ASUS Zenfone 9 vs. Huawei Mate 50 Pro

The ASUS ZenFone 9 is arguably the best compact Android smartphone out there right now. The Huawei Mate 50 Pro, on the other hand, is one of the best camera smartphones on the platform. These two phones don’t have much in common, but they’re both flagship offerings, and some of you might be trying to decide which one to buy. So, in this article, we will compare the ASUS ZenFone 9 to the Huawei Mate 50 Pro.

Considering the fact that they are so different, this should be a rather interesting comparison. First, note that the Huawei Mate 50 Pro comes without Google services. Thus, you will not have access to the Google Play Store and Google applications. There’s the AppGallery store here, along with a ton of other third-party offerings. The ZenFone 9 is considerably smaller in comparison, while the two phones also look different. That said, let’s get started, shall we?

Specifications

ASUS ZenFone 9 vs. Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Design

The design differences are immediately noticeable. Let’s get rid of the size issue first, okay. The ZenFone 9 has a much smaller screen, so it’s no wonder it’s smaller overall. It’s much shorter, narrower and slightly thicker than the Huawei Mate 50 Pro. The ZenFone 9 also weighs significantly less than Huawei’s flagship. If you’re looking for a phone you can comfortably use with one hand and you hate carrying around big phones, the ZenFone 9 is the way to go.

The ZenFone 9 comes with flat sides and a flat screen. It has a hole for the display camera in the upper left corner, thin bezels and two separate camera islands on the back, with two cameras. It also has a soft touch back plate, which offers a different level of softness depending on the color you get. The Huawei Mate 50 Pro, on the other hand, has a curved screen, a display notch (for good reason) and very thin bezels. It has a large circular camera island on the back, which is centered, and it includes three cameras.

By the way, the Mate 50 Pro is much curvier than the ZenFone 9. It comes in both glass and vegan leather, the latter is much less slippery, and that’s the version we tested. The two phones feel completely different in the hand, but they both feel premium. Neither is particularly slippery (the Mate 50 Pro glass model probably is), and it all depends on what you’re looking for. If you like big phones, the Mate 50 Pro is the way to go. If you like compacts, there is nothing better than the ZenFone 9.

ASUS ZenFone 9 vs. Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Display

The ZenFone 9 has a 5.9-inch Super AMOLED FullHD+ (2400 x 1080) display. This panel is flat and it has a refresh rate of 120Hz. HDR10+ content is supported here, while the screen gets quite bright at 1,100 nits of peak brightness. This screen has an aspect ratio of 20:9 and approximately 445 ppi. It is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus.

The Huawei Mate 50 Pro, on the other hand, features a 6.74-inch 2616 x 1212 OLED panel. It can project up to 1 billion colors and has a 120Hz refresh rate. aspect ratio of 19.5:9 and is protected by Huawei Kunlun Glass. By the way, it has a very high screen-to-body ratio and it’s curved. We’re looking at around 428 ppi here.

Truth be told, both of these screens are excellent. Not only do they offer vibrant colors, excellent viewing angles, and great tactile response, but they’re also well protected and a pleasure to use in general. Both panels get bright enough for outdoor use, but things might be better in direct sunlight. They are also very sharp and it is easy to recommend them both. You can’t go wrong here.

ASUS ZenFone 9 vs. Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Performance

Both of these phones feature the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, one of the best SoCs on the market today. Note that the Mate 50 Pro includes a 4G version of this, due to the US ban. The ZenFone 9 also offers up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 flash storage. The Mate 50 Pro also has 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 flash storage. However, they both work admirably.

Both of these phones are incredibly smooth no matter what you’re doing. The ZenFone 9 even has near-stock software, with some useful additions. It’s still one of my favorite apps for Android, if not the most favorite. The Mate 50 Pro offering is different, however. Both software versions are well implemented and optimized, and both devices deliver consistent, everyday performance.

No matter what you do on these phones, you will get excellent performance. This goes for browsing, media consumption, multitasking, image and video processing, etc. Even if you’re a gamer, both of these phones are good enough. They get quite hot during long gaming sessions, but that doesn’t affect their performance. Both of these phones offer great performance, and chances are it will stay that way for quite some time.

ASUS ZenFone 9 vs Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Battery

The ZenFone 9 packs a 4,300mAh battery, while the Mate 50 Pro has a 4,700mAh unit. Note that the ZenFone 9 has a considerably smaller screen. Now, these batteries might not seem like a lot to you, but they are enough for these two phones. Both devices offer very good battery life, to say the least. Getting 7 hours of screen per hour is no problem for either device.

In fact, you may even cross the 8 hour mark, depending on your usage. Note that such battery life is achievable without gaming, but with lots of use in different ways. The ZenFone 9 probably offers the best battery life in a compact smartphone under 6 inches, it’s that good, which was a surprise. The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 has something to do with it, in both cases.

When it comes to charging, the Mate 50 Pro has the upper hand. The ZenFone 9 supports 30W wired charging and 5W reverse wired charging. The Mate 50 Pro offers 66W wired, 50W wireless, and 5W reverse wireless charging. The good news is that both smartphones come with a charger in the box, unlike a number of other high-end smartphones on the market.

ASUS ZenFone 9 vs. Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Cameras

As for the cameras, the ZenFone 9 has two on the back, while the Mate 50 Pro has three. The two OEMs have taken significantly different approaches. The ZenFone 9 has gimbal OIS, while the XMAGE camera setup is included on the Mate 50 Pro. In other words, you can shoot really stable video on the ZenFone 9, while that stabilization also helps with footage. Huawei, on the other hand, has a variable aperture. Neither are gimmicks, not at all.

Overall, the Huawei Mate 50 Pro was a more reliable shooter, but the ZenFone 9 isn’t far behind. On default settings, the Mate 50 Pro delivers warmer images, while the ZenFone 9 is a bit closer to the Pixel look. The ZenFone 9 tends to use sharpening a bit more when there’s not a lot of light in the shot, which isn’t as noticeable on the Mate 50 Pro. Their ultra-wide cameras are also quite capable, but the Mate 50 Pros offer a wider FoV.

Both smartphones do an excellent job of imaging in pretty much all scenarios, but we preferred the Mate 50 Pro’s images. When it comes to video, they both do a great job, but if you need super steady shots, the ZenFone 9 has the edge. Note that you won’t be able to zoom in this mode, however. The ZenFone 9 has a much better camera than its predecessor, while the Mate 50 Pro is one of the best camera smartphones on the market.

audio

You will find a set of stereo speakers on both of these smartphones. Both sets are pretty strong and pretty detailed too. The Mate 50 Pro has an advantage in this regard. It’s not a huge difference, but you’ll get a bit more volume and a bit more detail too.

What the Mate 50 Pro doesn’t have is an audio jack. The ZenFone 9 comes with this port, in case you prefer wired audio to date. You’ll need to use a Type-C port on the Mate 50 Pro to get there. Both phones have Bluetooth 5.2, in case you were wondering.