Google Pixel 6a vs Apple iPhone 12

Google Pixel 6a Apple iPhone 12

Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.1-inch Google Pixel 6a (with Google Tensor) that was released on May 11 2022 against the Apple iPhone 12 which is powered by Apple A14 Bionic and came out 19 months before. On this page you will find tests full specs strengths and weaknesses of each of the gadgets.

Differences
Review
Specs
Benchmarks
Battery life
Camera
Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 6a

Comes with 1595 mAh larger battery capacity: 4410 vs 2815 mAh
Modern USB Type-C port
Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
Delivers 36% higher peak brightness (882 against 648 nits)
Newer Bluetooth version (v5.2)
Fingerprint scanner
Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5
The phone is 1-year and 7-months newer
Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB

Reasons to consider the Apple iPhone 12

Supports wireless charging up to 7.5W
Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
Apple releases software updates and supports their phones a few years longer than Google
54% faster in single-core GeekBench 5 test: 1614 and 1049 points
Weighs 14 grams less
The front-facing camera can record video at 4K

Review

Display Screen quality color accuracy brightness Pixel 6a 80 iPhone 12 75 Performance CPU/GPU performance in apps and games Pixel 6a 74 iPhone 12 81 Battery Battery life charging type and speed Pixel 6a 78 iPhone 12 75 Camera Photo and video recording quality Pixel 6a 69 iPhone 12 75 Connectivity Networks ports data transmission Pixel 6a 85 iPhone 12 75 NanoReview score Final comparison evaluation Pixel 6a 76 iPhone 12 78

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. Google Pixel 6a Price Apple iPhone 12 Calculate

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests Phone: Pixel 6a vs iPhone 12

Display

Type	OLED	OLED
Size	6.1 inches	6.1 inches
Resolution	1080 x 2400 pixels	1170 x 2532 pixels
Aspect ratio	20:9	19.5:9
PPI	429 ppi	460 ppi
Refresh rate	60 Hz	60 Hz
Max rated brightness	500 nits	625 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR	800 nits	-
HDR support	Yes HDR10+	Yes Dolby Vision
Screen protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 3	Ceramic Shield
Screen-to-body ratio	83%	86%
Display features	- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display	- DCI-P3

Display tests
RGB color space	96.9%	99.4%
PWM	240 Hz	226 Hz
Response time	3 ms	16 ms
Contrast	∞ Infinity	∞ Infinity

Peak brightness test (auto) Pixel 6a +36% 882 nits iPhone 12 648 nits Sources: NotebookCheck [3] [4]

Design and build

Height	152.2 mm (5.99 inches)	146.7 mm (5.78 inches)
Width	71.8 mm (2.83 inches)	71.5 mm (2.81 inches)
Thickness	8.9 mm (0.35 inches)	7.4 mm (0.29 inches)
Weight	178 gramm (6.28 oz)	164 gramm (5.78 oz)
Waterproof	IP67	IP68
Rear material	Plastic	Glass
Frame material	Metal	Metal
Colors	White Black Green	White Black Blue Green Red
Fingerprint scanner	Yes in-display	No

Screen-to-body ratio Pixel 6a 83% iPhone 12 +4% 86%

Performance

Tests of Google Pixel 6a and Apple iPhone 12 in the benchmarks

SoC
Chipset	Google Tensor	Apple A14 Bionic
Max. clock	2800 MHz	3100 MHz
CPU cores	8 (2 + 2 + 4)	6 (2 + 4)
Architecture	- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex A55 - 2 cores at 2.25 GHz: Cortex A76 - 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-X1	- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Icestorm - 2 cores at 3.1 GHz: Firestorm
L3 cache	4 MB	-
Lithography process	5 nanometers	5 nanometers
Graphics	Mali-G78 MP20	Apple GPU
GPU clock	848 MHz	-
FLOPS	~2171 GFLOPS	-

Memory
RAM size	6 GB	4 GB
Memory type	LPDDR5	LPDDR4X
Channels	2	2

Storage
Storage size	128 GB	64 128 256 GB
Storage type	UFS 3.1	NVMe
Memory card	No	No

Benchmarks

Geekbench 5 (Single-Core) Pixel 6a 1049 iPhone 12 +54% 1614 Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core) Pixel 6a 2891 iPhone 12 +42% 4104 AnTuTu Benchmark 9 Pixel 6a +3% 765111 iPhone 12 743855

CPU	205089	197694
GPU	300481	314303
Memory	112230	103330
UX	143131	127922
Total score	765111	743855

3DMark Wild Life Performance Pixel 6a 6058 iPhone 12 +26% 7612

Stability	55%	77%
Graphics test	36 FPS	45 FPS
Graphics score	6058	7612
PCMark 3.0 score	9691	-

AnTuTu Phone Scores Sources: 3DMark [3] [4] ▶️ Submit your AnTuTu result

Software

Operating system	Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)	iOS 14.1 (Can be upgraded to iOS 16)
ROM	Stock Android	-
OS size	18 GB	7 GB

Battery

Specifications
Capacity	4410 mAh	2815 mAh
Charge power	18 W	18 W
Battery type	Li-Po	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Wireless charging	No	Yes (7.5 W)
Reverse charging	No	No
Fast charging	Yes (42% in 30 min)	Yes (58% in 30 min)
Full charging time	1:51 hr	1:30 hr

Battery life tests
Web browsing	11:03 hr	11:23 hr
Watching video	16:44 hr	12:11 hr
Gaming	06:15 hr	05:11 hr
Standby	91 hr	119 hr

General battery life Pixel 6a 32:23 hr iPhone 12 32:28 hr Mobile Phone Battery Life Ranking (148th and 145th place)

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones

Main camera
Matrix	12.2 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	-	4032 x 3024
Zoom	Digital	Digital
Flash	Dual LED	Quad LED
Stabilization	Optical	Optical
8K video recording	No	No
4K video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
1080p video recording	Up to 60FPS	Up to 60FPS
Slow motion	240 FPS (1080p)	240 FPS (1080p)
Angle of widest lens	114°	120°
Lenses	2 (12.2 MP + 12 MP)	2 (12 MP + 12 MP)
Wide (main) lens	- 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	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/1.6 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/3.4" Sony IMX372 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization
Ultra-wide lens	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 17 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/2.9" Sony IMX386 (Exmor-RS CMOS)	- 12 MP - Aperture: f/2.4 - Focal length: 13 mm - Sensor: 1/3.6" (CMOS)
Camera features	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode	- Bokeh mode - Pro mode
Samples	Photo samples of Google Pixel 6a from DxOMark	Photo samples of Apple iPhone 12 from DxOMark

Selfie camera
Megapixels	8 megapixels	12 megapixels
Image resolution	3840 x 2160	4032 x 3024
Aperture	f/2.0	f/2.2
Focal length	24 mm	23 mm
Pixel size	1.12 microns	-
Sensor type	Exmor-RS CMOS	BSI CMOS
Sensor size	1/2.8"	-
Video resolution	1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS	2160p (4K) at 60 FPS

DxOMark camera tests

Photo quality Pixel 6a +6% 140 iPhone 12 132 Video quality Pixel 6a 111 iPhone 12 +1% 112 Generic camera score Pixel 6a +7% 130 iPhone 12 122

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard	Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display	- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version	5.2	5
Bluetooth features	LE A2DP	LE A2DP
USB type	USB Type-C	No
USB version	3.1	-
USB features	- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG	- Charging - USB-Storage mode
GPS	GPS GLONASS Beidou Galileo QZSS	GPS GLONASS Galileo QZSS
NFC*	Yes	Yes
Infrared port	No	No

Network
Number of SIM*	1	1
Type of SIM card	Nano	Nano
eSIM support*	Yes	Yes
Hybrid slot	No	No
LTE Cat*	20	18
5G support	Yes	Yes

Sound

Speakers	Stereo	Stereo
Headphone audio jack	No	No
FM radio	No	No
Dolby Atmos	Yes	Yes

Speakers test Max. loudness Pixel 6a +8% 87.4 dB iPhone 12 81.1 dB

Other

Category	Flagship	Flagship
Announced	May 2022	October 2020
Release date	June 2022	October 2020
SAR (head)	-	0.99 W/kg
SAR (body)	-	0.99 W/kg
Sensors	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint	- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Face recognition sensor

*Disclaimer! NFC GSM network support and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

If the performance software camera and design are more important to you then choose the Apple iPhone 12. But if the display and connectivity are more of a priority – go for the Google Pixel 6a.

Cast your vote

So which phone would you choose? Google Pixel 6a 35 (62.5%) Apple iPhone 12 21 (37.5%) Vote Total votes: 56

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