The Pixel 6 is one of the more controversial flagship phones these days. It’s the first from Google to use its very own Tensor chip. It’s premium level but it’s not without any issues. If we are to compare it with another premium flagship phone from a different OEM, it will be the Samsung Galaxy S21 which is over six months old already. To be specific, the Pixel 6 Pro has been tested against the Samsung Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Technically, the Google Tensor has been developed with help by Samsung. Interestingly, the Samsung phone tested runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon. There are Samsung Exynos variants but not in the United States.
Our source did a comprehensive test that features the Pixel 6 and the Galaxy 21. For this round, we’ll only share about the 5G speed.
To review, The Pixel 6 Pro uses the Samsung 5123b modem while the Samsung Galaxy S21 uses the Qualcomm X60 modem. The Pixel 6 Pro actually has two variants: one with sub-6GHz 5G and another one with the mm-wave 5G. This means the smartphone supports all frequency bands in the country. The Qualcomm X60 model on the Samsung Galaxy S21 already supports low-to-mid-band FDD/TDD 5G carrier aggregation as described.
Basically, both modems are almost similar but performance also depends on a number of factors like the Android version, modem, or network. But in a simple speed test, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the clear winner even with only 4G LTE. There is one instance that the Pixel 6 Pro showed faster or better signal than its Samsung rival, when it was connected to 5G on T-Mobile.
Basic Ookla speeds test also showed the same thing: the Samsung Galaxy S21 is faster especially on on Verizon mmWave. The Pixel 6 Pro doesn’t even reach over 1Gbps as the Galaxy S21 reaches 2Gbps.
Qualcomm has obviously beaten Samsung if we’re talking about modems. The Google Tensor lags behind the competition but there is potential. But then again, the clear winner here is the Samsung company as it services to both brands.
