Affordable and mid-range phones are becoming increasingly competitive every passing day. To distinguish themselves, brands are now focusing on wholesome experience rather than just on disruptive specs and pricing.
Two such exciting phones that launched in India last week were Honor 20i and Samsung Galaxy M40, each of which brandishes a triple rear camera. Which one of the two is a better buy? Let’s stack them up and talk details.
Honor 20i vs Samsung Galaxy M40 Specifications
| Phones | HONOR 20i | Samsung M40 |
| Sale Date | 18-Jun | 18-Jun |
| Launch MOP | 14999 | 19990 |
| Current MOP | 14999 | 19990 |
| OS | Android 9.0 | Android 9.0 |
| Display Size | 6.21″ drew drop | 6.3″ Infinity-O Display |
| Resolution | FHD+ | FHD+ |
| Screen to Body Ratio | 90%+ | 91.80% |
| PPI | 415ppi | 409ppi |
| Display Certification | TUV Rheinland Certified | NA |
| CPU | Kirin 710 | SD 675 |
| Clock Speed | 4×2.2GHz + 4×1.7GHz | 2×2.0GHz + 6×1.7GHz |
| Front Camera | 32MP, F/2.0 | 16MP |
| Sensor type | IMX616 | |
| Low Light Tech | 4 in 1 Light fusion | NA |
| AI Scene detection | Yes, 8 scene | NA |
| Rear Main lens | 24MP, IMX576J, F/1.8 | 32MP, F/1.7 |
| Wide angle lens | 8MP, F/2.4 | 8MP |
| Camera Stabilization | AIS | NA |
| AI Scene detection | Yes, 22 Scene | NA |
| RAM | 4GB | 6GB |
| ROM | 128GB | 128GB |
| Finger Print | YES | Yes |
| Special Features | 1. Ai Identifications 2. AI Shopping 3. AI Translate 4. AI In Call Enhancement 5. GPU Turbo 2.0 |
1. Screen Sound Technology |
Design and Display
Both the Galaxy M40 and Honor 20i flaunt glass-finish back panels with gradient color options. The Honor 20i feels compact and lighter, and is relatively more comfortable to wield, thanks to the gently curved edges on the rear. The fingerprint sensor too is rear mounted on both of these phones.
On the front, the Galaxy M40 houses the selfie camera in a circular cutout on the left, and the Honor 20i has a Dot shaped cutout positioned at top-center. The display sizes of both phones are nearly the same, but the full HD+ IPS LCD panel on the Honor 20i is sharper(415 PPI) and significantly better in terms of quality when compared to the TFT LCD panel on the Samsung Galaxy M40.
Moreover, Honor 20i has some handy customization options that let you customize display colors and temperature to your liking. It also brandishes TuVReighland certified blue light protection mode, which is to say that you can trust it to be light on your eyes. In comparison, the whites on the Galaxy M40 are cold and a bit bluish by default, and there is no option to adjust color temperature or saturation.
Another glaring omission on the Galaxy M40 is the lack of audio jack. We don’t think that time is ripe to eliminate this basic feature from phones in this price segment. Unlike Honor, Samsung doesn’t bundle a protective case or a pre-installed display protector either.
The Galaxy M40 doesn’t house a traditional earpiece, and the audio comes from the display using screen sound technology. The Honor 20i has a conventional earpiece that’s also assisted by AI call enhancement technology.
Performance and Software
The Galaxy M40 is powered by the 2.0GHz octa-core Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 675 chipset and the Honor 20i employs its home-made 2.2GHz octa-core Kirin 710 chipset. Both phones come with 128GB storage and support up to 512GB of expandable storage.
Both of these SoCs are really powerful and capable of handling whatever you throw at them without flinching. Since Huawei manufactures its chipsets and software in-house, the two are very well optimized and that clearly shows in the day-to-day usage performance. This also enables Honor to better utilize available resources like battery and RAM, and we never felt wanting for more.
As for gaming, the Honor 20i also benefits from GPU Turbo 2.0 technology that significantly boosts performance in supported titles like PUBG. This makes the overall gaming experience better on the Honor 20i.
The software on both phones is based on Android 9 Pie. The One UI on Galaxy M40 and Magic UI2.1 on the Honor 20i are both quite rich in customization options and features.
Camera and Battery
Both of these phones use triple rear cameras and the implementation is about the same too. The Honor 20i has a high-quality 24MP primary Sony IMX576J sensor, paired with an 8MP wide-angle camera, and a 2MP depth sensor for portraits. The Galaxy M40, on the other hand, offers a 32MP primary camera, an 8MP depth sensor, and a 5MP depth sensor.
The versatile cameras from both of these phones can take amazing shots in proper daylight. However, indoors and in tricky lighting, Honor 20i gets the advantage of advanced AI (something that Huawei has been perfecting for a few years now).
In low light, Honor 20i leverages four in one fusion technology and can capture remarkable shots consistently. The smart AI-powered photography algorithms can detect up to 22 scenes and customize camera settings accordingly, thus resulting in perfect shots without you having to work for it.
The Honor 20i also has a more detailed 32MP selfie camera that outperforms 16MP selfie camera on the Galaxy M40 by a margin. The camera software can detect 8 selfie scenes and optimize the image settings in all lighting conditions accordingly.
As for the battery, the Galaxy M40 has a slightly bigger 3500mAh battery, but thanks to the more efficient software and chipset, the 3400mAh battery on Honor 20i lasts significantly longer.
Conclusion
The Galaxy M40 and Honor 20i are really close in terms of specs they offer, but the actual real-life experience is significantly better on the Honor 20i. The Honor handset leads when it comes to design, display quality, gaming, and lowlight camera performance.
Moreover, the Honor 20i is a good 5K cheaper and that makes it a great buy.
The HONOR 20i goes on sale on July 18, 2019. Please visit the following link to book the HONOR 20i today.
So we shall goes to honor 20i