Huawei P20 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

Compared 2 smartphones : Huawei P20 Pro Manufactured in April, 2018, with display 6.1 with chipsetHiSilicon Kirin 970, vs Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, Manufactured in March, 2018 with chipsetSamsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Huawei P20 Pro
  • Lighter design: 180g vs 189g
  • Higher battery capacity: 4000mAh vs 3500mAh
  • Infrared port
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
  • Larger display: 6.2in
  • Higher pixel density: 531ppi
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5 vs 4.2

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 6/64 GB
- 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 4/64 GB
- 6/64 GB
- 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Huawei P20 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
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Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type OLED Super AMOLED
Size 6.1 in 6.2 in
Resolution 1080x2240 pixels 1440x2960 pixels
Aspect ratio 18.7:9 18.5:9
Pixel density 408 ppi 531 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max brightness 400 nits 631 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10 Yes HDR10
Screen-to-body ratio 82.9 % 83.6 %
Features Always-On Display Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Huawei P20 Pro
586 nits
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
629 nits
PWM (Flicker)238 Hz215 Hz
Response time4 ms7 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 155 mm (6.1 in) 158.1 mm (6.22 in)
Width 73 mm (2.87 in) 73.8 mm (2.91 in)
Thickness 7.8 mm (0.31 in) 8.5 mm (0.33 in)
Weight 180 g (6.35 oz) 189 g (6.67 oz)
Water resistance IP67 IP68
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Black
- Gold
- Blue
- Purple
- Black
- Gold
- Gray
- Red
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Button Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Huawei P20 Pro
82.9 %
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
83.6 %

Performance

Testing Huawei P20 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset HiSilicon Kirin 970 Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9810
Max Frequency 2360 MHz 2900 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (4 + 4) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.84 (Cortex A53)
- 4/2.36 (Cortex A73)
- 4/1.9 (Cortex-A55)
- 4/2.9 (Exynos M3)
Process TSMC Samsung
Transistor Size 10 nm 10 nm
Neural Processor Yes Yes
Graphics Mali-G72 MP12 Mali-G72 MP18
GPU Cores 216 324
GPU Frequency 767 MHz 572 MHz
FLOPS 331.8 GFLOPS 370.6 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Huawei P20 Pro
518
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
751
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Huawei P20 Pro
1562
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
1909
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)518751
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)15621909
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Huawei P20 Pro
372441
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
467429
CPU95187142642
GPU104334140091
Memory8283299705
UX9008884991
NanoReview Score372441467429
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Huawei P20 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
2328
Max Surface Temp.n/a40.7 °C
Stabilityn/a95 %
Graphics Testn/a13 fps
Graphics Scoren/a2328
PCMark 3.0
PCMark 3.0
Huawei P20 Pro
n/a
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
6261
Writing scoren/a6167
Web scoren/a5425
Video editingn/a5459
Data manipulationn/a5611
NanoReview Scoren/a6261

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 6 GB 6 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 1833 MHz 1794 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB64 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.1UFS 2.1
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS Android 8.1 (Upgradeable to Android 10) Android 8.0 (Upgradeable to Android 10)
OS Size 12 GB 13.9 GB
UI Skin EMUI 10 One UI 2.5

Battery

Volume 4000 mAh 3500 mAh
Max Charging Power 225 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-Po Li-Po
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes Qi/PMA (10 W)
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes SuperCharge (50% in 30 min) Yes (40% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:30 h 1:40 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Huawei P20 Pro
18:10
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
16:44
Web Browsing07:43 h06:05 h
Video Playback11:30 h10:25 h
Games05:07 h04:17 h
Standby Mode80 h84 h

Main camera

Matrix 40 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 7360x4912 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Zoom Optical, 3x Optical, 2x
Flash Dual LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 240 fps)
Slow Motion 960 fps (720p) 960 fps (720p)
Lenses count Standard: 40 MP
Telephoto: 8 MP
Monochrome: 20 MP
Standard: 12 MP
Telephoto: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix40 MP12 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.5 - 2.4
Focal length27 mm26 mm
SensorSony IMX600Samsung SAK2L3
Sensor size1/1.741/2.55
Pixel size1 μm1.4 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrix8 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.4f/2.4
Focal length80 mm52 mm
Sensor size1/41/3.6
Pixel sizen/a1 μm
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Main camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Huawei P20 Pro
114
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
104
Video quality
Huawei P20 Pro
98
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
91
Overall camera score
Huawei P20 Pro
109
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
99

Front camera

Matrix 24 MP 8 MP
Photo resolution 5632x4224 pixels 3264x2448 pixels
Aperture f/2.0 f/1.7
Focal length 26 mm 25 mm
Sensor CMOS Samsung S5K3H1
Sensor size 1/2.8 1/3.6
Pixel size 0.9 μm 1.22 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps 1440p at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No
Selfie camera DxOMark results
Photo quality
Huawei P20 Pro
79
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
n/a
Video quality
Huawei P20 Pro
113
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
n/a

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 4.2 5
Bluetooth features LE, A2DP PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, LE, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.1 3.1
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port Yes No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *NoNo
Hybrid SlotNoYes
2G BandsGSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
3G BandsHSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100HSDPA 850, HSDPA 900, HSDPA 1900, HSDPA 2100
LTE Bands*LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2300/B2600)LTE (B700/B800/B850/B900/B1700/B1800/B1900/B2100/B2300/B2500/B2600)
LTE category1818
5G SupportNoNo

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Huawei P20 Pro
84.9 dB
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
85.6 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced March, 2018 yr February, 2018 yr
Release Date April, 2018 yr March, 2018 yr
Launch Price ($) 900 840
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

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