Newsletter
The ASUS ZenFone 9 is arguably the best compact smartphone on Android at the moment. The Huawei Mate 50 Pro, on the other hand, is one of the best camera smartphones on the platform. These two phones do not have all that much in common, but they are both flagship-grade offerings, and some of you may be trying to decide which one to buy. So, in this article, we’ll compare the ASUS ZenFone 9 vs Huawei Mate 50 Pro.
Considering the fact they are so different, this should be a rather interesting comparison. First and foremost, do note that the Huawei Mate 50 Pro comes without Google services. So, you won’t have access to the Google Play Store and Google apps. There is the AppGallery store here, plus a ton of other third-party offerings. The ZenFone 9 is considerably smaller in comparison, while the two phones do look different too. Having said that, let’s get started, shall we?
Specs
| ASUS ZenFone 9 | Huawei Mate 50 Pro | |
| Screen size | 5.9-inch FullHD+ Super AMOLED display (60-120Hz refresh rate) | 6.74-inch QHD+ curved OLED display (120Hz refresh rate) |
| Screen resolution | 2400 x 1080 | 2616 x 1212 |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 |
| RAM | 8GB/16GB (LPDDR5) | 8GB (LPDDR5) |
| Storage | 128GB/256GB (UFS 3.1), non-expandable | 256GB/512GB, expandable (UFS 3.1) |
| Rear cameras | 50MP (f/1.9 aperture, 23.8mm wide-angle lens, 1.0um pixel size, gimbal OIS, PDAF) 12MP (f/2.2 aperture, 113-degree FoV, 1.4um pixel size, 14.4mm lens) |
50MP (f/1.4-f/4.0, 24mm lens, wide angle, OIS, PDAF, Laser Autofocus) 13MP (f/2.2 aperture, 13mm lens, 120-degree FoV, ultrawide, PDAF) 64MP (f/3.5 aperture, 90mm lens, OIS, PDAF, 3.5x optical zoom) |
| Front cameras | 12MP (f/2.5 aperture, 1.22um pixel size, 27.5mm lens, dual pixel PDAF) | 13MP (ultrawide, f/2.4 aperture, 18mm lens) ToF 3D (depth/biometrics) |
| Battery | 4,300mAh, non-removable, 30W wired charging (charger included) | 4,700mAh, non-removable, 66W wired charging, 50W wireless charging, 5W reverse wireless charging Charger included |
| Dimensions | 146.5 x 68.1 x 9.1mm | 162.1 x 75.5 x 8.5mm |
| Weight | 169 grams | 205 grams (vegan leather)/209 (glass) grams. |
| Connectivity | 5G, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C | 4G LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C |
| Security | Side-facing fingerprint scanner | In-display fingerprint scanner (optical) |
| OS | Android 12 ZneUI |
Android 12 EMUI 13 |
| Price | €799 | €1,299 |
| Buy | ASUS | Huawei |
ASUS ZenFone 9 vs Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Design
The design differences are immediately noticeable. Let’s first get the size thing out of the way, shall we. The ZenFone 9 has a much smaller display, so it’s no wonder it’s smaller overall. It’s a lot shorter, narrower, and slightly thicker than the Huawei Mate 50 Pro. The ZenFone 9 also weighs considerably less than Huawei’s flagship. If you’re looking for a phone that you can comfortably use with one hand, and you hate carrying around large phones, the ZenFone 9 is the way to go.
The ZenFone 9 comes with flat sides, and a flat display. It has a display camera hole in the top-left corner, thin bezels, and two separate camera islands on the back, with two cameras. It also has a soft-touch backplate, 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 display, a display notch (for a good reason), and very thin bezels. It has a large circular camera island on the back, which is centered, and it includes three cameras.
The Mate 50 Pro is a lot curvier than the ZenFone 9, by the way. It comes in both glass and vegan leather variants, the latter is a lot less slippery, and it’s the version we tested. The two phones feel entirely different in the hand, but they both feel premium. Neither is particularly slippery (the glass Mate 50 Pro model probably is, though), and it all depends on what you’re looking for. If you like large phones, the Mate 50 Pro is the way to go. If you like compact ones, it doesn’t get much better than the ZenFone 9.
ASUS ZenFone 9 vs Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Display
The ZenFone 9 features a 5.9-inch fullHD+ (2400 x 1080) Super AMOLED display. That panel is flat, and it has a 120Hz refresh rate. HDR10+ content is supported here, while the display does get quite bright at 1,100 nits of peak brightness. This display has a 20:9 display aspect ratio, and around 445 ppi. It is protected by the Gorilla Glass Victus from Corning.
The Huawei Mate 50 Pro, on the flip side, includes a 6.74-inch 2616 x 1212 OLED panel. It can project up to 1 billion colors, and has a 120Hz refresh rate. This display has a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, and it’s protected by the Huawei Kunlun Glass. It has a really high screen-to-body ratio, by the way, and it’s curved. We’re looking at around 428 ppi here.
Truth be said, both of these displays are excellent. They not only offer vivid colors, excellent viewing angles, and great touch response, but they’re also well-protected, and a joy to use in general. Both panels do get bright enough for outdoor use, things could be better in direct sunlight, though. They’re also plenty sharp, and it’s easy to recommend both of them. You can’t go wrong here.
ASUS ZenFone 9 vs Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Performance
Both of these phones are equipped with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, one of the best SoCs in the market still. Do note that the Mate 50 Pro does include a 4G version of it, 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 has 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 flash storage too. They both perform admirably, though.
These two phones are incredibly smooth, no matter what you do. The ZenFone 9 even has close-to-stock software, with some useful additions. It’s still one of my favorite software for Android, if not the most favorite one. The Mate 50 Pro offering is different, though. Both software builds are well-implemented, and optimized, and both devices are buttery smooth in regular, everyday performance.
No matter what you do on these phones, you’ll get great performance. That goes for browsing, consuming multimedia, multitasking, processing images and videos, and so on. Even if you’re a gamer, these two phones are good enough. They do get quite warm during longer gaming sessions, but that doesn’t reflect on their performance. Both of these phones offer excellent 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 in a 4,300mAh battery, while the Mate 50 Pro has a 4,700mAh unit. Do note that the ZenFone 9 does have a considerably smaller display. Now, these battery packs may not seem like a lot to you, but they’re plenty for these two phones. Both devices offer really good battery life, to say the least. Getting 7 hours of screen-on-time is not a problem for either device.
In fact, you can even cross the 8-hour mark, depending on your usage. Do note that such battery life is achievable without gaming, but with plenty of usage in various different ways. The ZenFone 9 probably offers the best battery life in a compact, sub-6” smartphone, it’s that good, which was a surprise. The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 definitely has something to do with it, in both cases.
When charging is concerned, the Mate 50 Pro does have an upper hand. The ZenFone 9 supports 30W wired, and 5W reverse wired charging. The Mate 50 Pro offers 66W wired, 50W wireless, and 5W reverse wireless charging. The good news is, both smartphones do come with a charger in the box, unlike a number of other premium smartphones in the market.
ASUS ZenFone 9 vs Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Cameras
When it comes to cameras, the ZenFone 9 has two on the back, while the Mate 50 Pro has three. The two OEMs took considerably different approaches. The ZenFone 9 has a gimbal OIS, while the XMAGE camera setup is included on the Mate 50 Pro. In other words, you can shoot some truly stable videos on the ZenFone 9, while that stabilization also helps with pictures. Huawei, on the other hand, has a variable aperture. Neither of those are gimmicks, not at all.
Overall the Huawei Mate 50 Pro was a more reliable shooter, but the ZenFone 9 is not far behind. On default settings, the Mate 50 Pro provides warmer images, while the ZenFone 9 is a bit closer to the Pixel look. The ZenFone 9 tends to utilize sharpening a bit more when there’s not plenty of light in the shot, which is not as noticeable on the Mate 50 Pro. Their ultrawide cameras are also quite capable, but the Mate 50 Pro’s does offer a wider FoV.
Both smartphones do a great job when it comes to pictures in all scenarios, pretty much, but we did prefer images from the Mate 50 Pro. When it comes to video, they both do a great job, though if you need ultra stable shots, the ZenFone 9 does have the edge there. Do note that you won’t be able to zoom in while in that mode, though. The ZenFone 9 has a lot better camera than its predecessor, while the Mate 50 Pro is one of the best camera smartphones in the market.
Audio
You will find a set of stereo speakers on both of these smartphones. Both sets are loud enough, and quite detailed too. The Mate 50 Pro does have an edge in that regard. It’s not a big difference, but you’ll get a bit more loudness, and a bit more detail too.
What the Mate 50 Pro doesn’t have is an audio jack. The ZenFone 9 does come with that port, in case you prefer wired audio to this day. You’ll have to utilize a Type-C port on the Mate 50 Pro to get there. Both phones are equipped with Bluetooth 5.2, in case you were wondering.