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The ASUS ZenFone 6 and Huawei P30 Pro are both flagship smartphone offerings, though these two smartphones are considerably different, in pretty much every way. The two phones even come with considerably different price points, as the ZenFone 6 is quite a bit more affordable.
If you’re trying to opt for one of these two smartphones, and you don’t mind the price difference between them, well, we’re here to help you decide which one to get. As we usually do, we’ll compare these two handsets in a number of categories, and hopefully be able to help you figure out which one is better suited for you.
We’ll kick things off by comparing spec sheets of both smartphones, and then move towards design, display, and so on.
Specifications
Design
These two phones are made out of metal and glass, so they have that much in common, but they look considerably different, not to mention that the in-hand feel is different as well. Despite the fact the Huawei P30 Pro has a larger display than the ZenFone 6, and both phones actually have the same display aspect ratio, the P30 Pro is the narrower.
That is not all that surprising if you consider the fact that the P30 Pro has a curved display, while the ZenFone 6 includes a flat panel. The Huawei P30 Pro is also shorter, and quite a bit thinner than the ZenFone 6. The two phones weight about the same, the difference is 2 grams, which is negligible.
The ASUS ZenFone 6 offers a cleaner look on the front, as it does not include a display notch, nor a display hole, only a thin “chin” below the display. The Huawei P30 Pro also offers extremely thin bezels and a “chin”, but it does come with a waterdrop display notch.
The back side of the Huawei P30 Pro looks better, though, as the flip camera setup on the ZenFone 6 doesn’t look as pretty as we’d like, not to mention that the ZenFone 6 has quite a bit of branding on the back, along with a fingerprint scanner.
Both devices are quite slippery, though the P30 Pro is easier to use in one hand, due to its dimensions, and it seems like it has some sort of coating on top of the glass, as it doesn’t feel as slippery. In terms of which phone won this round, well, we’ll call it a tie, both devices have their strong points in terms of the design, which we’ve mentioned, so it’s up to you to decide which you like better.
Winner: Tie
Display
Displays on these two phones are similar in size and aspect ratio, but that’s basically the only joint point. The ASUS ZenFone 6 comes with a 6.4-inch fullHD+ IPS LCD display, while the Huawei P30 Pro includes a 6.47-inch fullHD+ OLED panel.
The ZenFone 6’s display is flat, while the P30 Pro’s is curved. In terms of overall quality and output, the Huawei P30 Pro does come out on top. Its display is more vibrant, the ZenFone 6’s LCD panel cannot measure up to the OLED display included on the P30 Pro, even though it’s a solid display on its own.
Both displays are more than sharp enough, and both have really good viewing angles. Both of these panels are also HDR10 certified, and in terms of protection, both use Gorilla Glass. The ZenFone 6 comes with a sheet of Gorilla Glass 6, while the Huawei P30 Pro opted either for Gorilla Glass 5 or 6, we’re not sure.
All in all, the Huawei P30 Pro comes on top in this comparison, unless you really dislike curved panels. The P30 Pro’s OLED panel offerings better contrast, punchier colors, and those deep blacks that people seem to love so much.
Winner: Huawei P30 Pro
Performance
So, what about performance? Both of these phones are flagship offerings, so you’d think they have top-of-the-line specs, and that is correct. Both phones are fueled by flagship SoC, and ship with plenty of RAM, though their flagship processors are considerably different.
The ASUS ZenFone 6 includes the Snapdragon 855, while the Huawei P30 Pro comes with the Kirin 980. Both of those chips are plenty powerful, and both phones come in 6GB and 8GB RAM variants.
Android 9 Pie comes pre-installed on both devices, though ASUS’ and Huawei’s Android skins are considerably different. ASUS’ ZenUI 6 is a colossal improvement over ZenUI 5, as ASUS opted to remove quite a bit of bloatware, and stick to stock Android, for the most part.
Huawei’s Emotion UI is not close to stock Android, but it is a really solid option nonetheless. EMUI 9.1 which comes pre-installed on the P30 Pro is well-optimized, and it brings a ton of useful features to the table.
Neither of these two skins is perfect, and you will notice a stutter or two while using these two phones, but that’s only something that nitpickers will notice. Both phones offer admirable performance and can handle anything you throw at them, so if the performance is your most important category, we’re sorry to say that these two are on the same playing field, so we cannot really help you decide based solely on this. It all depends on what you prefer, if you like stock Android and would like to use something close to it, go for the ZenFone 6, if EMUI is your cup of tea and you like the extra features, the P30 Pro is a great choice.
Winner: Tie
Battery Life
What about battery life? This category is especially interesting, as these two devices are amongst the very best flagship offerings when it comes to battery life. The ZenFone 6 and P30 Pro include 5,000mAh and 4,200mAh batteries, respectively, and they both offer amazing battery life.
When comparing other flagship devices to these two, they usually lose, while the ZenFone 6 and P30 Pro are basically on the same playing field in terms of battery life. If you’re a power user, either of these phones will satisfy your needs, as they’re not that easy to kill in a single day, unless you’re really heavily gaming or something of the sort.
The Huawei P30 Pro does have an edge when it comes to charging, though. The P30 Pro offers 40W fast battery charging (wired), while the ZenFone 6 ships with 18W fast charging. The P30 Pro also has support for 15W wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging. The ZenFone 6 does not support wireless charging, but it does support reverse wired charging.
So, what’s the verdict? Well, the P30 Pro does offer more options in terms of charging, that’s for sure, but considering that this category is called “Battery Life”, and sheer longevity is what we’re mostly looking at here, we’ll call it a tie… it’s difficult to pick one phone here.
Winner: Tie
Cameras
The Huawei P30 Pro is one of the best camera smartphones on the market, if not the best one, so this is probably the easiest decision out of the whole comparison. The ASUS ZenFone 6 does not have poor camera quality, quite the opposite, its cameras are quite capable, but cannot measure up to the P30 Pro.
The ZenFone 6 has two cameras overall, as it uses its rear-facing cameras as front-facing ones as well (flip camera setup). The phone offers really well-balanced shots during the day, while they’re not all that great in the nighttime. You do get automatic panorama feature in the camera, though, plus you can move its flip camera setup manually by using the volume buttons, so you can basically angle a shot any way you want.
The Huawei P30 Pro offers better colors, better dynamic range, and it balances pictures better overall in normal conditions. The P30 Pro’s night mode works great, not only does it allow plenty of light to enter a specific shot, but it also balances everything really well, and doesn’t let much noise to creep in. The ZenFone 6 can shoot solid pictures in the dark, but they end up darker and noisier than what the P30 Pro can provide.
If you’re looking for great selfie cameras, though, the ZenFone 6 comes out on top. It’s difficult to compete with the ZenFone 6 in this regard, as it uses its main cameras as its selfie cameras as well, so, needless to say, selfie camera quality on the ZenFone 6 is great.
Winner: Huawei P30 Pro
Audio
Both of these devices are quite capable in the audio department as well. The ASUS ZenFone 6 comes with stereo speakers which are fairly good, while the Huawei P30 Pro offers only one speaker. The P30 Pro’s single speaker is bottom-firing, but it’s actually quite loud, and generally quite good, but it cannot measure up to the stereo setup on the ZenFone 6.
Things change quite a bit when you plug in your headphones, though, as the P30 Pro offers a richer output, and audio coming from the device is more balanced, presuming your headphones are good enough. The ZenFone 6 offers DTS Headphone X support, while the P30 Pro comes with Dolby Atmos sound.
Winner: Huawei P30 Pro
Conclusion
Both of these phones are really great options, and if you’re looking to save up some cash, the ZenFone 6 is the phone for you. The device also offers great battery life, a solid performance, and decent audio.
The Huawei P30 Pro has an upper hand in the camera department, that’s for sure, while the P30 Pro’s display is also noticeably better. The P30 Pro also offers great battery life, and nice design as well. It all depends on what your preferences are, really, as they’re both great phones. In this comparison, however, the P30 Pro is the winner.
Winner: Huawei P30 Pro