OnePlus 6 vs Huawei P20: Flagship Battle, Camera, Battery test

We recently made a specs comparison between the OnePlus 6 and the Huawei P20. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to fully write an in-depth comparison of the two smartphones. Both devices are recent flagship phones of their respective companies that were released this year.

• OnePlus 6 vs Huawei P20: Specs Comparison
• Huawei P20 vs P20 Pro vs Asus Zenfone 5 – AI Cameras Comparison

The OnePlus 6 officially launched on May 17, 2018, during an exclusive event in London. This smartphone was deemed as the fastest OnePlus smartphone as well as the first device of the company that is water-resistant. It also became the hype last month especially when its Marvel Avengers Limited Edition launched. The device is currently already available here in the Philippines.

As for the Huawei P20 series, it officially launched on March 27, 2018, in Paris. The Huawei P20 series’ main highlight is their camera capabilities with Leica optics infused with AI technology. According to the company, the Huawei P20 was designed for professional photography that even beginners can use. These smartphones launched here in the Philippines this April 28, 2018, and are also available for purchase.

The price of the two devices are relatively close but which of the two smartphones should you purchase? Let’s find out here.

Design

The OnePlus 6 sports a glass front and back along with a metal frame similar to the Huawei P20. Although, the OnePlus 6 which measures 155.7 x 75.4 x 7.8 mm and weighs 177g is larger and heavier than the Huawei P20 which measures 149.1 x 70.8 x 7.7 mm and weighs 165g. Similar to other recently released flagships, both smartphones have thin bezels as well as the infamous notch. The OnePlus 6 has no physical or capacitive buttons since OnePlus made use of on-screen buttons. On the other hand, the Huawei P20’s fingerprint scanner that doubles as a home button can be seen at the front of the phone.

Moving on to the rear part of the devices, both of their vertically aligned dual rear cameras are located at the back albeit the OnePlus 6’s main cameras are positioned at the center whereas the Huawei P20’s rear cameras are seen at the top-left corner. Their respective LED Flash is located underneath their cameras. The OnePlus 6 then has its fingerprint scanner under the LED flash along with the OnePlus logo. The words “Designed by OnePlus” are also stated at the bottom of the smartphone as well. As for the P20, the word “LEICA” is written under the LED Flash and its logo is seen at the bottom left of the phone.

The usual power button can be found on the right side of the smartphones. The difference would be the positioning of their volume rockers. In the Huawei P20, the volume control is also located on the right side. Meanwhile, the volume control in the OnePlus 6 is seen on the left side of the phone. This is because the toggle button for OnePlus 6’s Alert slider is positioned at the right side of the device. Both of their SIM trays are still on the left side of the smartphone.

At the bottom of the smartphones, you’ll find speaker grilles and a USB Type-C port. Although unlike the Huawei P20, the OnePlus 6 also has a 3.5mm audio jack and a microphone underneath the phone.

The design of the two smartphones are really modern and gave this sleek look. But if I were to pick between the two in terms of design, I would choose the Huawei P20. The P20’s design looks unique and one of its main selling points is its glass back that the user can use as a mirror. Since both smartphones have a glass front and back, they are easily smudged with fingerprints so it is highly recommended that the user uses the provided cases that came with the devices. For protection, the OnePlus 6 contains the Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The P20 seems to have a layer made of glass although it was specified anywhere if it sports Gorilla Glass.

Display

The OnePlus 6 features a 6.28″ Full Optic Full HD+ notched display with a resolution of 1080 x 2280 pixels and an aspect ratio of 19:9. On the other hand, the Huawei P20 sports a 5.8″ IPS LCD display with a resolution of 2240 x 1080 and an aspect ratio of 18.7:9. In addition, the P20 also has a 3D curved glass. As you can see, the OnePlus 6 has a larger screen.

We tried setting the two phones in their brightest setting. The OnePlus 6 produced a brighter display than the other device although it was a bit displeasing to the eyes. On the other hand, the P20 brightest setting seems warmer in comparison to the OnePlus 6 display when we placed it side by side.

A smartphone’s display is very important since a good display will normally enhance the user’s viewing and sometimes, gaming experience. Watching movies in these devices were enjoyable since both are vibrant enough and the colors are accurate. Furthermore, the color and details don’t change even if you view the phones from different angles.  If you are one of the people who prefer having a larger screen, then the OnePlus 6 might be the one for you.

As mentioned, both phones feature the infamous notch. In order to cater to those who aren’t a fan of this feature, the two companies included an option to hide a notch in their devices. Furthermore, the users may also control which apps they want to have a full-screen display.

Camera

Both smartphones feature dual rear cameras. In terms of specs, the OnePlus 6 has a better camera since it has 16MP + 20MP dual main cameras whereas the Huawei P20 only has 12MP + 20MP dual rear cameras. However, we have to consider that the Huawei P20 sports Leica optics as well as an advanced AI that was said to take professional photos. The P20 has more camera features than the OnePlus 6 as well. Meanwhile, the Huawei P20 has a selfie snapper with higher specs than the OnePlus 6.

To fully determine the quality of the two smartphone’s camera, we took some shots in various scenarios.

These shots were taken outside during the afternoon. There isn’t that much of a difference between the OnePlus 6 shot and the Huawei P20 normal mode photo except that the P20 image had a tinge of violet in it. Instead of bright blue, the sky turned indigo. So, in this case, the OnePlus 6 shot was the one closest to real life. Nonetheless, both were able to produce clear and detailed images.

The Huawei P20 contains an AI feature in which automatically changes its mode depending on the environment or subject that the user is trying to take. In this case, the P20 camera detected that we were taking a picture of the sky with the sun in the background so it automatically set it into sunset mode. The final picture made the sky into a vibrant blue as well as darkened the corners of the picture a bit to emphasize the brightness coming from the sun. The shot turned out amazing but it looked like it was post-processed which some people might not like.

We also tried taking pictures indoors. As you can see in these shots, the OnePlus 6 produced a more vibrant image. The roof and the walls underneath the window are also lighter compared to the P20 photo. The two devices were able to take clear photos and details are spot on. The one that looks closest to real life would be the Huawei P20 shot.

The AI camera of the Huawei P20 is really able to detect the subject it is taking. In these shots, it was able to figure out that we were taking pictures of food and pastries. It adjusted it in a way where it made the food look more delectable through making the colors warmer as well as the details sharper.

As for the OnePlus 6, it still produced bright and vibrant shots although there were some parts of the food that wasn’t detailed enough. Nonetheless, the shots still turned out good.

These two shots were taken using portrait mode. Another thing that the Huawei P20 is able to detect is greeneries. In this shot, you’ll notice that the green color and the details are more defined in the P20 photo. It also added some contrast on the leaves while still making sure that it looks vibrant. It was obvious that the P20 changed the colors of this shot and made it warmer by looking at the table’s color which was originally colored white.

Meanwhile, in the OnePlus 6 image, the leaves are colored bright green giving it a vibrant and fresh look. The photo is also detailed and the bokeh effect is more noticeable here compared to the Huawei P20.

In terms of flat lay pictures, the OnePlus 6 produced a brighter and more vibrant result. The P20 shot looked dark and a bit dull in comparison especially when the table turned yellow-ish instead of its usual white. Detail-wise, both photos did great.

In these photos, we used a model to see how people shots would look like with the two cameras. These were also taken using portrait mode. in the previous photos, the bokeh effect wasn’t that noticeable in the Huawei P20 shots. In these shots, however, they were more noticeable than One Plus 6 except for the third photo. For some reason, even though it was in portrait mode, the Huawei P20 didn’t put a bokeh effect on this image. On the other hand, the subject in this shot pooped out more in the Huwei P20 shot.

As usual, the shots of the OnePlus 6 are bright and lighter compared to the P20. In terms of color, the P20 gives a warmer-looking shot which can be seen through the subject’s skin color. Her skin looked a bit pale in the OnePlus 6 shot whereas the P20 images had a tinge of orange in them.

Once again, the bokeh effect of the OnePlus 6 was more noticeable here. In the OnePlus 6 image, the color of the subject’s skin was closest to real life although the color of her clothes was a bit washed out. The over-all image also looked soft due to the colors. As for the Huawei P20’s shot, the color of the clothes was more accurate but the same could not be said to the subject’s skin color since her skin turned yellow-ish. In terms of details, there were no problems whatsoever.

The difference between the two shots is outstanding. The Huawei P20’s night shot was really clear and detailed even though the shot was brightened. As for the OnePlus 6, the image looked grainy and some details could not be seen. The lights are also scattered causing some parts to be blurred.

In this shot, the P20 was able to detect that we were taking pictures of lights. The result was, the lights were enhanced and it looked clearer and sharper. In comparison, the OnePlus 6 made the words look faded and it didn’t look as intense as the shot on the right.

These pictures were taken inside a dim-lit room. The OnePlus 6 photo is brighter here compared to the Huawei P20 although the lights looked scattered making some parts look over-exposed. As for the P20 shot, the lights are more controlled.

Let’s move on to the front camera. Unlike the OnePlus 6, the Huawei P20’s front camera can use portrait mode. The OnePlus 6 shot turned out really well. It looked vibrant and full of life although it made the subject’s skin color look pink-ish. On the other hand, the color of the subject’s skin on the P20’s shots is more accurate and looks closer to real life. Both cameras produced clear selfies as well.

The beauty mode was turned on in these photos. Once again, the OnePlus 6 photo is a lot more vibrant than the P20 although the latter is brighter. The two smartphone’s beauty mode isn’t too over the top and were able to smooth out the subject’s features while still looking natural.

Audio

The OnePlus 6 is louder compared to the Huawei P20 but the P20 produced a clearer sound. All in all, the two devices have clear and good quality audio. There were no audio problems while playing games and watching movies. Both of them didn’t sound scratchy even on maximum volume as well. Try listening to it by yourselves.

Battery

As for the battery juice of the two smartphones, both can last you through a day. The Huawei P20 is packed with a bigger battery capacity having 3400mAh compared to the OnePlus 6 with 3300mAh.

The OnePlus 6 doesn’t provide the best battery but it’s decent enough that it can last up to 12 hours of light usage. Fortunately, it is supported by Fast Charging and it only took us 1 hour and 10 mins. to charge it from 20% to 100%. As for the Huawei P20, charging time from 20% to 100% lasted for 1 hour and 26 mins. Its battery also lasted for a whole day with more to spare for the next day.

User Experience

Let’s talk about the smartphones’ security feature first. Both of them sport a fingerprint scanner as well as a face unlock feature. In terms of the fingerprint scanner, both were able to open at the same time and the same goes for the face unlock feature. It’s a good thing to note that these two won’t unlock when the owner is asleep as its face unlock doesn’t work when the user’s eyes are closed. For users who were glasses, don’t worry, you’ll still be able to unlock your phone even if you have glasses or not.

The OnePlus 6 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor coupled with Adreno 630 GPU and three storage variants – 6GB RAM/64GB ROM, 8GB RAM/128GB ROM, and 8GB RAM/256GB ROM. Meanwhile, the Huawei P20 is powered by the Hisilicon Kirin 970 coupled with Mali-G72 MP12 with 4GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Speaking of storage, the OnePlus 6 contains OTG storage.

Its two chipsets both have their own areas where they excel in. The Snapdragon 845 performs better in terms of CPU and GPU. As for the Kirin 970, it does better in AI-related tasks because of its independent built-in NPU.

We tested some benchmark tools and these are the results:

Playing games on both phones was a good experience. The games we played were Asphalt Nitro, Dragon Ball Legends, and Mortal Kombat. Launching the games was quick and there weren’t any problems during gameplay as well. No lags occurred and the graphics are really clear and detailed even in games with heavy graphics like the Mortal Kombat.

As for additional features, the OnePlus 6 contains ‘Gestures’ which the user can use as shortcuts. An example is swiping downwards on the screen with three fingers to take a screenshot. On the other hand, the P20 has ‘Motion control’ which can also serve as shortcuts. To take a screenshot, the user can just knock two times on the screen with their knuckle.

You may also adjust or change the navigation settings in the two smartphones according to your preference.

Verdict

The two smartphones offer a good quality phone with great camera capabilities and high-end specifications. They are already available here in the Philippines. The OnePlus 6 is priced at PHP 30,990 for the 6GB+64GB variant and PHP 33,990 for the 8GB+128GB variant. As for the Huawei P20, it is priced at PHP 34, 990.

If your priority in a smartphone is having a good camera, then you might want to consider the Huawei P20. On the other hand, if you prefer gaming or using the smartphone for heavy-duty applications, then go for the OnePlus 6. Of course, the choice is still up to you. Which of the two do you prefer? Comment your thoughts down below!