Google Pixel 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S21: dapper nearly-flagship telephones face off

The Google Pixel 6 is upon us, and it is straight jumped to the stay (or shut to ample) of the excellent larger-mid-fluctuate smartphone charts. Or on the least, it has in our hype-fueled minds.

Or no longer it would like to take care of a seasoned outdated of the structure if it is to succeed, though. The Samsung Galaxy S21 will seemingly be getting on moderately now, but it is soundless one of many glorious telephones of its kind.

So which of these two competitively priced nearly-flagships is seemingly to be the larger interact? Our fats Pixel 6 overview is no longer ready intriguing yet, but we’ve obtained some initial thoughts on this explicit war per the specs and early hands-on journey.

Google Pixel 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S21 impress and availability

Google Pixel 6 deals will seemingly be accessible from October 28, with prices starting from $599 / £599 / AU$999 for 128GB. There’s moreover a 256GB model that will build you abet AU$1,129, with pricing in utterly different areas soundless to be confirmed on the time of writing.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 landed on January 29, 2021, with prices starting from $799 / £769 / AU$1,249 for the 128GB model. The 256GB model arrived at $849.99 / £819 / AU$1,349.

These prices soundless practice on the legitimate Samsung web page online, despite the age of the handset. Then again, you might per chance perhaps nearly completely be capable of catch a larger deal on this mobile phone in case you shop spherical the identical outdated third-occasion suspects.

Even so, the Pixel 6 is clearly the extra cheap mobile phone of the two out of the gate. Spherical one to Google, it appears.

Operate

The Google Pixel 6 is no longer a little mobile phone in anyway. Its footprint of 158.6 x 74.8mm is no longer especially immense, but it is moderately a thick handset at 8.9mm, and it weighs a no longer inconsiderable 207g.

Difference that with the Samsung Galaxy S21, which measures a mere 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9mm, and weighs a piddling 169g.

One goal the Samsung is so light-weight is the adoption of a original ‘Glasstic’ discipline topic for the rear quilt, which is de facto a pretty classier-feeling plastic. Google has long gone with a extra top class glass and metal sandwich come.

We appreciated the Galaxy S21’s swooping digicam module contrivance, but Google has long gone with its personal distinctive lens array with the Pixel 6. Its width-spanning ‘visor’ module would no longer moderately think about like any utterly different mobile phone within the marketplace.

On the colour front, Samsung provides Phantom Gray, Phantom White, Phantom Pink, and Phantom Violet. Google goes with Stormy Dim, Sorta Seafoam, and Kinda Coral. These are two of the brightest decisions accessible.

Both telephones give you an IP68 dirt and water resistance rating, as well to Gorilla Glass Victus keeping their flat shows. Both telephones build their punch-hole cameras to the heart of the show, too, which lends a definite sense of symmetry to issues.

Show

Both of these telephones have confidence rather compact shows, on the least by the components of well-liked Android flagships.

The Google Pixel 6 provides you a 6.4-amble OLED whereas the Samsung Galaxy S21 goes with a 6.2-amble OLED. Both have confidence 1080 x 2400 (FHD+) resolutions.

Samsung wins on the smoothness front, alternatively. It gets a 120Hz refresh rate when put next to the Pixel 6’s 90Hz. We’re moderately disappointed with the latter, in reality. Equally priced and positioned telephones just like the OnePlus 9 give you the fats 120Hz therapy, on the least.

Any other come via which the Galaxy S21’s show is extra developed than the Pixel 6’s is via its employ of LTPO expertise, which lets it scale abet to 48Hz when the plan dictates. You’d prefer to improve to the Google Pixel 6 Skilled to catch a equal procedure on the Google aspect of issues.

Within the meantime, it remains to be seen if the Google Pixel 6 can match the Samsung Galaxy S21’s height brightness of spherical 1300 nits.

We’ll prefer to await the closing hardware to think about if the Pixel 6’s show is any reliable then. Primarily essentially based on specs by myself, though, it soundless falls moderately instant of the shrimp Galaxy S21.

Digicam

Google and Samsung have confidence repeatedly handled cameras moderately otherwise. Google has been all in regards to the system and algorithmic mastery, whereas Samsung tends to trudge all in with the hardware.

The Pixel 6 reveals signs of substitute. After diverse years of stagnation, Google has at final upped its hardware sport with a original 1/1.31-amble 50MP wide digicam that produces 1.2μm pixels. This is accompanied by an f/1.85 aperture.

Samsung’s mobile phone is led by a 1/1.76-amble 12MP f/1.8 wide sensor that produces increased 1.8μm pixels, though it is price declaring that Google’s system will employ pixel binning to combine the records of a pair of pixels into one.

Both telephones trudge along with 12MP ultra-wides with f/2.2 apertures. However whereas the Pixel 6 lacks a faithful telephoto sensor, the Galaxy S21 provides you a meaty 64MP sensor with a 3x hybrid optical zoom. Motivate Samsung.

Neither mobile phone lacks system techniques. With the Pixel 6, Face Unblur cleans up blurry human issues, whereas Magic Eraser smartly gets rid of unwanted background functions for these completely restful footage.

The Galaxy S21 is all in regards to the video, with Director’s Belief presenting a stay be taught about of all three rear lenses accurate now and enabling you to hop between them, whereas Vlogger Belief enables you to file video from the front and rear cameras concurrently.

Talking of video, the Samsung Galaxy S21 can put collectively 8K at 24fps or 4K at 60fps, whereas the Google Pixel 6 can hit 4K at 60fps.

No longer that the Pixel 6 is lacking on the video front, with Live HDR+ the utilization of the Tensor chipset to toughen colors and tones, and Speech Enhancement pulling out voices amongst the background noise.

On the front, you catch a 10MP f/2.2 digicam on the Samsung Galaxy S21, and an 8MP f/2.0 one on the Pixel 6.

Specs and performance

It remains to be seen what Google’s first are trying at a custom processor, the Google Tensor, can kind.

Hopefully it is larger than Samsung’s Exynos 2100, which powers the worldwide model of the Galaxy S21. Create no longer catch us atrocious, it is a capable chipset, but it lags moderately on the abet of the off-the-shelf Snapdragon 888 that powers the US and Chinese language objects (to no longer dispute most Android rivals).

Both of these telephones bustle 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and both provide the choice of both 128GB or 256GB of interior storage.

For all these moderately plenty of hardware considerations, perhaps the glorious differentiating ingredient between the Pixel 6 and Samsung Galaxy S21 pertains to system.

The Pixel 6 runs Android 12 out of the sphere, and it is as pure a take dangle of on Google’s working system as you might per chance perhaps presumably catch. This time spherical that functions the original Arena fabric You UI – a valorous, widget-heavy interface that sides a excellent theming system.

In utterly different nook, Samsung provides its personal custom One UI currently per Android 11. Or no longer it is no longer all americans’s well-liked Android skin, but it is fluid and highly customizable.

Or no longer it is no longer seemingly that Samsung is going to examine Google’s promise of on the least five years of safety updates, though.

Battery

The Google Pixel 6 packs a 4,614mAh battery, which is a intriguing bit increased than the Samsung Galaxy S21’s 4,000mAh cell.

Real, the Pixel 6’s show in all fairness increased. However Samsung’s masks runs at a increased refresh rate.

Google is promising an ambitious 48-hour battery lifestyles, though that’s when the utilization of its Low Battery Saver mode. In customary utilization, we’re hoping for joyful all-day lifestyles, even below intensive utilization – especially on condition that Google is now the utilization of its personal custom processor and boasting about larger efficiency.

In our overview we came across that the Galaxy S21 might per chance perhaps in most cases final via a fats day of utilization on a single price, but that employing GPS and conducting vitality-intensive initiatives might per chance perhaps empty that battery earlier than bedtime. If the Pixel 6 would no longer top that, this would be moderately of a let-down.

Google would already appear to have confidence a clear edge when it involves recharging. The Pixel 6 helps 30W wired charging and 21W wireless charging. The Samsung Galaxy S21, by comparability, helps 25W wired and 15W wireless. You can prefer to have confidence interaction any chargers individually in both circumstances, alternatively.

The likes of Xiaomi and OnePlus provide 65W (and beyond) chargers within the sphere, so we’re dazzling unimpressed with Google and Samsung on this one.

Takeaway

Google is bringing an thrilling original contender to one of potentially the most thrilling areas of the market with the Pixel 6. It guarantees to undercut the Samsung Galaxy S21 on impress, and would appear to present broadly aggressive specs as neatly.

Samsung’s mobile phone soundless appears to have confidence the sting by come of digicam versatility and show fluidity, but we will prefer to utilize some severe time with the Pixel 6 to be definite.

Correct now, the Pixel 6’s thrilling original contrivance and valorous Arena fabric You UI is ample to construct us hopeful, whereas we’re demise to think in regards to the advantages Google’s Tensor chipset can bring to performance and vitality efficiency.

Whether it would give Samsung’s personal smartly configured ‘cheap flagship’ a bloody nostril within the midst of remains to be seen.

• Read our hands-on Google Pixel 6 Skilled overview