Huawei P20 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S9+: Who is the better photographer?

Three years ago, Samsung and iPhone were the noisiest smartphone manufacturers in leading the flagship and photography industry. But smartphone manufacturer Huawei entered the battle with their P series with their dual-camera approach with the Huawei P9 partnered with Leica.

Impressions changed as it delivered a new level of photography. We tested it before and got great results for the P9 which you can see here.

Fast forward today, Huawei takes another leap in the industry with its Triple Camera setup. Focusing on AI and powerful camera optics, it takes on the solution of the Samsung Galaxy S9+ with a dual-aperture camera.

With these two smartphones taking a bite of the best smartphone camera, the iPhone X is just also in the corner but we opted to compare the P20 Pro with the Galaxy S9+ due to its more innovative approach to photography. Here are 10 photo comparisons between the Galaxy S9+ and the Huawei P20 Pro.

Sample 1

For daylight, the Samsung produced a softer photo but showed the sky better. Though with the P20 Pro, the details of the rain were caught more like the sidewalk being wet is properly captured while the tree and walls have more details.

Winner: Huawei P20 Pro

Sample 2

Samsung produced a more saturated color photo on this gloomy day. This time the sky wasn’t captured properly as compared to the P20 Pro where you can see more details in the cloud. Overall the Samsung S9 captured photos warmer as compared to the P20 with a cooler temperature, overall we favor here the P20 Pro as it can tell the actual story more.

Winner: Huawei P20 Pro

Sample 3

The Galaxy S9+ was able to get a clean white color here and better in color saturation as it is punchier. While the P20 Pro is a bit darker and warmer in overall photo. Details and sharpness too far to each other, it will be more of preference but for this one, the Galaxy S9+ wins due to the better color.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S9+

Sample 4

The night shot of San Juan’s Hollywood-like signage shows the superior capability of the Huawei P20 Pro as compared to the Samsung Galaxy S9+. Though the overall exposure is darker with the Huawei P20 Pro, it didn’t overexpose the lights from the building and the San Juan signage. Overall, the P20 Pro took more details especially in the sky, buildings, road and MMDA barricades.

Winner: Huawei P20 Pro

Sample 5

For this one, the wall decoration of Tittos restaurant is a bit 50/50. Colors are livelier with the Galaxy S9+ while details are sharper with the P20 Pro. Though the exposure in the P20 is a bit high, it’s not enough to overpower the photo and overall we call this a tie.

Winner: Tie

Sample 6

Here is an x5 zoom photo for both smartphones. Overall details are better with the P20 Pro but with colors more punchier with the Galaxy S9+. But due to the blurry details on the Galaxy S9+, we recommend more to the P20 Pro as it can be easily edited afterward via snapseed.

Winner: Huawei P20 Pro

Sample 7

Here is a bulb light is taken in close up. It’s clear that the P20 Pro was able to take more details especially in the light bulb glass and its internal components. As compared to the two photos, the one with the P20 Pro is also more accurate in color without the glare seen in the Galaxy S9+

Winner: Huawei P20 Pro

Sample 8

Here is a night shot was taken, the P20 Pro was able to turn night into day with its night capabilities. Unfortunately, the Galaxy S9+ was not able to take a proper photo as it was distracted by the bright wall lights and was unable to even out the proper brightness.

Winner: Huawei P20 Pro

Sample 9

At the same location but different angle, the Galaxy S9+ redeems itself with better quality as compared to before. Still, the P20 Pro was able to come forward with better light capture as seen on the walls not being overexposed. Sharpness is also better and richer in color.

Winner: Huawei P20 Pro

Sample 10

How about a drink? In a bar being dark the Galaxy S9+ and P20 Pro are great smartphones to capture such details. But the P20 Pro was able to come on top with its better details and colors, even the bottles below are captured more. Clearly, it’s more shareable in social media.

Winner: Huawei P20 Pro

Final Scores

Huawei P20 Pro – 8pts
Samsung Galaxy S9+ – 2pts

In conclusion, the AI-assisted Huawei P20 Pro helped the smartphone to come on top. There is just something with the P20 Pro that can capture more details as compared to the Galaxy S9+, especially in dark / indoor situations. Overall, the P20 Pro is definitely a smartphone to challenge for its amazing smartphone capabilities and it’s all fun to use as the AI camera is technically doing all adjustments.

We also did a focus on the 10x Zoom capability of the Huawei P20 Pro. You can see more samples here.