OnePlus Nord 2 5G vs Google Pixel 6a
67
out of 100
VS
70
out of 100
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.43-inch OnePlus Nord 2 5G (with MediaTek Dimensity 1200 5G) that was released on July 22, 2021, against the Google Pixel 6a, which is powered by Google Tensor and came out 10 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 OnePlus Nord 2 5G
- Higher display refresh rate – 90 Hz
- Supports higher wattage charging (65W versus 18W)
- Has a 0.33 inch larger screen size
- Has 2 SIM card slots
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 6a
- Waterproof body (IP67 classification)
- Delivers 38% higher peak brightness (880 against 637 nits)
- 31% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (913K versus 695K)
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
- 38% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1469 and 1065 points
- The phone is 10-months newer
- Ready for eSIM technology
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 | AMOLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.43 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 410 ppi | 429 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 90 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 450 nits | 500 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 650 nits | 1100 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 85.8% | 83% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 128.2% | 96.9% |
| PWM | 119 Hz | 240 Hz |
| Response time | 8 ms | 3 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 159.12 mm (6.26 inches) | 152.2 mm (5.99 inches) |
| Width | 73.31 mm (2.89 inches) | 71.8 mm (2.83 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.25 mm (0.32 inches) | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 189 g (6.67 oz) | 178 g (6.28 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | IP67 |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | - |
| Rear material | Glass | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Metal |
| Colors | Gray, Blue, Green | White, Black, Green |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 1200 5G | Google Tensor |
| Max clock | 3000 MHz | 2800 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (2 + 2 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 3 cores at 2.6 GHz: Cortex-A78 - 1 core at 3 GHz: Cortex-A78 |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex A55 - 2 cores at 2.25 GHz: Cortex A76 - 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
| L3 cache | 8 MB | 4 MB |
| Lithography process | 6 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G77 MP9 | Mali-G78 MP20 |
| GPU shading units | 576 | 1280 |
| GPU clock | 886 MHz | 848 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~979.2 GFLOPS | ~2170.9 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 181329 | - |
| GPU | 241109 | - |
| Memory | 136131 | - |
| UX | 136255 | 913000 |
| Total score | 695430 | 913419 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 50.7 °C | 41.4 °C |
| Stability | 70% | 56% |
| Graphics test | 25 FPS | 37 FPS |
| Graphics score | 4197 | 6194 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 6831 | 6177 |
| Video editing | 5352 | 5806 |
| Photo editing | 15029 | 17969 |
| Data manipulation | 9115 | 9425 |
| Writing score | 10578 | 15432 |
Memory
| RAM size | 6, 8, 12 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 3200 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 4 |
| Storage size | 128, 256 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | OxygenOS 13 | Stock Android |
| OS size | 14 GB | 14.3 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4500 mAh | 4410 mAh |
| Max charge power | 65 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (98% in 30 min) | Yes (42% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 0:31 hr | 1:51 hr |
| Web browsing | 12:29 hr | 10:54 hr |
| Watching video | 13:49 hr | 16:44 hr |
| Gaming | 05:27 hr | 06:05 hr |
| Standby | 94 hr | 91 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 12.2 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8700 x 5800 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | Dual LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 119° | 114° |
| Lenses | 3 (50 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP) | 2 (12.2 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 50 MP - Aperture: f/1.9 - Focal length: 24 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/1.56", Sony IMX766 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus - 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 |
| Ultra-wide lens | - 8 MP - Aperture: f/2.3 |
- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 17 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/2.9", Sony IMX386 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
| Monochrome lens | - 2 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 |
- |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of OnePlus Nord 2 5G from DxOMark | Photo samples of Google Pixel 6a from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 32 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 6528 x 4896 | 3840 x 2160 |
| Aperture | f/2.5 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | - | 24 mm |
| Pixel size | 0.8 microns | 1.12 microns |
| Sensor type | Exmor-RS CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/2.8" | 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 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| 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 | 5.2 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 3.1 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, NAVIC, SBAS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | - |
| eSIM support* | No | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 18 | 20 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Flagship |
| Announced | July 2021 | May 2022 |
| Release date | July 2021 | June 2022 |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Yes, 65 W | Not included |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the camera, performance, gaming, and design are more important to you, then choose the Google Pixel 6a. But if the battery life and software are more of a priority – go for the OnePlus Nord 2 5G.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 107