Samsung Galaxy A12 vs Nokia G21
37
out of 100
VS
39
out of 100
Here we compared two budget smartphones: the 6.5-inch Samsung Galaxy A12 (with MediaTek Helio P35) that was released on November 24, 2020, against the Nokia G21, which is powered by Unisoc T606 and came out 1 year and 3 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
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Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A12
- Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology
Reasons to consider the Nokia G21
- Higher display refresh rate – 90 Hz
- 47% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (299K versus 204K)
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR4X
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 5 wireless networks
- Has 50% more RAM: 3GB versus 2GB
- The phone is 1 year and 3 months newer
- 26% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 378 and 300 points
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
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | PLS TFT | IPS LCD |
| Size | 6.5 inches | 6.5 inches |
| Resolution | 720 x 1600 pixels | 720 x 1600 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 270 ppi | 270 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 90 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 450 nits | 480 nits |
| HDR support | No | No |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 82.1% | 81.7% |
| RGB color space | 96.3% | 94.9% |
| PWM | 337 Hz | Not detected |
| Response time | 52 ms | 49 ms |
| Contrast | 864:1 | 1070:1 |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 164 mm (6.46 inches) | 164.6 mm (6.48 inches) |
| Width | 75.8 mm (2.98 inches) | 75.9 mm (2.99 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) | 8.5 mm (0.33 inches) |
| Weight | 205 g (7.23 oz) | 190 g (6.7 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | No |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue, Red | Gray, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-button |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | MediaTek Helio P35 | Unisoc T606 |
| Max clock | 2300 MHz | 1600 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (4 + 4) | 8 (2 + 6) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A53 - 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Cortex-A53 |
- 6 cores at 1.6 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 2 cores at 1.6 GHz: Cortex-A75 |
| L3 cache | - | 1 MB |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 12 nanometers | 12 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | No | No |
| Graphics | IMG PowerVR GE8320 | Mali-G57 MP1 |
| GPU shading units | 32 | 32 |
| GPU clock | 680 MHz | 650 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~43.5 GFLOPS | ~41.6 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
| Single-core score | 300 | 378 |
| Multi-core score | 824 | 1335 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 98355 | 119147 |
| GPU | 9461 | 19827 |
| Memory | 57623 | 67135 |
| UX | 38722 | 93198 |
| Total score | 204161 | 299307 |
| Samples | [2 tests] | Less than 3 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | - | 7604 |
| Video editing | - | 4680 |
| Photo editing | - | 12044 |
| Data manipulation | - | 6069 |
| Writing score | - | 8491 |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy A12
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-08-09 (Fintex) | AnTuTu 11 | 193141 |
| 📘 2026-06-12 -> Karlue392007 | CPU Throttle | 78% |
| 📘 2026-06-03 (Renzs) | AnTuTu 11 | 204161 |
Nokia G21
No benchmark results yet
Memory
| RAM size | 2 GB | 3 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 1866 MHz | - |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 32 GB | 64 GB |
| Storage type | eMMC 5.1 | eMMC 5.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | MicroSD |
| Memory card max size | Up to 1024 GB | Up to 512 GB |
Software
| Operating system | Android 10.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | One UI Core 5.1 | - |
| OS size | 13 GB | - |
| OS updates | 2 years | - |
| Security updates | 4 years | - |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5050 mAh |
| Max charge power | 15 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (20% in 30 min) | Yes (22% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 3:03 hr | 2:49 hr |
| Web browsing | 11:00 hr | 10:38 hr |
| Watching video | 13:25 hr | 14:21 hr |
| Gaming | 06:03 hr | 06:09 hr |
| Standby | 133 hr | 128 hr |
General battery life
Smartphones With Long Battery Life (138th and 143rd place)
Main camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8000 x 6000 | - |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | No | No |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| Slow motion | No | - |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | - |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Ultrawide: 5 MP 3) Macro: 2 MP 4) Depth: 2 MP |
1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Macro: 2 MP 3) Depth: 2 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 48 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 28 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KGM2 | Samsung S5KJN1 |
| Sensor size | 1/2" (≈ 0.5 inch) | 1/2.76" (≈ 0.36 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | 0.8 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | 5 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | - |
| Stabilization | Digital | - |
| Image resolution | 2 MP | 2 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.4 |
| Stabilization | No | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A12 from DxOMark | - |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 3264 x 2448 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.0 |
| Sensor | CMOS | CMOS |
| Pixel size | - | 1.12 micron |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 4 (802.11 b/g/n) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP | LE, 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, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| NFC* | Yes | Depends on the region |
| 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* | 7 | - |
| 5G support | No | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Mono | Mono |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | Yes |
| FM radio | Yes | Yes |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | No |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Budget | Budget |
| Announced | November 2020 | February 2022 |
| Release date | December 2020 | February 2022 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $180 | $190 |
| Successor | - Samsung Galaxy A17 4G | - Nokia G22 |
| SAR (head) | 0.67 W/kg | - |
| SAR (body) | 1.38 W/kg | - |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | - | Yes, 10 W |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the display, performance, and connectivity are more important to you, then choose the Nokia G21. But if the camera, software, and sound are more of a priority – go for the Samsung Galaxy A12.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 73