The Galaxy S21 series got a new rival yesterday when the Pixel 6 Pro went on sale as per Google's launch schedule. The Pixel 6 Pro and the Galaxy S21 trio of smartphones share a few similarities and Samsung-made components, but even so, they're widely different.
Take battery life and performance, for example. Both the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the Google Pixel 6 Pro are powered by 5,000mAh batteries, but the Pixel phone supports 30W fast charging, whereas the Galaxy S21 Ultra is limited to 25W.
These on-paper numbers don't really mean much in the real world, though. You could say that the Pixel 6 Pro has faster charging even though it's cheaper than the Galaxy S21 Ultra, but surprisingly, you'd be wrong.
Galaxy S21 Ultra beats Pixel 6 Pro in charging speed test
Our colleague Ben of Lover of Tech recently did a side-by-side comparison with the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the Pixel 6 Pro to determine which phone charges faster. Remember: both phones have the same battery capacity but the Pixel 6 Pro supports faster charging, so you'd think that Google's latest flagship should come out ahead of the Galaxy S21 Ultra in this challenge. But that's not how it went down.
By the 15 minute mark, the Galaxy S21 Ultra had 30% battery charge versus the Pixel 6 Pro's 24% charge. This advantage compounded, and by the time Samsung's flagship reached 100% charge in 1 hour and 6 minutes, the Pixel 6 Pro was sitting at 84% charge. Check the video below if you want to see the test in its entirety.
Galaxy S21 series authenticates fingerprints faster than Pixel 6 Pro
Aside from faster charging, the Galaxy S21 Ultra — and indeed the rest of the Galaxy S21 series — also appears to be superior in terms of biometric authentication speed.
The Pixel 6 Pro has an optical in-display fingerprint sensor, while the Galaxy S21 lineup uses a sonic-based sensor from Qualcomm. When placed side-by-side, it's very obvious that the Galaxy S21 delivers a superior experience with noticeable faster and more accurate fingerprint authentication. Again, you can check the comparison in the video below for a closer look.
In conclusion, this goes to show that on-paper specifications aren't always everything. Powerful hardware doesn't mean much if it isn't put to good use through software and optimization, and it sure looks like Samsung did its homework with the Galaxy S21.
If you're wondering, the Pixel 6 Pro costs $899 and fits right between the $799 Galaxy S21 and the $999 Galaxy S21+.
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