Samsung Galaxy A23 5G vs Galaxy A12
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.6-inch Samsung Galaxy A23 5G (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 695) that was released on August 5, 2022, against the Samsung Galaxy A12, which is powered by MediaTek Helio P35 and came out 20 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A23 5G
- 3x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (406K versus 133K)
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- 48% higher pixel density (400 vs 270 PPI)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.1)
- Optical image stabilization
- More energy-efficient CPU – Snapdragon 695
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR4X 2133 MHz
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 5 wireless networks
- Delivers 8% higher peak brightness (508 against 472 nits)
- Slow-motion recording at 120FPS
- The phone is 1-year and 8-months newer
- Supports higher wattage charging (25W versus 15W)
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A12
- Shows 8% longer battery life (41:00 vs 38:04 hours)
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | PLS TFT | PLS TFT |
| Size | 6.6 inches | 6.5 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2408 pixels | 720 x 1600 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 400 ppi | 270 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 450 nits | 450 nits |
| HDR support | No | No |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 82.5% | 82.1% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - |
| RGB color space | 99.9% | 96.3% |
| PWM | - | 337 Hz |
| Response time | 22 ms | 52 ms |
| Contrast | 1442:1 | 864:1 |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 165.4 mm (6.51 inches) | 164 mm (6.46 inches) |
| Width | 76.9 mm (3.03 inches) | 75.8 mm (2.98 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.4 mm (0.33 inches) | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 197 g (6.95 oz) | 205 g (7.23 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | No |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue, Yellow | White, Black, Blue, Red |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-button |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 | MediaTek Helio P35 |
| Max clock | 2200 MHz | 2300 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 6) | 8 (4 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 660 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 2 cores at 2.2 GHz: Kryo 660 Gold (Cortex-A78) |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A53
- 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Cortex-A53 |
| Lithography process | 6 nanometers | 12 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 619 | PowerVR GE8320 |
| GPU shading units | 256 | 32 |
| GPU clock | 950 MHz | 680 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~486.4 GFLOPS | ~43.5 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 143456 | 49721 |
| GPU | 82937 | 16841 |
| Memory | 82102 | 34529 |
| UX | 95088 | 32377 |
| Total score | 406623 | 133842 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 43.9 °C | 44.1 °C |
| Stability | 99% | - |
| Graphics test | 7 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 1197 | - |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 9116 | - |
| Video editing | 4805 | - |
| Photo editing | 20729 | - |
| Data manipulation | 8517 | - |
| Writing score | 13323 | - |
Memory
| RAM size | 4, 6, 8 GB | 3, 4, 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4 |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 1866 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 64, 128 GB | 32, 64, 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 2.2 | eMMC 5.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | MicroSD |
| Memory card max size | Up to 1024 GB | Up to 1024 GB |
Software
| Operating system | Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 10.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | One UI 5.0 | One UI Core 5.1 |
| OS size | - | 13 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 15 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (58% in 30 min) | Yes (20% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:08 hr | 3:03 hr |
| Web browsing | 13:53 hr | 16:07 hr |
| Watching video | 14:37 hr | 12:14 hr |
| Gaming | 05:39 hr | 06:08 hr |
| Standby | 134 hr | 153 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 48 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8192 x 6144 | 8000 x 6000 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | No | No |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| Slow motion | 120 FPS (720p) | No |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | 123° |
| Lenses | 4 (50 MP + 5 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP) | 4 (48 MP + 5 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 50 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Pixel size: 0.64 micron - Sensor: 1/2.76", Samsung S5KJN1 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- 48 MP
- Aperture: f/2.0 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/2", Samsung S5KGM2 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
| Ultra-wide lens |
- 5 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Sensor: 1/5", GalaxyCore 5035 (CMOS) |
- 5 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 |
| Macro lens |
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 26 mm |
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 |
| Depth lens |
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 |
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode |
| Samples | - | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A12 from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 3264 x 2448 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.0 |
| Pixel size | 1.12 microns | - |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 4 (802.11 b/g/n) |
| Wi-Fi features |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
| Bluetooth version | 5.1 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| NFC * | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM * | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support * | No | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat * | 18 | 7 |
| 5G support | Yes | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Mono | Mono |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | Yes |
| FM radio | No | Yes |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Budget |
| Announced | August 2022 | November 2020 |
| Release date | September 2022 | December 2020 |
| SAR (head) | 1.49 W/kg | 0.67 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.25 W/kg | 1.38 W/kg |
| Sensors |
- Barometer
- Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor
- Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Not included | - |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Samsung Galaxy A23 5G is definitely a better buy.