For P12,490, you could get the Honor 9X. However, Samsung offers a mid-range phone of its own in the Galaxy M30 for the exact price. Comparing the specs of the two, which is the better deal?
Table of Contents
Honor 9X and Samsung Galaxy M30 Differences
Advantages of Honor 9X
- metal and glass build
- no notch (pop-up selfie camera)
- Kirin 710F
- 6GB/128GB
- 48MP main camera
Advantages of Samsung Galaxy M30
- Super AMOLED
- 174g only
- dedicated microSD slot
- Dolby Atmos
- Bluetooth 5.0
- 5000mAh battery
- 15W fast charging
Honor 9X and Samsung Galaxy M30 Similarities
- FHD+
- Android 9 Pie
- microSD expansion
- triple-main cameras(main, ultrawide, depth)
- 16MP selfie camera
- audio jack
- Wi-Fi ac
- USB-C
- rear fingerprint scanner
- black and blue colors
Which is a better buy between the Honor 9X and Samsung Galaxy M30?
Design and Display
You’ll immediately notice that the Honor 9X just looks better and feels better in the hand. All thanks to the “X” pattern on the back and the back-to-back glass build. However, that makes the phone a tiny bit thicker (8.8mm) and significantly heavier (196.8g) than Samsung’s mid-range phone. In its entirety, the Galaxy M30 looks a bit outdated since it was launched back in February.
As for the display, both are using FHD+ resolution but color, contrast, and peak brightness differ. The IPS LCD of the Honor phone looks cooler and more natural in colors while the Samsung device goes for a warmer tone with deep blacks and saturated yet accurate colors. Furthermore, there’s a teardrop notch that may or may not bother you.
READ: Samsung Galaxy A30s vs A30 Specs Comparison – A Mini Galaxy A50
Performance
Kirin 710F(12m) vs Exynos 7904 (14nm) — The HiSilicon chip takes the lead when it comes to graphics performance, CPU processing, and battery efficiency. That’s because of the smaller processing node. While the difference isn’t groundbreaking, expect a smoother experience when using the Honor 9X. Another advantage of the Chinese company is the spacious 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage vs the 4GB and 64GB combo of Samsung.
Cameras
Cameras, on the other hand, will go to Honor again. It uses a 48MP f1.8 Sony sensor with the assistance of 8MP f2.4 ultrawide and 2MP f2.4 depth lenses. You do get the same type of lenses from the Galaxy M30, however, the quality may be a bit worse due to the 13MP+5MP+5MP combination.
For the selfie cameras, both phones are using a 16MP sensor with the Galaxy device having a bit of an edge thanks to its lower f2.0 aperture. On the flip end, Honor 9X is using a pop-up selfie camera that automatically retracts when you accidentally drop it from a certain height.
Audio
Since we’re looking at mid-range phones, sound quality from the speakers should be decent at best. However, the Galaxy M30 has the added benefit of Dolby Atmos technology that also works via the headphone jack. This should give you better sound quality when watching a movie or streaming music.
Battery and Charging
Whether it’s longevity or rechargeability, the Galaxy M30 clearly takes the cake. It has a bigger capacity at 5000mAh and support for 15W fast charging vs 4000mAH (10W).
Conclusion
Samsung Galaxy M30 is still a contender more than 6 months after its release, however, we can see it’s aging quickly as the Honor 9X delivers better cameras, build, and higher RAM and storage. But if only the Galaxy M30s launched in the Philippines, the outcome may have been different. For now, Honor’s latest mid-range phone is taking this one by a slight margin.
READ: Honor 9X vs Realme 5 Pro Specs Comparison – Premium Design vs Quad-Cameras
Specs | Honor 9X | Samsung Galaxy M30 |
Display | 6.59-inch IPS LCD FHD+, Corning Gorilla Glass ver? | 6.4-inch Super AMOLED, 1080 x 2280, 394ppi, 19:9 ratio |
Dimensions | 163.5 x 77.3 x 8.8 mm, 196.8g | 159 x 75.1 x 8.5 mm, 174g |
Chipset | HiSilicon Kirin 710F (12 nm) | Exynos 7904 Octa (14 nm) |
GPU | Mali-G51 MP4 | Mali-G71 MP2 |
Memory | 6GB RAM/128GB + shared microSD slot of up to 512GB | 4GB RAM/64GB + dedicated microSD slot of up to 500GB |
Main Camera | 48 MP, f/1.8, 27mm (wide), 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, PDAF 8 MP, f/2.4, 13mm (ultrawide) 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth sensor) | up to FHD @ 60fps video recording |
13 MP, f/1.9, PDAF 5 MP, 12mm (ultrawide) 5 MP, f/2.2, depth sensor | up FHD @ 30fps video |
Front Camera | Motorized pop-up 16 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3″, 1.0µm | 16MP, f/2.0 |
Connectivity | 4G LTE Wi-Fi ac, BT 4.2 A2DP, LE, GPS, USB Type-C, audio jack | 4G LTE Wi-Fi ac, BT 5.0 A2DP, LE, GPS, USB Type-C, audio jack with Dolby Atmos |
Battery | Non-removable Li-Ion 4000mAh battery (10W) | Non-removable Li-Ion 5000mAh battery – 15W fast adaptive charging |
OS | Android 9.0 (Pie) with EMUI 9.1 | upgraded to Android 9.0 (Pie) with One UI |
Official Price | P12,490 | P12,490 |