Samsung S22, Pixel 6, & iPhone 13: Which one has the Best Sound Quality/Speakers

Mobile phones are now unlike anything we had 20 years ago. In the early 2000s, your mobile phone could make a call, send an SMS, and eventually play a song. How far have we come…

These days, multimedia properties simply cannot be ignored when buying a new smartphone. Mobile phones are like miniature computers; they can do pretty much anything, but let's be honest, we use them the most for entertainment. Whether you want to watch movies or shows on Netflix, listen to music on Spotify, or play some great games – you can do it all immediately.

Well, for those who enjoy such pleasures and care a lot about how their mobile phones produce sound, here is a short helping text on which flagship phone to choose.

Samsung S22, Pixel 6, & iPhone 13: Which one has the Best Sound Quality/Speakers

Google Pixel 6

Since the Pixel 6 is a high-end mobile, Google has tried to keep all the key sections of the smartphone at the maximum expected level. The sound is one of those sections. Broadly speaking, the sound quality is fantastic. However, it does offer certain ups and downs that might slightly cloud your listening.

The phone lacks a headphone jack, this is a negative point even though the lack has become common. Yes, the inclusion of the double external speaker is positive. One is positioned on the lower edge of Pixel 6 (next to USB C), and another is on top. The sound they emit is very powerful and of sufficient quality, both at low and high volume. At the most, it suffers from shrillness and a certain reverberation, just enough to make it annoying without being disturbing.

Another negative aspect concerns the volume level. If you slide from the volume selector, the audio does not rise substantially until it exceeds the middle of the bar. At three-quarters, something low continues to be heard and rises sharply in the last quarter. Moving the volume, both from the screen and from the buttons, means never knowing at what point it will be too loud. In addition, I have run into audio glitches in some applications and games (sound distortion), another bug that will surely be fixed in future updates.

The Pixel 6 does not have a headphone jack, and the audio it outputs through the USB C port is digital, not analog. This implies that adapters that do not include a separate DAC in the cable will not work.

Google specifies that accessories must include the "Made by Pixel" specification to work with the phone's USB C port.

The audio is powerful, with good bass and bass boost with some punch. Sufficient quality is maintained with Bluetooth: the pixel 6 supports Bluetooth SBC, AAC, aptX (standard and HD), and LDAC codecs offer HD audio.

Apple iPhone 13

If Apple pays close attention to something when making new phones, it is definitely the multimedia sector. With iPhone 13, we can say that the sound is heard loud and clear, it is consistently good, and you can watch movies or videos and listen to music and podcasts seamlessly.

Needless to say, it doesn't have a headphone jack, and there are no headphones included in the box. To use headphones, or we go through the ring of a lightning-jack adapter, or we go to a TWS, of which Apple has a few options.

What should be noted is that the iPhone 13 is compatible with FLAC, Dolby Atmos, and Apple Lossless, a codec that should be exploited (not to the maximum, but better with wireless headphones). It is also compatible with spatial audio, something very interesting in certain Apple TV content.

Not all Apple Music catalog is supported, nor can all devices play this content. We already have numerous songs and albums adapted to this new audio quality, and it is expected that over the next few weeks and months, the entire catalog offered will be completed.

In short, good speakers with great sound support from Apple.

Samsung S22

The highly anticipated S22 series will have a lot of work to do in order to compete with the iPhone 13 when it comes to sound quality.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has had some sound problems. Some people complain of strange noises coming from the speaker, while others speak of a very deep sound. In fact, so low that it is difficult to hear what people are saying. There are still others who say that the sound is distorted. The cause may be in the hardware, as the number of units affected appears to be limited. No matter how much quality control you have, sometimes these things slip away.

Otherwise, Samsung phones always have high-quality speakers with great sound produced, and no less is expected from the S22 series. In fact, the news around the new series is overwhelmingly positive, and hence the sound will be much more impressive for sure.

What's more, there are numerous apps available that can enrich the sound qualities (much like Apple has). With these apps, you can not only adjust the volume but also enhance the bass when listening to music. Furthermore, it is also possible to adjust the sound effects and maximize the volume of incoming messages on your phone. It seems that the new S22 phone will have much support from all sides as there is already a smart case available that boosts both the battery life and storage memory!

Final words

It may be too early to predict the exact sound quality for Samsung S22, but from what I've seen so far, the new S22 series will arguably provide the best mobile phones on the market. As Samsung always has excellent sound, this series will be no exception. It remains to be seen how S22 will compare with iPhone 13, and my opinion is it will be a close call. The choice is simple – if you like Apple products, go with iPhone 13, if you like Android, go with S22. The Pixel 6 should be a budget buy option (it's not bad, just not as good as iPhone 13 and S22).