Samsung Galaxy S20 vs Google Pixel 5: Is The 5 Good Enough?

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Photo by Timothy Rubby on Unsplash

Luis Silva (November 2020, updated: March 2021)

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Introduction

In October of 2020, Google started selling its Pixel 5, while Samsung's Galaxy S20 hit the stores in March of 2020.

We are looking at how the Galaxy S20 and the Pixel 5 compare to each other to help you decide which might be the right one for you.

If you have the time, click here to skip the spoilers and continue to the full comparison.

The Google Pixel 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S20 are about the same price, but you'll usually find the Pixel 5 at a lower price. That is something worth considering when comparing them.

You'll also see down below a "Tek-Score" for every section that we analyze. For a quicker analysis of how far they are from each other, we'll consider all their specifications. The global score will help you compare them to other phones if you're willing to consider other phone suggestions.  ? 

That score is research-based. It's from Globalwebindex.com about the most desired smartphone features by consumers.

For additional information regarding our smartphone comparisons, check this FAQ.

There's a colored progress bar next to some items. It's there for you to better understand how they fare against other smartphones at the same price range.  ? 

Here's our contestant panel: i  but basically, we've excluded every smartphone that's not within a 20% (above or below) price range.

Some items are underlined, and you can tap to access the related top 10 listings for all budgets.

Price*			vs.
Device	Galaxy S20	Pixel 5
Release Date	2020, March	2020, October	0y.
OS Updates	3 years	3 years	0y.
Security Updates	3 years	3 years	0y.

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Performance

Regarding their chipset, while the Google Pixel 5 comes with the Snapdragon 765 SoC, the Samsung Galaxy S20 has the Exynos 990 SoC.

About the graphics: while the first one brings an Adreno 620, the other has a Mali-G77 MP11.

When it comes to the performance, Geekbench 5 rates the Galaxy S20 60% ahead of its rival on the multi-core rankings. If you forget this number, you'll remember it every single day since day one.  ? 

When it comes to performance, the Pixel 5 is way under the average for its price range. It got a score of 1647, compared to the usual 2742, or close to that.

We can classify the Galaxy S20 as a lower high-end and the Pixel 5 as a mid-range device.

At least you'll get the Android 10 and OneUI on the Galaxy S20, and the Pixel 5 has Android 11 at its core.

PS: The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 (with the Adreno 650 GPU) and the Exynos 990 (with the Mali-G77) are market-dependent. Click here for more info.

There's a performance increase of about 15% on the 865 for the Galaxy S20.

Performance*			vs.
Features	Galaxy S20	Pixel 5
SoC	Exynos 990	Snapdragon 765
Graphics	Mali-G77 MP11	Adreno 620
Geekbench 5 Score	2631	1647	-984
OS	Android 10 and OneUI	Android 11
Tek-Score	6.4	4.7	-1.6

*Reference: Apple iPhone 12.

Display

The Pixel 5 features a 6.0" AMOLED display, while the Galaxy S20 has a larger 6.2" AMOLED display. To each, it's own. Me, I'd go for an AMOLED screen, but a remarkable LCD is honestly as good.

If you're into small displays, don't waste your time searching for other devices, and go for the Pixel 5. Most phones from its price range don't even come close.

If you're looking for the most high-resolution display, the Galaxy S20 is a winner here.

Screen bezels are shrinking in size almost every passing day, so you need to know about their glass protection. Both have a Corning Gorilla Glass 6 display.

Good news for those who value an Always-On display: both phones have it.

When it comes to outdoor visibility, the Galaxy S20 will reach 814 nits, and the Pixel 5 can top at 699 nits.  ? 

Both phones can play HDR10+-compatible media.

If high refresh rates are your thing, you should pick the Galaxy S20 with its 120hz over the Pixel 5 with only 90hz.

Considering the Galaxy S20, 90% of its rivals can play HDR content and have an Always-On display, and all of them have an AMOLED screen.

Concerning the Pixel 5, as a reference, 89% of its rivals can play HDR content, 96% have an AMOLED screen, and 93% of them have an Always-On display.

Display Density (DPIs)*			vs.
Features	Galaxy S20	Pixel 5
Size	6.2	6.0	-0.2
Screen Type	AMOLED	AMOLED
Resolution (px)	1440x3200	1080x2340	-2080800
Refresh Rate	120hz	90hz	-30
Dots per Inch	565.98	429.53	-136.45
Always-On-Display	Yes	Yes
Notch	Hole	Hole
Peak Brightness	814 nits	699 nits	-115
HDR	HDR10+	HDR10+
Sub Tek-Score	9.8	8.7	-1.1
Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 6	Corning Gorilla Glass 6
Tek-Score	8.3	7.9	-0.4

*Reference: Sony Xperia 1.

Cameras

Let's delve into their cameras. Together, a 12 MP sensor, an aperture of f/1.8, a 26mm wide-angle lens, one flash LED, HDR capabilities, and Optical Image Stabilization makes up the Galaxy S20 camera set. Adding to that, you'll still get the ability to record videos at up to 4320p.

You'll also find two other cameras, one with 64 MP, an aperture of f/2.0. And another with 12 MP (f/2.2) with a 13mm ultra-wide-angle lens.

Did you know? When cropping a 64 Megapixels photo by zooming in, you can get (for example) an additional 2x of optical zoom and a 16 Megapixels sample.

Its selfie camera features a 10 MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and a 26 mm wide-angle lens.

I'm hoping we have a review from DxOMark soon, and I'm confident that they'll give it close to 120* points. If you add its wide-angle lens, that will go up to 132**.

I hope this helps: keep in mind that all of its rivals can record videos in 4K or more, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization. However, only 5% of them feature a macro lens.

Adding to its 12 MP shooter, the Pixel 5's leading camera has an aperture of f/1.7 and a 27mm, wide-angle lens. You'll be getting one flash LED, HDR capabilities, and Optical Image Stabilization too. You can record videos at 2160p. The Pixel 5 also sports a 16 MP sensor, packed with an f/2.2 lens plus a 17mm ultra-wide-angle lens.

On the front, there's an f/2.0 8 MP camera and a 24 mm wide-angle lens.

On DxOMark's reviewing article, they gave this shooter 129 points. And if we consider its wide-angle lens, that score goes up to 138. You can click here to check it out.

Furthermore, just like the other device, all of its rivals can record videos in 4 or 8K, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization. Still, only 15% of them feature a macro lens.

At least theoretically, I don't see a meaningful winner in the camera department.

Considering this score, we can classify these two more like high-end.

If you take optical zoom seriously, just ignore these two and check the Galaxy S10 or the Galaxy Note 10 instead.

*I do recommend DxOMark's reviews. I'd love to see more tests, but some phones are just left out. So when I find one such shooter, I try to do my best by giving a similar score based on hardware specs only (OIS, Sensor size, Aperture, Lenses, HDR, and so on). You should give it a maximum of 2 points (up or down) margin of error.  ? 

**This rate still needs improvement, at least for phones with no zoom and up to 35 to 40MP. They just revised their formula, and I still have few reviewed devices to better deduce a compatible rate.

Picture Quality*			vs.
Primary Camera	Galaxy S20	Pixel 5
Megapixels	12	12	0
Aperture	1.8	1.7	-0.1
Lens	26mm	27mm	1
Lens Type	Wide-Angle	Wide-Angle
Flash	1	1	0
HDR	Yes	Yes
OIS	Yes	Yes
Video	4320	2160	-2160
Score	132	138	6

*Reference: Huawei Mate 40 Pro.

Extra Camera(s)	Galaxy S20	Pixel 5	vs.
Megapixels	64	16	-48
Aperture	2.0	2.2	0.2
Lens	-	17mm
Lens Type	-	Wide-Angle
Megapixels	12	-
Aperture	2.2	-
Lens	13mm	-
Lens Type	Ultra-wide-Angle	-
Score	12	9	-3

Selfie Camera	Galaxy S20	Pixel 5	vs.
Megapixels	10	8	-2
Aperture	2.2	2.0	-0.2
Lens	26mm	24mm	-2

	Galaxy S20	Pixel 5	vs.
Tek-Score	7.8	8.1	0.4

Body

The Galaxy S20 comes at 151x69 mm (5.95x2.72 inches). The Pixel 5 is 7 mm smaller and 1 mm larger (about 0.28 by 0.04 inches).

When it comes to thickness, they're almost equal: 7 mm (0.28 inches) vs. 8 mm (0.32 inches). Be aware that the Pixel 5 is 12% smaller than the average phone for its price segment.

You can choose the Galaxy S20 with a full glass body or the Pixel 5 with an aluminum back. The Galaxy S20 is a little bit heavier: About 12 g. (0.42 oz). But because this is a bit relative, the Galaxy S20 has a "weight to screen size" score of 7.4, showing it has a pretty nice weight for its screen size. In the meantime, the Pixel 5 has 8.4, which suggests exceptional work from Google.  ? 

If you like having color options, you can buy the Galaxy S20 in Cosmic Grey, Cloud Pink, Cloud Blue, Cloud White, and Aura Red. The Pixel 5, in its turn, comes in Just Black and Sorta Sage.

Both feature the same size, so I hope you like 6.2/6" phones.

Is the lack of a fingerprint scanner a deal-breaker to you? Both manufacturers included it.

The Galaxy S20 is resistant to water up to 1 to 3 meters, identical to the Pixel 5. It should be for less than 30 minutes, in standby and freshwater only, so no saltwater or pools here.

Looks*			vs.
Body	Galaxy S20	Pixel 5
Size	151 x 69 x 7 mm (5.33 x 2.43 x 0.25 in)	144 x 70 x 8 mm (5.08 x 2.47 x 0.28 in)	7707
Weight	163 g. (5.75 oz)	151 g. (5.33 oz)	-12
Build	Front and back glass	Front glass and aluminum back
Colors	Cosmic Grey, Cloud Pink, Cloud Blue, Cloud White, and Aura Red	Just Black and Sorta Sage
Screen To Body Ratio	89.07%	87.67%	-1.40
Disp.Size To Weight Score	7.4	8.4	1.0
Looks	10.0/10	9.1/10	-0.8
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Biometrics	Under Display Fingerprint	Fingerprint
Tek-Score	8.6	9.1	0.4

*100% = 4+ colors + front and back glass + S2BR: 86+%.

Battery

In theory, they should have about the same battery life because they have the same capacity: about 4080 mAh. But is that so? This is asking for a thorough test after a full charge. And this is how the Galaxy S20 comes out of it:  ? 

• After 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll have 76% of the battery remaining.
• For 1 hour of talking, 3 hours of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll get down to 59% left.
• By talking for 1 hour, browsing the web for 1 hour, and playing videos for 3 hours, you'll be with 60%.

And this is how the Pixel 5 handles these tests:

• If you do 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll have 82% of the battery remaining.
• After 1 hour of talking, 3 hours of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll probably have 66% left for the rest of the day.
• By talking for 1 hour, browsing the web for 1 hour, and playing videos for 3 hours, you'll likely end up with 69% of the battery charge.

It may come as no surprise here, but the Pixel 5 wins, hands down.

Clearly, for it, battery life was a primary concern. Google did a great job here if you ask me. By doing some math, it got a "battery to physical size" rate of 7.9.  ? 

Clearly, the Galaxy S20's battery capacity is well below other price-liked phones. It lasts 9% less than the average on these tasks.

If one of these will end up being the one, you'll have quick-charging on your next phone: 25w for the Galaxy S20 and 18w for the Pixel 5.

They all include wireless charging, and they charge at 15w vs. 12w. That's nice.

These smartphones also support reverse wireless charging to charge Qi-enabled devices.

The Snapdragon 865 also has better battery efficiency (about 10% more screen-on-time) when you compare it to the Exynos 990.

Battery*			vs.
Features	Galaxy S20	Pixel 5
Capacity (mAh)	4000	4080	80
1h Talk + 1h Web + 1h Video	76% left	82% left	6
1h Talk + 3h Web + 1h Video	59% left	66% left	7
1h Talk + 1h Web + 3h Video	60% left	69% left	9
Bat. To Phone Size Score  ?	5.3	7.9	2.5
Sub Tek-Score	6.5	7.2	0.7
Fast Charging	25w	18w	-7
Wireless Charging	15w	12w	-3
Reverse Charging	9w	5w	-4
Tek-Score	6.5	6.9	0.4

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy A31.

Storage

The Galaxy S20 features 128GB of internal storage and 12GB of RAM. There's nothing to worry about because you can add a MicroSD card if you want.

In its turn, the Pixel 5 has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of integrated storage. There's no expandable storage here, but 128GB is enough for most of us.

Storage*			vs.
Features	Galaxy S20	Pixel 5
RAM (GB)	12GB	8GB	-4
Internal (GB)	128GB	128GB	0
Micro SD	microSDXC (shared SIM slot)	No
Tek-Score	7.5	6.0	-1.5

*Internal Storage + 256GB Memory Card (Max: 512GB).

Connectivity

Both devices feature the standard Bluetooth 5.0 module. Both phones also have NFC, so nothing special here.

Do you still favor wired headphones? None of them will help you with that. You can buy an adapter, but the wireless buds are your only option. You can also check other devices if you don't mind searching for them. The Galaxy S10 or the Galaxy S10 Plus can help you with that.

You can connect the Galaxy S20 to LTE or (LTE and) 5G networks. If you'd rather have 12GB of RAM, you should consider the 5G version of the Galaxy S20.

Connectivity			vs.
Features	Galaxy S20	Pixel 5
Network	LTE (also available in 5G)	5G
Bluetooth	5.0	5.0
NFC	Yes	Yes
3.5mm jack	No	No
Tek-Score	4.6	4.6	0.0

Price

The Google Pixel 5 may not be the best bang for your buck. That, of course, depends on the place and the deals that you'll eventually find. The Samsung Galaxy S20, in its turn, isn't that cheap, but I believe that it shouldn't come as a surprise at all. At least it may be easier to sell if you consider selling it afterward.

If you still aren't sure about any of them, let's check how much value you can expect.

Here are the prices that we've come across recently:

I earn a small fee from qualifying purchases. It doesn't affect the price you pay nor my opinions, but it will mean a lot if you click on one of these buttons before purchasing your next phone. You'll be helping to take this to the next level.

Prices on eBay are in $US but Europe-based. You can click to check the prices in your country.

Prices marked with ! are from renewed/refurbished/carrier-locked phones (except eBay prices that, as a last resort, can be from bids or used devices).

How much of a "phone" can your money buy?
That's how much "score" you can get with $100 based on the global score that you'll see in the next section (higher is better).

Have you found better prices elsewhere? The formula is simple: score/price*100.

Value for money	Galaxy S20	Pixel 5	VS
Amazon	0.73	0.97	0.24
eBay	-	0.85	-
Best Buy	-	-	-
Walmart	-	-	-

Also, don't forget to check the latest deals from these four stores, and the state of the art on mobile technology, if you don't want to overpay on your next smartphone.

Related articles:

Best smartphone deals

The Best Unbiased Smartphones For All Budgets

Smartphone Specs Statistics: The State Of The Art (Q1 2021)

So, what about that global rate? We'll get there. For reference purposes, I'll tell you where most of its rivals average. The Galaxy S20 class is at 7.1, and the Pixel 5 6.9.

Verdict: What Makes the Samsung Galaxy S20 Stand Out?

Despite having about the same price, these two don't have that much in common.

The S20 does stand out, and it's mainly because of its performance, even if you get the Exynos variant. It also has a higher refresh rate, more dots per inch, a full and gorgeous glass body, 4 extra gigabytes of RAM, and allows you to add external storage.

But if you long for a cleaner user experience and you only care about battery life, the Pixel 5 is a solid choice. It'll also offer you an aluminum back.

Pros	Galaxy S20	Pixel 5
#1	Performance	AMOLED
#2	AMOLED	Always-On-Display
#3	Always-On-Display	Cameras
#4	Cameras	Fast Charging
#5	Fast Charging	Wireless Charging
#6	Wireless Charging	Glass Protection
#7	MicroSD Slot
#8	Glass Protection

Cons	Galaxy S20	Pixel 5
#1	3.5mm Jack	MicroSD Slot
#2	Price	3.5mm Jack
#3		Price

Relative Score*			vs.
Global Score	Galaxy S20	Pixel 5
Gaming Score	7.7	6.6	-1.1
Tek-Score	7.30	6.78	-0.52

*Reference: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

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