Huawei has just announced its flagship phones for the year 2020.
Here we have one of the best smartphones that the company ever made — the Huawei P40 Pro. Just like its predecessors, this device aims to provide powerful performance and killer camera capabilities.
To see if it has a place in the market, we’ll be comparing it with one of the biggest names in the Android space today — the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Just like Huawei’s, Samsung’s latest flagship aims to cover everything you need from a smartphone — from the processing to the camera department.
With that, here in our Huawei P40 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra specifications and features comparison, we’ll see if Huawei’s latest is really worth your time. And ultimately, we’ll help you decide which between the two is right for you.

Huawei P40 Pro | Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra | |
Operating System | Android 10 EMUI 10.1 HMS | Android 10 Samsung One UI 2.0 GMS |
SIM | Dual SIM Dual Standby Hybrid | Dual SIM Dual Standby Hybrid |
Display | 6.58-inch OLED display 2560 x 1200 pixel resolution ~429ppi HDR 90Hz refresh rate | 6.9-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 3040 x 1440 pixel resolution ~511ppi HDR 10+ 110% DCI-P3 120Hz refresh rate Corning Gorilla Glass 6 |
Processor | 2.86GHz Kirin 990 5G octa-core | 2.7GHz Exynos 990 octa-core |
RAM | 8GB | 12GB LPDDR5 |
GPU | Mali-G76 MP16 | Mali-G77 MP11 |
Storage | 256GB expandable via NM card 2 | 128GB UFS 3.0 expandable via microSD up to 1TB |
Front camera | 32-megapixel 3D depth sensor Punch-hole | 40-megapixel Punch-hole |
Rear Camera | 50-megapixel (UltraVision, RYYB, f/1.9, OIS) 40-megapixel (Cine ultra-wide camera, f/1.8) 12-megapixel (5x optical, 50x hybrid zoom, OIS) ToF rear cameras Octa-PDAF 4K video recording up to ISO 51,200 Telephoto video Slow-mo Ultra low-light video LED flash | 108-megapixel (f/1.8) 12-megapixel (ultra-wide) 48-megapixel (Telephoto, OIS) ToF depth sensor 5x optical, 100x hybrid zoom 8K video recording PDAF OIS LED flash |
Audio | No headphone jack | Dolby Atmos AKG stereo speakers No headphone jack |
Security | In-display fingerprint scanner 3D face unlock | Ultra-sonic fingerprint scanner Face unlock |
Connectivity | HSPA+, 4G LTE 5G WiFi 6, dual-band Bluetooth 5.1 dual-band GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC IR blaster NFC USB Type-C | HSPA+, 4G LTE 5G WiFi 802.11 ab/g/n/ac/ax, dual-band Bluetooth 5.0 GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS FM Radio USB Type-C |
Others | IP68 water and dust resistant Reverse wireless charging | IP68 water and dust resistant Wireless PowerShare |
Dimensions | 158.2 x 72.6 x 8.95mm | 166.9 x 76.0 x 8.8mm |
Weight | 209g | 220g |
Colors | Black Deep Sea Blue Ice White Silver Frost Blush Gold | Cosmic Black Cosmic Gray |
Battery | 4,200mAh 40W SuperCharge 27W Wireless charging Reverse wireless charging | 5,000mAh non-removable Fast wireless charging 45W wire charging |
Price | Php50,990 | Php69,990 |

As you just saw, both the Huawei P40 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra are equally great devices.
The two have great displays, fast performance, and killer cameras — some of the main pillars of having a great smartphone.

But based on the table above, the Huawei P30 Pro is much cheaper than the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Just like its predecessors, this thing launched with a price tag of Php50,990.
That’s Php19,990 cheaper than Samsung’s offering. Heck, you can even get a decent mid-range smartphone out of that savings.

The P40 Pro is already a great device for what it is. But obviously, it has some compromises that allowed it to be cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra.
Probably the most obvious one is the lack of Google Mobile Services (GMS). It looks like the US ban ain’t ending soon or maybe ever. We still don’t know.

On the upside, the company has made a lot of improvements on its own Huawei Mobile Services, and even added more apps to their Google Play Store alternative, Huawei App Gallery.
If you’re clever enough, you can even side-load Google Mobile Services on this thing, just like what the Mate 30 Pro users are doing.

Besides the software, the Huawei P40 Pro also has a smaller 6.58-inch screen, and a slightly slower 90Hz refresh rate. In fact, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is hailed as the best mobile display in the market today.
It also looks like Huawei skimped on the memory department as it only has 8GB of RAM, versus the roomy 12GB of memory that the competition have.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra gets to have a 5,000mAh battery, while the Huawei P40 Pro settles for a 4,200mAh capacity.
Related: OPPO Find X2 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: Specs Comparison

On paper, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra seems to have a better set of cameras. But the thing is, in photography, numbers aren’t the only important thing.
It may have a pixel-packed 108-megapixel primary camera, but the sophisticated 50-megapixel sensor of the Huawei P40 Pro might give it a boost. It’s also one of the first devices to have octa-PDAF technology.

Our mixed-bag reaction continues to the other cameras. The Huawei P40 Pro takes the lead on the ultra-wide game with its 40-megapixel Cine lens, versus the regular 12-megapixel ultra-wide on the latter.
But then again, the Galaxy S20 Ultra takes back the lead with its 48-megapixel telephoto lens that can do 100x of hybrid zoom. Although, Huawei claims that it uses all of its cameras to aide the 12-megapixel telephoto lens to do up to 50x of SuperSensing zoom.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is also capable of 8K video recording while the Huawei P40 Pro is only at 4K.
I guess the bottom line here is, it will now depend on your budget. If you don’t mind going on board with HMS or installing GMS on your own, then you’d be getting great value out of the Huawei P40 Pro.

But if money is not an issue, then spending more on the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra entitles you to the best mobile display experience, sharper selfie and primary cameras, stereo speakers, and a bigger battery.
We’ll also be comparing the Galaxy S20 Ultra to the new Huawei P40 Pro Plus, so stay tuned for that.