Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Google Pixel 4a
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.1-inch Samsung Galaxy S22 (with Exynos 2200) that was released on February 9, 2022, against the Google Pixel 4a, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G and came out 18 months before. 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 S22
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- 2.9x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (929K versus 320K)
- The rear camera has a 3x optical zoom
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Supports wireless charging up to 15W
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
- Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
- Comes with 560 mAh larger battery capacity: 3700 vs 3140 mAh
- More energy-efficient CPU – Exynos 2200
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 4a
- Weighs 24 grams less
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
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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 | Dynamic AMOLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.1 inches | 5.81 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 425 ppi | 443 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes | No |
| Max rated brightness | 780 nits | 700 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1300 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10 |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus Plus | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 87.4% | 83.3% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99.3% | 95.3% |
| PWM | 239 Hz | 255 Hz |
| Response time | 10 ms | 6.2 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 146 mm (5.75 inches) | 144 mm (5.67 inches) |
| Width | 70.6 mm (2.78 inches) | 69.4 mm (2.73 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.6 mm (0.3 inches) | 8.2 mm (0.32 inches) |
| Weight | 167 g (5.89 oz) | 143 g (5.04 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | No |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | - |
| Rear material | Glass | Plastic |
| Frame material | Metal | Plastic |
| Colors | White, Black, Gray, Blue, Green, Pink, Purple, Yellow | Black |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, rear |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 2200 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G |
| Max clock | 2800 MHz | 2200 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (2 + 6) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.82 GHz: Cortex-A510 - 3 cores at 2.52 GHz: Cortex-A710 - 1 core at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-X2 |
- 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 470 Silver (Cortex-A55) - 2 cores at 2.2 GHz: Kryo 470 Gold (Cortex-A76) |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 8 nanometers |
| Graphics | Samsung Xclipse 920 | Adreno 618 |
| GPU clock | 1300 MHz | 825 MHz |
| FLOPS | - | ~422 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
| CPU | 227100 | 101186 |
| GPU | 383658 | 79209 |
| Memory | 149592 | 59587 |
| UX | 160666 | 78244 |
| Total score | 929122 | 320798 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | 38 °C | 41.4 °C |
| Stability | 60% | 99% |
| Graphics test | 39 FPS | 6 FPS |
| Graphics score | 6532 | 1003 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 10252 | - |
| Video editing | 7143 | - |
| Photo editing | 27175 | - |
| Data manipulation | 10389 | - |
| Writing score | 14995 | - |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | - | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128, 256 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 2.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | One UI 5.1 | Stock Android |
| OS size | 30.2 GB | 15 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 3700 mAh | 3140 mAh |
| Charge power | 25 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (15 W) | No |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (63% in 30 min) | Yes (50% in 25 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:03 hr | 1:27 hr |
| Web browsing | - | 08:45 hr |
| Watching video | - | 11:16 hr |
| Gaming | - | 04:05 hr |
| Standby | - | 99 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 12.2 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8160 x 6120 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Zoom | Optical, 3x | Digital |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 24FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 960 FPS (720p) | 120 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | - |
| Lenses | 3 (50 MP + 10 MP + 12 MP) | 1 (12.2 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens | - 50 MP - Aperture: f/1.8 - Focal length: 24 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/1.56", Samsung GN5 (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
- 12.2 MP - Aperture: f/1.7 - Focal length: 27 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX363 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Telephoto lens | - 10 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 70 mm - Pixel size: 1 micron - Sensor: 1/3.94", Sony IMX772 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- |
| Ultra-wide lens | - 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 13 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX713 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus |
- |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S22 from DxOMark | Photo samples of Google Pixel 4a from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 10 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3872 x 2592 | 3264 x 2448 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 24 mm |
| Pixel size | 1.22 microns | 1.12 microns |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.24" | 1/2.8" |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.2 | 5.1 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 3.1 |
| 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* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 20 | 15 |
| 5G support | Yes | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | Yes |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Mid-range |
| Announced | February 2022 | August 2020 |
| Release date | March 2022 | October 2020 |
| SAR (head) | - | 1.37 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | - | 1.39 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
*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 S22 is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 4