This time we are here to compare the best of Samsung and Huawei at the moment. In other words, we’re comparing the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra to the Huawei Mate 50 Pro. Both are big and bold flagship smartphone offerings from the two companies. However, they are very different in many ways. They look different and feel very different in the hand. Their internals are quite different and even their software.
We first list their specifications and then compare them across a number of categories. As usual, we’ll compare design, display, performance, battery life, cameras, and audio performance. Before we start, note that the Mate 50 Pro comes without Google services, it includes Huawei services. That being said, let’s go, shall we?
Specs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Huawei Mate 50 Pro Screen size 6.8-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display (curved, 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, LTPO, up to 1Hz, 1,750 nits peak brightness) 6.74-inch QHD+ curved OLED display ( 120Hz refresh rate) Screen Resolution 3080×1440 2616×1212 SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 RAM 8GB/12GB (LPDDR5X) 8GB (LPDDR5) Storage 256GB/512GB/1TB, not expandable (UFS 4.0) 256GB/512GB , expandable (UFS 3.1) Rear cameras 200MP (f/1.7 aperture, 24mm lens, 0.6um pixel size, multi-directional PDAF, Laser AF, OIS)
12 MP (Ultrawide, Dual Pixel AF, 120 degree FoV, f/2.2 aperture, 1.4 µm pixel size)
10 MP (telephoto, Dual Pixel AF, OIS, f/2.4 aperture, 1.12 µm pixel size, 70 mm lens, 3x optical zoom)
10 MP (telephoto, Dual Pixel AF, OIS, f/4.9 aperture, 1.22 µm pixel size, 230 mm lens, 10x optical zoom, 100x space zoom) 50 MP (f/1 .4-f/4.0, 24mm lens, wide-angle, OIS, PDAF , laser autofocus)
13 MP (f/2.2 aperture, 13mm lens, 120 degree FoV, Ultrawide, PDAF)
64 MP (f/3.5 aperture, 90mm lens, OIS, PDAF, 3.5x optical zoom) Front cameras 12 MP (f/2.2 aperture, 26mm lens, Dual Pixel PDAF) 13 MP (Ultrawide, f/2.4 aperture, 18mm lens)
ToF 3D (Depth/Biometrics) Battery 5,000mAh non-removable, 45W wired charging, 15W Qi wireless charging, 4.5W wireless PowerShare
Charger not included 4,700mAh non-removable, 66W wired charging, 50W wireless charging, 5W reverse wireless charging
Including charger Dimensions 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9 mm 162.1 x 75.5 x 8.5 mm Weight 234 grams 205 grams (vegan leather) / 209 grams (glass). Connectivity 5G, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C 4G LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C Security In-display fingerprint scanner (ultrasonic) In-display fingerprint scanner (optical ) Android 13 operating system
A user interface 5.1 Android 12
EMUI 13 Price $1,199.99/$1,299/$1,399/TBA (1TB) €1,299 Purchase Samsung Huawei Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Design
The moment you set your eyes on these two phones, you’ll see that they’re obviously different. The Galaxy S23 Ultra has sharp corners and its top and bottom are completely flat. The phone is made of metal and glass. The Huawei Mate 50 Pro, on the other hand, has rounded corners and a generally curvier design. Its frame is made of metal while the phone includes a vegan leather or glass backplate. Note that we tested the model with a vegan leather backplate.
Samsung’s flagship is slightly higher, significantly wider and slightly thicker than the Huawei Mate 50 Pro. It’s also considerably heavier than the glass and vegan leather Mate 50 Pro models. It weighs 234 grams, while the two Mate 50 Pro models mentioned above weigh 209 and 205 grams respectively. The vegan leather Mate 50 Pro we tested is a lot less slippery than the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which isn’t surprising. And yes, you will feel the weight of the Galaxy S23 Ultra in comparison.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a centered display camera hole, while the Mate 50 Pro has a notch at the top. Both devices have immensely thin bezels. Their rear camera modules are quite different. Each of the cameras protrudes straight out of the back of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The Mate 50 Pro has a circular camera island on the back that houses all of the phone’s cameras and sensors. Both phones basically scream “premium”. They feel like really well-built premium phones, and they both offer IP68 certification for water and dust resistance.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Display
The Galaxy S23 Ultra features a 6.8-inch QHD+ (3088 x 1440) Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. This panel is slightly curved and offers an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. It also supports HDR10+ content and actually gets quite bright. This panel tops out at 1,750 nits of brightness. The Gorilla Glass Victus 2 is on the front of the phone as it protects the display.
The Huawei Mate 50 Pro, on the other hand, has a 6.74-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2616 x 1212. This panel can project up to 1 billion colors and offers a 120 Hz refresh rate. However, this is not an LTPO panel. The phone’s display has an aspect ratio of 19.5:9 and is curved. This panel is protected by the Huawei Kunlun Glass, which has also proven to be quite robust in direct drop tests with the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Now the Galaxy S23 Ultra technically has a better display thanks to the fact that it offers an adaptive refresh rate, and it gets a little brighter outdoors. To be honest, the Huawei Mate 50 Pro has an excellent panel and the vast majority of people wouldn’t even notice the difference. You’ll notice it when you’re in direct sunlight, but the Mate 50 Pro also gets very bright. On top of that, it offers extremely good protection on the front. Both of these displays are great. They offer vibrant colors, great viewing angles, and good touch response.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Performance
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy powers the Galaxy S23 Ultra. This is basically a slightly overclocked variant of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, one of the best chips out there. The phone also packs 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 flash storage. The Mate 50 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC while the phone packs 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 flash storage.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra is technically the more powerful smartphone. It’s newer and includes more powerful performance-related internals. Therefore, it is also technically more future-proof. The Huawei Mate 50 Pro is nothing to scoff at and you probably won’t even notice the difference in sheer power on the performance side. The Mate 50 Pro will fly through anything you throw at it, just like the Galaxy S23 Ultra. This Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is an excellent chip with great power consumption.
When it comes to normal, everyday tasks, both phones are extremely snappy. Opening and closing apps, browsing, consuming multimedia, photo and video editing… and much more, they both do a great job at it. The same goes for gaming, both phones can run even the most demanding games. You may notice some differences when running the most demanding ones, but both phones are more than capable of making their way. We were impressed with the performance from both sides.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Battery
The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 5,000 mAh battery inside. The Huawei Mate 50 Pro uses a 4,700 mAh battery. Well, the battery life on the Huawei Mate 50 Pro isn’t bad, not at all, but the Galaxy S23 Ultra is beating almost every other flagship at the moment. The OnePlus 11 can keep up in this regard, but the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s battery life is just insane. We were able to easily get 9-10 hours of screen time on the phone. The Mate 50 Pro lasted between 7 and 8 hours most of the time.
Note that these numbers don’t usually include games, but they do include pretty much everything else. This applies to photo editing, video editing, surfing, multimedia consumption, messaging, social networks and so on. Gaming and other processor-intensive tasks naturally have a negative impact on battery life. This includes sharing a hotspot if that wasn’t clear. Your mileage may also vary as we have different usage habits, use different apps, and then there is signal strength and so on.
When charging, the Mate 50 Pro blows the Galaxy S23 Ultra out of the water. The Huawei Mate 50 Pro not only comes with a charger, but also supports 66W wired, 50W wireless and 5W wireless reverse charging. The Galaxy S23 Ultra does not include a charger, but supports 45W wired, 15W wireless and 4.5W reverse wireless charging.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra vs Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Cameras
Both smartphones offer great camera hardware and great camera performance too, but… they’re quite different. The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 200-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide unit (120 degrees FoV), a 10-megapixel telephoto camera (3x optical zoom) and a 10-megapixel periscope telephoto camera ( 10x optical zoom, 100x space zoom). The Huawei Mate 50 Pro has a 50-megapixel main camera (f/1.4-f/4.0 aperture), a 13-megapixel ultrawide unit (120-degree FoV) and a 64-megapixel periscope telephoto camera ( 3.5x optical zoom, 100x digital zoom).
These two phones have a completely different approach to photography. As this is not a complete review, we will only hit the most important aspects. The Galaxy S23 Ultra does a great job with its main camera. It offers a lot of detail and if you need more you can always use a full 200MP mode. It does a great job with neon signs and mostly with HDR. The Huawei Mate 50 Pro’s adjustable aperture isn’t a gimmick, not at all. The phone adapts to the situation and takes the picture. This is still one of the most consistent smartphone cameras we’ve used. It does an excellent job in HDR situations and in low light too.
The ultrawide cameras on both phones are great and mostly in line with the main unit in terms of color science. The Galaxy S23 Ultra wins the video recording aspect, but not by much. It also wins the periscope aspect, but it’s also pretty close. We find the Huawei Mate 50 Pro’s main and ultrawide cameras to be more consistent as they’re rarely absent. So… it’s up to you, both excel in the camera department.
Audio
On top of each of these devices is a set of stereo speakers. They actually offer really, really good speakers, better than most. The sound is loud and there is also a lot of detail. You’ll get some bass out of either smartphone, and there’s no noticeable distortion. We really don’t have much to complain about here.
However, if you do need an audio jack, you won’t find it on any of the phones here. For wired connections, you need to use the Type-C connector that both phones have. For wireless connectivity, the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Huawei Mate 50 Pro come with Bluetooth 5.3 and 5.2, respectively.
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March 16, 2023
