Samsung Galaxy S10/S10 Plus vs HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro: Clash of the Titans

A good argument could be made that the most powerful flagship phones that are available to purchase right now are the Samsung Galaxy S10, the S10 Plus and the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro. All three phones have displays that are over 6-inches, all three have triple rear camera setups and all three have the current fastest mobile processors on the market.

Of course these three big handsets have considerable differences, and they could influence which one you may want to eventually purchase. Let’s take a look at these smartphones and see how they actually size up against each other

Samsung Galaxy S10/S10 Plus vs HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro: Design

In terms of design, the Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus don’t have massive differences compared to earlier phones in the Galaxy S series. Both have what Samsung calls the Infinity-O display, a variant of the earlier Infinity Display that features small amounts of bezel on the front of the phone. Both phones feature punch hole front-facing cameras on the top right of the display, which means that the screen-to-body ratio is even smaller than in previous phones in this series. The Mate 20 Pro also has small bezels on the bottom and sides, and rounded sides but it also has a notch on top, which many people dislike intensely on phones (you can hide the notch with a software adjustment).

On the back of the Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus, you will find a horizontal row of three camera sensors. The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro also has three cameras on the back, but they are arranged in a more unique looking square camera module that really makes it stand out from the crowd.

Samsung Galaxy S10/S10 Plus vs HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro: Display

Both the Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus share the same AMOLED display tech, and both have a resolution of 3,040 x 1,440 in a 19:9 aspect ratio. The S10 has a 6.1-inch 551ppi screen and the S10 Plus goes higher with a 6.4-inch display, but with 525ppi. The display on the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro uses curved OLED tech, and is almost as big as the Galaxy S10 Plus at 6.39-inches. The resolution is a tad higher than the Samsung phones at 3,120 x 1,440 with 538ppi and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio.

Samsung Galaxy S10/S10 Plus vs HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro: Camera

Here’s where things get a bit more interesting. Both the Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus have the same rear camera setup. It includes a 12MP dual-pixel main sensor a, 16MP ultra-wide lens, and a 12MP 2x telephoto zoom. The front of both phones also has a 10MP camera, and the S10 Plus throws in an 8MP secondary sensor on the front for better depth in images. It has a dedicated neural processing unit that is supposed to help take better images, thanks to the NPU and software inside that should recognize up to 30 specific popular subjects.

The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro has three cameras in the back as well. However, one of them is a big 40MP sensor, along with a 20MP ultra-wide lens and an 8MP camera with a 3x telephoto optical zoom. The front-facing camera is no slouch either; it’s a 24MP sensor. In addition, the phone’s Kirin 980 processor includes two neural processing units that are supposed to help take better images with real-time photo manipulation.

We will have to see how the S10 and S10 Plus’ images and video compared to ones made by the Mate 20 Pro in our review of the new Samsung phones. However, the research firm DxOMark has already rated the Galaxy S10 Plus as the best smartphone camera overall for taking still images, and it matches the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro for taking video.

Samsung Galaxy S10/S10 Plus vs HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro:  Hardware and software

Depending where you live, you can get the Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus with the new and faster 8nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip for the U.S. market or Samsung’s in-house Exynos 9820 in the rest of the world. Our own Gary Sims put those chips in a speed test competition, and it pretty much was no contest as the Snapdragon 855 blew away the Exynos 9820. However, the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro, which was launched a few months earlier, has the 7nm Kirin 980 chip inside. We will have to see in the very near future how that chip compares to the Snapdragon 855 in our testing.

The Galaxy S10 is available with 8GB of RAM, while the S10 Plus can be purchased with either 8GB or 12GB of memory. The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro “just” has 6GB, although that should be more than enough for users. The Galaxy S10 comes in 128GB and 512GB storage options, while the S10 Pro has both, plus an even higher 1TB storage model. The HUAWEI Mate 20 has 128GB of storage. While the S10 and S10 Plus can boost its storage by up to 512GB with a standard microSD card, the Mate 20 Pro uses a Nano Memory card for extra storage. It’s much smaller than a microSD card, and is the same size as a Nano SIM card. The Mate 20 Pro can increase its storage by up to 256GB with a Nano Memory card.

The Mate 20 Pro has an IP67 rating, meaning that you can drop the phone in up to a meter of water for up to 30 minutes and it will keep working. The Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus have a higher IP68 rating, which means they can go down even deeper, down to 1.5 meters, in water and operate even after 30 minutes. All three phones ship with Android 9 Pie out of the box, with the S10 and S10 Plus using Samsung’s new One UI skin, and the Mate 20 Pro using HUAWEI’s EMUI 9.

The battery on the Galaxy S10 is 3,400mAh in size and goes up to 4,100mAh for the S10 Plus, but the Mate 20 Pro has them both beat with its 4,200mAh battery. All three not only support wireless charging, but they can also all charge other supported wirelessly charged smartphones and other devices. All three also have an in-display fingerprint scanner. The Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus have a 2D face unlocking feature, but the Mate 20 Pro includes special sensors on the front that creates a 3D map of your face for unlocking purposes.

One other difference is that while the Mate 20 Pro has standard Wi-Fi 802.11ac support, the Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus both support the new Wi-Fi 6 standard, although that’s only important if you use a Wi-Fi 6 router at home or at work,

Samsung Galaxy S10/S10 Plus vs HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro: Specs

Samsung Galaxy S10/S10 Plus vs HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro: Price

The Galaxy S10 has a starting price of $899, and the S10 Plus is priced starting at $999. You can get both phones directly at Samsung.com. and you can also trade in your older phone to get an additional discount from Samsung. The phone is also on sale at all the major U.S. carriers and retailers, many of which have their own deals and discounts.

Officially, there is no U.S. version of the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro, but you can still purchase the international version on Amazon. It’s available now for $595. Keep in mind that there is no U.S. warranty for this phone, and it will only work on GSM-based carriers, like AT&T and T-Mobile.