8 μm
Second camera
8 MP (Ultra-wide)
Aperture size: F2.2
Third camera
5 MP (Macro)
Aperture size: F2.4
Fourth camera
5 MP (Depth information)
Aperture size: F2.4
Flash
LED LED
Video recording
4K UHD (30 fps), QHD, 1080p (60 fps), 720p (240 fps)
HDR, Time-lapse video, Hyperlapse, Continuous autofocus, Object tracking, Picture-taking during video recording, Video light, EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
4K UHD (30 fps), 720p (480 fps)
Front
8 MP (Wide Angle, Autofocus, HDR)
Video capture: QHD
20 MP (Autofocus)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.0, Yes 5.0
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
USB
Type-C, USB 3.1 Type-C, USB 2.0
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, 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, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Other
NFC, ANT+, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features
32-Bit DAC, aptX-HD
Screen mirroring
DLNA,Wireless screen share,MHL Wireless screen share
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation, Video recording

Cellular

5G Bands
n1, n3, n5, n7, n8, n28, Sub-6
4G (FDD) Bands
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 66 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20, 28
4G (TDD) Bands
38, 39, 40, 41 38, 40, 41
3G Bands
1, 2, 5, 8 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
Data Speed
LTE-A Pro Cat 16 (1000/150 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s
Dual SIM
Yes
SIM type
Nano SIM Nano SIM
HD Voice
Yes

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Apr 06, 2017
FCC ID value: A3LSMG950U
Date approved: Apr 08, 2021
FCC ID value: A3LSMA426U
Measured SAR
Head: 0.49 W/kg
Body: 0.48 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.53 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.46 W/kg
Head: 1.11 W/kg
Body: 1.25 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg
Wireless Router: 1.06 W/kg
Phablet: 3.81 W/kg

Alternative variants

International version
System chip Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 8895 (10 nm)
Processor Octa-core
2300 MHz
Exynos M2 "Mongoose" and ARM Cortex-A53
GPU Mali-G71 MP20
4G (FDD) Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 66
4G (TDD) Bands 38, 39, 40, 41
FCC approval Date approved: Sep 05, 2017
FCC ID value: A3LSMG950F
Measured SAR Head: 0.38 W/kg
Body: 0.75 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.55 W/kg
Wireless Router: 1.09 W/kg
for T-Mobile
4G (FDD) Bands 2, 4, 5, 12
3G Bands 5, 4, 2, 1
VoLTE Yes
for Verizon Wireless
4G (FDD) Bands 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28
4G (TDD) Bands 38, 39, 40, 41
3G Bands 5, 8, 2, 1
for U.S. Cellular
4G (FDD) Bands 2, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 25
4G (TDD) Bands 38, 39, 40
Data Speed LTE-A, HSPA, UMTS
with Dual SIM
System chip Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 8895 (10 nm)
Processor Octa-core
2500 MHz
Exynos M2 "Mongoose"and ARM Cortex-A53
GPU Mali-G71 MP20
Dual SIM Yes
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless