Huawei p20 pro or samsung galaxy s9 +, which is better?

Comes a new top model to the family of Android phones and wants against the best. The Huawei P20 Pro arrives ready to rival terminals as powerful as the Samsung Galaxy S9 +. And his best weapon, as it happened with his rival, is the camera. Although it does not neglect other aspects, such as design or power. It sports a large screen and a very striking glass finish.

But, will it have enough arguments to compete with the considered king of the high-end Android? Well, it is precisely what we want to discover with this comparison. Today we put the new Huawei P20 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S9 + face to face. Which is better? Let's try to find out.

COMPARATIVE SHEET

	Huawei P20 Pro	Samsung Galaxy S9 +
screen	6.1-inch, 2,240 x 1,080-pixel FHD +, 18.7: 9 OLED, 408 pixels per inch	Super AMOLED 6.2 inches, QuadHD, 18.5: 9
Main chamber	- 40 mp RGB sensor (light fusion technology), f / 1.8 - 20 megapixel Monochrome sensor, f / 1.6 - 8 megapixel telephoto sensor	Dual camera with 12 MP wide angle, AF, f / 1.5-2.4 and image stabilizer + 12 MP telephoto lens, AF, f / 1.5
Camera for selfies	24 megapixels, f / 2.0, Full HD video	8 megapixel AF, f / 1.7, Full HD video
Internal memory	128 GB	64/128/256 GB
Extension	Not	microSD up to 400GB
Processor and RAM	Kirin 970 with NPU (Neural Processing Chip), 6GB RAM	Exynos 9810 10nm, 64-bit eight-core, 6GB RAM
Drums	4,000 mAh, fast charge	3,500 mAh with fast charging and fast wireless charging
Operating system	Android 8.1 Oreo / EMUI 8.1	Android 8 Oreo / Samsung Touchwiz
Connections	BT 4.2, GPS, USB Type-C, NFC	4G LTE, Bluetooth v5.0, 802.11ac 2.4G + 5GHz, USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type C, GPS, NFC
SIM	nanoSIM	nanoSIM
Design	Metal and glass, IP67 certified, colors: black, blue, pink and multicolor	Metal and glass, IP68 certified, colors: black, blue and purple
Dimensions	155 x 73.9 x 7.8 mm, 185 grams	158 x 73.8 x 8.5mm, 183 grams
Featured Features	5X Hybrid Zoom, Intelligent Image Stabilization, Handheld Long Exposure, 960 Frame HD Super Slow Motion, Face Scan Unlock, Infrared, Fingerprint Reader	Fingerprint reader, Smart scanner (face recognition and simultaneous iris reader), AR Emoji, photography with noise reduction, super slow motion, Bixby vision to calculate calories in food
Release date	April 12, 2018	Available
Price	900 euros	950 euros

Design

We may be facing two of the most beautiful mobiles on the market. This year the crystal and reflections are taken, as well as the famous notch. And Huawei has applied all of them in the P20 Pro.

The terminal has a very shiny back, with a mirror effect. At the ends, it is slightly rounded to join with metal frames that give the unit robustness. It is available in four different colors: black, blue, rose gold and a fourth finish that mixes several tones and that varies according to the light on it.

The color and the mirror effect look really nice, since we don't have any element in the back to distract us. Only the camera lenses, located on the far left. A cameras that, by the way, protrude slightly.

At the front, the screen commands, which we will now talk about. However, the company has looked for a hole at the bottom to place the fingerprint reader. Something that, surely, many users will appreciate.

The Huawei P20 Pro has dimensions of 155 x 73.9 x 7.8 millimeters, with a weight of 185 grams. In addition, it is IP67 certified, which makes it resistant to dust and splashes of water.

Its rival in this comparison also uses glass and metal as its main materials. The dual camera has a portrait format and is located right in the center. Under it we have the fingerprint reader, which has been relocated from the S8.

The front is dominated by the screen almost entirely. Samsung has preferred to place a small frame at the top and mount the front camera there. In the lower area we also have a very narrow frame.

The dimensions of the Samsung Galaxy S9 + are 158 x 73.8 x 8.5 millimeters, with a weight of 183 grams. It is available in black, blue and a very interesting new purple color. Of course, it is IP68 certified, just like its predecessor.

screen

We've reached a point where a 5.5-inch screen feels small to us. So most manufacturers choose to place large panels, especially in their top-of-the-range models.

The Huawei P20 Pro sports a 6.1-inch AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2,240 x 1080 pixels. It has a curious 18.7: 9 format, thus breaking the "norm" this year.

The screen of its rival in this comparison is an old acquaintance. Samsung has not wanted to change anything from last year's model.

And it is not surprising, because it was already one of the best screens on the market. So, we have a 6.2-inch Super AMOLED panel with QHD + resolution and 18.5: 9 format.

In addition, the screen curves to the sides, thus giving the terminal an appearance that very few get. There is no lack of the Always On Display function, present from the Samsung Galaxy S7.

Cameras

Manufacturers of high-end terminals know that they have to give more than a beautiful design and a large screen for a user to want to spend 900 euros on a mobile. So, a good way to differentiate between high-end and mid-range terminals is to improve the camera. And this is one of the strengths of the two terminals that we are comparing.

The Huawei P20 Pro has a front camera made up of no less than 3 lenses. On the one hand we have the usual Huawei combination. That is, an RGB sensor and another in black and white. However, these have been remarkably improved.

The RGB sensor has a resolution of 40 megapixels. Its megapixels are 2 square microns, being able to combine with the Light Fusion technology in cells of four and thus multiply its resolution, size and, therefore, quality and information of the photographs. All this with a wide-angle lens and an aperture of f / 1.8.

The second sensor is monochrome, with 20 megapixels of resolution and f / 1.6 aperture. To this set is now added a third sensor, an 8 megapixel telephoto lens that allows an optical zoom of up to 5x.

Regarding the front camera, it has a 24 megapixel sensor and f / 2.0 aperture. All this hardware comes supported by an artificial intelligence system that improves the capabilities of the cameras.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 + opts for a very different solution. Includes two 12 megapixel lenses. One of them, with a variable aperture that ranges between f / 1.5 and 2.4, adjusts to the situation at any given time, whether it is night, day or if the light is dim. According to Samsung, this system improves the brightness by up to 28% compared to the results of the Galaxy S8 +.

The second lens is a telephoto lens with aperture f / 1.5 that allows you to add perspective to photos and play with blur. As for the front camera, we have an 8 megapixel sensor with aperture f / 1.7.

On the other hand, both terminals are capable of capturing video at 960 frames per second in HD resolution. And they also include 4K video recording at 60fps.

There is no doubt that no user will be disappointed with the camera system that these two terminals equip.

Processor and memory

We can assure you that neither of the two terminals is lacking in power. We are looking at the best in the market, so both work perfectly.

The Huawei P20 Pro inherits the processor of the Huawei Mate 10. That is, it equips the Kirin 970, a chip manufactured in 10 nanometers and that has 8 cores that run at 2.4 GHz. It is accompanied by a 12-core Mali G72MP12 graphics processor and, how could it be less, an NPU or neural processing unit.

Along with the processor we have 6 GB of RAM and no less than 128 GB of internal storage. Of course, we will not be able to expand it using a microSD card, since the terminal does not have a space for it.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 + equips an Exynos 9810 processor. It is a chip manufactured in 10 nanometers, 64 bit and with 8 cores. Accompanying this processor we have 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage. But this time we can expand this capacity with a microSD card of up to 400 GB.

Autonomy and connectivity

Let's talk now about the battery. The Huawei P20 Pro we have not had time to test it thoroughly yet, but in the next few days we will tell you how the day holds up. What we can tell you is that it has a 4,000 milliamp battery, which should give us a very high autonomy.

In addition, it has a Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging system, which allows you to charge the entire battery in just 90 minutes.

For its part, the Samsung Galaxy S9 + has a 3,500 mAh battery. It is perhaps the weakest point of the Korean terminal. In our in-depth test, with slightly heavy use, it couldn't last the full day. To compensate a bit, it has fast charging and wireless charging.

In terms of connectivity, both terminals have the latest on the market. Both include 802.11ac WiFi and a USB-C connector for charging.

Conclusions and price

When you put two of the best terminals in the market face to face, it is difficult to give a winner. Only some details will make us decide on one terminal or another.

Like for example the design. In this case we have two similar mobiles. Both offer a glossy glass body with metallic edges. And both have a front in which almost everything is a screen.

Still, the differences are remarkable. One has the fingerprint reader on the front, while the S9 + still has it on the back.

The same thing happens on the screen, where we have a very similar technical set. Perhaps the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S9 + is slightly above, but it will be practically unnoticeable for most users.

To tip the balance in the photographic section we will have to wait to see how the Huawei P20 Pro performs. However, the Samsung Galaxy S9 + has, according to DxO, the best camera on the market. Will the Huawei terminal take that first place? It's too early to tell.

As for power, leaving aside what the tests say, both terminals more than comply. With none we will have problems to move any application and work in multitasking.

So will price be the determining factor? Well in this case it seems that neither. The Huawei P20 Pro will go on the market with a price of 900 euros. The Samsung Galaxy S9 + has an official price of 950 euros. What do you think? Which one do you like the most?