Samsung and Huawei are once again slugging it out for the android smartphone crown, after releasing flagships that seem to have more similarities than differences.
Choosing between the Samsung S10+ and Huawei P30 Pro is far from easy, so I've looked at some of the most important features of a phone to help you decide.
Design
P30 Pro: Size is 158 mm x 73.4 mm x 8.41 mm (6.22 x 2.89 x 0.33 inches)
S10+: Size is 157.6 x 74.1 x 7.8 mm (6.20 x 2.91 x 0.30 inches)
If you're shelling out more than $1000 on a new phone you want it to look good, as well as work well. Both these devices are made out of metal and glass and both have curved sides. Both have minimal bezels and a notch, albeit the latter is in different places. The S10+ has a small hole punch to the right hand side of the display while the P30 Pro has a teardrop shaped one in the middle.
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Size-wise they're barely distinguishable. The S10+ is marginally thinner that the P30 Pro but they feel very similar in the hand.
The camera design on the back is different. Samsung's set-up is horizontal, Huawei's vertical.
Both can come in flashy colours that change slightly depending on what light you're looking at them in.
Winner: Draw
Display
P30 Pro: 6.47-inch OLED, 2,340 x 1,080 pixels (398 pixels per inch);
S10+: 6.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED, 3,040 × 1,440 pixels (526 pixels per inch)
Both are beautiful but the S10+ with its AMOLED screen and QHD+ resolution manages to pack in more pixels. It's worth noting though you have to change it in the settings to get the best display.
The P30 Pro with its 1080p AMOLED panel is very acceptable just not as as sharp. Samsung definitely wins here.
Winner: Samsung S10+
Battery and storage
P30 Pro: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB storage space options, 8GB RAM
S10+: 12GB, 128GB, 512GB, 1TB storage space options, 8GB, 12GB RAM
Both phones have fairly similar battery capacity with 4,100mAh in the S10+ and 4,200Amh in the P30 Pro. Both also offer reverse wireless charging so you can pop other phones and gadgets on the back for a bit of a boost.
In testing both lasted into day two with light use but the Huawei P30 Pro slightly outdid the S10+. It's worth noting that it charges more quickly too.
Winner: Huawei P30 Pro for battery, Samsung S10+ for storage
Software
Both run the latest Android 9.0 Pie and use customised manfacturer skins. Samsung's One UI is a lot easier to use, and a lot less cluttered than Huawei's EMUI with simplified software and settings thate are easy to find. Huawei's phone needs work to set it up the way you like.
Winner: Samsung S10+
Camera
P30 Pro: Quad lens 40-megapixel lens (OIS), 20-megapixel ultra wide-angle lens, 8-megapixel 5x optical periscope zoom (OIS), and Time-of-Flight camera rear, 32-megapixel lens front
S10+: Triple lens 16-megapixel ultra wide-angle, 12MP variable aperture, and 12MP telephoto rear, 10MP, and 8MP front dual lens
The S10+ has a triple rear camera set-up but Huawei was determined to go one better.
The P30 Pro has four rear cameras. To most intents and purposes, both phones take stunning photos but Huawei pips Samsung on its zoom capabilities. It can manage 5x optical zoom. 10x hybrid zoom and 50x digital zoom and photos still retain plenty of detail. I find night mode awesome for those low light photos.
Winner: Huawei P30 Pro
Performance
This is not something I was easily able to test so I'm not going to pick a winner for this one but most online benchmarks put the S10+'s Snapdragon 855 slightly ahead of the Kirin 980 for graphics and AI.
Price
The S10+ RRP is $1,699 and the P30 Pro $1,499. The price difference is unlikely to be a deal breaker.
Verdict
With such high specs for both flagships it's difficult to pick an outright winner.
Most people I showed the phones to preferred Samsung as a brand name and liked the look of the S10+ slightly more. Its screen is stunning and it's easy to use.
However, if the camera is the most important part of a phone for you, you'd be wise to pick the Huawei P30 Pro.
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