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The Huawei P30 Pro is the latest flagship to launch this year and will likely be one of the best sellers of the year, but how does it compare to the other best seller of the year, the Samsung Galaxy S10 series?
Chipset, RAM and Storage
One of the key differences is that Huawei use their own chipset with the P30 Pro features the latest Kirin 980. Whereas Samsung use two options, their own Exynos 9820 chipset in the UK and EU, or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855.
Which is best is up for debate, with the Kirin 980 vs SD855 there is probably not too much difference in performance.
However when comparing the Exynos 9820 vs SD855 things look less positive. There are also an alarming number of users saying the battery life isn’t that great. In reality, for the average user, it probably won’t matter, but I suspect the P30 Pro will have the edge over the UK version of the Samsung Galaxy S10 models.
Samsung has a 12GB model of the S10+, so if you demand the highest spec and are willing to pay for it, they have the edge here. The 12GB model also has 1TB of storage, and all the models can be upgraded via microSD. So if you need rediculous ammounts of storage for whatever reason the Samsung is a worthy choice.
You still get plenty with the P30 Pro, 128GB for the base, going all the way up to 512GB, and the option to upgrade with nanoSD.
All the phones start at 8GB/128GB which is what the vast majority of us are going to buy.
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Display
While I have not used the phones side by side, Samsung on paper is the clear winner here. They have 1440 x 3040 pixels with 19:9 ratio OLED panels with a tiny punch hole selfie camera.
The S10+ is 6.4-inches while the S10 is 6.1-inches.
The P30 Pro is hardly bad though it has a huge 6.47-inch display running at 1080 x 2340 pixels with a 19.5:9 ratio using OLED and a small water drop notch. When I used it I could not tell the difference in resolution between this and the higher resolution Mate 20 Pro.
Camera
It will be a while before we see direct comparisons of images, but it is a reasonably safe bet that the P30 Pro will be the winner by a significant margin here. This is what the phone is all about.
It has three main cameras plus a TOF sensor. 40MP for primary, 20MP ultra-wide and the new 5x periscope 8MP telephoto lens. Huawei claims that the phone can achieve an ISO of 409600 which should make this the best low light camera of any phone by a significant margin.
You won’t be dissapointed with the S20 though, it has a triple camera system of its own with 12MP variable focal length wide lens, 12MP telephoto, and 16MP ultra-wide.
Other Features
The P30 Pro has the largest battery of 4200mAh, but the S10+ isn’t far behind at 4100mAh and the smaller S10 with 3400mAh. unfortunately, some initial reports suggest the UK Exynos version of the S10 models has underwhelming battery life.
All phones feature wireless charging and reverse wireless. The Huawei has the more powerful fast charge of 40W vs 15W.
Samsung are the first company to introduce Wi Fi 6 into the market, and if you pair it up with a compatible router the Wi Fi performance should be considerably better.
Price
Initial reports suggest the Huawei P30 Pro will be arround £850, which if true will be in the middle ground of two Samsung models.
It is likely the P30 Pro will have a pre-order bonus, so if you want a phone soon and you are torn between the three options, the P30 Pro will be a no brainer just because of that. The Samsung pre-order bonus has not expired, but if you keep an eye out for contract deals you can probably get it a little cheaper.
For me, while the Samsung is undeniably a superb phone, the P30 Pro will almost certainly outperform it with its camera and battery, and these are the two most important features for me in a phone nowadays. So if it was my money I would go with the Huaweil P30 Pro. They are all great phones regardless of what yopu choose.
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Full specification comparison
| Phone | Huawei P30 Pro | Samsung Galaxy S10+ | Samsung Galaxy S10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2019, March | 2019, February | 2019, February |
| Dimensions | - | 157.6 x 74.1 x 7.8 mm (6.20 x 2.92 x 0.31 in) | 149.9 x 70.4 x 7.8 mm (5.90 x 2.77 x 0.31 in) |
| Weight | - | 175 g / 198 g (ceramic) (6.17 oz) | 157 g (5.54 oz) |
| Build | Front glass (Gorilla Glass 6), back glass (Gorilla Glass 5), aluminum frame | Back glass (Gorilla Glass 5), aluminum frame | |
| Front glass (Gorilla Glass 6), ceramic body | |||
| SIM | Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) | Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) | Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) |
| IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 2m for 30 mins) | Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) | Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) | |
| IP68 dust/water proof (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) | IP68 dust/water proof (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) | ||
| Type | OLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors | Dynamic AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors | Dynamic AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
| Size | 6.47 inches, 102.8 cm2 | 6.4 inches, 103.8 cm2 (~88.9% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.1 inches, 93.2 cm2 (~88.3% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~398 ppi density) | 1440 x 3040 pixels, 19:9 ratio (~522 ppi density) | 1440 x 3040 pixels, 19:9 ratio (~550 ppi density) |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 | |
| HDR10 | HDR10+ | HDR10+ | |
| Always-on display | Always-on display | ||
| OS | Android 9.0 (Pie); EMUI 9 | Android 9.0 (Pie); One UI | Android 9.0 (Pie); One UI |
| Chipset | HiSilicon Kirin 980 (7 nm) | Exynos 9820 Octa (8 nm) - EMEA | Exynos 9820 Octa (8 nm) - EMEA |
| Qualcomm SDM855 Snapdragon 855 (7 nm) - USA/LATAM, China | Qualcomm SDM855 Snapdragon 855 (7 nm) - USA/LATAM, China | ||
| CPU | Octa-core (2x2.6 GHz Cortex-A76 & 2x1.92 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55) | Octa-core (2x2.73 GHz Mongoose M4 & 2x2.31 GHz Cortex-A75 & 4x1.95 GHz Cortex-A55) - EMEA | Octa-core (2x2.73 GHz Mongoose M4 & 2x2.31 GHz Cortex-A75 & 4x1.95 GHz Cortex-A55) - EMEA |
| Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3x2.41 GHz Kryo 485 & 4x1.78 GHz Kryo 485) - USA/LATAM, China | Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3x2.41 GHz Kryo 485 & 4x1.78 GHz Kryo 485) - USA/LATAM, China | ||
| GPU | Mali-G76 MP10 | Mali-G76 MP12 - EMEA | Mali-G76 MP12 - EMEA |
| Adreno 640 - USA/LATAM, China | Adreno 640 - USA/LATAM, China | ||
| Card slot | NM (Nano Memory), up to 256GB (uses SIM 2) | microSD, up to 512 GB (uses SIM 2 slot) - dual SIM model only | microSD, up to 512 GB (uses SIM 2 slot) - dual SIM model only |
| Internal | 128/256/512 GB, 8 GB RAM | 1 TB, 12 GB RAM, 128/512 GB, 8 GB RAM | 128/512 GB, 8 GB RAM |
| Modules | 40 MP, f/1.6, (wide), 1/1.7", PDAF/Laser AF, OIS | 12 MP, f/1.5-2.4, 26mm (wide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS | 12 MP, f/1.5-2.4, 26mm (wide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS |
| 20 MP, f/2.2, 16mm (ultrawide), 1/2.7", PDAF/Laser AF | 12 MP, f/2.4, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.6", 1.0µm, AF, OIS, 2x optical zoom | 12 MP, f/2.4, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.6", 1.0µm, AF, OIS, 2x optical zoom | |
| Periscope 8 MP, f/3.4, 80mm (telephoto), 1/4", 5x optical zoom, OIS, PDAF/Laser AF | 16 MP, f/2.2, 12mm (ultrawide), 1.0µm | 16 MP, f/2.2, 12mm (ultrawide), 1.0µm | |
| TOF 3D camera | |||
| Features | Leica optics, dual-LED dual-tone flash, panorama, HDR | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama |
| Video | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 1080p@30fps (gyro-EIS), 720p@960fps | 2160p@60fps, 1080p@240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR, dual-video rec. | 2160p@60fps, 1080p@240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR, dual-video rec. |
| Modules | 32 MP, f/2.0, (wide) | 10 MP, f/1.9, 26mm (wide), 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF | 10 MP, f/1.9, 26mm (wide), 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF |
| 8 MP, f/2.2, 22mm (wide), 1.12µm, depth sensor | |||
| Features | HDR | Dual video call, Auto-HDR | Dual video call, Auto-HDR |
| Video | 1080p@30fps | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps |
| Loudspeaker | Yes | Yes, with stereo speakers | Yes, with stereo speakers |
| 3.5mm jack | No | Yes | Yes |
| 32-bit/384kHz audio | 32-bit/384kHz audio | 32-bit/384kHz audio | |
| Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic | Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic | Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic | |
| Dolby Atmos/AKG sound | Dolby Atmos/AKG sound | ||
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, aptX HD, LE | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX |
| GPS | Yes, with dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO |
| NFC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No | No |
| Radio | No | FM radio (USA & Canada only) | FM radio (USA & Canada only) |
| USB | Type-C 1.0 reversible connector | 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector | 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector |
| Sensors | Face ID, fingerprint (under display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, barometer, compass | Fingerprint (under display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, heart rate, SpO2 | Fingerprint (under display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, heart rate, SpO2 |
| ANT+ | ANT+ | ||
| Bixby natural language commands and dictation | Bixby natural language commands and dictation | ||
| Samsung DeX (desktop experience support) | Samsung DeX (desktop experience support) | ||
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 4200 mAh battery | Non-removable Li-Ion 4100 mAh battery | Non-removable Li-Ion 3400 mAh battery |
| Charging | Fast battery charging 40W | Fast battery charging 15W | Fast battery charging 15W |
| Fast wireless charging 15W | Fast wireless charging 15W | Fast wireless charging 15W | |
| Power bank/Reverse wireless charging | Power bank/Reverse wireless charging 9W | Power bank/Reverse wireless charging 9W | |
| Colors | Black, Ice White, Aurora Blue, Sunrise Red | Prism White, Prism Black, Prism Green, Prism Blue, Canary Yellow, Flamingo Pink, Ceramic Black, Ceramic White | Prism White, Prism Black, Prism Green, Prism Blue, Canary Yellow, Flamingo Pink |
| Price | About 850 | From £899 | From £799 |
I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.
As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.
In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.
I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.
