Huawei P30 Pro vs Galaxy S10 Plus: Which Android phone will be king?
Huawei hopes the P30 Pro's four cameras will topple the Galaxy S10 Plus.
It's no secret that Huawei wants its new P30 Pro to outsell the Galaxy S10 Plus, the first big phone of 2019 In January, Huawei's consumer business CEO Richard Yu said that the company plans to snatch Samsung's coveted title as the world's biggest smartphone brand by the end of 2020, or "this year at the earliest". This desire to replace Samsung as the No. 1 means the P30 Pro isn't just any flagship phone. It's a flagship phone with a mission.
Our job is to see how the Huawei P30 Pro compares to the Galaxy S10 Plus. Keep in mind that while the entire Galaxy S10 family has been tested and reviewed (including the S10 Plus and Galaxy S10E), we only had a short time with the P30 Pro, so we'll be left to guess. until we can really compare the two side by side.
Along with the P30 Pro, Huawei also introduced the Huawei P30, which is a bit smaller and has fewer frills. And now, let's put this comparison show on the road. (You'll see a full specification match at the end.)
Screen size and resolution
Mate 30 Pro: 6.47-inch OLED; 2340 × 1080 pixelsGalaxy S10 Plus: 6.4-inch OLED; 3040×1440 pixels
The screen sizes are quite similar, but it's worth pointing out that the resolutions are not. The P30 Pro has a lower resolution covering a bigger screen. This makes the pixel density on the Galaxy S10 Plus higher – 522 ppi versus 398 ppi. It would be shocking if it weren't for the fact that the S10 Plus uses a resolution of 2280×1080 pixels right out of the box. It only gets sharper if you edit it in frame, and the majority of people don't. If you're one of those who would, then Samsung has the advantage here, at least in theory.
In-screen fingerprint scanner: ultrasonic vs. optical
The P30 Pro and Galaxy S10 Plus have in-screen fingerprint readers to unlock the phone, but they use different technologies to let you in. Samsung is the first to adopt Qualcomm's ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, which uses sound waves to unlock the phone (see the video for an explanation).
Huawei, meanwhile, takes the more traditional approach with an optical fingerprint sensor, an approach that essentially takes a picture of your finger. Qualcomm says this method is slower and less secure, but I didn't have much luck accurately unlocking the S10 or S10 Plus on the first try. That said, other optical in-display fingerprint scanners have also been touch-enabled, so it's unclear whether the P30 Pro's technique is faster. Everything will become clear after days of using it dozens of times a day.
The headphone jack war: How many do you really want?
If using your wired headphones is important to you, then the P30 Pro is going to take your rating down a notch. Huawei blessed the regular P30 with the headphone jack, not the Pro variety, citing that the designers wanted to create more space for a bigger battery. In contrast, all three Galaxy S10s have the port. We'll see if next year's phones catch on or follow the trend of removing the jack.
Four rear cameras versus three
Last year's Huawei P20 Pro wowed with three rear cameras on the rear. What seemed extravagant and almost excessive a year ago is practically the norm in 2019. Samsung's Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus share three cameras on the back and two on the front. Huawei complements it with four, one of which is a 3D camera designed to enhance portrait photos.
Huawei P30 Pro:
40-megapixel “SuperSpectrum” lens
20 megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens
5x optical zoom 8 megapixel periscope lens
Time-of-Flight (TOF) sensor for measuring distance
Front camera: 32 megapixels
Galaxy S10 Plus:
12 megapixel wide-angle lens
16-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens p>
12 megapixel telephoto lens with 2x zoom
Front camera: 10 and 8 megapixels
Huawei's SuperSpectrum lens refers to its decision to swap RGB (red, green, blue) pixels for RYB (red, yellow, blue). Green filters make images darker, Huawei says, which is why it opted for a brighter yellow pixel. It's an interesting approach, and one we'll have to watch for effect across the spectrum of camera scenarios.
While Huawei claims a tighter zoom, try not to overwork the megapixel count. Remember that more is not always better, and the amount of light that effectively enters the lens and how the photos are processed have a big bearing on the image quality ultimately.
Counterattack dedicated camera night mode
Where Huawei takes over is with the night mode dedicated to its camera. We've used it on previous phones, including the Mate 20 and P20 devices. Although it takes about 5 seconds to process, the image you get even in a near-black bar is much clearer, brighter, and more detailed than what the Galaxy S10 Plus produces without a standalone Night Mode feature.
The lack of a dedicated night mode wouldn't stop me from buying the S10 Plus, but wanting those shots might push someone towards the P30 phones, or the unconfirmed Pixel 4 if they want to wait until October. . Google's Pixel3 and Pixel3XL also have a separate night mode called Night Sight, and the results are phenomenal.
Price and date of sale
The Huawei P30 Pro is on sale now, but you won't find it in the US, where Huawei is feeling political heat. That gives Samsung the edge there, where its three Galaxy S10 phones are selling well to carriers. However, the P30 Pro will be sold in other countries around the world.
The price of Huawei's P30 Pro is neck and neck with the Galaxy S10 Plus in the UK, where the two elite phones start at £899 for the 128GB version. In Australia, the Pro costs AU$100 more than the Galaxy S10 Plus (AU$1,599 vs. AU$1,499). If the P30 Pro were to sell in the US, the converted price would be almost $200 more than Samsung's phone.
In any case, the two are more or less comparable, with our early camera tests favoring Huawei's bottom end. -light photos and zoom.