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Festivities are about to begin, and with it, the holiday sale has started too. Not everyone is interested in expensive flagships though. Most people just want a smartphone that works well without any hiccups. In recent days, mid-range phones from several OEMs have started to offer just that. The performance is mostly similar to flagships, but with noticeably better battery life.
Of course, tasks like hardcore gaming and editing still require the prowess of a flagship phone. However, a mid-range phone is just about enough for general usage. Today, there is no dearth of good mid-range options, which is why comparing two of the most valuable propositions, the Pixel 6A and Galaxy A53, makes a lot of sense for the holiday sale.
Which should be the definitive choice for this Holiday Sale? Is there a definitive choice at all? Let’s find out.
Pixel 6A or the Galaxy A53, which is a better pick for Holiday Sale
Both couldn’t be more different hardware and build-wise
Both of these phones are aimed at a mid-tier segment where people are willing to sacrifice some performance for price and battery life. Samsung has opted to put in an Exynos 1280 chipset that is based on TSMC’s 5 nm architecture. Google, on the other hand, has opted for the same processor that powers their flagship Pixel 6 series phone, the Tensor G1.
Unsurprisingly, the difference is noticeable. Even though most applications work well on both these phones, the Pixel 6A opens and operates them a bit quicker than the Galaxy A53, at least by a few microseconds. When more resource-intensive tasks like gaming and photoshop are involved, the gap between the two phones feels even wider in terms of raw performance.
However, it is important to note that the Galaxy A53 is by no means a laggy and slow device. It does the job well, but its weakness in speed only comes to the fore when it is directly compared to the Pixel 6A side-by-side.
Both of these phones support bare-bones 5G connectivity with a limited number of bands. The screen is smaller on the Pixel 6A, making it slightly sharper at the same resolution as the Galaxy A53.
Interestingly, Samsung has opted for Gorilla Glass 5 protection, while Google has settled for Gorilla Glass 3 on their mid-ranger. The latter is more scratch-resistant but the former is more shatter-proof of the two. Holiday Sale shoppers should keep this durability factor in mind.
These phones are IP 67 certified and come with OLED screens, but the Pixel is limited to 60 Hz. The Galaxy A53 comes with a far smoother 120 Hz screen though.
However, the Pixel 6A feels more premium than the Galaxy due to its glass and aluminum finish. The Google phone also comes equipped with ultra-fast UFS 3.1 storage, compared to a slower UFS 2 on the Galaxy A53.
When comparing the two phones for connectivity, the Pixel offers support for Wi-Fi 6E which the Galaxy lacks.
Comparing software and longevity
Samsung uses One UI in its Galaxy A53, while Google uses a vanilla Android 12 skin called Pixel UI. One UI is more feature-rich and focuses more on productivity, while Google’s UI offers the flexibility of Android with smart AI-based features, but with a minimalistic approach to the user interface.
A perplexing part of the situation is Google settling for just three years of OS updates, while its competitor Samsung, offers four years of support. What makes this even more bizarre is the fact that the former is the parent company of Android, not Samsung. Thus, when it comes to the speed of the updates, the Pixel 6A will get them on day one.
Additionally, the Galaxy A53 seems to be the obvious choice because of its longer software support, but how its processor will age compared to Tensor G1 is anyone’s guess. Still, longevity shouldn’t be an issue for at least three years when picking up either phone for the holiday sale.
Finally, people who care a lot about higher endurance on their devices should pick the Galaxy A53 for the holiday sale. It provides a larger 5000 mAh cell that fast charges at 25 W compared to Pixel’s 4410 mAh battery that charges at 18 W.
Cameras are where the A53 loses definitively in front of the Pixel 6A
It is one thing to provide decent cameras that more or less work in the mid-range category, but it is something extraordinary when such a camera competes and matches with current-gen flagships. It is astonishing how well Google’s software works in tandem with the Pixel 6A camera to produce incredible shots with just one click.
Despite having more pixel count on the main camera lens, the Galaxy A53 over-exposes shots in the corners of the image and loses color accuracy quite surprisingly. The Pixel 6A provides more natural skin tones for both cameras, while the former smoothens out the face and its details disappointingly.
For photo and camera buffs, the Pixel 6A is the obvious choice for this holiday sale.
Pixel 6A's advantages over the Galaxy A53
- Faster performance across the board
- Much better and more reliable cameras
- A sharper screen
- Day one software support
- Much more premium feel even in mid-range
- Gorilla Glass 3 offers more scratch resistance
- Bit cheaper
- A minimalistic but cleaner approach to UI
Galaxy A53's advantages over the Pixel 6A
- More battery endurance
- Longer software support
- Larger screen space
- Gorilla Glass 5 offers more shatter resistance
- More feature-rich UI
- A much smoother 120 Hz refresh rate screen
- Available in more storage and RAM options
Final Thoughts
It is difficult to go wrong with either phone for this Holiday Sale. The Galaxy offers more battery endurance, longer software lifecycles, and a larger high refresh rate screen.
Pixel, on the other hand, is for Android purists who love a fast and reliable device with a great camera and day-one updates. If we were to recommend one, it would be the Pixel 6A for the Holiday Sale.
