Phone comparison · UK prices · October 2026
Galaxy S26 FE or Pixel 10a: which should you buy?
The short answer
The Galaxy S26 FE leads on battery life, the camera and speed, is thinner, and has the bigger screen. The Pixel 10a leads on the screen and is smaller. The Galaxy S26 FE costs £300 more than the Pixel.
Comparing 2 phones
Galaxy S26 FEOverall score 83/100
Pixel 10aOverall score 78/100
What the extra money buys
The Galaxy S26 FE costs £300 more than the Pixel.
You get: faster charging by cable, faster wireless charging, a zoom lens and a faster chip.
You give up: a brighter screen and a smaller body.
Worth it if you want faster charging by cable and faster wireless charging. Keep the money if a brighter screen matters more to you.
Differences in daily life
Battery and charging
Best: Galaxy S26 FEThe Galaxy S26 FE charges faster by cable (45 W vs 30 W on the Pixel), so it tops up quicker with a compatible charger.
It also charges faster without a cable (15 W vs 10 W on the Pixel), so cable-free top-ups are quicker.
Screen
Best: Pixel 10aThe Pixel 10a has the brighter screen (3,000 nits vs 1,900 nits on the Samsung), so it is easier to read in strong sunlight.
Camera
Best: Galaxy S26 FEThe Galaxy S26 FE is the only one with a zoom lens (3x), so it can get closer to faraway subjects without cropping the photo.
Speed
Best: Galaxy S26 FEThe Galaxy S26 FE's chip (Samsung Exynos 2500) scores higher in benchmark tests than the one in the Pixel (Google Tensor G4), so it should feel quicker in demanding apps and games.
Size and weight
Depends on youThe Pixel 10a is smaller overall (153.9 × 73 mm vs 161.6 × 76.9 mm on the Samsung), so it is easier to reach across with one hand.
The Galaxy S26 FE has the bigger screen (6.7 inches vs 6.3 inches on the Pixel), which gives more room for videos, maps and reading.
Still can't decide?
Up to 3 quick questions, one tap each.
Scores
| Score | Galaxy S26 FE | Pixel 10a |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 74 | 65 |
| Screen | 82 | 84 |
| Camera | 85 | 73 |
| Speed | 87 | 72 |
| Toughness | 89 | 85 |
| Connections and extras | 82 | 91 |
| Overall | 83 | 78 |
How these scores are made: Each score is calculated from the maker's published specs and benchmark results, using one fixed formula for every phone. We have not tested these phones in the hand. How we score phones
Specs side by side
Display
- Type
- Dynamic AMOLED 2XP-OLED
- Size
- 6.7 inches6.3 inches
- Resolution
- 1080 × 2340 pixels1080 × 2424 pixels
- PPI
- 385422
- Aspect ratio
- 19.5:920:9
- Screen-to-body ratio
- 88.7 %84.3 %
- Display features
- Capacitive Touchscreen HDR10+ Multi-touch displayCapacitive Touchscreen, HDR, Multi-touch display
- Max rated brightness
- 1900 nits3000 nits
- Screen protection
- Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+, Mohs level 5Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, Mohs level 4
Core Specifications
- Chipset
- Samsung Exynos 2500Google Tensor G4
- CPU cores
- 108
- Fabrication Technology
- 3 nm4 nm
- CPU max frequency
- 3300 MHz3.1 GHz
- Microarchitecture
- 1x 3.3 GHz – Cortex-X925 2x 2.74 GHz – Cortex-A725 5x 2.36 GHz – Cortex-A725 2x 1.8 GHz – Cortex-A5201x 3.1 GHz – Cortex-X4 3x 2.6 GHz – Cortex-A720 4x 1.92 GHz – Cortex-A520
- GPU
- Samsung Xclipse 950ARM Mali-G715 MC7 @940 MHz
- Storage
- 128GB, 256GB, 512GB128GB, 256GB
- Storage Type
- UFS 4.0UFS 3.1
Software
- Operating System
- Android 17 (Cinnamon Bun) , with up to 7 major OS updatesAndroid 16 (Baklava), with up to 7 major Android upgrades
Main Camera
- Matrix
- 50 MP48 MP
- Video Resolution
- 4320p @ 24/30 fps 2160p @ 30/60/120 fps 1080p @ 30/60/120/240 fps2160p @ 30/60 fps, 1080p @ 30/60/120/240 fps
- Video Features
- Gyro-EIS, HDR10+Gyro-EIS, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)
- Features
- Best Face High Dynamic Range (HDR) PanoramaBest Take, Panorama, Pixel Shift, Ultra-HDR
- Lenses
- 50 MP , ƒ /1.8, 24 mm ( Wide angle ), 1.0 μm , 1/1.57" Sensor size Dual-Pixel PDAF Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) 8 MP , ƒ /2.4, 75 mm ( Telephoto ), 1.0 μm , x3 Optical zoom, 1/4.4" Sensor size Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) PDAF 12 MP , ƒ /2.2, 123° ( Ultra-wide angle )48 MP, ƒ/1.7, 25 mm ( Wide angle ), 0.8 μm, 1/2.0" Sensor size - Dual-Pixel PDAF - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) 13 MP, ƒ/2.2, 120° ( Ultra-wide angle ), 1.12 μm, 1/3.1" Sensor size
- Flash
- LED flashDual LED flash
Selfie camera
- Matrix
- 12 MP13 MP
- Lenses
- 12 MP , ƒ /2.2, 26 mm ( Wide angle ), 1.12 μm , 1/3.2" Sensor size13 MP, ƒ/2.2, 20 mm ( Ultra-wide angle ), 1.12 μm, 1/3.1" Sensor size
- Video Resolution
- 2160p @ 30/60 fps 1080p @ 30/60 fps2160p @ 30 fps, 1080p @ 30 fps
- Video Features
- Gyro-EIS, HDR10+N/A
- Features
- N/AHigh Dynamic Range (HDR), Panorama
General
- Announced
- Thursday, 27 August 2026Wednesday, 18 February 2026
- Released
- Friday, 04 September 2026Thursday, 05 March 2026
Battery
- Capacity
- 4900 mAh5100 mAh
- Type
- Li-IonLi-Poly
- Wired charging power
- 45 W30 W
- Wireless charging power
- 15 W10 W
- Fast charging support
- N/AYes
- Features
- Qi2 compatible Reverse wireless charging Wired charging from 0-69% in 30 min (as advertised)Bypass charging, Wired charging from 0-50% in 30 minutes (as advertised)
Design
- Height
- 161.6 mm153.9 mm
- Width
- 76.9 mm73 mm
- Thickness
- 7.4 mm9 mm
- Weight
- 193 g183 g
- Resistance cert. meaning
- Dust-tight and water-resistant (submersible up to 1.5m for 30 minutes)Dust and water resistance (up to 1.5m for 30 min)
Network
- SIM cards
- Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM)Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + eSIM)
- Network_5G bands
- 5G: n1 (2100), n2 (1900), n3 (1800), n5 (850), n7 (2600), n8 (900), n12 (700), n20 (800), n25 (1900), n26 (850), n28 (700), n38 (2600), n40 (2300), n41 (2500), n66 (2100), n75 (1500), n77 (3700), n78 (3500 MHz)n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n14, n20, n25, n26, n28, n29, n30, n38, n40, n41, n48, n66, n70, n71, n75, n77, n78, n79
- Network_4G bands
- LTE: b1 (2100), b2 (1900), b3 (1800), b4 (1700), b5 (850), b7 (2600), b8 (900), b12 (700), b13 (700), b17 (700), b18 (800), b19 (800), b20 (800), b25 (1900), b26 (850), b28 (700), b32 (1500), b38 (2600), b40 (2300), b41 (2500), b66 (1700 MHz)b1, b2, b3, b4, b5, b7, b8, b12, b13, b14, b17, b18, b19, b20, b21, b25, b26, b28, b29, b30, b32, b38, b39, b40, b41, b42, b48, b66, b71
Connectivity
- WiFi support
- Yes ( Wi-Fi 6 )Yes (Wi-Fi 6)
- Bluetooth support
- Yes, v5.4Yes, v6.0
- USB ports
- USB Type-C 2.0 USB On-The-GoUSB Type-C 3.2
- GPS features
- BDS, GALILEO, GLONASS, GPSBDS, GALILEO, GLONASS, GPS (L1 & L5), NavIC, QZSS
- Wi-Fi features
- Dual-band or Tri-band: Varies by market or region, Wi-Fi DirectDual-band or Tri-band: Varies by market or region