Samsung Galaxy M12 vs Galaxy A12
Here we compared two budget smartphones: the 6.5-inch Samsung Galaxy M12 (with Exynos 850) that was released on November 24, 2020, against the Samsung Galaxy A12, which is powered by MediaTek Helio P35. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the gadgets.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy M12
- Higher display refresh rate – 90 Hz
- 31% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (146K versus 112K)
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR4X 1866 MHz
- More energy-efficient CPU – Exynos 850
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A12
- Delivers 11% higher peek brightness (468 against 423 nits)
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 | 90 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Max rated brightness | 450 nits | 450 nits |
| HDR support | No | No |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 81.9% | 82.1% |
| RGB color space | 93.3% | 96.3% |
| PWM | - | 337 Hz |
| Response time | 39 ms | 52 ms |
| Contrast | 926:1 | 864:1 |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 164 mm (6.46 inches) | 164 mm (6.46 inches) |
| Width | 75.9 mm (2.99 inches) | 75.8 mm (2.98 inches) |
| Thickness | 9.7 mm (0.38 inches) | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 214 gramm (7.55 oz) | 205 gramm (7.23 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | No |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Colors | Black, Blue, Green | White, Black, Blue, Red |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in home button | Yes, in home button |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 850 | MediaTek Helio P35 |
| Max. clock | 2000 MHz | 2300 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (8) | 8 (4 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 8 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A53 - 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Cortex-A53 |
| Lithography process | 8 nanometers | 12 nanometers |
| Graphics | Mali-G52 MP1 | IMG PowerVR GE8320 |
| GPU clock | 680 MHz | 680 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~126 GFLOPS | ~44.8 GFLOPS |
| RAM size | 3, 4 GB | 3, 4, 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4 |
| Memory clock | 1866 MHz | 1866 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| 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 |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 44756 | 35357 |
| GPU | 24822 | 13133 |
| Memory | 36022 | 28597 |
| UX | 42192 | 35628 |
| Total score | 146994 | 112030 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Stability | 98% | - |
| Graphics test | 2 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 427 | - |
| PCMark 3.0 score | 6062 | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 12) | Android 10.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 12) |
| ROM | One UI Core 4.1 | One UI Core 4.1 |
| OS size | 14 GB | 13 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Charge power | 15 W | 15 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (40% in 60 min) | Yes (20% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 2:30 hr | 3:03 hr |
| Web browsing | - | 16:07 hr |
| Watching video | - | 12:14 hr |
| Gaming | - | 06:09 hr |
| Standby | - | 153 hr |
General battery life
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° | 123° |
| Lenses | 4 (48 MP + 5 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP) | 4 (48 MP + 5 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 48 MP - Aperture: f/2.0 - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/2", Samsung S5KGM2 (CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
- 48 MP - Aperture: f/2.0 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/2", Samsung S5KGM2 (ISOCELL CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
| Ultra-wide lens | - 5 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/5.0" (CMOS) |
- 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/2.2 |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Samples | - | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A12 from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 3264 x 2448 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.0 |
| 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 | - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
| Bluetooth version | 5 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, 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 | 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 | 7 |
| 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 | November 2020 |
| Release date | April 2021 | December 2020 |
| SAR (head) | 0.54 W/kg | 0.67 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.39 W/kg | 1.38 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
These smartphones have a lot in common, but we would recommend the Samsung Galaxy M12.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 5354
