Confronto Samsung S9 Huawei P20

Samsung notched the year's first large smartphone debut with the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, but at that place'southward something oddly familiar about both. Oh, right: they're exactly like the Milky way S8 models before them.

Now the Huawei P20 is hither, and you lot might recognise its artful from some other high-profile phone. That's right: Apple'south iPhone X, camera notch and all. Even so, there'south plenty to be excited about with Huawei's new core flagship, including that screen-heavy front, dazzling pattern, and plenty of power.

We think the larger, triple-camera-packing Huawei P20 Pro is ameliorate than Samsung's flagship, merely what about the smaller, standard P20? Here's our take.

Design: Both beauties

As suggested above, the Galaxy S9 doesn't brand any major strides over the Milky way S8, and that'due south true when information technology comes to style too. Information technology's a dead ringer, really: the just visible difference is the repositioned fingerprint sensor on the back (which is definitely an upgrade).

Still, this is nonetheless one of the best-looking phones in the earth. It's all curved drinking glass and aluminium with very niggling bezel on the front, and it looks and feels sufficiently premium all around.

As for the Huawei P20? Well, it really does look a lot like the iPhone X, admitting with a smaller notch on the front simply besides a lip beneath the screen to agree the fingerprint sensor. The dazzling Twilight gradient colour pick is simply available on the Pro model, but at least the standard P20 has the sleek Pink Gold gradient model on offer.

Both of these are very impressive and fashionable-looking phones, and ultimately this comparison will probably come up downwardly to your own personal preference – and whether you're bothered by the notch. In other words, just like the Milky way S9 vs the iPhone 10.

Verdict: Draw

Screen: AMOLED prevails

The Galaxy S9 sticks with a v.8in, extra-tall 18.five:nine Super AMOLED display like final twelvemonth'due south, albeit a flake brighter now. At Quad Hd resolution, it'southward however the best screen we've e'er seen on a telephone. Really dazzling stuff.

Equally for the P20, it uses a xviii.7:ix v.8in LCD panel instead (the Pro has OLED), which means it lacks some of the punchiness and potent dissimilarity of the Galaxy S9. Oh, and that notch is unavoidable, although you can "hide" it via software. There's another key difference, too: it's lower resolution at 1080p. Significant edge for Samsung here.

Verdict: Samsung Galaxy S9

Camera: Looking good

If this were the Huawei P20 Pro, and then nosotros'd be raving most its innovative triple-camera system on the rear, which bundles in a whopping 40-megapixel telephoto lens for stunning shots, not to mention 5x hybrid zoom. It'southward properly amazing, and has taken the drape of today's best smartphone shooter.

Simply this isn't the P20 Pro, and the standard P20 sticks two beggarly (kidding!) cameras on the back: a 12MP RGB lens and 20MP monochromatic one. Even so, this is a fine smartphone setup that generally takes very good photos, with plenty of color, detail, and sharpness. It's lacking the extra clarity and deeper zoom abilities that make the P20 Pro and then darn impressive, withal.

As for the Milky way S9, we already know that it offers one of today'southward meridian smartphone cameras – and information technology only has the one photographic camera on the back. Information technology has a 12MP camera with dual-pixel autofocus and optical prototype stabilisation, and information technology adds variable aperture into the mix as well.

It'll popular betwixt f/1.v and f/two.4 settings on the fly, opening up for lower-lite scenarios and so tightening upward when you have plenty of light to piece of work with. That ensures that you nigh ever get pretty fabled shots. It also hits 60fps on 4K video recording while the P20 does merely 30fps, although they both offer super slow-motion recording at 960fps (720p).

Verdict: Samsung Galaxy S9

Functioning: No weaklings hither

You can't go wrong here either way. The Galaxy S9 packs in Samsung's newest Exynos 8910 flake in the UK and many other territories, or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 in united states of america – those are the ii newest, heavy-hitter Android chips, and they're incredibly fast. You'll have no bug running whatever kind of game, app, or media either way.

The Huawei P20, on the other paw, uses the same Kirin 970 chip from last year's Mate 10 Pro, merely it's still pretty contempo and super swift overall. Both of these take 4GB RAM onboard, and at that place's no big speed variance between them when it comes to mutual day-to-day usage. They're both powerhouses.

That said, the newer Exynos and Snapdragon fries turn out noticeably higher numbers in Geekbench benchmark testing, so it'southward worth noting that they accept a bit more than musculus inside. Never know when you'll need information technology for some heavy lifting down the line.

Verdict: Samsung Galaxy S9

Battery and perks: Central differences

Like the phone before it, the Galaxy S9's 3,000mAh battery pack tin get the chore done for the average user, typically lasting a full mean solar day with moderate usage – only we wish information technology could be pushed a chip harder before needing a top-up.

The P20's three,400mAh cell is not only larger, simply it'southward also powering a lower-resolution screen. And nonetheless nonetheless, we found it to be a solid all-day performer; it's non significantly better than the Galaxy S9. Likewise, the S9 offers the nice-to-have perk of wireless charging, which Huawei left out of the P20.

The Galaxy S9 ships with 64GB of internal storage, but offers a microSD slot for expandable storage. However, the Huawei P20 sadly kills the microSD back up this time effectually, nonetheless they give you lot 128GB storage to piece of work with. Your call on whether that's a fair merchandise-off.

Elsewhere, Samsung has the Gear VR headset, which is a fun bonus, while both of these handsets have a desktop PC-similar mode. You'll need the DeX Pad for the Milky way S9 to plug in an external monitor, while the Huawei P20 has a baked-in desktop mode – y'all'll just need the right cable to brand the connection.

And the P20 lacks a 3.5mm headphone port, which the Galaxy S9 still maintains. Add in microSD support, wireless charging, and Gear VR, and the Galaxy S9 brings a few nice perks to the table. You're paying for them, all the same.

Verdict: Samsung Galaxy S9

Verdict: We say S9

The Huawei P20 feels similar it'southward built to split the difference between the Galaxy S9 and the iPhone X, and while that's not the about ambitious or original arroyo, the results are more often than not great: this is a slick-looking, powerful handset that can merely nearly hang with the flagship elite.

On the other hand, while the Galaxy S9 is essentially only an enhanced Galaxy S8, at to the lowest degree information technology was Samsung's original design to commencement with. And it's still a hell of a blueprint at that, with the Galaxy S9 initially taking its predecessor'due south identify every bit the globe's must-take flagship.

The P20 Pro holds that spot at present, but the standard P20 doesn't impress quite every bit much – and honestly, it suffers by comparison. The camera setup doesn't have the aforementioned wow gene equally the P20 Pro, plus the LCD panel has less pop. It's a bigger difference than you might wait at a glance.

Compared to the Galaxy S9, these handsets aren't worlds apart – but Samsung has edges when information technology comes to the screen, photo quality, raw processing power, and perks.

Do all of those benefits warrant spending an extra £140, given the Galaxy S9's £739 tag vs. the P20 at £599? That'southward your telephone call to make. The P20 is very squeamish, but we think the Samsung Galaxy S9 is truly excellent all around.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S9