Samsung, Honor or Huawei: which smartphone to choose?

The life cycle of a smartphone is 2-4 years, depending on the technical content. Therefore, the time comes when the owner thinks about updating a morally or physically outdated device. Most often, the choice is made between models of popular brands. As a rule, large manufacturers compete with each other in all price segments. Class rivals are often similar to each other both externally and technically.

When deciding “Samsung A8 or Honor 10”, Galaxy S8 or Huawei P20, “Samsung A5” or “Honor 9 Lite”, the user is not always able to identify characteristic differences that allow him to make a final decision.

Smartphone Samsung A5.

About companies

The Samsung company is one of the most famous in the world. It is a leader in many areas - in video equipment, audio equipment, computer equipment, household appliances and communications. Samsung smartphones are also some of the best on the market, they are distinguished by:

• good appearance and ergonomics;
• introduction of the latest technologies into flagship models;
• streamlined technological process and high quality;
• excellent branded Amoled displays;
• excellent cameras using self-produced photo modules.

Samsung has a large network of branded stores and service centers that are always ready to provide support to the user.

Honor is a relatively young brand. It is part of the Huawei Group and relies on all the technological power of Huawei. Honor positions its products as smartphones for young active users.

Distinctive features of Honor models are:

• bright design;
• good photo capabilities with extensive use of artificial intelligence technology;
• low cost (for example, with the same characteristics, Honor smartphones are cheaper than Huawei devices).

Next, we will compare Samsung and Honor phones in detail according to individual parameters.

Smartphone comparison criteria

To make a choice which phone to buy, Honor or Samsung, you need to familiarize yourself with all the details. I decided to test some smartphones personally, such as Honor 9x and Galaxy A50. Also study the characteristics and reviews. I have chosen the following general points of comparison:

1. Price.
2. Reliability and possible problems.
3. Design and ease of use.
4. Battery: capacity and operating time.
5. Operating system and software.
6. Technical characteristics and speed of operation.
7. Screen quality.
8. Device camera.
9. Complete set upon purchase.
10. Signal (communication) quality.
11. Additional features and functions.

Price

Price is an important factor to understand which smartphone is better, Honor or Samsung. The Korean brand produces different lines of smartphones, from the flagship Galaxy S20 for 70,000 rubles to the budget Galaxy A01 for 7,000 rubles. You can always choose a phone to suit your taste.

Chinese Honor smartphones are more budget devices. The price for them varies from 5,000 rubles for the Honor 7A model to 30,000 rubles for the company’s flagship – Honor 20 Pro 8/256GB. Therefore, when it comes to cost, this brand is the leader.

Reliability and possible problems of devices

In the battle between Honor and Samsung, I studied the breakdowns that owners of these smartphones most often contact service centers with. This information will also make it clear how much it might cost to repair the device.

Samsung phones most often suffer from the following problems:

• front glass broken due to a fall;
• problems with the touch screen and certain areas of it in the Galaxy S9;
• The “Home” button does not work where it used to be, for example on the S8;
• quickly discharging battery;
• reboot at any time (for a faulty phone);
• Poor performance of the fingerprint scanner.

Honor smartphones appear in service centers for the following reasons:

• broken glass due to impact or fall;
• display defects: stripes, interference, color distortion;
• The sensor is defective, the phone does not respond well to touch;
• noises from the audio speaker, hissing;
• smartphone fell into water;
• camera failure;
• malfunction of mechanical connectors;
• the cameras are not located in the center - not a defect, assembly features;
• Screen flickering is not a defect, it is a feature of the Honor matrix.

Typical Samsung faults look easier to fix, and the price of a simple repair starts from 300 rubles. At the same time, the “Chinese” Honor can slightly fray your nerves, and fixing just one problem will cost from 500 to 1000 rubles. Therefore, Samsung definitely wins at this point.

Design and ergonomics

Reviews about Honor or Samsung are the best way to understand what people like and what they don’t like when they constantly use their devices. The first thing that stands out here is the fingerprint scanner. Reviews very often say that the Samsung ultrasound scanner is “crude” and only works every now and then. In contrast, the scanner on the Honor 9x model is built into the power button. Just place your finger in a convenient recess on the side panel, and the phone will “see” your touch and your fingerprint.

In terms of ease of use, both gadgets are at a good level. The ergonomics are quite well thought out, but on large Galaxy phablets it can be difficult to reach the corner of the screen with one hand.

Also, when comparing Samsung A50 vs Honor 9x, they note that the back wall of Honor is made of glass, while Samsung has plastic. This makes the Samsung smartphone lighter, thinner, and more convenient - although it seems that less “prestigious” material is used. But the glass is very beneficial and looks nice under the sun, the phone looks bright and interesting.

In general, the Galaxy design is called businesslike and classic, while Honor is called bright and youthful. Whether this is really so is up to you to decide. At this point, in my opinion, it is a “draw”.

Battery

In the Honor vs Samsung comparison, a very important detail is the battery life of the device. In general, Honor batteries have from 3000 mAh to 4000 mAh, while Samsung batteries range from 4000 mAh to 6000 mAh. More optimized system and screen performance, as well as faster charging, widen the gap even further. Even if we take into account rare bugs - for example, the fact that in some Samsungs the Facebook application drains the battery unusually quickly - then the Korean brand still remains the leader.

Software

Until recently, Honor phones used Android as the operating system, and in this way they were similar to Samsung. But after Western sanctions against Huawei, which produces Honor, the brand announced the development of its own OS called Harmony. It will first be promoted on the Chinese market, then on the global market. At the moment, smartphones are equipped with Android OS with the proprietary EMUI shell, but in the future the company will change this. Pay attention to this point. Because some familiar programs will not be compatible with your mobile device and when you try to install it, you will see the message “The application is not installed on Honor.”

It is important to understand what the sanctions entail. Western regulators are confident that Huawei is illegally collecting data using its devices. Simply put, it spies on the whole world in the interests of China. Believe it or not - it's up to you. Consider your opinion when choosing a smartphone.

Galaxy phones, for their part, are not equipped with “pure” Android, but with the One UI and One UI 2 software add-on. It contains individual functions designed specifically for Samsung. This improves the performance and security of the system, making its updates more flexible. Galaxy can also boast of advanced photo processing software and support for neural networks. Therefore, at the moment, I give the championship in the category to Samsung.

Technical characteristics, device speed

One of the main questions is which device is more productive and has better performance: for example, the Samsung A50 or Honor 20, or even the more budget Honor 9x. When I tested them manually, all devices showed excellent results and worked very smoothly. But they are not the same. And the answer is not at all obvious.

It is the “Chinese” that is equipped with a new generation processor of its own production. Now they are far superior to Samsung in productivity. At the moment, there is simply nowhere to put this computing power, but it will come in handy in the future. Honor is a smartphone for growth. For example, I tested Samsung A50 vs Honor 9x - and found that the latter was more than twice as fast! What can we say about the flagship Honor 20. Here Honor confidently outperforms Samsung.

Screen and its quality

In this parameter, few can compete with Samsung. Screens are the pride of the company. New Dynamic AMOLED technology further increases contrast depth and brightness limit, improves image quality and energy saving. Thanks to Dynamic AMOLED, an Infinity display was created, in which the front camera is precisely integrated.

Let's compare, for example, the screen of the Samsung A50 Galaxy vs Honor 10. Both devices have a frameless display, almost the same resolution of 2340 x 1080 and 1080 x 2280. But Samsung has a Super AMOLED screen, and Honor has an IPS matrix. The difference is obvious and visible to the naked eye. Here the clear victory must be given to Samsung.

Camera

Comparing Samsung A50 vs Honor 9x, the “innovation” of the Chinese manufacturer immediately catches your eye - a retractable camera. The idea seemed interesting to me: it completely frees the front panel from the lens. But the moving element itself raised concerns that sooner or later it would break.

Comparing the camera characteristics of the Galaxy A50 and Honor 9x, we get the following picture:

1. Galaxy A50: 25 MP front camera, triple main camera 25 MP + 5 MP + 8 MP with the best f/1.7.
2. Honor 9x: pop-up front camera 16 MP, triple main camera 48 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP, f/1.8.

Let’s assume that the devices’ cameras are on par, and I’ll keep my doubts about the “survivability” of the retractable front camera to myself.

Equipment upon purchase

You can compare Samsung and Honor phones by what is included in the box, along with the smartphone. In general, this is standard equipment: cord, charging, documentation. Some buyers said that they were sent a silicone case from Honor along with the device, but this may not always happen. But Samsung includes headphones and fast charging, which is very convenient.

Mobile signal quality

I checked the quality of communication on Honor or Samsung “experimentally”, and then checked my observations with the Roskachestvo website. The results were similar. When I found myself in a room with poor signal reception, the Galaxy S8 and Honor 10 behaved in sync. To test, I used two SIM cards from the MTS operator, for the purity of the experiment. The quality of communication and the convenience of calls on smartphones are almost the same - and it is at a good level. I did not notice the advantages and disadvantages of these models.

Additional functions

The devices have a similar set of additional options:

• processor support for neural networks;
• wireless charging - on some Honor devices. By the way, Honor has a cool ability to charge your phone without charging;
• NFC is present on devices from both companies. And setting up NFC on Honor is as easy as paying for any purchase with Samsung;
• Fingerprint scanner, facial recognition.

Here's how Samsung differs from Honor:

• dust and moisture protection. Smartphones from the Chinese company do not have it.
• wireless charging works noticeably better;
• Bixby voice assistant (however, it does not support Russian language).

Design and ergonomics

Samsung smartphones are distinguished by their classic design and high ergonomics. They are always made from modern materials of good quality. They are comfortable to hold in your hand, the control buttons are conveniently located. But, like most modern phones, the appearance of these devices does not have its own zest. Everything is fine, but something is missing.

Honor phones delight with bright, unexpected colors and more eye-catching designs. For the body material, the manufacturer chooses fashionable glass and metal. This is not always practical, but it is effective.

Gradient shimmers of body color are often used, as in the new Honor 10, or a pattern is applied to the aluminum back panel, as in the red Honor Play. New models, of course, cannot do without a cutout on the screen, the so-called “unibrow”. At Honor it looks quite elegant and neat.

Not everyone may like the brightness of Honor; some will choose the classic Samsung. But we still need to pay tribute to the successful attempts of Chinese designers to stand out from the crowd. In addition, each Honor model also has a more classic black version.

How do phone models differ?

You can understand the brand policy if you compare Honor 10 and Samsung Galaxy s8. The models are competitors in class, each with a number of distinctive advantages. For Samsung Galaxy it is:

• protection from dust and moisture;
• Amoled screen, without a notch a la Apple;
• Battery life is better than the competitor.

Advantages of Honor 10:

• better camera;
• higher productivity;
• bright appearance.

Making a choice: Honor 10 or Samsung a8 is not an easy decision. The models are quite different, each designed for its own circle of consumers.

Displays

Honor uses high-quality IPS matrices with good brightness, color reproduction and viewing angles in its smartphone models. Honor (or rather Huawei) does not have its own matrix production. Like many other companies, the firm buys them from third-party manufacturers. Therefore, the screens do not stand out in anything special.

Honor's displays are good, but Samsung's are simply the best on the smartphone market. Samsung uses Amoled matrices of its own production, which are distinguished by amazing color saturation, excellent brightness and contrast.

There is no traditional backlight here, each dot is highlighted separately, black dots do not glow at all. This allows you to achieve not only excellent color rendition, but more economical energy consumption than using conventional technology.

Samsung matrices are also purchased in large quantities by third-party manufacturers. Even budget models have great displays. Although not everyone likes Amoled screens, but if you look at things objectively, Samsung's displays are better.

Screen

Honor uses IPS matrices that are distinguished by good workmanship, viewing angles and color rendition. Huawei does not produce proprietary matrices, but, like other companies, purchases them from other manufacturers. The company has been collaborating with Japan Display for a long time, but now it is allegedly purchasing screens from LG Displays. Thus, we can say that the display is of high quality, but is no different from analogues from other companies. There are no significant innovations.

Samsung branded displays are not just distinguished by good performance. These are the real champions of the mobile device market. The screen of Samsung smartphones is based on an Amoled matrix of its own production, which provides a high level of contrast, screen brightness, and a rich and, at the same time, realistic color gamut. There is no traditional backlight; each dot is illuminated independently. This allowed us to achieve not only excellent color rendering, but also high energy efficiency. Compared to conventional technologies, the charge is consumed very economically. The original shortcomings (pixel burnout, excessive backlighting) have been completely eliminated in modern devices.

While Amoled screens have their detractors, Samsung's displays are significantly better. Suffice it to say that Apple uses Samsung products for its flagship models.

Processors

Samsung and Honor usually use their own chipsets in their models. Samsung has Exynos, while Honor has Hisilicon Kirin processors. These are modern high-tech chipsets. For each price category, manufacturers use processors of appropriate power.

Both companies use ARM Cortex-A73 and Cortex-A53 cores, as well as Mali graphics coprocessors, to produce processors. In most cases, the performance is about the same, but in the latest flagships Samsung uses its own Exynos M3 cores, which gives it an advantage.

Let's compare the chips that are used in flagship models. This is the Exynos 9810 processor, which is installed in the Samsung Galaxy S9 and HiSilicon Kirin 970, installed in the Honor 10 and Honor Play.

In the most popular Antutu performance test, Exynos earned a record 254,000 points, and Kirin only 213,000. Here, the comparison between Samsung and Honor is not in favor of the latter.

Honor or Samsung? We choose the best smartphones in different price categories

If you try to compare devices from both brands, then this comparison is based on many parameters. As for technology, Samsung smartphones are based on Snapdragon processors from Qualcomm or Exynos of its own production, but this only applies to premium models - budget ones most often use chipsets from Mediatek. Honor uses Kirin processors produced by parent brand Huawei.

If we talk about memory, Samsung devices mainly offer the possibility of expanding it due to the presence of a slot for microSD cards, while Honor smartphones very often do not have the ability to expand it, or support cards of the unpopular Nano Memory standard.

Since Huawei is well known for its camera phones, both flagship and mid-range, Honor camera sets are also quite good and provide worthy competition to the cameras of Samsung devices, taking into account well-organized AI processing.

Overall, the choice between Honor and Samsung is individual for each user, and while Samsung leads in performance, screen quality and build quality, Honor offers optimal quality devices at affordable prices.

Up to 15,000 rubles

Honor 9C (about 10,500 rubles)

Huawei Honor 9C looks quite simple but stylish thanks to its large 6.39-inch punch-hole display.

The smartphone camera is very good, for a budget line. Yes, it won’t provide you with great shots in low light, but the presence of an ultra-wide-angle lens will allow you to shoot beautiful landscapes - it’s not for nothing that this model is considered an affordable camera phone. The advantages include a battery of solid capacity, which ensures a day of battery life of the device in active mode, the presence of a separate slot for a microSD memory card and an NFC chip.

With such a low price, there are some downsides. The main ones are the low screen resolution, as well as the lack of support for fast charging and Google services.

Specifications of Huawei Honor 9C:

Samsung Galaxy M21 (about 15,000 rubles)

The disadvantages of the Galaxy M21 are its easily scratched plastic body and weak camera.

Galaxy M21 Specifications:

Up to 20,000 rubles

Honor Note 10 (about 17,000 rubles)

Huawei Honor Note 10 looks very stylish thanks to its thin body, which, among other things, is well protected from impacts. A capacious 5000 mAh battery with fast charging support promises users a full day of active work. The large and bright Super AMOLED screen turns this smartphone almost into a phablet, but due to the thin frames the device looks elegant.

Honor Note 10 is equipped with a high-performance Kirin 970 processor, which was considered a flagship processor not so long ago, which means there are no problems with running games. The advantages of the device include sound with Dolby Atmos support, the presence of an audio jack and a slot for a microSD card. If we talk about the disadvantages, then there is the lack of an IP rating and a slippery case, which, due to its size, is not very convenient to use with one hand.

Specifications of Huawei Honor Note 10:

Samsung Galaxy A51 (about 18,000 rubles)

Speaking about the shortcomings of the device, we have to mention the plastic, rather easily soiled case, the rather weak Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9611 processor and the lack of an optical stabilization system in the camera.

Galaxy A51 Specifications:

Up to 30,000 rubles

Honor 30S (about 25,500 rubles)

The disadvantages include the presence of a slot for cards of its own Nano Memory standard instead of the widely used microSD and the lack of Google services.

Specifications of Huawei Honor 30S:

Samsung Galaxy A71 (about 28,000 rubles)

Perhaps the Galaxy A71 would be ideal if it were not hampered by the presence of a plastic case and the lack of dust and moisture protection.

Galaxy A71 Specifications:

Up to 40,000 rubles

Honor V30 Pro (about 38,700 rubles)

The powerful HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G processor is complemented by a large amount of built-in memory, and the 4100 mAh battery charges up to one hundred percent in just 45 minutes. Wireless charging is also supported and has a fairly high speed. As for the shortcomings, this is not only the lack of access to Google services, but also a slot for memory cards and a 3.5 mm audio jack.

Cameras

Until recently, cameras were not the strong point of Samsung smartphones. But everything changed with the release of the flagship Galaxy S9, which received a great camera, one of the best in the industry.

The Galaxy S9+ camera was recognized as the best by DxOmark experts, surpassing the flagships of Apple, Huawei P20 Pro, and Google Pixel 3. Other models, such as the S8 and S7, also have very good cameras, but only the appearance of the S9 allowed Samsung to become a leader among camera phones.

Honor smartphones, on the contrary, have always been famous for their good photo capabilities. This is where Huawei's great achievements in the field of artificial intelligence and image post-processing come to the rescue.

Of course, the flagship Honor 10 cannot compete with one of the best camera phones, the P20 Pro or the Galaxy S9, but it demonstrates very decent image quality. But the cameras of Honor 8 and 9 are superior to those found in similarly priced Samsung models.

conclusions

Which smartphone is better to buy - Honor or Samsung? There is no clear answer to this question. If the goal is to buy the best gadget in all respects, regardless of cost, then the choice is clear - this is one of the Samsung flagships.

Honor cannot compete in this, because this brand was specially created for young users and is aimed at the cheap and mid-budget segment. But in these price niches, at the same price as Samsung, the Honor device will have more attractive parameters and an interesting design.

( 47 ratings, average: 4.06 out of 5)

Price

When choosing an Honor or Samsung phone, cost is not the last factor you will pay attention to. Be prepared for a wide variety of prices - both manufacturers offer a wide range of products!

• Honor has both cheap and expensive models, but is generally aimed at mid- and low-budget products. If you are looking for an inexpensive device with cool features, it is better to pay attention to this company;
• Samsung are more expensive devices that not everyone can afford. If you choose proven quality, you don’t have to think about the price - buy a similar phone. Note that the cost is often artificially inflated - you pay for a well-known brand.

We helped you decide which is better to choose - Samsung or Honor! Read the comparison again based on several parameters and decide on one device. The main thing when buying is to correlate your desires, requirements and capabilities; this is the only way to make an informed choice and purchase a smartphone that will become a real everyday assistant.