Huawei P40 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra: Which Should You Buy?

Luis Silva (May 2020 Updated: March 2021)

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Introduction

Once upon a time, there was a great battle.

That could be the beginning of a legendary tale, in which two kings fight against each other over each one's kingdoms.

That could also be the beginning of this story between Huawei's P40 Pro and Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra.

You're probably here because you definitely value picture quality in a smartphone's camera, but there's much more than that.

But I digress here. Let's start over from the beginning.

Samsung launched its Galaxy S20 Ultra in March of 2020, while Huawei's P40 Pro arrived at stores one month later.

We've run down the specs, design, price, and much more in this guide to help you choose between the P40 Pro and the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

If you have the time, click here to skip the spoilers and continue to the full comparison.

P40 Pro: Check prices on Amazon Galaxy S20 Ultra: Check prices on Amazon
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Even though both phones have similar prices, the P40 Pro should be more affordable. Although sometimes a promotion might appear and change that. That is something worth considering when comparing them.

While scrolling down, you'll see a "Tek-Score" for each phone in every section. We evaluated every quantifiable specification, so you can better understand the difference between the two. You'll find a global score at the end, which can help you compare to other phones if you're curious about other models aside from these two.  ? 

We've based our rate on a study from Globalwebindex.com about the most desired smartphone features by consumers.

For additional information regarding our smartphone comparisons, check this FAQ.

Some features have a colored bar next to them. That's so you can see how they compare with other smartphones with similar prices.  ? 

By clicking here:  i  you'll see which ones we've analyzed, but we've only included smartphones within a 40% price range.

Feel free to click any feature title to check out our corresponding eight top 10 listings for every spending plan.

Price*			vs.
Device	P40 Pro	Galaxy S20 Ultra
Release Date	2020, April	2020, March	0y.
OS Updates	2 years	3 years	1y.
Security Updates	2 years	4 years	2y.

*Reference: 100: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Performance

Inside the Galaxy S20 Ultra is the Exynos 990 SoC, while on the P40 Pro, there's the Hisilicon Kirin 990 chipset.

Now about the graphics chipset, while the former has a Mali-G77 MP11, the latter features a Mali-G76 MP16.

In terms of performance, Geekbench 5 scores the P40 Pro 18% ahead of its rival on the multi-core rankings. You should notice that it is a bit faster if you test them side by side.  ? 

One can entitle the P40 Pro as high-end and the Galaxy S20 Ultra as a lower high-end.

The P40 Pro carries out Android 10 and EMUI 10 OS, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra has Android 10 and OneUI.

PS: The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 (with the Adreno 650 GPU) and the Exynos 990 (with the Mali-G77) are market-dependent. Click here for more info.

Some users did install the Google Play Store on recent Huawei phones, but please be aware that officially you won't get Google apps, and some essential apps may be missing too on the P40 Pro.

There's a performance increase of about 15% on the 865 for the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Performance*			vs.
Features	P40 Pro	Galaxy S20 Ultra
SoC	Hisilicon Kirin 990	Exynos 990
Graphics	Mali-G76 MP16	Mali-G77 MP11
Geekbench 5 Score	3197	2698	-499
OS	Android 10 and EMUI 10	Android 10 and OneUI
Tek-Score	7.3	6.5	-0.8

*Reference: 100: Apple iPhone 12.

Display

The P40 Pro has a 6.5-inch AMOLED screen, which is considerably smaller than the Galaxy S20 Ultra's 6.9-inch AMOLED display. To each, it's own. Most people seem to prefer AMOLED for its saturated colors and higher contrast.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra benefits from a higher resolution, at 1440x3200 pixels, while the P40 Pro has 1200x2640 pixels.

Screens seem to get bigger each year, so I have to put this out: The Galaxy S20 Ultra has a Corning Gorilla Glass 6, but the P40 Pro doesn't seem to have any known display protection technology.

Good news for those who value an Always-On display: both phones have it.

If you're looking for the brightest display, the P40 Pro can do 605 nits, while the Galaxy S20 Ultra can do 289 nits above that.  ? 

Very few rivals share this maximum brightness. Usually, they stay in the ballpark of 770 nits, while the P40 Pro can only do 21% less.

Are you considering watching HDR content? The P40 Pro does HDR10, while its rival can display HDR10+ content.

If high refresh rates are the future, then the Galaxy S20 Ultra is the winner at 120hz, while the P40 Pro does 90hz.

It goes without saying, the P40 Pro is getting outperformed here.

Bearing in mind the P40 Pro, 95% of its rivals can play HDR content. Plus, all of them have an AMOLED screen, 90% have an Always-On display, and 81% have Gorilla Glass 6 or better.

Regarding the Galaxy S20 Ultra, all of its rivals can play HDR content and have an AMOLED screen, 87% have an Always-On display, and 80% of them have Gorilla Glass 6 or better.

Display Density (DPIs)*			vs.
Features	P40 Pro	Galaxy S20 Ultra
Size	6.5	6.9	0.4
Screen Type	AMOLED	AMOLED
Resolution (px)	1200x2640	1440x3200	1440000
Refresh Rate	90hz	120hz	30
Dots per Inch	446.14	508.56	62.42
Always-On-Display	Yes	Yes
Notch	Hole	Hole
Peak Brightness	605 nits	894 nits	289
HDR	HDR10	HDR10+
Sub Tek-Score	8.7	9.8	1.1
Protection	-	Corning Gorilla Glass 6
Tek-Score	3.1	8.3	5.2

*Reference: 100: Sony Xperia 1 II.

Cameras

Let's delve into their cameras. Together, a whopping 50 MP sensor, an aperture of f/1.9, a 23mm wide-angle lens, one flash LED, HDR capabilities, and Optical Image Stabilization makes up the P40 Pro camera set. Adding to that, you'll still get the ability to record videos at up to 2160p.

There's also one 12 MP camera with an aperture of f/3.4 and an astounding 125mm telephoto lens. And another one with 40 MP (f/1.8) with an 18mm ultra-wide-angle lens, plus a depth sensor.

Just so you know: You can take a 50 Megapixels photo, zoom in and crop, and get the same shot you'd get on a 12 Megapixels shooter with 2x optical zoom.

The P40 Pro and the P30 Pro share the same ability to do 50x hybrid zoom. It isn't an optical zoom, but (thanks to AI) it is much better than digital zoom.

The selfie camera is a generous 32 MP sensor with an f/2.2 aperture complemented with a 26 mm wide-angle lens.

DxOMark has rated this camera with a score of 137. If you add the telephoto and wide-angle lenses, that will go up to 153. You can check their review if you click here.

Last (but not least), all of its rivals can record videos in 4K or more, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization. However, only 5% of them feature a macro lens.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra features a whopping 108 MP (f/1.8) shooter and a 26mm wide-angle lens. You can also count on one flash LED, HDR abilities, and Optical Image Stabilization. It also records videos at up to 4320 pixels. And guess what? The Galaxy S20 Ultra has three more cameras: a 48 MP (with f/3.5 and an astounding 103mm telephoto lens), a second 12 MP (f/2.2) with a 13mm ultra-wide-angle lens, and a third 0.3 MP that works as a depth sensor. That'll be fun to see on a traditional DSLR!

For your information: If you zoom in and crop a 108 Megapixels photo, you can get 2x optical zoom. You'll get a 27 Megapixels photo.

Despite only having an optical zoom of 4x, thanks to its AI, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is also known for its impressive 100x hybrid Space Zoom. While better than a digital zoom, that's still far from a pure optical zoom.

The front-facing camera features a generous 40 MP shooter with an aperture of f/2.2 and a 26 mm wide-angle lens.

DxOMark's gurus gave this shooter a score of 128. By considering the telephoto and wide-angle lenses, we'll get to the final rate of 144 points. If you want to know more about every tidbit, check it here.

Lastly, just like the other device, all of its rivals can record videos in 4 or 8K, have an ultra-wide-angle lens, and feature Optical Image Stabilization. Moreover, none of them feature a macro lens.

You should note that the P40 Pro is in the neighborhood of 26% above other smartphones from its price range. That's why between these two, it should be your choice too.

One can place these two as high-end.

Picture Quality*			vs.
Primary Camera	P40 Pro	Galaxy S20 Ultra
Megapixels	50	108	58
Aperture	1.9	1.8	-0.1
Lens	23mm	26mm	3
Lens Type	Wide-Angle	Wide-Angle
Flash	1	1	0
HDR	Yes	Yes
OIS	Yes	Yes
Video	2160	4320	2160
Score	153	144	-9

*Reference: 100: Huawei Mate 40 Pro.

Extra Camera(s)	P40 Pro	Galaxy S20 Ultra	vs.
Megapixels	12	48	36
Aperture	3.4	3.5	0.1
Lens	125mm (5.4x zoom)	103mm (4x zoom)	-22
Lens Type	Telephoto lens	Telephoto lens
Megapixels	40	12	-28
Aperture	1.8	2.2	0.4
Lens	18mm	13mm	-5
Lens Type	Wide-Angle	Ultra-wide-Angle
Score	16	16	0

Selfie Camera	P40 Pro	Galaxy S20 Ultra	vs.
Megapixels	32	40	8
Aperture	2.2	2.2	0.0
Lens	26mm	26mm	0

	P40 Pro	Galaxy S20 Ultra	vs.
Tek-Score	9.0	8.5	-0.5

Body

The P40 Pro has a height of 158 mm (6.23 inches) and a width of 72 mm (2.84 inches). The Galaxy S20 Ultra is 8 mm taller and 4 mm larger (about 0.32 by 0.16 inches).

The former has about 9 mm (0.35 inches) of thickness, while the latter has 8 mm (0.32 inches).

All of that goodness is presented in a sleek glass body. The P40 Pro weighs 209 g. (7.37 oz), while its rival is 13 g. (0.51 oz) heavier. If you're looking for a lightweight device, the "weight to display size" rate of the P40 Pro is 3.1, which implies it's kind of weighty for a 6.5 inches display. In the meantime, the Galaxy S20 Ultra has 3.1, which suggests it's considerably hefty too.  ? 

You'll also get some color options here. The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra comes in Cosmic Grey and Cosmic Black. The Huawei P40 Pro, in its turn, comes in Silver Frost, Deep Sea Blue, Blush Gold, Ice White, and Black.

If you like having a big phone, you should consider the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Otherwise, the other one is the way to go.

What about a fingerprint scanner? They all have one.

The P40 Pro truly is water-resistant. It can be submerged 1 to 3 meters deep, much like the Galaxy S20 Ultra. It should be for less than 30 minutes, in standby mode, so no underwater photos.

Looks*			vs.
Body	P40 Pro	Galaxy S20 Ultra
Size	158 x 72 x 9 mm (5.57 x 2.54 x 0.32 in)	166 x 76 x 8 mm (5.86 x 2.68 x 0.28 in)	-1456
Weight	209 g. (7.37 oz)	222 g. (7.83 oz)	13
Build	Front and back glass	Front and back glass
Colors	Silver Frost, Deep Sea Blue, Blush Gold, Ice White, and Black	Cosmic Grey and Cosmic Black
Screen To Body Ratio	90.26%	91.11%	0.85
Disp.Size To Weight Score	3.1	3.1	0.0
Looks	10.0/10	9.1/10	-0.8
Waterproof	IP68	IP68
Biometrics	Under Display Fingerprint	Under Display Fingerprint
Tek-Score	6.9	6.4	-0.5

*100% = 4+ colors + front and back glass + S2BR: 86+%.

Battery

You can probably guess who's the winner here by looking at these numbers: 5000 mAh vs. 4200 mAh. But is that so? By charging them up and testing them out, that's what you can expect from the P40 Pro:  ? 

• From 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you should have 83% of the battery left for the rest of the day.
• For 1 hour of talking, 3 hours of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, you'll probably have 70% left for the rest of the day.
• After 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 3 hours of video playback, the phone will have 72% left for the rest of the day.

And these are the results for the Galaxy S20 Ultra:

• By talking for 1 hour, browsing the web for 1 hour, and playing videos for 1 hour, you'll still have 82% left.
• From 1 hour of talking, 3 hours of web browsing, and 1 hour of video playback, the battery charge will be about 65%.
• After 1 hour of talking, 1 hour of web browsing, and 3 hours of video playback, you'll be with 70%.

You shouldn't expect any real contrast here.

So, the Galaxy S20 Ultra doesn't have the best battery life out there. Samsung should've put a bigger battery and/or energy-efficient hardware on it. It got a rate of 2.3 for the "battery to device size" ratio.  ? 

The P40 Pro features quick-charging at up to 40w, but the Galaxy S20 Ultra does it too, at 45w.

It's good to know that both phones support wireless charging at up to 27w vs. 15w.

Both phones can also use reverse wireless charging to charge any Qi-enabled devices.

Quick charging is reasonably speedy with the Galaxy S20 Ultra's charger. Devices with similar prices rarely exceed 35 watts.

Fast wireless charging on the P40 Pro is likewise a nice plus. You won't find many phones as fast at about its price.

The Snapdragon 865 also has better battery efficiency (about 10% more screen-on-time) when you compare it to the Exynos 990.

Battery*			vs.
Features	P40 Pro	Galaxy S20 Ultra
Capacity (mAh)	4200	5000	800
1h Talk + 1h Web + 1h Video	83% left	82% left	-1
1h Talk + 3h Web + 1h Video	70% left	65% left	-5
1h Talk + 1h Web + 3h Video	72% left	70% left	-2
Bat. To Phone Size Score  ?	5.3	2.3	-3.0
Sub Tek-Score	7.5	7.2	-0.3
Fast Charging	40w	45w	5
Wireless Charging	27w	15w	-12
Reverse Charging	27w	9w	-18
Tek-Score	7.8	7.2	-0.6

*Reference: 90: Samsung Galaxy A31.

Storage

The P40 Pro features 128GB of internal storage and 8GB of RAM. There's nothing to worry about because there's always the Nano Memory card expandable storage solution.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra, in its turn, has 128GB of storage and 12GB of RAM. You can add a MicroSD card if you want.

Storage*			vs.
Features	P40 Pro	Galaxy S20 Ultra
RAM (GB)	8GB	12GB	4
Internal (GB)	128GB	128GB	0
Micro SD	Nano Memory (shared SIM slot)	microSDXC (shared SIM slot)
Tek-Score	7.5	7.5	0.0

*Internal Storage + 256GB Memory Card (Max: 512GB).

Connectivity

Surprisingly, there's a difference here: The P40 Pro features Bluetooth 5.1, but the Galaxy S20 Ultra has Bluetooth 5.0. You can find NFC on both of them.

Do you still favor wired headphones? None of them will help you with that. You can buy an adapter, but the wireless buds are your only option. You can also check other devices if you're not really leaning towards any of these. You'd have to pick a smartphone like the Sony Xperia 1 II.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra has two network variants: LTE or (LTE and) 5G.

Connectivity			vs.
Features	P40 Pro	Galaxy S20 Ultra
Network	5G	5G (also available in LTE)
Bluetooth	5.1	5.0
NFC	Yes	Yes
3.5mm jack	No	No
Tek-Score	5.1	4.6	-0.5

Price

The Huawei P40 Pro may not be the cheapest phone, but it's cheaper nonetheless. But with a great deal or a price drop, it can be an impressive finding. The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, in its turn, isn't that cheap, but I believe that it shouldn't come as a surprise at all. At least it may be easier to sell if you consider selling it afterward.

Let's see if it really worths it or not.

Here are the best prices that we've found:

I earn a small fee from qualifying purchases. It doesn't affect the price you pay nor my opinions, but it will mean a lot if you click on one of these buttons before purchasing your next phone (or whatever else you end up buying). You'll be helping to take this to the next level.

Prices on eBay are in $US but Europe-based. You can click to check the prices in your country.

Prices marked with ! are from renewed/refurbished/carrier-locked phones (except eBay prices that, as a last resort, can be from bids or used devices).

How much of a "phone" can your money buy?
That's how much "score" you can get with $100 based on the global score that you'll see in the next section (higher is better).

Have you found better prices elsewhere? The formula is simple: score/price*100.

Value for money	P40 Pro	Galaxy S20 Ultra	VS
Amazon	0.87	0.57	-0.30
eBay	0.89	-	-
Best Buy	-	-	-
Walmart	-	-	-

Also, don't forget to check the latest deals from these four stores, and the state of the art on mobile technology, if you don't want to overpay on your next smartphone.

Related articles:

Best smartphone deals

The Best Unbiased Smartphones For All Budgets

Smartphone Specs Statistics: The State Of The Art (Q1 2021)

Are you also considering other options? The global score can help. For reference purposes, I'll tell you where most of its rivals average. They're at 7.2 (for the P40 Pro) and 7.4 (for the Galaxy S20 Ultra).

Verdict: What Makes the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Stand Out?

Just like the P30 Pro at its time, the P40 Pro could've been one of the best overall smartphones around (despite lacking the 3.5mm audio jack), if Huawei opted for a Gorilla Glass 6 glass protection. Not only that, but they also don't publicly disclosure what (if any) kind of protection they went for, so it's fair to assume it has none, which is terrible for a full glass body at this price range.

That said, performance-wise, let's say that the S20 Ultra is too slow for its price and it's camera while being one of the best around, isn't as good as Huawei's.

When it comes to battery life, the P40 Pro is one of the best smartphones around, despite having only 4200mAh of capacity.

If you're going to spend over one thousand dollars on a new smartphone, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is the safest bet, despite not standing out anywhere else.

Pros	P40 Pro	Galaxy S20 Ultra
#1	Performance	Performance
#2	AMOLED	AMOLED
#3	Always-On-Display	Always-On-Display
#4	Cameras	Cameras
#5	Battery Life	Fast Charging
#6	Fast Charging	Wireless Charging
#7	Wireless Charging	MicroSD Slot
#8	MicroSD Slot	Glass Protection

Cons	P40 Pro	Galaxy S20 Ultra
#1	Weight	Weight
#2	3.5mm Jack	3.5mm Jack
#3	Price	Price
#4	Glass Protection

Relative Score*			vs.
Global Score	P40 Pro	Galaxy S20 Ultra
Gaming Score	7.0	7.8	0.8
Tek-Score	6.92	7.38	0.46

*Reference: 100: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

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