Earlier this month, we’ve compared the Huawei P30 Pro and the OnePlus 7 Pro, two of the most powerful smartphones Huawei and OnePlus have to offer. Well, it’s time to do the same for the Huawei P30 and OnePlus 7, handsets that are considered flagship offerings, but are a level below the Huawei P30 Pro and OnePlus 7 Pro.
These two devices are still plenty powerful, and share most of their specifications with their siblings. Needless to say, these two phones are more affordable than their more powerful alternatives, and the difference in price tags between these two phones is definitely not huge, but the OnePlus 7 is still the more affordable option.
As per usual, we’ll kick things off by comparing specs of these two devices, and go from there. We’ll compare them across a number of different categories, ranging from design and specifications, to battery life and cameras.
Specifications
Design
So, in terms of the design, these two phones are actually quite similar. Both phones are made out of metal and glass, and both of them feature tiny notches. The Huawei P30 comes with a dewdrop notch, while the OnePlus 7 includes a waterdrop notch.
Both devices include a thin “chi” below the display as well, while the rest of their specs are quite thin. That’s not all, though, as there are similarities on the back sides as well. Both devices include vertically-aligned rear-facing cameras, even though the placement is different. The Huawei P30’s rear-facing units are included in the top-left corner, while they’re centered on the OnePlus 7.
The Huawei P30 and OnePlus 7 each include an in-display fingerprint scanner, which is why you won’t see one anywhere on their bodies. It is worth noting that the Huawei P30 is a lot smaller than the OnePlus 7, that goes for both height and width, while the phone is also thinner and lighter. These two devices are ultimately really similar in terms of the design, and the only question is do you prefer smaller or larger phones, if the design is your main purchase guideline.
Winner: Tie
Display
The Huawei P30 features a 6.1-inch fullHD+ (2340 x 1080) OLED panel, while the OnePlus 7 includes a 6.41-inch fullHD+ (2340 x 1080) Optic AMOLED display. Both devices come with a 19.5:9 display aspect ratio, and both of their displays are flat.
The Huawei P30’s panel is HDR10 compliant, while both panels are protected by a sheet of Gorilla Glass, though we’re not sure which variant exactly. In both cases, it’s either Gorilla Glass 5 or 6.
So, what about sheer quality and output? Well, both displays do the job, and do it really well. FullHD+ resolution is more than enough for these two displays to be plenty sharp, and both of them have excellent viewing angles. Both displays offer great color balance, colors are punchy, and blacks are truly black. Truth be said, the two displays are quite similar in terms of output, that we cannot simply select one.
Winner: Tie
Performance
The Huawei P30 is fueled by the Kirin 980 64-bit octa-core processor from Huawei, while the OnePlus 7 ships with the Snapdragon 855 64-bit octa-core chip by Qualcomm. Both devices are available in 6GB and 8GB RAM variants, and both are plenty powerful.
The OnePlus 7 does include UFS 3.0 flash storage, which is considerably faster than the UFS 2.0 storage that is included in the Huawei P30. Still, you will not notice a huge difference in terms of performance due to this fact, but it does give you a piece of mind if you’re planning to hold onto the device for a longer period of time.
Android 9 Pie comes pre-installed on both phones, but their Android overlays are considerably different. The Huawei P30 includes EMUI 9.1, while the OnePlus 7 ships with OxygenOS 9.5. OxygenOS is a much cleaner Android skin, and in addition to the phone’s powerful specs, it does seem to be a bit faster than EMUI 9.1. The OnePlus 7 does seem to be one small step in ahead of the Huawei P30 in terms of performance, probably due to software, so we’ll give this category to the OnePlus 7.
Winner: OnePlus 7
Battery Life
The Huawei P30 Pro and OnePlus 7 Pro both have great battery life, though the P30 Pro is ahead of the OnePlus 7 Pro in that regard. So, what’s the case with the Huawei P30 and OnePlus 7? Well, they’re quite similar when it comes to battery life.
The OnePlus 6T had great battery life, and this phone comes with the same display, and the same battery pack, but its chip is more power efficient. The OnePlus 7 can provide you with plenty of juice during the day, but the same goes for the Huawei P30 as well. Truth be said, these two devices are quite similar in terms of sheer battery prowess, even though there are some additional battery saving options you can play around with in both cases.
When it comes to charging, neither of the two phones offer wireless charging, but you’re getting fairly fast wired charging. The Huawei P30 includes 22.5W fast charging, while the OnePlus 7 ships with 20W fast charging.
All things considered, the two devices are simply too similar when it comes to battery life and even charging speeds, so we’re unable to give an advantage to either one of the two devices.
Winner: Tie
Cameras
The Huawei P30 does not have an identical camera setup as the P30 Pro, but it’s still amongst the best cameras in the market. OnePlus’ update did improve the OnePlus 7’s camera setup quite a bit, but it still cannot compete with what the P30 has to offer.
The Huawei P30 has incredible zoom capability, which is not on the level of the P30 Pro, but it’s above and beyond what most other phones can provide. Only the Huawei P30 offers an ultrawide camera on the back, same goes for a telephoto camera, as the OnePlus 7’s secondary rear-facing camera is actually a depth sensor.
In nighttime conditions, both phones are capable of providing really bright and well-balanced images, but the Huawei P30 has an upper hand in such conditions, while things are quite similar when there’s plenty of light in a shot. The Huawei P30 has the upper hand in the camera department, its cameras are simply more capable of providing great shots, even though the OnePlus 7’s camera setup is not bad at all.
Winner: Huawei P30
Conclusion
Before we get down to the ultimate conclusion, it is worth saying that the Huawei P30 has an actual IP rating, it is IP53 rated, which essentially means that it is splash and dust resistant. The OnePlus 7 does not offer an IP rating, but it can handle some raindrops and a drop in a puddle without a problem.
Both devices offer Dolby Atmos sound, even though only the OnePlus 7 has stereo speakers, the Huawei P30 is limited to a single, bottom-firing speaker. On the flip side, only the Huawei P30 has a 3.5mm headphone jack, and it is able to provide better audio via headphones.
All things considered, these two phones are basically on an even playing field. They’re quite similar in terms of the design, battery life, and even in the display section, while each of them has their upsides. All in all, this is a tie.
Winner: Tie