Huawei’s newly unveiled P40 series is undoubtedly one of the most impressive smartphone lineups of 2020. This year, the Chinese tech giant deviated from its original strategy to launch three flagship P series handsets. For the first time, Huawei unveiled a P series smartphone above the Pro versions.
The Huawei P40 Pro+ is more or less, a Huawei P40 Pro with some beefier camera specs and faster wireless charging. But Huawei isn’t the only smartphone maker touting an over-the-top flagship. Samsung has done it with the Galaxy S20 Ultra and Apple with the iPhone 11 Pro Max. So just how does the new P40 Pro+ stack up against these two ultra-premium smartphones. Well, stick around and let’s find out.
Huawei P40 Pro+ vs iPhone 11 Pro Max vs Galaxy S20 Ultra
| Specs | P40 Pro+ 5G | Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G | iPhone 11 Pro Max |
| Processor | Kirin 990 5G | Snapdragon 865 / Exynos 990 | A13 Bionic |
| Display | 6.58 OLED, 90Hz;(1200 x 2640 pixels) | 6.9-inch QHD+ AMOLED; 120Hz; (1440*3200 pixels) | 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR OLED, 60Hz; (2688*1242 pixels) |
| Storage | 256GB / 512GB | 128/256GB/512GB | 64GB/256GB/512GB |
| RAM | 8GB | 12GB/16GB | 4GB |
| Rear Camera | 50 MP, f/1.9 (PDAF, OIS) + Periscope 8 MP, f/4.4 ( PDAF, OIS, 10x Optical Zoom) + Ultrawide 40 MP, f/1.8 (PDAF) + Telephoto 8 MP, f/2.4 (PDAF, OIS, 3x Opitcal Zoom) + TOF 3D | 108 MP, f/1.8 (PDAF, OIS) + Ultrawide 12 MP, f/2.2 (Super Steady Video) + Periscope (Telephoto) 48 MP, f/3.6 (PDAF, OIS, 10x Hybrid Zoom )+ TOF 3D | 12MP, f/1.8 (PDAF, OIS)+ Ultrawide 12MP, f/2.4 + Telephoto 12MP, f/2.0 (PDAF, OIS, 2x Optical Zoom) |
| Front Camera | 32 MP, f/2.2 | 40 MP, f/2.2 | 12 MP, f/2.2 |
| Battery | 4200 mAh, 40W Fast Charging,40W Wireless Fast Charging, 27W ReverseWireless Charging | 5,000 mAh, 45W Fast Charging, 15W Wireless Charging, 9W Reverse Wireless Charging | 3969 mAh battery, 18W Fast Charging, Qi wireless charging |
| Software | Android 10.0 (AOSP + HMS); EMUI 10.1 | Android 10.0; One UI 2.0 | iOS 13, upgradable to iOS 13.3 |
While design is subjective, the P40 Pro+ and S20 Ultra 5G feature a more up-to-date design, particularly on the front. If you look at the iPhone 11 Pro Max from the front, it will be indistinguishable from an iPhone XS Max, which shows a complete lack of effort on the design front. If we had to pick one, it would be the P40 Pro+, but that’s just because we are suckers for that very classy looking screen curvature.
Display
All three phones have pretty impressive OLED displays. However, Apple and Samsung offer Quad HD resolution, while Huawei is stuck somewhere between Full HD and Quad HD. On the other hand, Huawei and Samsung adopt a higher refresh rate than the standard 60Hz on the iPhone 11 Pro Max. However, when it comes to ranking the three, it must be Samsung, Apple and Huawei. Apple’s screen is more vibrant and colour accurate, which is something we prefer over the P40 Pro+’s 90Hz display. And the screen on the Galaxy S20 Ultra is leaps ahead of its competitors.
Chipset
When it comes to raw performance, all three of these phones are pretty evenly matched. It’s worth noting though that the Exynos version of the Galaxy S20 Ultra lags behind in performance as compared to the Snapdragon version. Even for demanding users, performance is going to be a non-issue on these smartphones. But when it comes to chipsets, only Samsung and Huawei offer 5G connectivity, while you’ll have to settle for 4G on the iPhone 11 Pro Max. When you consider each of these devices will cost you upwards of a $1,000, 5G connectivity seems essential.
Software
There’s a huge difference in software between the three devices. While both Samsung and Huawei use the Android operating system, the latter doesn’t have access to Google’s Mobile Services. While Huawei’s Mobile Services have come along way with millions of subscribers and over a million developers, it isn’t ready to stand toe-to-toe with Google’s ecosystem just yet. So, this one will have to go to the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Yes, Apple doesn’t only offer a great ecosystem but also guaranteed timely updates for more extended periods.
Battery
In terms of battery capacity, the Galaxy S20 Ultra has a clear advantage. But battery capacity doesn’t necessarily translate to the best battery life. Huawei flagships offer some of the best battery life seem on smartphones. And, the iPhone 11 Pro Max is perhaps the biggest battery on an iPhone, while delivering the same impressive power management as Huawei. If it came down to battery life alone, it would be a close tie between the P40 Pro+ and the iPhone 11 Pro Max. However, charging also plays an integral part in the battery equation, and when it comes to overall charging (Wired, Wireless, and Reverse Wireless), the P40 Pro+ comes out ahead. To conclude, Huawei is going to give you fantastic battery life and equally amazing charging capability.
Camera
For optics, Huawei’s five cameras on the back, make it a clear winner on paper. The P40 Pro+ 50-megapixel primary camera is even bigger than the S20 Ultra’s 108-megapixel sensor. This allows the sensor to take in more light, making the P40 Pro+ an absolute beast in night photography and videography. However, if you have the right light, each one of these camera setups is impressive in their own ranks, despite its smaller camera sensor and lower megapixel count, Apple still offers some of the best videos and portrait shots. The Galaxy S20 Ultra, on the other hand, can maintain amazing detail in shots, while the P40 Pro+ offers the best consistency across the main and ultra-wide cameras. Front cameras on all three phones are pretty impressive. If we had to pick one winner here, it would have to be Huawei, simply because of its ability in extremely low-lighting scenarios. But in most other scenarios, none of these cameras will disappoint.
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