Google Pixel 6 vs. Samsung Galaxy S21: Which Android flagship will win?

Google Pixel 6 vs. Samsung Galaxy S21: Which Android flagship volition win?

(Prototype credit: OnLeaks/Tom's Guide)

In this Pixel 6 vs. Milky way S21 showdown, we'll breakup how things are shaping up. Google'south Pixel half dozen simply got announced, and it's already generating considerable fizz. First, there'southward new cameras for the Pixel 6 and Pixel six Pro — a tantalizing prospect since Google's Pixels always rank among the best camera phones. Google is also edifice its own phone processors called Tensor, starting with the Pixel 6, as information technology looks to distinguish itself from other Android phones.

But if the Pixel 6 is going to rank among the all-time Android phones, it will have to challenge the Samsung Galaxy S21. Samsung's flagship phone arrives early in the year and usually sets the tone for other Android handsets. This year'southward version was no exception, every bit the Galaxy S21 lineup delivered fast-refreshing displays, a powerful telephoto lens and the best performance for an Android phone at the time.

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It'south a loftier bar for the Pixel 6 to clear. And though we'll have to await for the new phones' reviews, nosotros do accept enough info to grade some early impressions.

Our Google Pixel 6 vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 face-off looks at how these two Android powerhouses stack up. Our early on verdict is that this ought to exist quite a showdown among the all-time Android phones.

Google Pixel six vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 specs

	Pixel half-dozen	Pixel 6 Pro	Milky way S21	Milky way S21 Plus
Price	$599	$899	$799	$999
Screen size	vi.4 inches	half-dozen.vii inches	6.2 inches	half-dozen.vii inches
Refresh rate	90Hz	x-120Hz	48-120Hz	48-120Hz
CPU	Google Tensor	Google Tensor	Snapdragon 888	Snapdragon 888
Rear cameras	50MP main, 12MP ultrawide	50MP master, 12MP ultrawide, 48MP telephoto with 4x	12MP master, 12MP ultrawide, 64MP telephoto	12MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 64MP telephoto
Battery size	4,614 mAh	5,000 mAh	iv,000 mAh	4,800 mAh
Android version	Android 12	Android 12	Android 11	Android eleven

Google Pixel half-dozen vs. Samsung Milky way S21 toll

When Google came out with the Pixel 5, information technology tried to distinguish itself from other flagship phones past offering a dramatically lower price — the Pixel five debuted at $699. Information technology's going to be a lot harder for Google to describe that distinction with the Pixel 6, though, because Samsung went and dropped prices on its phones, also.

The Galaxy S21 debuted at $799 — a $200 driblet from the Galaxy S20 that came out the previous year. As well, the Milky way S21 Plus also dropped $200 from its predecessor'southward price to cost $999. Both those phones are yet more expensive than the Pixel 5, merely not by much — at to the lowest degree in the instance of the S21.

The Pixel 5 came in a single configuration concluding twelvemonth, but that'due south going to alter with the Pixel 6. The regular phone starts at just $599, $100 less than its predecessor, while the Pixel vi Pro clocks in at an $899 starting toll.

Google Pixel 6 vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 design and display

Google is mixing things upward from past Pixels. The spartan design we've grown accustomed to is making way for a busier await, highlighted past a horizontal strip of cameras that stretches across the upper third of the phone. There's an accent color hovering over that. The Pixel 6 Pro has a curved display, while the regular Pixel half dozen has a flat ane.

Google Pixel 6 Pro colors — (Epitome credit: Google )

It's quite a contrast from the Galaxy S21's elegant expect. Both the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus sport flat edges, making them easy to grip and cutting down on any inadvertent touches on the edge of the display. The rear camera module blends into the frame of the phone, so that the array doesn't jut out like it does on other phones (including the Pixel 6). While the Galaxy S21 Plus sports a drinking glass back, Samsung used plastic on the S21 to aid lower the cost of that phone.

The standout feature on the Milky way S21 family is the adaptive display Samsung uses on its flagship phones. Both the vi.2-inch Milky way S21 and 6.seven-inch Galaxy S21 Plus adjust how fast their screens refresh based on your activity — more than intensive tasks similar scrolling and gaming happen at a fast 120Hz refresh rate for a more immersive experience.

Google Pixel 6 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 — Galaxy S21 (Prototype credit: Tom'southward Guide)

The Pixel 5 featured a 90Hz refresh rate, though you had to caput into the phone's settings to toggle betwixt the faster rate and the more conventional 60Hz setting. Google is bumping the refresh charge per unit up to 120Hz on the Pixel vi Pro and keeping 90hz on the Pixel half dozen.

After offer a single Pixel 5, Google is going back to 2 different sizes for the Pixel half-dozen. The standard phone offers a 6.iv-inch display, while the screen on the larger model will hits 6.vii inches.

Google Pixel vi vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 cameras

Google may be one of the biggest players when information technology comes to mobile photography, but it's the Milky way S21 phones that have fabricated the biggest strides in recent months. The $1,199 Galaxy S21 Ultra gets all the attention, thanks to its 108MP main camera and dual telephoto lenses, merely the cameras on the S21 and S21 Plus impress as well.

We're particularly taken with the 64MP telephoto cameras on both phones, which are capable of a 3x hybrid and 30x digital zoom. (A Zoom Lock characteristic uses AI to steady your shoot when you zoom in that much.) Additionally, both the S21 and S21 Plus feature 12MP primary and ultrawide cameras to complement that telephoto lens.

Google is a recent convert to the schoolhouse of multiple lenses, adding a 2d camera as recently as the Pixel 4. The Pixel 5 swapped out that telephone's telephoto lens for an ultrawide bending shooter, keeping the lens count at two. The Pixel six sticks with ii cameras, a 50MP wide-angle main shooter and a 12MP ultrawide. The Pixel 6 Pro adds a tertiary camera, a 48MP telephoto with 4x optical zoom.

While the new hardware will be interesting to see on the Pixel six, it'south normally the software that sets Google's camera phones apart. Google has introduced a host of new photography features, like Magic Eraser, Face Deblur, and many more than. However, the AI and machine learning power of the new Tensor chip could blow other Android phones out of the water when it comes to computational photography. We're even so evaluating the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro to make this conclusion.

Google Pixel six vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 performance

google pixel 6 tensor — (Paradigm credit: Google)

Samsung normally gets a head start on other phones by virtue of launching the latest Milky way S models early each year. That allows Samsung to exist the start phone maker to feature the latest Snapdragon silicon in its phones. In the case of the Galaxy S21, that turned out to be the Snapdragon 888 system-on-scrap, the all-time performing Qualcomm chipset we've all the same tested.

Other Snapdragon 888-based Android phones take come along that have bested the Milky way S21'south benchmark results, commonly by optimizing the bit for performance or by packing in extra memory. Only the S21's results — a 3,302 multicore event in Geekbench five, for example — bested last twelvemonth'due south top Android phones and narrowed the gap with the iPhone 12. Both the Milky way S21 and S21 Plus feature the Snapdragon 888, flanked by 8GB of RAM.

So how does Google answer, particularly since last year'south Pixel 5 used a scrap from the Snapdragon 7 series as a cost-cutting measure? Google is going its ain way for 2021 with the first-generation mobile Tensor processor. This system-on-chip takes everything Google knows almost machine learning hardware from its data centers and brings it all downward to a mobile processor.

The end result volition likely mean incredible advancements in AI and auto learning tasks on a telephone. That includes improvements to computational photography, the addition of computational video recording, simultaneous alive transcription and translation, and much more. In fact, the new Tensor Processor Unit (TPU) that handles all of these tasks is built right into the SoC'due south core pipeline instead of being relegated to co-processor additions. This means that the processor can actually off-load AI tasks to the TPU, freeing upward its other resource for other tasks. In short, this could mean better functioning and bombardment life.

Nosotros don't know how the Google-built Tensor processor would compare to the Snapdragon 888 in the Galaxy S21, since we're nonetheless in the review procedure. Only it's certainly an intriguing part of whatsoever Google Pixel 6 vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 comparison.

Google Pixel 6 vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 battery and charging

Battery life was non a strong point for Pixel 5, which rode its iv,000 mAh battery to a beneath-average upshot of ix hours and 29 minutes on our battery exam. (We accept phones surf the web continuously over cellular until they run out of ability.) Google is trying out bigger batteries for the Pixel half dozen — a 4,614 mAh power pack for the main model and a 5,000 mAh battery in the Pixel 6 Pro.

Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro — (Image credit: Google )

It won't take much for the Pixel vi to leapfrog over either the Galaxy S21 or Milky way S21 Plus in our battery exam. The S21 Plus turned in a so-so upshot of ix hours and 41 minutes on our test, while the S21 struggled to a 6 hour, 31 minute result. That latter number came with the S21'due south adaptive display feature enabled; when we ready the display refresh rate at 60 minutes, the Galaxy S21 turned in a more respectable time of nine hours and 53 minutes. Just turning off the S21's marquee characteristic only to become average bombardment life seems similar a actually big asterisk.

The Pixel 5 charges at 18W, a fleck slower than the 25W charging speeds the Galaxy S21 enjoys. The Pixel half dozen and Pixel six Pro now charge at 30W. There's also the issue of the charger itself — Samsung doesn't include ane with the Milky way S21, following the example Apple set with the iPhone 12. The Pixel 6 phones proceed with this trend.

Google Pixel 6 vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 software

Samsung'due south trying to do better for its users on the software front end. The Galaxy S21 is supposed to become three years of Android updates, along with four years of security updates. That means the Milky way S21 family, which shipped with Android xi installed should make it to Android 14 in 2023, with security patches available for another 12 months.

That previously put Samsung on level terms with Google, at to the lowest degree when information technology comes to software updates, as Pixel owners get three years of updates as well. However, the Pixel half-dozen will still relish a slight edge over Samsung. It's likely to ship after Android 12 comes out, so it volition debut with Google's latest OS already installed. The Galaxy S21 likely won't become the new version of Android until the cease of the year at the earliest.

But with Google decision-making Tensor, information technology's possible that the Pixel 6 will see v years of security updates. That's the longest nosotros've always seen an Android smartphone go for. That would gear up the Pixel vi well above the Galaxy S21 in terms of longevity, and put information technology closer to the iPhone 13 in this regard.

Google Pixel vi vs. Samsung Milky way S21 outlook

The last word on any Google Pixel vi vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 face-off will be written in one case we finish our reviews of Google's new phones. Merely at this point, it'south shaping upward to be an intriguing match-up, especially with Google finally adding another lens (with 4x optical zoom, no less) to the Pixel half dozen Pro model.

The biggest affair going for the Pixel 6 is Tensor, Google's new system-on-chip. We take no thought how thing will perform in real life only yet, but it could be revolutionary for AI/ML applications on a smartphone and be a serious challenger to Apple's dominance with the A-series fries. Putting the Tensor-powered Pixel half-dozen upwardly against the Galaxy S21 will exist treat, indeed.

The Pixel 6 and Milky way S21 figure to knuckles information technology out for Android phone supremacy. Stay tuned to see how things shake out between these 2 devices.

Philip Michaels is a senior editor at Tom's Guide. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics and erstwhile movies. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.