Specs Comparison: Samsung Galaxy A8 vs Huawei P10

Samsung greeted the new year with the release of their Galaxy A8 (2018) and A8+ (2018) duo of upper mid-range 18:9 display smartphones. These devices pack some heavy hardware at a price range that puts them in the line of sight of some of last year’s flagships. The A8 in particular steps closely into the territory of one of Huawei‘s early 2017 front-runners, the P10. Let’s find out who among the two is better on paper.

Summary of advantages

Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018):
• Larger screen size
• Dedicated microSD card slot
• Higher front camera resolution
• Dual front cameras
• 18:9 display
• IP68 Water and Dust resistance
• Bluetooth 5.0

Huawei P10:
• Gorilla Glass 5 protection
• Higher rear camera resolution
• Dual rear cameras
• Larger storage options
• Larger battery capacity
• Slimmer
• Lighter

As seen on the spec sheet, the Galaxy A8 takes the advantage when it comes to overall viewing experience as its 18:9 aspect ratio setup gives users more screen real estate at the same 1080p resolution. The P10, meanwhile, does have denser pixels and a crispier display as the smaller screen size allows for more pixels.

Storage capacity, on the other hand, goes to the P10 as you can have a choice of either 32 or 64GB. The Galaxy A8 does provide users with a dedicated microSD instead of a hybrid setup, allowing the chance to use two SIM cards without sacrificing storage expansion.

Imaging is quite the battle, as the devices take reversed roles. The P10 definitely takes the spot for the rear shooters as its equipped with a dual 20MP monochrome + 12MP color Leica co-engineered camera setup, while the Galaxy A8 takes the front camera department due to its dual 16MP FF f/1.9 + 8MP f/1.9 front shooters. Check out sample shots from both devices here – Huawei P10, Samsung Galaxy A8.

As for battery life, the Galaxy A8 takes the crown despite the smaller capacity. Samsung’s device got a 12 hours rating from the PC Mark work 2.0 battery test and it lasted 18 hours and 30 minutes in our video loop test. The P10, on the other hand, got a rating of 9 hours and 15 minutes and lasted 14 hours and 30 minutes in our loop test.

Looking at special features, the Galaxy A8 sports an IP68 water and dust resistance rating, making it a device fit for rugged use and travels. It also features much of the settings that we saw in the Galaxy S8/S8+ such as Smart stay which keeps the screen on while you’re looking at it, as well as One-handed mode, Finger sensor gestures, Quick launch camera, Multi-window, and Device Maintenance.

The P10, though without water resistance, makes up for it with the features that come with EMUI 5.1 such as split screen functionality, app twin, and a plethora of shortcuts and gestures located at the smart assistance settings. There’s also a unique setting called Off-Screen Navigation that repurposes the fingerprint scanner into a navigational button (a short press acts like a Back button, a long press takes you back to the Home screen, and swipe left to open Recent Tasks. It’s a bit confusing at first but you’ll get used to it after some time).

The Samsung Galaxy A8 is priced at Php 26,990USD 460INR 38,990EUR 438CNY 3,349. You can read our review here.  While the Huawei P10 has dropped to a Php 25,990USD 443INR 37,545EUR 422CNY 3,225 price tag. More of the Huawei P10 can be seen here. Which do you think is the better device? Drop your comments below.