The Battle for the Best Continues: Huawei Mate 20 Pro vs iPhone XS Max

The XS Max Battles the Mate 20 Pro!

You’ve seen our Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs Huawei Mate 20 Pro comparison and probably did our quick quiz on all of the phones you see in the photos above but it’s time to see how the Mate 20 Pro against the iPhone XS Max.

There’s no doubt that the Huawei Mate 20 Pro was one of the darlings for 2018, which was a sentiment that was echoed by a lot of local and international tech outfits. Despite the recent dip in confidence in the Cupertino-based company, it’s still pretty hard to deny the punch that the latest and greatest iPhone packs so let’s jump right into the comparison.

The Price Wars

We feel we have to tackle the issue of price early on in this comparison since it can bear a lot on everyone’s decision of which phone to ultimately purchase. There’s no doubt that Apple has always put a premium on their devices but that premium seems to have gotten to an all-time high with the iPhone XS Max, which is currently listed at Php 74,990 on Apple’s website for the 64GB variant of the device.

This year’s Mate series devices jumped up a little in pricing as well but manages to keep below Php 50k. This still places it at a good price point for those looking for a flagship device and is the most affordable of the three phones that we’ve been pitting against each other.

Huawei wins the price wars, no doubt, but let’s see what the other criteria has to offer that might even the odds out.

Three vs Two Rear Cameras

Cameras on smartphones can really be the deciding factor when it comes to choosing your device. The iPhone has always been one of those phones that linger near the top when it comes to the performance of their shooters and the results really speak for themselves with each iteration of Apple’s device. Huawei also seems to top themselves with each new release; adding new layers to what their cameras are capable of with the use of some AI tricks thrown into the mix as well.

Let’s look at the sample photos from both these phones.

The team and a few of our friends from the tech scene are pretty much in agreement when we say that we think that the iPhone slightly edges out the Huawei Mate 20 Pro in terms of overall photo quality. The colors look more natural with the Mate 20 Pro giving us cooler tones overall and the photos look to be a tad bit sharper as well.

Huawei on the other hand just gives you a breadth of shooting modes to really open up your creativity for mobile photography. The wide-angle lens on this iteration of the Mate series was a great addition plus things like Super Macro photography (not to mention an improved Night Mode) really levels out the playing field in this part of the competition.

This bit really is a matter of preference so we’ll call it a tie for the rear cameras but the same can’t be said for the front cameras.

Huawei has improved their front cameras by leaps and bounds but there’s a bit more work to be done in this department. Selfies on the iPhone are better compared side-by-side to the Mate series with a smoother look to their respective Portrait Modes as well. Here’s to hoping they find a great mix on the P series phones this year.

Retina with True Tone vs Super AMOLED Display

In terms of displays, you’ve got two really special ones on these devices as well.

The iPhone easily takes the prize in terms of size with the XS Max measuring in with 6.5-inch screen, compared to Huawei’s nearly 6.4-inch display on the Mate 20 Pro; both sporting the 19.5:9 aspect ratio. We do have to tip the scale a little bit to the Apple side of things though when it comes to the colors though since their True Tone display is definitely on point when it comes to the colors it outputs. This really comes into play when your work heavily relies on color accuracy.

Super AMOLED displays do have its merits as well and, if you’re a long time reader, we do think that it’s one of the best types of panels. The screen of the Mate 20 has great contrast ratios that give colors a nice base to pop, plus it opens up one feature that the iPhone doesn’t have.

In-Display Fingerprint Scanner vs Face ID

We’ve never been fans of facial recognition but, in this realm, Apple is on the top with their Face ID. They’re so confident about this feature that they ditched having Touch ID/Fingerprint Scanners on their phones to rely on this solely. It’s definitely one of the fastest and safest of the bunch but, we may be biased in this opinion, we still prefer having to unlock our phones with our fingerprint.

Just like a handful of phones in 2018, Huawei introduced the In-Display fingerprint scanner on the Mate 20 Pro when it was launch last October. While we think that it has a bit more to go in terms of speed and accuracy, this is one of the best versions of this feature we’ve experienced on a phone thus far. You can use facial recognition as well, of course, and it actually unlocks the Mate 20 Pro much faster but having the option to use your fingerprints is a huge plus for the team.

The Mate 20 Pro Outlast the iPhone XS Max

If there’s one other aspect that the Huawei Mate 20 Pro wins hands down, it’s the battery life. The XS Max has a 3174mAh battery with the Mate 20 Pro squeezing in a 4200mAh battery in its slimmer frame. We’re glad that this iteration of the iPhone didn’t have us scrambling for a power bank in the middle of the day but it still doesn’t have anything on the Mate 20 Pro’s lasting power.

We averaged about a day and a half with the Huawei Mate 20 Pro plus it didn’t take long to have it topped up with its new 40W SuperCharge. We even used it to breathe a bit of life into the XS Max when we had both devices, all thanks to the Mate 20 Pro’s reverse wireless charging function. We think it’s such a troll move on Huawei’s part to include this feature and we absolutely love it.

The A12 Bionic vs the Kirin 980

Honestly, it’s really hard to give an apples-to-apples comparison in terms of performance on both these great devices since they’re from two different worlds. We’ve definitely seen the A12 flex its muscles on Apple’s array of devices but there’s a lot to be said about the optimization of their SoC for their operating system as well — iOS.

On the flip side, Huawei’s Kirin 980 is the best the company has ever made and also packs quite the punch. It easily hangs with the current flagship SoCs by Qualcomm and Samsung plus it’s made even smarter now that it has two dedicated NPUs, which does help keep the device running smooth and, again, opens up a ton of options for taking photos.

But here’s what it really comes down to.

iOS vs Android?

They’re both great phones with a lot to offer consumers but, at the end of the day, this is what it boils down to — iOS vs Android.

We always believed that if you’re locked into the Apple Ecosystem that the iPhone will be the best option for you. Each device works harmoniously with each other and you’ll have to jump through a few hoops to make sure the Mate 20 Pro can communicate to your MacBook Pro if you decide to pick it up. It can be done but, trust me, it gets tiring after a while. It’s exactly what I have to do since I’ve made the switch from Windows to OSX.

If you’re looking for value for money though, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is definitely the way to go. Heck, you can buy almost two units of the Mate 20 Pro if you’re eyeing the 512GB variant of the XS Max. Yes, there are a few criteria where we think that Apple edges out Huawei but it really isn’t too significant to really blow it out of the water; not to us, at least. Plus, you’re looking at adding Php 25,000 more to your budget for that “slight edge”. That’s more than what I’m currently paying to rent out my apartment for a month.