Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra vs Huawei P40 Pro+ - Quick 100x zoom fight!

There are only two phones right now with up to 100x zoom—the PHP 69,990 Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and the Huawei P40 Pro+. Naturally, out of curiosity, we want to find out which takes better zoom shots.

100MP quad-cam vs 50MP penta-cam

To achieve this never-before-seen feat on a camera phone with slim bodies, both Samsung and Huawei equipped the Galaxy S20 Ultra and P40 Pro+ with powerful cameras.

See also: Huawei P40 Pro+ vs Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra Specs Comparison

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra vs Huawei P40 Pro Camera Specs

Device	Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra	Huawei P40 Pro
Back Camera	108MP f/1.8 w/ Dual Pixel and OIS + 12MP f/2.2 120-degree ultra-wide-angle + 48MP f/3.5 w/ 10x Hybrid Optic Zoom and OIS + ToF + dual-tone LED flash	50MP f/1.9 RYYB Ultra Vision Wide w/ Full Pixel Octa PD Autofocus, OIS + 40MP f/1.8 SuperSensing Cine + 8MP f/4.4 10x Optical Telephoto w/ OIS + 8MP f/2.4 3x Optical Telephoto w/ OIS + ToF 3D Depth Sensing + Color Temperature Sensor + dual-tone LED flash

But, the two have different implementations.

Samsung uses higher megapixel cameras. It goes with a 108MP main shooter with Dual Pixel focus and a 48MP f/3.5 periscope camera with 4x optical zoom to enable up to 10x Hybrid Optic zoom and 100x digital zoom. Both lenses have OIS to allow stabilization while zooming.

S20 Ultra and P40 Pro+

Huawei, on the other hand, comes with a lower megapixel 50MP main shooter. But, it has a Full Pixel Octa PD Autofocus and a larger RYYB 1/1.28-inch sensor size compared to the RGB 1/1.33-inch type sensor of the S20 Ultra. This can capture more light and details.

Also, it has two zoom cameras. The first zoom camera is an 8MP 10x Optical Telephoto sensor and another 8MP camera with 3x Optical Telephoto. The 3 cams of Huawei that are useful for zoom have OIS for stabilization.

Now, let's see who's the better zoom camera phone. Let's begin.

Indoor 10x zoom

S20 Ultra 10x zoom 1

P40 Pro+ 10x optical zoom 1

Both devices can do up to 10x zoom quite well. Samsung's exposure is brighter. But, it is evident here that the P40 Pro+ 10x optical zoom has crispier details than the slightly softer 10x hybrid zoom of S20 Ultra.

S20 Ultra 10x zoom 2

P40 Pro+ 10x optical zoom 2

We tried it one more time from the ultra-wide to 10x zoom mode. Again, Galaxy S20 Ultra's output is brighter. It has lighter colors as well. On the other hand, the P40 Pro+ shot is darker and more saturated. But, Samsung's output is clearly more cartoonish-looking and softer.

100x super zoom!

Ultra-wide

10x zoom

50x zoom

100x zoom

Both have really good up to 10x zoom. I slightly prefer the 10x zoom of Samsung as it has a wider dynamic range. The two also have decent up to 30x zoom.

Quality dips at 50x and 100x. You will only use those modes if you want to see something from afar that your naked eye can't see. But, to be honest the 100x zoom won't be good for photography.

It's a close match. But, the one with the better zoom for me is the P40 Pro+. Details are not great at 50x and 100x, but the S20 Ultra shot softer and smudgier for me. P40 Pro+ retained more details and truer colors in this scenario.

Here, it is noticeable that the Samsung's wide-cam is wider. So, the distance of Samsung's 100x zoom is slightly longer than the P40 Pro+ if you will start zooming from the ultra-wide cam.

But in terms of quality, my money is still with Huawei even if the difference is not huge. While the shot is still grainy, it isn't as soft and smudgy as the Samsung super zoom.

Quick thoughts

We are impressed that there are now phones with the ability to do 100x super zoom even if the tech is clearly not refined yet. For sure, you won't use it all the time. But as mentioned, if you want to see something from afar, this could be a handy tech.

Also, for sure, this is just a glimpse of what's to come. This technology will eventually get better.

We have to declare a winner for this comparison though. For us, the 100x super zoom of the P40 Pro+ is slightly better.