Huawei P40 Pro+ (Plus) vs Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: Battle of the ‘premium’ smartphones

Huawei has just unveiled its brand-new camera-centric smartphones, Huawei P40, P40 Pro and the P40 Pro Plus. In the trio, the Huawei P40 Pro Plus is the company's more powerful smartphone of 2020 and was also one of the most anticipated one not only because of its processing prowess but for camera specs as well. With as many as seven cameras in total, the P40 Pro Plus has nothing but Samsung's recently launched Galaxy S20 Ultra as the only worth competitor for now. The Galaxy S20 Ultra is also the company's camera-centric flagship of the year that comes with top of the line specifications. So, for those who are dying out of curiosity to know which one is better in terms of specifications, here's a comparison.

Cameras

We have to start with the cameras this time because of the smartphones are being heavily marketed for their photography and videography prowess. The Huawei P40 Pro Plus has a total of seven lenses with five at the back and two at the front. At the back you have a 50-megapixel with f/1.9 aperture and OIS + 40-megapixel ultra-wide camera (f/1.8) + 8-megapixel super zoom camera with 10x optical zoom and f/4.4 aperture + 8-megapixel telephoto camera with f/2.4 aperture, OIS, and 3x optical zoom + 3D sensor. At the front you get a 32-megapixel camera and an IR depth sensor for better selfie portraits.

On the other hand, you have Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra that has four cameras at the back including a powerful 108-megapixel (f/1.8) sensor with hybrid 10x zoom and 100x digital zoom (same as P40 Pro Plus) + 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera (f/2.2) + 48-megapixel telephoto camera (f/3.5) and a VGA depth vision camera. At the front, there's just one camera with a 40-megapixel sensor with f/2.2 aperture.

Also read: Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra's 108-megapixel 'Nona-binning' explained

Display

On the display front, the Galaxy gets the edge over P40 Pro Plus. The Huawei P40 Pro Plus has a 6.5-inch OLED screen with 2640x1200 pixels resolution and 90Hz refresh rate. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra has a slightly taller 6.9-inch screen with Dynamic AMOLED screen and QHD+ (3200x1440 pixels) resolution screen. It also has 120Hz display refresh rate.

Performance

As for the performance, while Huawei P40 Pro is powered by company's own Kiri 990 5G processor, Samsung has used the old formula of launching smartphones with two different processors. While the India and other select regions get the one with Exynos 990, which also supports 5G, other Galaxy S20 Ultra variants get the Snapdragon 865 processor versions. Although both are top of the line processors, we are yet to see which one performs better in rea life usage.

RAM and storage

When it comes to RAM and inbuilt storage variants, both the smartphones come in just one model. While you can get the Galaxy S20 Ultra in three iterations including 12GB or 16GB RAM options and 128GB or 512GB inbuilt storage options, the P40 Pro Plus can be purchased in 8GB RAM and 256GB or 512GB inbuilt storage.

Also read: Huawei now offers pick and drop service for its smartwatch repairs in India

Battery

Backing the Huawei P40 Pro Plus is a 4200mAh battery with the support for 40W fast charging tech. Galaxy S20 Ultra on the other hand includes a slightly larger 5000mAh battery with support for wireless charging and PowerShare feature.

Price

Since both the smartphones are powerful and fall in the 'premium' category, they cost more than ever. The starting price of the Galaxy S20 Ultra ₹92,999. Since the P40 Pro Plus has not yet launched in India, its European price is EUR 1399 which roughly means ₹1,15,000.