Google Pixel 6a vs Apple iPhone XS
70
out of 100
VS
57
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.1-inch Google Pixel 6a (with Google Tensor) that was released on May 11, 2022, against the Apple iPhone XS, which is powered by Apple A12 Bionic and came out 44 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 Google Pixel 6a
- Comes with 1752 mAh larger battery capacity: 4410 vs 2658 mAh
- Shows 41% longer battery life (32:11 vs 22:46 hours)
- 52% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (913K versus 600K)
- Modern USB Type-C port
- Delivers 38% higher peak brightness (880 against 638 nits)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
- Has a 0.3 inch larger screen size
- Fingerprint scanner
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
- The phone is 3-years and 8-months newer
- Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone XS
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
- Handles Qi wireless charging up to 10W
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Google
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
Choose the importance of each parameter to more accurately identify the smartphone that best meets your particular needs.
Value for money
You can enter your local prices of these phones (in USD or other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.
Promotion
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | OLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.1 inches | 5.8 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels | 1125 x 2436 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 429 ppi | 458 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 500 nits | 625 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1100 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 83% | 82.9% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 96.9% | 98.8% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | 240 Hz |
| Response time | 3 ms | 4.4 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 152.2 mm (5.99 inches) | 143.6 mm (5.65 inches) |
| Width | 71.8 mm (2.83 inches) | 70.9 mm (2.79 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) | 7.7 mm (0.3 inches) |
| Weight | 178 g (6.28 oz) | 177 g (6.24 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP67 | IP68 |
| Rear material | Plastic | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Green | Silver, Gold, Gray |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | No |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Google Tensor | Apple A12 Bionic |
| Max clock | 2800 MHz | 2490 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 2 + 4) | 6 (2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex A55 - 2 cores at 2.25 GHz: Cortex A76 - 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
- 4 cores at 1.6 GHz: Tempest - 2 cores at 2.49 GHz: Vortex |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | - |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 7 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G78 MP20 | Apple A12 GPU |
| GPU shading units | 1280 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 848 MHz | 1100 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~2170.9 GFLOPS | ~576 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | - | 151927 |
| GPU | - | 141208 |
| Memory | - | 104587 |
| UX | 913000 | 200467 |
| Total score | 913419 | 600066 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 41.4 °C | 44.8 °C |
| Stability | 56% | 63% |
| Graphics test | 37 FPS | 34 FPS |
| Graphics score | 6194 | 5700 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 6177 | - |
| Video editing | 5806 | - |
| Photo editing | 17969 | - |
| Data manipulation | 9425 | - |
| Writing score | 15432 | - |
Memory
| RAM size | 6 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 3200 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 64, 256, 512 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | NVMe |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | iOS 12 (Can be upgraded to iOS 17) |
| ROM | Stock Android | - |
| OS size | 14.3 GB | 11.8 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4410 mAh | 2658 mAh |
| Max charge power | 18 W | 15 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | Yes, Qi (10 W) |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (42% in 30 min) | Yes (50% in 60 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:51 hr | 2:40 hr |
| Web browsing | 10:54 hr | 07:30 hr |
| Watching video | 16:44 hr | 09:19 hr |
| Gaming | 06:05 hr | 04:43 hr |
| Standby | 91 hr | 80 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 12.2 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4032 x 3024 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Optical, 2x |
| Flash | Dual LED | Quad LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 114° | - |
| Lenses | 2 (12.2 MP + 12 MP) | 2 (12 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 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 |
- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Apple iSight X (CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens | - | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 52 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4" (CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 17 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/2.9", Sony IMX386 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
- |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Google Pixel 6a from DxOMark | - |
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 7 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3840 x 2160 | 3088 x 2316 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 24 mm | 32 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.12 microns | 1.12 microns |
| Sensor type | Exmor-RS CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/2.8" | - |
| 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 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.2 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | SPP, PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, HDP, GAP, GAVDP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | No |
| USB version | 3.1 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 20 | 16 |
| 5G support | Yes | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | May 2022 | September 2018 |
| Release date | June 2022 | September 2018 |
| SAR (head) | - | 0.99 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | - | 0.99 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor |
| 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 Google Pixel 6a is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 62