Samsung Galaxy A80 is now landing in the Chinese market. Finally, a device which is not as expensive as the S or Note flagship line-ups, but still offers some high-end specifications. But there are currently a lot of people wondering whether they should go for a Chinese flagship or for the Galaxy A80. We believe that comparing it to the flagships from the most affordable brands is a good way to help you make a decision about which kind of device you should prefer. So we chose the Honor 20 Pro and the Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer for an in-depth specs comparison which matches the price range of affordable flagships which go from €500 to the beginning of the top-tier segment.
Samsung Galaxy A80 vs Huawei Honor 20 Pro vs Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer
| Samsung Galaxy A80 | Huawei Honor 20 Pro | Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT | 165.2 x 76.5 x 9.3 mm | 154.6 x 74 x 8.4 mm, 182 grams | 157.5 x 74.7 x 7.6 mm, 173 grams |
| DISPLAY | 6.7 inches, 1080 x 2400p (Full HD+), 393 ppi, Super AMOLED | 6.26 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 412 ppi, IPS LCD | 6.39 inches, 1080 x 2160 pixels, 403 ppi, 19.5:9 ratio, Super AMOLED |
| PROCESSOR | Qualcomm Snapdragon 730, octa-core 2.2 GHz | Huawei Hisilicon Kirin 980, octa-core 2.6 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, octa-core 2.84 GHz |
| MEMORY | 8 GB RAM, 128 GB | 8 GB RAM, 256 GB | 8 GB RAM,256 GB – 12 GB RAM, 256 GB |
| SOFTWARE | Android 9 Pie, One UI | Android 9 Pie, EMUI | Android 9 Pie, MIUI |
| CONNECTIVITY | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS |
| CAMERA | Triple 48 + 8 MP + TOF f/2.0 and f/2.2 and | Quad 48 + 8 + 16 + 2 MP f/1.4, f/2.4, f/2.2 and f/2.4 32 MP f/2.0 front camera |
Triple 48 + 12 + 16 MP f/1.5, f/2.2 and f/2.2 20 MP f/2.0 front camera |
| BATTERY | 3700 mAh, fast charging 25W | 4000 mAh, fast charging 22.5W | 3300 mAh, Fast Charging 18W with QUick Charge 4+, Fast wireless charging 20W |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES | Dual SIM slot | Dual SIM slot | Dual SIM slot, fast wireless charging |
Design
Your tastes play the most important role if we talk about the aesthetics of this trio. All of them are built with premium materials including glass for the back cover and aluminum for the frame. They have three different form factors for the display: Honor 20 Pro has a punch-hole screen, Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer has a classic waterdrop notch (but it sports an amazing transparent back) and Samsung Galaxy A80 has a full borderless display without notch, neither holes in the display, thanks to its rotating camera and the absence of a traditional earpiece. Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer has the best build quality (its glasses are protected by Gorilla Glass 6 and the frame is made of 7000 series aluminum), while Honor 20 Pro is the most compact. I personally prefer the Samsung Galaxy A80 due to the higher screen-to-body ratio, but not everyone likes its rear side.
Display
Despite it has the most affordable price tag, Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer is equipped with the best display. It is a Super AMOLED panel which boasts a high DCI-P3 coverage and it is HDR10-compliant, so it has a stunning color reproduction. Right after there is Samsung Galaxy A80 with less accurate colors but a wider display size and still the Super AMOLED technology. The display is not the strongest point of the Honor 20 Pro which is equipped with a classic LCD panel with image quality similar to most of the midrange devices.
Specs & Software
Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer wins the comparison again when it comes to the hardware department. First of all, it sports the most powerful SoC: the octa-core Snapdragon 855 by Qualcomm. Second, it boasts up to 12 GB of RAM which is the highest amount of volatile memory ever mounted on a mobile phone. And it even comes with 256 GB of internal storage in both its memory configurations.
Camera
The absence of OIS on the Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer and the presence of a dedicated macro camera, 3x optical zoom and an amazing 48 MP sensor with a very bright f/1.4 aperture on the Honor 20 Pro would make me go for the Honor 20 Pro which I consider as one of the best camera phones of the year, despite it is an affordable flagship. But if we talk about selfies, Samsung Galaxy A80 wins the comparison because it can use its triple rear setup as a selfie camera too as it is a rotating camera. So with the Galaxy A80, you can shoot very detailed selfies, 4K video selfies, and ultrawide selfies, unlike most of the phones out there.
Battery
Honor 20 Pro has the biggest battery with a capacity of 4000 mAh. And as you are probably thinking, it lasts much more than Galaxy A80 and Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer on a single charge. But Samsung Galaxy A80 is still a good battery phone and it even supports a faster charging technology (Honor 20 Pro is still very fast as it reaches up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes). Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer has everything but long battery life, but it is the only to support wireless charging (which is also very fast with a power of 20W).
Price
Samsung Galaxy A80 vs Honor 20 Pro vs Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer: PROs and CONS
Honor 20 Pro
PROs
- Amazing cameras
- Compact design
- Punch-hole display
- Bigger battery
CONS
- Average IPS display
Samsung Galaxy A80
PROs
- Innovative design
- Good build quality
- Wide display
- The rear cameras can be used as front cameras
CONS
- High price
Xiaomi Mi 9 Explorer
PROs
- Great performance
- Innovative rear design
- Fast wireless charging
- Very nice display
CONS
- Nothing particular
