Samsung Galaxy A12 vs Galaxy A04s
37
out of 100
VS
35
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 Samsung Galaxy A04s, which is powered by Exynos 850 and came out 1 year and 9 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
- Shows 10% longer battery life (26:02 vs 23:39 hours)
- Delivers 22% higher peak brightness (469 against 386 nits)
- 39% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 300 and 216 points
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A04s
- Higher display refresh rate – 90 Hz
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR4X 1866 MHz
- 15% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (234K versus 204K)
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 5 wireless networks
- More energy-efficient CPU – Exynos 850
- Has 50% more RAM: 3GB versus 2GB
- More recent OS version: Android 14 versus 13
- The phone is 1 year and 9 months newer
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.
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Value for money (Beta)
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 | 90 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% | 80.8% |
| RGB color space | 96.3% | 95.1% |
| PWM | 337 Hz | Not detected |
| Response time | 52 ms | 20 ms |
| Contrast | 864:1 | 1291:1 |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 164 mm (6.46 inches) | 164.7 mm (6.48 inches) |
| Width | 75.8 mm (2.98 inches) | 76.7 mm (3.02 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) | 9.1 mm (0.36 inches) |
| Weight | 205 g (7.23 oz) | 195 g (6.88 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | No |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue, Red | White, Black, Green, Orange |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-button |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | MediaTek Helio P35 | Samsung Exynos 850 |
| Max clock | 2300 MHz | 2000 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (4 + 4) | 8 (8) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A53 - 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Cortex-A53 |
- 8 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 12 nanometers | 8 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | No | No |
| Graphics | IMG PowerVR GE8320 | Mali-G52 MP1 |
| GPU shading units | 32 | 16 |
| GPU clock | 680 MHz | 1001 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~43.5 GFLOPS | ~48 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
| Single-core score | 300 | 216 |
| Multi-core score | 824 | 1025 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 98355 | 102498 |
| GPU | 9461 | 10785 |
| Memory | 57623 | 67388 |
| UX | 38722 | 53668 |
| Total score | 204161 | 234339 |
| Samples | [2 tests] | Less than 3 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | - | 5036 |
| Video editing | - | 5760 |
| Photo editing | - | 8723 |
| Data manipulation | - | 4163 |
| Writing score | - | 5640 |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy A12
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-25 -> a05stech | AnTuTu 12 | 261637 |
| 📘 2026-08-09 (Fintex) | AnTuTu 11 | 193141 |
| 📘 2026-06-12 -> Karlue392007 | CPU Throttle | 78% |
| 📘 2026-06-03 (Renzs) | AnTuTu 11 | 204161 |
Samsung Galaxy A04s
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-01 (Galaxy A04s) | AnTuTu 11 | 236832 |
| 📘 2025-11-11 (pn08532) | AnTuTu 11 | 234339 |
Memory
| RAM size | 2 GB | 3 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 1866 MHz | 1866 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 32 GB | 32 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 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 14) |
| ROM | One UI Core 5.1 | One UI 6.0 Core |
| OS size | 13 GB | 12 GB |
| OS updates | 2 years | 2 years |
| Security updates | 4 years | 3 years |
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 (28% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 3:03 hr | 2:14 hr |
| Web browsing | 11:00 hr | 09:15 hr |
| Watching video | 13:25 hr | 13:16 hr |
| Gaming | 06:03 hr | 05:43 hr |
| Standby | 133 hr | 121 hr |
General battery life
Smartphones With Long Battery Life (#138th place)
Main camera
| Matrix | 48 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8000 x 6000 | 8192 x 6144 |
| 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 | 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 |
| Image resolution | 48 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KGM2 | Samsung ISOCELL S5KJN1 |
| Sensor size | 1/2" (≈ 0.5 inch) | 1/2.76" (≈ 0.36 inch) |
| Pixel size | 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 | 5 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 2560 x 1960 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.2 |
| Sensor | CMOS | CMOS |
| 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 a/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, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| 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 | Yes |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Budget | Budget |
| Announced | November 2020 | August 2022 |
| Release date | December 2020 | September 2022 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $180 | $150 |
| Successor | - Samsung Galaxy A17 4G | - Samsung Galaxy A05s |
| SAR (head) | 0.67 W/kg | 0.52 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.38 W/kg | 1.23 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Fingerprint |
- Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | - | Not included |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the camera and battery life are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy A12. But if the display, performance, gaming, and software are more of a priority – go for the Samsung Galaxy A04s.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 296
