Samsung A50 Vs Huawei P20 Lite: Which One You Should Buy?

Estimated read time 11 min read
SAMSUNG A50P20 LITE
BUY NOWBUY NOW
PROSPROS
Best display for the price.
Design reminiscent of flagships.
Low price.
Solid performance.
Attractive design.
Crisp, expansive display.
Face unlock works.
CONSCONS
Camera falls short of Pixel 3a.
Battery life is underwhelming.
Feels a little cheap.
Limited notch support from apps.
Below-par performance.
You can get much better specs for less money.

SPECIFICATIONS

LAUNCHSAMSUNG A50HUAWEI P20 LITE
Announced2019, February2019, June
StatusAvailable. Released 2019, MarchAvailable. Released 2019, July
BODYSAMSUNG A50HUAWEI P20 LITE
Dimensions158.5 x 74.7 x 7.7 mm (6.24 x 2.94 x 0.30 in)159.1 x 75.9 x 8.3 mm (6.26 x 2.99 x 0.33 in)
Weight166 g (5.86 oz)178 g (6.28 oz)
SIMSingle SIM (Nano-SIM) or Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
DISPLAYSAMSUNG A50HUAWEI P20 LITE
TypeSuper AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colorsLTPS IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size6.4 inches, 100.5 cm2 (~84.9% screen-to-body ratio)6.4 inches, 101.4 cm2 (~84.0% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~403 ppi density)1080 x 2310 pixels (~398 ppi density)
PLATFORMSAMSUNG A50HUAWEI P20 LITE
OSAndroid 9.0 (Pie), upgradable to Android 10.0; One UI 2.0Android 9.0 (Pie), EMUI 9.1
ChipsetExynos 9610 (10nm)Hisilicon Kirin 710 (12 nm)
CPUOcta-core (4×2.3 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.7 GHz Cortex-A53)Octa-core (4×2.2 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.7 GHz Cortex-A53)
GPUMali-G72 MP3Mali-G51 MP4
MEMORYSAMSUNG A50HUAWEI P20 LITE
Card slotmicroSDXC (dedicated slot)microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot)
Internal64GB 4GB RAM, 64GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM
MAIN CAMERASAMSUNG A50HUAWEI P20 LITE
Modules25 MP, f/1.7, 26mm (wide), PDAF
8 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm
5 MP, f/2.2, (depth)
16 MP, f/1.8, PDAF
8 MP, (ultrawide)
2 MP, f/2.4, 27mm (macro), 1/5.0″, 1.75µm
2 MP, f/2.4, (depth)
FeaturesLED flash, panorama, HDR LED flash, HDR, panorama
Video1080p@30fps1080p@30fpS
SELFIE CAMERASAMSUNG A50HUAWEI P20 LITE
Modules25 MP, f/2.0, 25mm (wide), 1/2.8″, 0.9µm16 MP, f/2.2
FeaturesHDRHDR
Video1080p@30fps1080p@30fps
SOUNDSAMSUNG A50HUAWEI P20 LITE
LoudspeakerYesYes
3.5mm jackYesYes
COMMUNICATIONSAMSUNG A50HUAWEI P20 LITE
WLANWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspotWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth5.0, A2DP, LE5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD
GPSYes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDSYes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
RadioFM radioFM radio
USB2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go
FEATURESSAMSUNG A50HUAWEI P20 LITE
SensorsFingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
ANT+
Bixby natural language commands and dictation
Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
BATTERYSAMSUNG A50HUAWEI P20 LITE
BatteryNon-removable Li-Po 4000 mAh battery
Fast charging 15W
Non-removable Li-Po 4000 mAh battery
Fast charging 18W
MISCSAMSUNG A50HUAWEI P20 LITE
ColorsBlack, White, Blue, CoralMidnight Black, Crush Blue, Charming Red

DESIGN & BUILD

Samsung A50:

The Samsung A50 has a sober design. I really liked the grip and it is not slippery, if we compare with the models that use glass in the back. But this device does not have glass, it is made with plastic and glass which Samsung called “GLASTICK”. And Yes, I have to say that this device is fingerprint magnet. There is IP rating for this device.

Samsung A50 front is marked by reduced frames and the drop type notch. On the other hand, on it’s back only includes a camera module, which is triple and in vertical format. The bulge of the camera is barely noticeable and does not affect the performance of the terminal over A flat surface.

The distribution of buttons is quite classic. Volume and power button on right, Type C charging port and 3.5 millimeter headphone jack at the bottom, and the SIM tray on the left side.

Huawei P20 Lite:

With its notched edge to edge screen, the p20 light brings to mind much more expensive phones like Huawei 7, P20 pro or the iPhone 10.

We’re not sure if the back is plastic or glass but it feels nice. We like the shiny highlights around the rear mounted fingerprint reader and the dual camera.

One thing we did notice is that there is a pretty big gap between the back and the frame which could collect lint or dust over time and this phone isn’t waterproof. It is quite lightweight though and the raised edges on this metal frame give it a decent grip.

a50 vs p20 lite - 4

DISPLAY

Samsung A50:

The display of A50 is 6.4 inch SuperAMOLED, with resolution FHD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels), with a density of 403.

The quality of the AMOLED panel is excellent. The color reproduction is quite good. It also offers good viewing angles and at outdoors it is one of the best screens in this price segment. The adaptive brightness sensor is very fast and reliable. You can also customize the experience by varying the mode of screen. Like you can customize if you want to see the notch or not with a simple Setting.

Huawei P20 Lite:

The P20 light screen is a 5.8 inch IPS LCD with minimal bezels, and 19:9 aspect ratio. It has really deep blacks for an LCD and the notch doesn’t get in the way of content which is nice. If you want you can choose to hide the notch by turning the upper strip of the screen. This display is pretty bright around 418 nits. Sunlight legibility is not a strong point, barely average in our tests.

AUDIO

Samsung A50:

The A50 did sound a little low in the mids and the bass wasn’t really punchy and you can really tell in loud volumes compared to the actual music. And if you are gaming or watching movie then I will recommend you to use headphones for better experience.

Huawei P20 Lite:

For audio, there is a single bottom firing speaker next to the USB-C port. It’s quite loud even rivaling the speaker of the regular P20. You can also plug your headphones into the 3.5 millimeter jack and even listen to FM radio.

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SOFTWARE & PERFORMANCE

Samsung A50:

Samsung A50 comes in 2 different version 4GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB. You can also expand the storage with microSD up to 512GB. The heart of the Samsung Galaxy A50 is endowed by the Exynos 9610 processor, manufactured in 10 nm, and that has four Cortex A73 and four other A53 cores. It runs at 2.3GHz. From the graphic section, there is Mali-G72 MP3.

The phone gets Android 9 out of the box along with the One UI. The UI is clean and minimal. It also offers dark mode which I think look more cool because of AMOLED display.

This device has excellent fluidity, also there is no lag problems or problematic delays. Playing demanding games is satisfactory and I have not found any heating issue. But if you are gaming for long time then at some point the phone will start heating and you will see some minor lags. So if you are hard gamer then of course this device is not for you.

Huawei P20 Lite:

The UI of the P20 light is EMUI 8.0 over Android 8.0. It runs pretty smoothly, it isn’t nearly stock Android though. Huawei provides its own proprietary apps instead of relying on those from Google. You can choose between having apps on the home screen or in an app drawer. As well as change themes and transition effects and updates will roll out according to Huawei schedule.

The P20 light has a Kirin 659 chipset in 4GB of RAM. It does a decent job but the Kirin 659 has been around for about 4 years already. In benchmarks, it trails behind some of the newer mid-range competition, especially in graphics performance. But in the games we tried we didn’t notice any glaring issues and the phone doesn’t run too hot or throttle under stress.

CAMERA

Samsung A50:

On the back we’ve got a triple camera set up 25MP f1.7 camera which is 26mm wide with Phase Detection Autofocus or PDAF, its also got an 8MP Camera, that’s an f2.2 aperture camera and actually the ultra wide 13mm camera and the last one is just the 5MP depth sensor also with an f/ 2.2 aperture. The front camera of the A50 is a large 25MP. It can shoot HDR or High Dynamic Range and 1080p in 30 frames per second which is decent.

We’ve got Panorama mode on the back, Pro mode to control ISO, White Balance and Exposure, Live Focus which applies a blur to the background of your subject at different levels, Photo mode with Scene Optimizer for better shots and in the same Photo mode we’ve got the 8MP ultra wide camera which is very wide. Video mode also has ultra wide and normal setting and they both have this trippy zoom in and out effect to it.

One thing to note though is that both front and back cameras can even record in 2336 x 1080 which is a 19:9 video and photo mode that utilizes the entire screen. We can also record slow motion video up to 120 fps and we can shoot a hyper lapse.

On the 25MP front camera side of things, we’ve got only 3 modes, live focus or Samsung’s portrait mode and then photo and video mode which you can’t zoom in from. You’ve also got AR Emoji.

I really enjoyed the pictures produced from the rear cameras of the A50, the quality and color even though it was a little higher on the saturation scale, was quite impressive for me.

The wide Angled shots were especially impressive as well. Even videos shot on the wide angle were super stable and I’ve really got to give it to Samsung.

Slow motion was also really smooth and interesting to create.

Selfies I took still added some beautification and didn’t quite capture exposure properly.

Huawei P20 Lite:

The P20 light has a dual camera setup. There’s a 16 megapixel main camera, face detection autofocus. And it’ll make a pixel secondary camera which is only there to support bokeh mode. There is no like a branding or black and white sensor unlike on the more expensive Huawei phones.

In good light, the main camera does a nice job. Shots have great contrast, accurate colors, and above-average dynamic range. There were some visible noise but it doesn’t get in the way.

In low-light, photos come out okay. There were little noise and colors come out fine but a bit washed out. They were little soft too. We were sort of disappointed with the cameras night mode though, it’s nowhere near as magical as the P20 and images come out dark and underexposed.

The secondary camera provides depth information for variable aperture mode which creates a defocused background behind the subject. It isn’t as accurate as on Huawei flagships but it’s usable.

Portrait mode combines the variable aperture with beautification to enhance faces. Again, edge detection isn’t perfect. There are sometimes traces of the background left sharp or more often some details end up missing from your subject.

The 16 megapixel selfie camera is above average. Shots turned out fine, detailed one with pleasing colors.

For videos the P20 light can only record in 1080p at 30fps and there is no stabilization. We expected more at this price range. Quality wise, it has average sharpness and dynamic range though the colors in contrast are good and noise is kept low.

SECURITY

Samsung A50:

There is a in-display fingerprint sensor which I did not like so much. Fingerprint recognition is somewhat erratic. If your finger is not on the correct place then it will not unlock your phone. And it not fast to it’s competition. Face recognition is not missing in this device.

Huawei P20 Lite:

We tried out the fingerprint reader is fast and responsive and always ready to wake up the phone. You can also use facial recognition to unlock the P20 light and it works well.

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BATTERY

Samsung A50:

A50 is equipped with 4000 mAh battery, a considerable capacity at this price point. The Galaxy A50 allows you to reach the end of the day with battery remaining by over 25%. In our usual use, this device has offered about 17 hours, of which between 7 hours of screen on time. It supports 15W fast charger, which allows us to charge the Phone from 0% to 100% in just 80 minutes. But you will find the 10W charger inside the box, so you have to buy 15W charger.

Huawei P20 Lite:

Battery-wise, the P20 light isn’t a champion but it does all right. It has 3000mAh battery earned a 77 hour endurance rating in our test. Our phone arrived with a fast charger which may not be the same in all markets, when we plugged in to charge, we had a mixed experience with the charging speed. Getting between 19% and 30% in the first half hour. Charging the entire battery took anywhere between 2-3 hours.

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WHICH ONE YOU SHOULD BUY?

Overall, Samsung A50 is beats the P20 Lite. Samsung A50 is much better choice to buy. I know A50 is expensive than P20 Lite but that extra money will worth it. And still if you want to save money then of course choose the P20 Lite.

Avatar for Jaskaran Singh

Jaskaran Singh

Jaskaran, a tech enthusiast from childhood, inspired by his father, began his tech journey by rooting Android phones. He now writes on various tech topics, aiming to simplify complex ideas for a broad audience. His writing is direct, concise, and flows effortlessly, making tech topics accessible and engaging.

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