Two of the biggest names in the Android space have launched their first flagship offerings for the year 2020.
The first one that came out was the Samsung Galaxy S20 back in February. It’s the cheapest version out of the series, and also the smallest — perfect for those who are looking for a straightforward and compact flagship phone.
To go against Samsung’s flagship lineup, Huawei also released the P40 series. It starts with the Huawei P40, the counterpart of the vanilla Galaxy S20.
Just like the former, the P40 is the toned-down version of the Pro and Pro Plus models — catering to those who don’t care about the extra novelties that come with high-end smartphones today.
In our Huawei P40 versus Samsung Galaxy S20 specifications and features comparison, we’ll see which between the two flagships has the better value for the price.
| Huawei P40 | Samsung Galaxy S20 | |
| Operating System | Android 10 EMUI 10.1 Huawei Mobile Services | Android 10 Samsung One UI 2.0 Google Mobile Services |
| SIM | Dual SIM Dual Standby Hybrid | Dual SIM Dual Standby |
| Display | 6.1-inch OLED 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution HDR 90Hz refresh rate ~422ppi | 6.2-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED display 3040 x 1440 pixel resolution ~563ppi HDR 10+ 120Hz refresh rate |
| Processor | 2.86GHz Kirin 990 5G octa-core | 2.7GHz Exynos 990 octa-core processor (international) 2.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 octa-core processor (US) |
| GPU | Mali-G76 MP16 | Mali-G77 MP11 (international) Adreno 650 (US) |
| RAM | 8GB | 8GB/12GB |
| Storage | 128GB expandable via NM card | 128GB expandable up to 1TB via microSD |
| Front camera | 32-megapixel IR front camera | 10-megapixel f/2.2 |
| Rear Camera | 50-megapixel (UltraVision, RYYB, f/1.9, OIS) 16-megapixel (ultra-wide, macro, f/2.2) 8-megapixel (3x optical, 30x digital zoom, OIS) 4K video recording up to ISO 51,200 Octa-PDAF LED flash | 12-megapixel (f/1.8, OIS) 12-megapixel (ultra-wide) 64-megapixel (30x hybrid zoom, OIS) ToF depth sensor 8K video recording PDAF LED flash |
| Audio | No headphone jack Single loudspeaker | Dolby Atmos AKG stereo speakers No headphone jack |
| Security | In-display fingerprint scanner Face unlock | Ultra-sonic fingerprint scanner Face unlock |
| Connectivity | 4G LTE 5G WiFi 6, dual-band Bluetooth 5.1 dual-band GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC NFC USB Type-C | 4G LTE 5G WiFi 6, dual-band Bluetooth 5.0 GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou NFC USB Type-C |
| Others | IP53 water and dust resistant | IP68 water and dust resistant Wireless PowerShare |
| Dimensions | 148.9 x 71.06 x 8.5mm | 151.7 x 69.1 x 7.9mm |
| Weight | 175g | 163g |
| Colors | Black Deep Sea Blue Ice White Silver Frost Blush Gold | Cloud Pink Cosmic Gray |
| Battery | 3,800mAh 22.5W fast charging | 4,000mAh non-removable 25W wired fast charging Fast wireless charging 2.0 |
| Price | Php36,990 | Php49,990 |
As you just saw, both the Huawei P40 and Samsung Galaxy S20 both have proper flagship specs and features.
So, it will now depend on your budget. And from what it looks like, the cheaper price of the Huawei P40 makes it the more plausible choice.
This handset costs only Php36,990. That’s Php13,000 cheaper than the Galaxy S20’s price tag.
However, by going with the cheaper model, you have to sacrifice some of the better features that are present in the Galaxy S20.
For starters, the Huawei P40 only has an FHD+ screen and a 60Hz refresh rate screen. Those are already great display specifications for a mobile display, but with the Galaxy S20, you’d be getting a sharper QHD+ pixel resolution with a faster 120Hz refresh rate.
We also expect the Exynos 990 processor and Mali-G77 MP11 GPU on the Galaxy S20 to outperform the Kirin 990 and Mali-G76 MP16 on the P40.
Related
- Huawei P40 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: Specs Comparison
- Huawei P40 Pro vs Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro: Specs Comparison
Huawei didn’t bother to add a stereo speaker on the P40. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S20 comes with two speakers and Dolby Atmos support.
We also have the IP68 water and dust resistant, while the P40 settles for an IP53 certification. Moreover, Huawei completely removed any wireless charging technology on the Huawei P40. You have to get the more expensive models to unlock that feature.
Oh, and of course, Huawei is still banned from using Google Mobile Services. On the upside, there has been a lot of improvements in the company’s Huawei Mobile Services and ecosystem of apps. Alternatively, if you’re techie enough, you can sideload GMS yourself although it’s still unknown if the same methods used in the past will work in this new phone.
So, if you can live with those compromises, then ‘cheaping’ out and going with the Huawei P40 might be the better option for you.
The best part is, apart from the savings, you’re also getting a better set of cameras. There’s the 32-megapixel selfie shooter on the front, versus the 10-megapixels on the Galaxy S20. It also comes with an advanced 50-megapixel primary sensor, a 16-megapixel ultra-wide that doubles as a macro lens, and an 8-megapixel telephoto camera.