Samsung Galaxy A12 vs Galaxy A03

50 out of 100
Samsung Galaxy A12
VS
49 out of 100
Samsung Galaxy A03

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 Samsung Galaxy A03, which is powered by Unisoc T606 and came out 13 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A12
  • Modern USB Type-C port
  • Fingerprint scanner
  • Delivers 12% higher peak brightness (474 against 422 nits)
  • Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A03
  • 55% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (207K versus 133K)
  • Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR4X
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 5 wireless networks
  • The phone is 1-year and 1-month newer

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy A12 and Galaxy A03 crucial features
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.
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
Choose the importance of each parameter to more accurately identify the smartphone that best meets your particular needs.
Adjust priorities
Feature
Priority (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery Life:
The higher the priority, the more it will affect the final NanoReview score.

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.
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Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Display

Type PLS TFT PLS TFT
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 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 450 nits 400 nits
HDR support No No
Screen protection Tempered glass Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio 82.1% 81.8%
Display tests
RGB color space 96.3% 96%
PWM 337 Hz Not detected
Response time 52 ms 45 ms
Contrast 864:1 1641:1
Peak brightness test (auto)
Galaxy A12 +12%
474 nits
422 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 164 mm (6.46 inches) 164.2 mm (6.46 inches)
Width 75.8 mm (2.98 inches) 75.9 mm (2.99 inches)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) 9.1 mm (0.36 inches)
Weight 205 g (7.23 oz) 196 g (6.91 oz)
Waterproof No No
Rear material Plastic Plastic
Frame material Plastic Plastic
Colors White, Black, Blue, Red Black, Blue, Red
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-button No
Screen-to-body ratio
82.1%
81.8%

Performance

Tests of Samsung Galaxy A12 and Samsung Galaxy A03 in the benchmarks
SoC
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
Lithography process 12 nanometers 12 nanometers
Graphics PowerVR GE8320 Mali-G57 MP1
GPU shading units 32 64
GPU clock 680 MHz 650 MHz
FLOPS ~43.5 GFLOPS ~83.2 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
496
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
1528
1541
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
133645
Galaxy A03 +55%
207579
CPU 49721 75655
GPU 16841 25987
Memory 34529 49741
UX 32377 54622
Total score 133645 207579
3DMark Wild Life Performance
Max surface temperature 44.1 °C 43.2 °C
Stability - 97%
Graphics test - 2 FPS
Graphics score - 407
PCMark 3.0
Web score - 5985
Video editing - 3936
Photo editing - 13761
Data manipulation - 5461
Writing score - 8396
Sources: 3DMark [3]

Memory

RAM
RAM size 3, 4, 6 GB 3, 4 GB
Memory type LPDDR4 LPDDR4X
Memory clock 1866 MHz -
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 32, 64, 128 GB 32, 64, 128 GB
Storage type eMMC 5.1 eMMC 5.1
Memory card MicroSD MicroSD
Memory card max size Up to 1024 GB Up to 1024 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 One UI Core 5.0
OS size 13 GB 13.5 GB

Battery

Capacity 5000 mAh 5000 mAh
Max charge power 15 W 15 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 (20% in 40 min)
Full charging time 3:03 hr 3:35 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 16:07 hr -
Watching video 12:14 hr -
Gaming 06:08 hr -
Standby 153 hr -
General battery life
41:00 hr

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera
Matrix 48 megapixels 48 megapixels
Image resolution 8000 x 6000 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 No
Angle of widest lens 123° -
Lenses 4 (48 MP + 5 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP) 2 (48 MP + 2 MP)
Wide (main) lens - 48 MP
- Aperture: f/2.0
- Focal length: 26 mm
- Pixel size: 0.8 micron
- Sensor: 1/2", Samsung S5KGM2 (ISOCELL CMOS)
- Phase autofocus
- 48 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Phase autofocus
Ultra-wide lens - 5 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2
-
Macro lens - 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4
-
Depth lens - 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2
- 2 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- Bokeh mode
Samples Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A12 from DxOMark -
Selfie camera
Megapixels 8 megapixels 5 megapixels
Image resolution 3264 x 2448 2560 x 1960
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
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 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 Micro USB
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
NFC* Yes No
Infrared port No No
Network
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 4
5G support No No

Sound

Speakers Mono Mono
Headphone audio jack Yes Yes
FM radio Yes -
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness
80.9 dB
81.9 dB

Other

Category Budget Budget
Announced November 2020 November 2021
Release date December 2020 January 2022
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
Bundled charger - Yes, 0 W
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

If the camera, battery life, and connectivity are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy A12. But if the display, gaming, and design are more of a priority – go for the Samsung Galaxy A03.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
162 (49.1%)
168 (50.9%)
Total votes: 330

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