Huawei P40 Pro Plus and Note 20 Ultra which one is the king?

It's another August and it's time for a new Galaxy Note series… It has become a tradition in the world of technology and, as always, we met the new Samsung Galaxy Note phone, more precisely the phones, at the beginning of August. This year, as last year, two new members were introduced under the Note series. These models, which have different screen sizes, attract attention with their larger screens and sizes compared to their predecessors. We have Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, the top class member of the series. With its 6.9 inch ultra-high resolution screen, the S Pen capacitive stylus that works faster and gains new capabilities, and its three rear cameras, this phone is aimed at users who want high performance in both business and private life.

On the other hand, The P40 Pro + smartphone is the third in the 2020 P edition range, but also Huawei's third 5G smartphone this year. This is the most efficient model of the Chinese firm, which deploys all its know-how in mobile photography. A smartphone is designed in the hope of being essential, even though Google services are absent.

Offered at a price of 1,767USD Huawei's smartphone competes in the ultra-premium smartphone category, like the Sony Xperia 1 Mark 2 and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. The Huawei P40 Pro + is also a serious competitor to the Samsung. In this article, we will make a comparison between the Note 20 Ultra and P40 Pro Plus to see which one the king is.

Design &Display.

Galaxy Note series is known for having products with a sharper angular design than the S series. With the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, this tradition is not broken. When viewed from the front, Note 20 Ultra looks no different from its predecessor Note 10 Plus. Of course, when you put the two devices side by side, there is a slight difference in size in favor of the new phone. On the thickness side, the Note 20 Ultra makes a difference of 8.1 millimeters by about 0.2 millimeters. On the weight side, it looks ahead by 208 grams and 12 grams. Despite the increase in dimensions and weight, it is not difficult to hold the Note 20 Ultra with one hand and use it.

This is due to the slightly rough surface of the back. Do not immediately think of this roughness of a negative use. The back of the Note 20 Ultra looks really stylish with its frosted glass-like surface. Even the fairly large, protruding camera module, located in the upper left corner, is designed to be pleasing to the eye. The S20 Ultra also has such a large and protruding camera module. However, with the Note 20 Ultra, the design of this module has been made more pleasant. However, as we said, this module, which protrudes quite a lot, causes the Note 20 Ultra to move in place when you put the Note 20 Ultra on the table and want to write or draw with the S Pen, especially when you apply pressure to the upper left corner of the phone. This may disturb you a little while doing business.

Samsung has used solid Gorilla Glass glasses, more precisely new generation Victus glasses, in this phone. The edges are completely covered with a stainless steel frame. It is a very stylish looking device and it really gives you the feeling that you are using a high-end phone for the money given for it.

One of the important design changes made this year is the relocation of the S Pen socket. The S Pen slot, which has been positioned on the right side at the bottom edge for years, has been moved to the left with the Note 20 series. The old layout was very practical for right-handers, it was possible to remove the S Pen from its socket without turning the phone by hand. It does not take much to get used to the new place, but it is necessary to turn the phone to the side and try to access the S Pen socket. Apart from this, there is no problem in removing and using the pen from its holder.

The handset and the second speaker are placed in a very small area at the top of this screen and appear vaguely. Despite its thin and long structure, there is no problem in sound output both in phone calls and when listening to something. At the top edge is the second microphone and nano-SIM / microSD card tray. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G version we have is dual-line supported, but you have to stop using a microSD card to install the second SIM card. Considering that the 256 GB capacity of the phone is sufficient, this will not cause much trouble.

On last year's Note 10 series models, the volume and power keys were on the left side. In the S20 series released at the beginning of this year, we saw that these keys were moved to the right. Samsung is now implementing this change in the Note 20 series. It is good to move these keys to the right. When holding it with the right or left hand, it is easier to use the volume keys on the right and the side key, and your fingers make less effort to access the keys. The protrusion of the keys is sufficient, not too soft. There is no problem with usage.

On the flip side, Huawei P40 Pro Plus comes with a glass front. Huawei swaps glass and aluminum for ceramic, both for the back and for the frame. In addition to giving a very nice look to the mobile, it offers much better protection against scratches. The P40 Pro Plus has an IP68 water and dust resistance.

Also, the smartphone has the same dimensions as the P40 Pro. The format is the same, only the weight changes. We, therefore, end up with a 226 g mobile (the same weight as the iPhone 11 Pro Max). A gain that we surely owe to the material used as well as to the presence of an additional photo module.

The right edge accommodates the traditional volume control buttons as well as the ignition. On the lower one are placed the USB-C port as well as a speaker. The other slices are blank.

As far as display is concerned, Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra comes with a 6.9 Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen. The bezel surrounding the screen is quite thin. The Note 20 Ultra's screen curves sideways on both long sides. Unlike the flat screen which the Note 20 model has. The amount of curvature is not large, but when trying to use the phone with one hand, it may be possible to touch the edges and enter unwanted commands. It would be appropriate for Samsung to fine-tune the sensitivity on the edges of the screen a little more with the software update. There's a camera hole centered at the top of the screen, a Samsung classic. It occupies 91.7% of the front of the device. Samsung Galaxy M31 has a 1440 x 3088 resolution with 496 PPI.

The screen has a high brightness and offers comfortable use even in bright sunlight. If you want to take videos or photos outside or look for directions to your destination, the screen will not be a problem in terms of vision. The black color depth of the screen is high, which helps the colors look more vivid and eye-catching. The viewing angles are also high, even when looking at the screen from the side, there is not much change in color and brightness. It is possible to adjust the color temperature and white balance of the screen according to your wishes.

There's a camera hole centered at the top of the screen, a Samsung classic. This hole has been kept as small as possible. It does not cause visual disturbances when watching something or playing games in full screen. on the rear, there is a triple-camera block lined up vertically.

HDR10 + support is one of the striking features. In this way, you can see the difference between a wider range of colors and capture the details better while watching videos, movies, and series supported by multimedia services such as YouTube and Netflix. Apart from that, the 120Hz refresh rate is also one of the main screen features. However, just like the Galaxy S20 series, this support is offered in Full HD + resolution in the Note 20 series. Moreover, Samsung determines the refresh rate at this resolution to be adaptable to the content. In other words, instead of a continuous 120Hz refresh rate, it is increased to 120Hz if necessary in videos or games. Or you can see that the transitions are smoother when navigating the user interface when you select the Adaptive mode. If you want to use WQHD + at maximum resolution then you should settle for a standard 60 Hz refresh rate. Here the choice is up to you, but our preference was for the highest resolution overall. Of course, this will also have a slightly negative impact on battery life.

On the audio side, we see that the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra continues the line of previous flagship Samsung phones. The two speakers placed on the lower edge and just above the screen provide a sound output very close to the stereo level. The loudness of the sound is high and the environmental impact is good. You can watch YouTube videos or Netflix content without the need for an external speaker. Also, if you want to listen to songs from Spotify or other music services with your friends, the Note 20 Ultra's speakers alone will be sufficient.

Of course, the most important feature that distinguishes Galaxy Note series phones from others is the S Pen. As we mentioned above, the slot for the stylus has been moved from right to left. However, old features are preserved as they are, even new ones have been brought over. The S Pen, which previously provided the use of photos, managing the camera interface, remote control in applications such as YouTube, now offers special gestures for tasks such as back, main screen, multitasking, and screenshot taking in the user interface. It takes a while to learn these gestures, and there is little reason for them to be used after the phone is not standing away on a table. Still, Samsung has implemented this control job well. When you make an S Pen gesture, the S Pen sign that appears on the screen shows you whether you are doing the movement correctly. When you click this S Pen sign, you access the Contactless Command screen and you can access all the functions you can perform with the S Pen from here. There is also the Closed Screen Note feature that allows you to remove the pen and write or draw on the screen when the screen is off.

The Samsung Notes application is the area where the drawings you make or the notes you take with the S Pen are stored. Samsung now allows these to sync with Microsoft's services such as One Note, To-Do, One Drive. Also, if you own another Samsung device, your notes are synced with the Samsung Notes contents there. In other words, you can see a note you have saved in Note 20 Ultra in the Samsung Notes application in Tab S7 and you can make edits there.

The Samsung Notes app works well for searching notes you take manually. Now, for those who cannot take notes straight on a blank page, it offers an automatic correction feature that allows keeping notes that look smoother. For the notes, you keep diagonally, just select the smoothing option from the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. There is also a useful feature for those who both record and take notes in situations such as meetings or interviews. Moreover, when you click on any note on the screen while listening to the audio recording later, the audio recording skips the place where you took that note. We think that this feature will be very useful for those who do interviews.

Contrastingly, Huawei P40 Pro Plus comes with a 6.80 OLED display. It occupies 91.6% of the front of the device. The P40 Pro Plus has a 1200 x 2640 resolution with 441 PPi. The device also supports HDR10. It also has support for the 90Hz refresh rate

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Operating System and Processor

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra comes with two choices: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus ( USA) and Exynos 990 ( Global) processor. Both processors are built using 7nm Plus for better performance.

Meanwhile, Huawei P40 Pro Plus is powered by Kirin 990 5G. This powerful processor is built using a 7nm process for extreme power efficiency and it also has a neural engine on board for AI-related tasks.

As for the GPU, the USA version comes with Adreno 650. While the global one has the Maili G72 MP11 as the GPU.

In the Geekbench test, we see that this phone achieves roughly the same results as the S20 Ultra. the Note 20 Ultra scored 951 for single-core and 2801 for multicores. While the P40 Pro Plus scored 877 for single-core and 2712 for multicores.

Galaxy Note 20 Ultra offers the high performance we expect from a flagship phone. The phone boots up in a short time, transitions in the user interface are smooth and fast, applications and games are launched without waiting. Note 20 Ultra will allow you to work comfortably for tasks such as photo editing and video making. We can say that the phone does not bother about heating, based on a week we experienced. It also offers the performance expected from a flagship phone in terms of gaming.

According to the operating system, Samsung Note 20 Ultra runs on Android 10 with Samsung's famous UI, One UI 2.5 user interface. It is not clearly seen what kind of differences are there according to the user interface we see in the S20 series. However, Samsung offers Note 20 users some remarkable innovations on the productivity side.

One of them is wireless DeX. DeX, which started out a few years ago as an accessory that allows the Galaxy Note series phone to be used as a desktop computer, has now become a software solution. By connecting the Note 20 Ultra to your PC or Mac computer, you can access the phone's user interface as a desktop computer, and use the internet browser, Office applications, and various supported applications in full screen. Moving content between devices is also made easier with the drag-and-drop method. This part of the business is not new anymore, the new part is that DeX can now be used without cables. Wireless DeX works particularly well in connection with TVs, allowing the connection to be set up wirelessly and the Note 20 Ultra's interface to be projected onto the TV in a practical, desktop view. By connecting an existing Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to the phone, you can get a small and useful computer in your living room.

Connectivity with Windows is also being developed further with the Note 20 Ultra. In fact, Microsoft and Samsung are introducing these innovations to other Samsung Galaxy phones, but their introduction was made with the Note 20 series. After you open the Connect to Windows option in the Quick Settings menu of Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, you can project the notifications and messages on the computer screen by making the necessary settings from the Your Phone application on your PC and giving the necessary permissions on the phone. Moreover, you can now open applications that are installed and supported on the Note 20 Ultra on the computer screen, in small windows. This works in a kind of screen mirroring way, while the phone interface used to be mirrored, now things have been made more practical by mirroring only in the form of an application interface. Samsung and Microsoft will also offer the opportunity to open multiple application windows at the same time in the coming months. In the meantime, you can make phone calls with your phone via PC. In short, thanks to this application, it is possible to use your phone on a computer without touching your Note 20 Ultra.

Apart from such notable points on the software side, we see various Samsung, Google and Microsoft applications are installed. On the Samsung Daily panel on the far left of the main screen, there is a stream that includes recommended content from multimedia services such as Spotify and Netflix. You can also use Google's Duo service for video calls. Duo connection is integrated directly into the user interface. In the quick settings panel, DeX, SmartView, Always-on Display, etc. There are controls specific to the Note 20 Ultra that allow you to quickly turn on and off various functions.

Samsung has equipped the Note 20 Ultra with special Apps for more privacy. At the beginning of these are Samsung's security services called Knox. Secure Folder is one of those offered by Knox and allows you to store your files, photos, videos in a secure folder for fingerprint access. Knox also helps you store the usernames and passwords you enter on websites. While using the Note 20 Ultra, we recommend that you sign in with a Google Account as well as create a Samsung account or sign in with this account, if available. In this case, you will be able to use some of the services offered by Samsung more easily.

Instead, the Huawei Pro+ runs also on Android 10 with Huawei well-known EMUI 10.1 interface. This has some new features. Most notable is the arrival of a new intelligent personal assistant: Celia. When it works, this tool shows great responsiveness.

Note the existence of Huawei Share which allows file sharing between Huawei smartphones without mobile data. This same function also allows you to access your phone's files from any PC or Mac connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

Overall, the navigation is rather smooth and offers several customizations, including the ability to switch to dark mode, configure navigation by gestures or activate or not the application drawer. A sidebar of configurable shortcuts allow you to display the window of one app on top of another.

Storage, Price, and, Available Colors

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and OnePlus 8 Pro price depends on the selected variant. the basic variant of Samsung Note 20 Ultra with 12GB RAM and 128GB variant, we have no guess how much it might cost. The variant with 12GB RAM and 256GB variant, and 12GB RAM and 512GB. It has an SD card of up to 512GB. While it goes with 2 SIM cards, one is physical and the other is eSIM. It is available in Ocean Blue, Space Black, and Red colors.

Meanwhile, the basic variant of Huawei P40 Pro Plus with 8GB RAM and 256 variants, we have no idea how much it may cost. The variant with 8GB RAM and 512GB variant, it will cost 1,379.99USD on Amazon. It has an SD card of up to 512. While it goes with 2 SIM cards, one is physical and the other is eSIM. It is available in White Ceramic and Black Ceramic colors.

Security and Ports

On the security side, we see that the in-screen fingerprint reader is the leading role. With every Samsung phone, this unit is getting better performance. In Note 20 Ultra, this unit works very fast and with high accuracy. By the way, you have to press your finger lightly on the screen for it to work well, let's not go without specifying this. This has been our primary authentication method throughout our entire time using an Android phone. There is also facial recognition, but the security level is lower. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra also supports the classical unlocking methods such as pattern and passcode.

In contrast, The P40 Pro Plus comes with a fingerprint sensor is placed under the display. The latter is also very fast and works as well - or even better - than the one on the P30 Pro (which was already excellent). It doesn't support 3D face recognition for unlocking the device. The P40 Pro Plus also supports the classical unlocking methods such as pattern and passcode.

As of ports, the Note 20 Ultra supports Bluetooth 5 and NFC. It also supports VoLTE and WiFi Calling. It comes with USB-C. It has now become the rule in high-end Samsung phones; There is no 3.5mm headphone jack. You have to handle it with the USB-C connector AKG headphones out of the box or with the 3.5mm to USB-C adapters that you can buy from the market. Or, you may want to consider purchasing a wireless headset. The USB-C port is used for charging and computer connection as well as audio output. It has a speaker to the left and a microphone to the right.

Or rather, the Pro Plus phone supports Bluetooth 5 and NFC. It supports VoLTE and WiFi Calling. The device comes with a USB-C port, which helps in quick charging. The device has no 3.5mm headphone jack, like many of today's flagships which choose to say goodbye to such technology.

Battery and Charging

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra comprises a powerful Li-Ion battery with a capacity of 4500mAh. At this point, there is a small increase compared to last year's Note 10 Plus model. While Huawei P40 Pro Plus provides quite powerful Li-Polymer 4200mAh battery. Both phones also offer fast charging.

Considering the strengthened processor and increasing screen features, it offers a battery performance that can easily take a day off in normal intensity use. The battery of the phone, which we take from the battery fully in the morning and use it frequently in a normal smartphone, usually decreases to 30 percent towards the evening hours. If you turn on the battery saver mode and control the usage a little more, it may be possible to achieve an operating life of up to two days on a single charge.

With the 25W charger adapter included in the box, it is possible to charge the phone's battery up to 50 percent in half an hour. The battery reaches full charge in one to one and a half hours. Wireless charging support is also available and it is possible to achieve a faster wireless charging performance than normal with a supporting accessory. Wireless PowerShare, ie reverse wireless charging, is also available. Especially if you buy an accessory such as Galaxy Buds Live or Galaxy Watch 3 with the Note 20 Ultra, you have the opportunity to wirelessly charge these devices with the Note 20 Ultra. The availability of wireless charging increases practicality rather than shortening the charging times, which has become one of the indispensable features in a flagship phone.

On the other side of the coin, On the recharging side, we find fast charging at 40 W thanks to a dedicated power supply unit. Wireless charging goes from 27W to 40W as long as you have a compatible dock. Finally, reverse wireless charging remains at 27W, still one of the fastest on the market.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has a Triple-camera on the rear as clarified: 12Mp ( utrawide with f\2.2),108MP( wide with f\1.8 it has OIS and Laser AF), and12MP( macro with f\3.0). Next to this trio, lined up vertically, there is a laser autofocus sensor and LED flash. The Note 20 Ultra has a single front-facing camera 10MP with f\2.0.

On the contrast, Huawei P40 Pro Plus has a Penta-camera on the rear as clarified: 40Mp ( utrawide with f\2.2),50MP( wide with f\1.9 it has OIS and Laser AF), 8MP( telephoto with f\2.4), and 8MP( periscope telephoto with f\4.4) ToF 3D( depth sensor). The Pro Plus has a 32MP wide front-facing camera with f\2.2and RI ToF 3D depth sensor.

By day, the results are excellent, but not yet perfect. The sharpness is present, the exposure is correct and the colors are well represented. However, light image processing smooths the image and strengthens contrast.

Whereas, In broad daylight, Huawei's smartphone offers excellent shots. The image is detailed and the software processing hardly intervenes to smooth the scene. The colors are however a bit accentuated compared to what we see in the S20 Ultra. It's up to everyone to know the rendering they prefer for their photos.

At night, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra also delivers very good results. The whole is perfectly readable and detailed. Still, the image processing slightly smooths the image.

Reversing it, the the P40 Pro + goes higher in sensitivity than its opponent (ISO 1600). In fact, the image is better exposed but loses a little in precision. The S20 Ultra is satisfied with ISO 400 to preserve the details of the scene as much as possible.

Finally, the main module of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra does have a night mode. This one is rather discreet. The greatly extended exposure time allows Samsung to reduce image processing, for a slightly more realistic rendering.

The ultra-wide-angle module of this Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is good without shining. By day, the pictures are readable but overexposed and slightly blurry.

On the flip side, this P40 Pro Plus succeeds where the vast majority of phones fail. Although overexposed, the shot offers many details, so much so that we could compare it with some standard modules of other mobiles. We just regret a loss of quality at the lower-left corner, but nothing too bad.

At night, the image processing smooths the whole and drowns out the colors at the same time as the sharpness. We are a long way from the excellent performance of the Huawei P40 Pro Plus.

On different choices, Huawei's flagship once again offers a rather impressive result. If the software processing smooths the image a lot and makes most of the details disappear, the objects that make up the scene are perfectly visible.

By day, the 5x telephoto module of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is relevant. It offers a readable, detailed, and convincing rendering. The image processing is there, but the whole remains convincing, especially for such a module.

Reversing it, the the Huawei P40 Pro Plus only allows an x3 zoom, while that of the Galaxy S20 Ultra can go up to x4. However, the result is rather convincing and the P40 Pro + module offers a very good result. The shot is correctly exposed, the details are present, and if there is any smoothing, it is imperceptible.

At night, however, this module collapses. Electronic noise is increased, while readability is reduced. Little chance of having a photo usable in these conditions.

That said, as, on all smartphones, it remains unusable. Compared to the S20 Ultra, we see better exposure as well as no digital noise. However, the smoothing is far too strong to be exploitable.

The x10 periscope zoom of our P40 Pro + offers a fairly impressive accuracy. The scene is clear, correctly exposed, and teeming with detail. The colors certainly stand out a little too much, but this does not spoil the general appearance of the shot. Otherwise, it must be recognized that Huawei engineers have been able to provide amazing work on this module. Especially since it has a focal length of 240 mm, which is long and which, in normal times, does not rhyme with a good result.

At night, the image of the P40 Pro + comes out completely black. The objects that make up our scene are perceptible, but the cliché cannot be used.

At the front, Samsung has integrated a module equipped with a 10 Mpx sensor and a lens opening at f / 2.2 to act as a selfie machine. It turns out to be very well made. The sharpness is there, the management of the backlight is suitable and the whole is satisfactory.

Contrastingly, the photos of the P40 Pro Plus are of excellent quality, very detailed and do not come up against the brightness.

The portrait mode, whether done with the front or rear module, remains excellent. Even the curly hair is properly cut, and it looks quite nice.

Or rather, Huawei Pro's portrait mode is convincing. The clipping is very precise and the subjects stand out very well against the background. A feat that we owe in part to the ToF sensor.

Finally, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra can shoot in 8K. A performance that he manages to achieve without too many problems, apart from the appearance of grain in the image.

While the P40 Pro + can shoot videos up to 4K at 60 frames per second. If it doesn't have an optical stabilizer (only electronic), the images are very stable, even if your handshakes a little too much.

Conclusion.

Although the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra does not look much different from its predecessor in appearance, it shows that Samsung continues to progress with the features and possibilities it offers. The design of the phone has gained a more attractive appearance with higher quality materials and new colors, even by adhering to the basics. Although the camera module on the rear protrudes quite a bit, it gives the Note 20 Ultra an identity. A person looking from a distance can easily understand that it is a Note 20 Ultra thanks to this camera module. It should be noted that, despite its stylish appearance, it is quite robust. The S Pen's location may be odd, but we think you'll get used to it soon. Although the new functions added to the pen make it a little more useful, we will see in the coming days and months how much we will remember that there is a pen on the lower edge of the phone.

Besides, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is at a level worthy of a smartphone in terms of elements such as screen, processor, battery, software. We can make the same comment on the camera side, but it would be useful for Samsung to sign software solutions that will improve the low light performance in both front and rear cameras. On the video side, the Note 20 Ultra, which follows in the footsteps of previous flagship Galaxy phones, seems to be a phone that will help even those who deal with professional-level shooting.

For the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, a price of 1500USD is currently offered. Now the price line for flagship phones, especially those of the Note 20 Ultra level, is at this level. If you're going to sacrifice such a high amount, you shouldn't be thinking about using the Note 20 Ultra just for making phone calls or consuming content. Note 20 Ultra looks like a phone that will be extremely helpful for those who want to produce something or increase efficiency in their work.

Conversely, The P40 Pro + is quite simply a great smartphone. This is the most versatile photo phone on the market today, and the rest of its spec sheet is just as impressive as its photo capabilities. Unfortunately, like the P40 and P40 Pro, this Pro Plus model does not include Google Mobile Services, which makes its use complicated for those who are not used to doing without it. It is therefore difficult to advise him against the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra which is just as exemplary and offers Google services. What do you think? Do you recommend these phones? Share your knowledge with us.

Huawei P40 Pro Plus and Note 20 Ultra which one is the king?