Huawei Nova 4 and Samsung Galaxy A8s are the first smartphones ever to feature a hole-punch display. Thanks to the fact that the display integrates the front camera in a small hole, they do not need a notch, neither a slider or a pop-up front camera, in order to deliver extremely narrow bezels on three sides and a screen-to-body ratio close to 100 percent. Will they be considered the best solution to get rid of notches? Only time will give us the answer. Meanwhile, here is an in-depth specs comparison.
Huawei Nova 4 vs Samsung Galaxy A8s
| Huawei Nova 4 | Samsung Galaxy A8s | |
|---|---|---|
| DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT | 157 x 75.1 x 7.8 mm,
172 grams |
158.4 x 74.9 x 7.4 mm,
173 grams |
| DISPLAY | 6.4 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 398 ppi, IPS LCD | 6.4 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 402 ppi, IPS LCD |
| PROCESSOR | Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 970, octa-core 2.4 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 710, octa-core 2.2 GHz |
| MEMORY | 8 GB RAM, 128 GB, micro SD slot | 6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – micro SD slot |
| SOFTWARE | Android 9 Pie, EMUI | Android 9 Pie, Samsung UI |
| CONNECTIVITY | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS |
| CAMERA | Triple 48 + 16 MP + 2 MP f/1.8 and f/2.2 and f/2.4 25 MP f/2.0 front camera |
Triple 24 + 10 + 5 MP f/1.7 and f/2.2 24 MP f/2.0 front camera |
| BATTERY | 3750 mAh Fast charging 18W |
3400 mAh, Fast Charging |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES | Hybrid Dual SIM slot, in-display camera | Hybrid Dual SIM slot, in-display camera |
Design
Huawei has been able to make a more impressive design with the new Huawei Nova 4. Indeed, the handset features a higher screen-to-body ratio as well as a smaller hole for the front camera, at least from what the first official renders are showing. Further, the rear side is more attractive as well thanks to the reflective back available in gradient color variants. Samsung Galaxy A8s is a slightly thinner phone, but on the other hand, it is a bit taller.
Display
Samsung always provides better displays for most of its handsets, but it is not the case when it comes to the new Samsung Galaxy A8s. It is the only last-gen phone from the Galaxy A series to sport an IPS LCD display instead of a Super AMOLED panel. Huawei Nova 4 has an IPS display too and the same resolution, so we expect a very similar viewing quality. However, we will have to test them personally to give a final judgment about their displays.
Specs & Software
Huawei Nova 4 wins when it comes to performance because of its better hardware. Indeed, it comes with a high-end processor, the Kirin 970 which is the same found on the Huawei P20 Pro, paired with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. It delivers blazing speeds as well as a great adaptability to multi-tasking. Samsung Galaxy A8s will provide very nice performances, but it remains an upper mid-ranger with its Snapdragon 710 chipset. Both the phones come with Android Pie out of the box customized with the companies’ proprietary user interfaces.
Camera
Besides their punch-hole display, cameras are the main focus of Huawei Nova 4 and Samsung Galaxy A8s. On the paper, the former looks more impressive because it is the first to come with the new Sony sensor sporting a resolution of 48 Megapixels, in a triple camera setup. However, Samsung Galaxy A8s is an outstanding camera phone as well with its triple camera and a very bright f/1.7 aperture. We are yet to see how each device performs in the most demanding scenarios to express an opinion.
Battery
We can not give a final verdict about battery life as well. Huawei Nova 4 has a much bigger battery, but usually, Samsung optimizes its batteries in a better way, so the battery life of these devices might be similar.
Price
Overall, at least on the paper, I am more impressed by the Huawei Nova 4 because of its more beautiful design and a higher-end hardware. It just debuted in China with a price tag of about €500 for the high version with the 48 MP triple camera (there is also a standard version with a lower-end camera), while the price of Samsung Galaxy A8s is still shrouded into mystery.
Huawei Nova 4 vs Samsung Galaxy A8s: PRO and CONS
Huawei Nova 4
PRO
- Higher screen-to-body ratio
- Outstanding rear camera
- Big battery
- Amazing hardware
CONS
- Worse connectivity
Samsung Galaxy A8s
PRO
- Good cameras
- FM radio
- Sleek design
- Good battery
CONS
- No 3.5 mm jack
