Note 10+ and P30 Pro: Flagships at its best

With the launch of the Samsung Note10+ on August 8, it is the time again for the battle of the best Android phones between Huawei and Samsung’s flagship series.

Huawei P series and Samsung Note series remains one of the most liked flagship series, with the multiple award-wining Huawei P30 Pro remaining a strong competitor for the best premium flagship phones in the market. So which is the better flagship smartphone? And which smartphone offers the best features?

Quad Rear Camera

The camera has been an important battleground for smartphone trying to leave a mark in the market, and both P30 Pro and Note 10+ has a set-up of quad-camera, albeit with different specs. Huawei has leveraged on its collaboration with the legendary German camera brand Leica to produce 40+20+8MP cameras, as well as the TOF sensor to increase the depth-of-field effect. Samsung has caught up to Huawei as well with the newly added TOF with Note 10+, although the 12+12+16MP setup is arguably much lower than we would expect from a flagship phone.

It is slightly disappointing to see that Note 10+ has not been doing many innovative changes on its cameras, with the main sensor retaining the 12M as its predecessors. The new ToF sensor and night-mode camera feature almost seem dated when compared to the 50X zoom and super low-light feature of P30 Pro.

Selfie Camera

Things actually get tricky when there is only one camera involved. Admittedly, P30 Pro has a higher spec with its 32MP sensor against Note10+’s 10MP camera. But when it comes to our important selfie tool, we all know the hardware isn’t the only consideration like traditional photography. Guess we would have to get our hands on the phone to try out the selfie function. It is also a bit disconcerting that Samsung has changed from f1.9 to f2.2 for its front camera aperture. And if you are wondering, the smaller number is better when it comes to aperture.

Battery and Charging

On paper, this seems to be a no brainer. With a slightly bigger battery (Note 10+’s 4300mAh against P30 Pro’s 4200mAH) and a higher voltage fast-charge capability (45W against 40W Huawei SuperCharge), Note 10+ is clearly the better option, until you dig deeper. Note 10+ is a spiritual descendent of the explosive Note 7, and we do mean that literally.

The battery of Note 7 offers a powerful battery power that process to overheat and has caused a serious PR crisis for the brand, which is why Samsung has greatly reduced the power of Note 8 to 3,300 mAh from Note 7’s 3,500 mAh. That happened two years ago, and now Samsung has decided to attempt a 4,300 mAh battery with its latest flagship phones. Suffice to say, it is best to adopt a wait-and-see attitude to see if it ends well for Samsung and its users.

Meanwhile, Samsung 45W charger is an interesting improvement, but most users who bought the Note 10+ would have to fork out more if they do want to try out the fast charging feature, as Samsung is only offering the 25W charger alongside its phone. You would have to buy the 45W wired charger separately.

Design

Question: Does the Samsung Note 10+ look familiar to you? For comparison purposes, we can see that the design language is pretty similar. One would almost wonder if they are from the same brand if not for the word Samsung behind Note 10+. Steve Jobs once thought that imitation is the highest form of flattery, and Samsung clearly agrees with a similar color scheme and rear camera layout, not unlike the Huawei P series.

Both P30 Pro and Note 10+ are flagship phones with premium pricing to reflect just that. However, buyers of Huawei P30 Pro would benefit from the fact that the phone has been launched for a few months, and hence you could find better deals on the market. Note 10+ would surely give you a good feeling of holding a hot new product fresh out of the product research lab, that is until Huawei launches the Mate 30 and a whole new battle starts again.

Price

Both P30 Pro and Note 10+ are flagship phones with premium pricing to reflect just that. However, buyers of Huawei P30 Pro would benefit from the fact that the phone has been launched for a few months, and hence you could find better deals on the market. Note 10+ would surely give you a good feeling of holding a hot new product fresh out of the product research lab.

So what do you think? Samsung Note 10+ or Huawei P30 Pro?