Samsung Galaxy A12 vs Galaxy A03s
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 A03s, which is powered by the same chip and came out 8 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 Samsung Galaxy A12
- Delivers 33% higher peak brightness (472 against 354 nits)
- Has an ultra-wide angle camera lens
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A03s
- More recent OS version: Android 13 versus 12
- The phone is 8-months newer
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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 | 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% |
| RGB color space | 96.3% | 93.9% |
| PWM | 337 Hz | 806 Hz |
| Response time | 52 ms | 43 ms |
| Contrast | 864:1 | 1126:1 |
Peak brightness test (auto)
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 | White, Black, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in home button | Yes, in home button |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | MediaTek Helio P35 | MediaTek Helio P35 |
| Max clock | 2300 MHz | 2350 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (4 + 4) | 8 (4 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A53 - 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Cortex-A53 |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A53 - 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Cortex-A53 |
| Lithography process | 12 nanometers | 12 nanometers |
| Graphics | IMG PowerVR GE8320 | IMG PowerVR GE8320 |
| GPU clock | 680 MHz | 680 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~44.8 GFLOPS | ~44.8 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 35357 | 36930 |
| GPU | 13133 | 15632 |
| Memory | 28597 | 29149 |
| UX | 35628 | 38919 |
| Total score | 112003 | 120379 |
Memory
| RAM size | 3, 4, 6 GB | 3, 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4 | - |
| Memory clock | 1866 MHz | - |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 32, 64, 128 GB | 32, 64 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 12) | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | One UI Core 4.1 | One UI Core 5.0 |
| OS size | 13 GB | 13.2 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| 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 (15% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 3:03 hr | 3:38 hr |
| Web browsing | 16:07 hr | 15:57 hr |
| Watching video | 12:14 hr | 14:23 hr |
| Gaming | 06:09 hr | 06:16 hr |
| Standby | 153 hr | 124 hr |
General battery life
Phones With the Best Battery Life (17th and 31st place)
Camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 13 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8000 x 6000 | 4128 x 3096 |
| 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) | 3 (13 MP + 2 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 |
- 13 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Phase autofocus |
| Ultra-wide lens | - 5 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 |
- |
| Macro lens | - 2 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 |
- 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 | - |
| 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 4 (802.11 b/g/n) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
- 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 | 4 |
| 5G support | No | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Mono | Mono |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | Yes |
| FM radio | Yes | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Budget | Budget |
| Announced | November 2020 | August 2021 |
| Release date | December 2020 | August 2021 |
| SAR (head) | 0.67 W/kg | 0.36 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.38 W/kg | 1.09 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Fingerprint |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the performance and camera are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy A12. But if the software is more of a priority – go for the Samsung Galaxy A03s.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 1198
