Samsung Galaxy M12 vs Galaxy A13
38
out of 100
VS
42
out of 100
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 A13, which is powered by the same chip 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.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy M12
- Higher display refresh rate β 90 Hz
- 10% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (255K versus 231K)
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A13
- 48% higher pixel density (400 vs 270 PPI)
- Delivers 37% higher peak brightness (589 against 431 nits)
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 5 wireless networks
- More recent OS version: Android 14 versus 13
- The phone is 1 year and 3 months newer
- Weighs 19 grams less
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 | PLS TFT |
| Size | 6.5 inches | 6.6 inches |
| Resolution | 720 x 1600 pixels | 1080 x 2408 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 270 ppi | 400 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 90 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 450 nits | 500 nits |
| HDR support | No | No |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 82% | 83.4% |
| RGB color space | 93.3% | 99.9% |
| PWM | - | Not detected |
| Response time | 39 ms | 33 ms |
| Contrast | 926:1 | 1257:1 |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 164 mm (6.46 inches) | 165.1 mm (6.5 inches) |
| Width | 75.9 mm (2.99 inches) | 76.4 mm (3.01 inches) |
| Thickness | 9.7 mm (0.38 inches) | 8.8 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 214 g (7.55 oz) | 195 g (6.88 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | No |
| Rear material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Colors | Black, Blue, Green | White, Black, Blue, Yellow |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-button | Yes, in-button |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 850 | Samsung Exynos 850 |
| Max clock | 2000 MHz | 2000 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (8) | 8 (8) |
| Architecture | - 8 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 | - 8 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 8 nanometers | 8 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | No | No |
| Graphics | Mali-G52 | Mali-G52 |
| GPU shading units | 16 | 16 |
| GPU clock | 680 MHz | 1001 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~48 GFLOPS | ~48 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
| Single-core score | 481 | 474 |
| Multi-core score | 1522 | 1523 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 102962 | 87523 |
| GPU | 18064 | 17669 |
| Memory | 78853 | 86552 |
| UX | 55507 | 40162 |
| Total score | 255386 | 231906 |
| Samples | Less than 3 | [7 tests] |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 5973 | 4792 |
| Video editing | 5745 | 4695 |
| Photo editing | 9202 | 7885 |
| Data manipulation | 4789 | 3252 |
| Writing score | 5649 | 4111 |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy M12
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-02-10 (evgn) | AnTuTu 11 | 255386 |
Samsung Galaxy A13
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-07-25 (stockman50) | AnTuTu 11 | 266604 |
| π 2026-04-30 (SamsungPro) | CPU Throttle | 95% |
| π 2026-04-29 (SamsungPro) | CPU Throttle | 94% |
| π 2026-04-26 -> Viljami22 | CPU Throttle | 91% |
| π 2026-04-26 -> Viljami22 | AnTuTu 11 | 231833 |
Memory
| RAM size | 3 GB | 3 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 1866 MHz | 2133 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 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 14) |
| ROM | One UI Core 5.0 | One UI Core 6.1 |
| OS size | 14 GB | 16.5 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-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (40% in 60 min) | Yes (27% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 2:30 hr | 2:18 hr |
| Web browsing | 08:56 hr | 08:52 hr |
| Watching video | 12:59 hr | 13:18 hr |
| Gaming | 05:13 hr | 05:46 hr |
| Standby | 121 hr | 127 hr |
General battery life
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 | - |
| Angle of widest lens | 123Β° | - |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Ultrawide: 5 MP 3) Macro: 2 MP 4) Depth: 2 MP |
1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 5 MP 3) Macro: 2 MP 4) 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 |
| Sensor | Samsung S5KGM2 | Samsung S5KJN1 |
| Sensor size | 1/2" (β 0.5 inch) | 1/2.76" (β 0.36 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | 0.64 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | 5 MP | 5 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Sensor size | 1/5.0" (β 0.2 inch) | 1/5" (β 0.2 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | 2 MP | 2 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.4 |
| Stabilization | No | Digital |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 8 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3264 x 2448 | 3264 x 2448 |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.2 |
| Sensor | CMOS | CMOS |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | No | 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 | - 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 | 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 |
| DisplayPort | No | - |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| NFC* | Depends on the region | 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 | - |
| LTE Cat* | 7 | 7 |
| 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 | March 2022 |
| Release date | April 2021 | March 2022 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $180 | $189 |
| Successor | - Samsung Galaxy M16 5G | - Samsung Galaxy A17 4G |
| SAR (head) | 0.54 W/kg | 0.37 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.39 W/kg | 1.39 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Fingerprint |
- Accelerometer - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | - | Yes, 15 W |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Samsung Galaxy A13 is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 305