Samsung Galaxy S20 vs Google Pixel 4a
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S20 (with Exynos 9 Octa 990) that was released on February 11, 2020, against the Google Pixel 4a, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G and came out 6 months after. 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 S20
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- 82% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (652K versus 359K)
- Comes with 860 mAh larger battery capacity: 4000 vs 3140 mAh
- 27% higher pixel density (563 vs 443 PPI)
- Handles wireless charging up to 15W
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1000GB
- The rear camera has a 1.1x optical zoom
- Has a 0.39 inch larger screen size
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 4a
- Shows 10% longer battery life (26:51 vs 24:28 hours)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.1)
- Weighs 20 grams less
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
- The phone is 6-months newer
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 | Dynamic AMOLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.2 inches | 5.81 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3200 pixels | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 563 ppi | 443 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 800 nits | 700 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10 |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 89.5% | 83.3% |
| Display features |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99.8% | 95.3% |
| PWM | 242 Hz | 255 Hz |
| Response time | 8.5 ms | 6.2 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 151.7 mm (5.97 inches) | 144 mm (5.67 inches) |
| Width | 69.1 mm (2.72 inches) | 69.4 mm (2.73 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) | 8.2 mm (0.32 inches) |
| Weight | 163 g (5.75 oz) | 143 g (5.04 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | No |
| Rear material | Glass | Plastic |
| Frame material | Metal | Plastic |
| Colors | Gray, Blue, Red | Black |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, rear |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 990 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G |
| Max clock | 2700 MHz | 2200 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 2 + 4) | 8 (2 + 6) |
| Architecture |
- 4 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 2 cores at 2.5 GHz: Cortex-A76 - 2 cores at 2.73 GHz: Exynos M5 |
- 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 470 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 2 cores at 2.2 GHz: Kryo 470 Gold (Cortex-A76) |
| L3 cache | 2 MB | - |
| Lithography process | 7 nanometers | 8 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G77 MP11 | Adreno 618 |
| GPU shading units | 704 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 550 MHz | 825 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1126 GFLOPS | ~422.4 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 185116 | 115287 |
| GPU | 195014 | 70626 |
| Memory | 144113 | 78602 |
| UX | 126679 | 92505 |
| Total score | 652761 | 359268 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 49.7 °C | 41.4 °C |
| Stability | 51% | 99% |
| Graphics test | 25 FPS | 6 FPS |
| Graphics score | 4221 | 1003 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 8843 | - |
| Video editing | 6024 | - |
| Photo editing | 30239 | - |
| Data manipulation | 8544 | - |
| Writing score | 11877 | - |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 3200 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.0 | UFS 2.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | No |
| Memory card max size | Up to 1000 GB | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 10.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | One UI 4.1 | Stock Android |
| OS size | 20.1 GB | 15 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4000 mAh | 3140 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | No |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (100% in 75 min) | Yes (50% in 25 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:15 hr | 1:27 hr |
| Web browsing | 08:40 hr | 08:45 hr |
| Watching video | 10:04 hr | 11:16 hr |
| Gaming | 04:15 hr | 04:05 hr |
| Standby | 83 hr | 99 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12 megapixels | 12.2 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Zoom | Optical, 1.1x | Digital |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 24FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 120 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | - |
| Lenses | 3 (12 MP + 64 MP + 12 MP) | 1 (12.2 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.76", Samsung S5K2LD (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 12.2 MP
- Aperture: f/1.7 - Focal length: 27 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX363 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens |
- 64 MP
- Aperture: f/2.0 - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.72", Samsung Bright S5KGW2 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- |
| Ultra-wide lens |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Samsung S5K2LA (ISOCELL CMOS) |
- |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | - | Photo samples of Google Pixel 4a from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 10 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 2592 x 3872 | 3264 x 2448 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 24 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.22 microns | 1.12 microns |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.2" | 1/2.8" |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features |
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5.1 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.1 | 3.1 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| 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 * | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | Yes | No |
| LTE Cat * | 22 | 15 |
| 5G support | No | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | Yes |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Mid-range |
| Announced | February 2020 | August 2020 |
| Release date | March 2020 | October 2020 |
| SAR (head) | 0.28 W/kg | 1.37 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.52 W/kg | 1.39 W/kg |
| Sensors |
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
*
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 S20 is definitely a better buy.