OnePlus Nord 2 5G vs Google Pixel 6a
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 gadgets.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the OnePlus Nord 2 5G
- Higher display refresh rate – 90 Hz
- 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 (872 against 633 nits)
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5
- 15% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (766K versus 664K)
- More recent OS version: Android 13 versus 12
- The phone is 10-months newer
- 29% faster in single-core GeekBench 5 test: 1039 and 807 points
- Ready for eSIM technology
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Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Performance
CPU/GPU performance in apps and games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview score
Final comparison evaluation
Value for money
You can enter your local price of these phones (in USD or any other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.
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 |
| Max rated brightness | 450 nits | 500 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 650 nits | 800 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 | 158.9 mm (6.26 inches) | 152.2 mm (5.99 inches) |
| Width | 73.2 mm (2.88 inches) | 71.8 mm (2.83 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.3 mm (0.33 inches) | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 189 g (6.67 oz) | 178 g (6.28 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | IP67 |
| 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 | - | 4 MB |
| Lithography process | 6 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G77 MC9 | Mali-G78 MP20 |
| GPU clock | 850 MHz | 848 MHz |
| FLOPS | - | ~2171 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 186770 | 208269 |
| GPU | 232801 | 305908 |
| Memory | 114516 | 110039 |
| UX | 131863 | 144068 |
| Total score | 664398 | 766657 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Stability | 64% | 55% |
| Graphics test | 25 FPS | 37 FPS |
| Graphics score | 4179 | 6230 |
| PCMark 3.0 score | 8588 | 9715 |
AnTuTu 9 Android Phone Scores (185th and 123rd place)
Memory
| RAM size | 6, 8, 12 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | - |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| 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 12) | Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | OxygenOS 12 | Stock Android |
| OS size | 14 GB | 14.3 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4500 mAh | 4410 mAh |
| 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 | 11:03 hr |
| Watching video | 13:49 hr | 16:44 hr |
| Gaming | 05:27 hr | 06:15 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 |
| 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 |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
These smartphones have a lot in common, but we would recommend the Google Pixel 6a. It has a better performance and design.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 70