Huawei P50 Pro vs Samsung S22 Ultra: Which One Is The Best For Me In 2022?

Part I: Huawei P50 Pro vs Samsung S22 Ultra: Price and Release Date

Huawei finally managed to release the P50 Pro in China in December, at a suggested retail price of CNY 6488 for 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage combination and going up to CNY 8488 for 12 GB RAM + 512 GB storage. That translates to USD 1000+ for 8 GB + 256 GB storage and USD 1300+ for 12 GB RAM + 512 GB storage option in the US. Huawei P50 Pro is available for purchase in China since December and is globally available beginning January 12, 2022, as per Huawei.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is not launched yet, but the rumor mill suggests you do not have to wait too long for it. It could launch as early as the second week of February 2022 with the release happening in the fourth week. This means there’s just about 4 weeks or 1 month to go! Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is slated to be priced anywhere around USD 1200 and USD 1300 if rumors are to be believed about a USD 100 price rise across the S22 lineup.

Part II: Huawei P50 Pro vs Samsung S22 Ultra: Design and Displays

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is said to feature a flatter design, less pronounced cameras, and a matte back with the S-Pen holder built-in. Careful users with a keen eye shall notice that the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra design is much reminiscent of the Note phablets of yore and is sure to excite fans of the now-dead Note lineup. Display duty is likely going to be accomplished by a 6.8-inch panel that is also going to be eye-searingly bright at over 1700 nits, if rumors are to be believed, and is likely going to beat even the iPhone 13 Pro, according to a report!

Huawei P50 Pro design is breathtaking. The front is, as is the norm today, all screen, and the screen-to-body ratio of 91.2% to make for an immersive viewing experience. The handset features a curved, 450 PPI, 6.6-inch OLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate - the best available today. The P50 Pro is comfortable to hold, weighs under 200 grams, at 195g precisely, and is thin at 8.5 mm only. However, this is not what will surprise you most about the Huawei P50 Pro.

Part III: Huawei P50 Pro vs Samsung S22 Ultra: Cameras

More than anything else, it is the camera setup on the Huawei P50 Pro that will capture the fancy of people. They will either like it or hate it, such is the camera design. Why? Because there are two huge circles cut out in the back of the Huawei P50 Pro to accommodate what Huawei calls Dual Matrix camera design, bears the Leica name and is reviewed as one of the best, if not the best, camera setups you can buy in a smartphone in 2022. There is no way you will not recognize a P50 Pro if you are looking at one in someone’s hand. On duty is an f/1.8 50 MP main camera with optical image stabilization (OIS), 40 MP monochrome sensor, 13 MP ultra-wide, and a 64 MP telephoto lens. The front houses a 13 MP selfie camera.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has some amazing tricks up its sleeve as well this year, to entice customers to its impending flagship release. Rumors suggest that Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra will come with a 108 MP camera unit along with a 12 MP ultra-wide. An additional two 10 MP lenses with 3x and 10x zoom and OIS will do telephoto duty on the Galaxy S22 Ultra. This can seem not much different, and it isn’t, per se. What is, then? It is that the 108 MP camera will come with a newly developed Super Clear lens that should reduce reflections and glare, making for photos that look clearer, hence the name. An AI Detail Enhancement Mode is also said to be in the works to complement the 108 MP sensor on the S22 Ultra camera to allow for software post-processing resulting in photos that look better, sharper, and clearer than other 108 MP cameras in other smartphones. For reference, Apple has long stayed with a 12 MP sensor on its iPhones, choosing to refine the sensor and its properties instead and relying on post-processing magic to work out the rest. iPhones take some of the best photos in the smartphone world, and for numbers, that’s just a 12 MP sensor. It is exciting to see what Samsung can do with its AI detail enhancement mode and a 108 MP sensor.

Part IV: Huawei P50 Pro vs Samsung S22 Ultra: Hardware and Specs

Which begs the question, what would the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra be powered by? The US model could be powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip as against the much-expected Samsung’s own 4 nm Exynos 2200 chip that was to come integrated with a 1300 MHz AMD Radeon GPU. Samsung could and even might launch the S22 Ultra with Exynos 2200 at a later date, but all signs today point to a release with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip across all markets. So, what’s this chip about? Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is built on a 4 nm process and utilizes ARMv9 instructions to bring performance and efficiency improvements. The 8 Gen 1 SoC is 20% faster while consuming 30% less power than the 5 nm octa-core Snapdragon 888 that powered flagship devices in 2021.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Specs (rumored):

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC

RAM: Likely to start with 8 GB and go up to 12 GB

Storage: Likely to start at 128 GB and go up to 512 GB, may even come with 1 TB

Display: 6.81 inches 120 Hz Super AMOLED QHD+ featuring 1700+ nits brightness and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus

Cameras: 108 MP primary with Super Clear lens, 12 MP ultra-wide and two telephotos with 3x and 10x zoom and OIS

Battery: Likely 5,000 mAh

Software: Android 12 with Samsung OneUI 4

Huawei P50 Pro, on the other hand, is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 4G. Yes, that 4G means that the flagship Huawei P50 Pro is, sadly, incapable of connecting to 5G networks. Huawei is said to release a P50 Pro 5G at a later date.

Huawei P50 Pro Specs:

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 4G

RAM: 8 GB or 12 GB

Storage: 128/ 256/ 512 GB

Cameras: 50 MP main unit with IOS, 40 MP monochrome, 13 MP ultra-wide, and 64 MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom and OIS

Battery: 4360 mAh with 50W wireless charging and 66W wired

Software: HarmonyOS 2

Part V: Huawei P50 Pro vs Samsung S22 Ultra: Software

Software is as important as hardware in any tech product that a user interacts with. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is rumored to come with Android 12 with Samsung’s popular OneUI skin upgraded to version 4 whereas Huawei P50 Pro comes with Huawei’s own Harmony OS version 2. Of note is that due to restrictions on the company, Huawei cannot provide Android on its handsets, and as such, no Google service will work on these devices out of the box.

Part VI: Huawei P50 Pro vs Samsung S22 Ultra: Battery

How long will I be able to distract myself on my latest and greatest? Well, if hard numbers are to go by, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra comes with a nearly 600 mAh larger battery than the Huawei P50 Pro at 5,000 mAh versus the P50 Pro’s 4360 mAh. Seeing as the Samsung S21 Ultra featured a 5,000 mAh battery, the S22 Ultra could, in the real world, perform better than the predecessor and give over 15 hours of typical use. Don’t hold your breath on how much better, though, until the phone is officially launched.

Huawei P50 Pro comes with a 4360 mAh battery that should give over 10 hours of typical usage.

With what is known about the Huawei P50 Pro and what is rumored to come with Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, the two seem equally poised flagships from the two companies with key differences in only two major aspects and one matter of user preference. The key differentiators are that while Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is expected to come with Android 12, the Huawei comes with HarmonyOS version 2 and does not support Google services, not out of the box, not as sideload. Secondly, Huawei P50 Pro is a 4G device whereas Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra would feature 5G radios. However, regardless of how great or not the hardware is, if someone does not like a particular software experience, they would not purchase that hardware. So, if you are a Google user and wish to stay so, the choice is already made for you, even as the Huawei P50 Pro might take better photos owing to its cameras being developed in partnership with Leica and being consistent top performers. On the other hand, if HarmonyOS is what works for you and you are a camera person through and through, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra might not be for you.

Part VII: More Info About Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Your Queries Answered

VII.I: Does Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra have dual SIM?

If Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is to be gone by, the successor S22 Ultra should come in both single and dual SIM options.

VII.II: Is the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra waterproof?

Nothing is known for sure yet, but it could come with IP68 or a better rating. The IP68 rating means that Galaxy S21 Ultra could be used underwater at a depth of 1.5 meters for 30 minutes without causing damage to the device.

VII.III: Will Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra have expandable memory?

The S21 Ultra did not come with an SD card slot, and there is no reason the S22 Ultra would unless Samsung has a change of heart. That would be known only when the phone officially launches.

VII.IV: How to transfer data from old Samsung phone to new Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra?

If you are wondering about how to transfer data from your old device to the new Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra or your Huawei P50 Pro, you have nothing to worry about. Between Samsung and Samsung devices, it is usually easy to transfer data considering both Google and Samsung provide options to migrate data between devices. However, if that is not your cup of tea or if you are thinking about buying a Huawei P50 Pro that does not support Google services right now, you might have to look elsewhere. In that case, you can use Dr.Fone by Wondershare Company. Dr.Fone is a suite developed by Wondershare to help you with anything with regard to your smartphone. Naturally, data migration is supported and you can use Dr.Fone - Phone Backup (Android) to back up your current phone and then restore to your new device(in general, as a healthy practice) and for migrating your old phone data to your new phone when you buy it, you can use Dr.Fone - Phone Transfer.

Conclusion

These are exciting times for anyone in the market looking for a new Android smartphone. The Huawei P50 Pro just went global, and the Samsung S22 Ultra is about to launch in a matter of weeks. Both devices are flagship devices with only two key differences separating them meaningfully. These are cellular network connectivity and whether or not Google serves matters to you. Huawei P50 Pro is a 4G smartphone and will not connect to 5G networks that might have launched or may be in process of launching in your region, and it does not support Google services either, owing to restrictions placed by the US. Samsung S22 Ultra is going to come with Android 12 and Samsung’s OneUI 4 and will work with 5G networks as well. On account of these two key differentiators, the Samsung S22 Ultra is well worth the wait and is the better buy of the two for an average user looking for the most seamless experiences. However, if you want the best camera possible, the Leica-branded camera in the Huawei P50 Pro is a force to reckon with and will keep most shutterbugs satisfied for a long time to come.