LG vs Huawei: Let’s get ready to ruuuuuuumbleeeeeee!

Two heavy-weight contenders recently happened upon my desk and it just seemed appropriate to have them brawl it out in the battle of the supersmartphones.

So how does the latest addition to the LG stable, the LG G7 ThinQ, fare against the current champion and people’s favourite, the Huawei P20 Pro?

Round 1: Design

The LG G7 ThinQ features a metal frame with glass on the front and back. The front of the phone is all screen… well almost all screen, there’s a notch design at the top. On the back of the phone, you’ll find the vertically-aligned dual camera and the fingerprint sensor.

The Huawei P20 Pro also offers a notch in the display and also has vertically-aligned cameras on the back. The P20 Pro, however, has three lenses and the fingerprint sensor is front-mounted on P20 Pro.

The team at Gadget Gal couldn’t come to a unanimous decision about the fingerprint sensor. Some of us like the sensor in the front because it’s easier to wake the phone when it’s on a desk, while the rest of the camp prefer the sensor in the back because you can wake the phone while its in your hand.

The G7 ThinQ measures 153.2 x 71.9 x 7.9mm and weighs 162g, while the P20 Pro measures 157.9 x 76.7 x 7.9mm and weighs 175g, making the P20Pro larger and heavier than the G7 ThinQ. The LG G7 ThinQ is therefore easier to hold because its slim body sits neatly in your hand but when holding the Huawei P20Pro with that extra bit of weight behind it… it offers up that superior feel, like you’re really clutching a premium phone.

Both phones are IP68 water and dust resistant.

The LG G7 ThinQ has a dedicated Google Assistant launch button on the left-hand side below the volume up-and-down buttons, as well as a headphone jack. While the P20 Pro has no headphone jack, per say. Instead the P20Pro comes with headphones that fit the C-USB, so you won’t ever be without headphones.

Truth be told though, my assumption, and I know I shouldn’t assume, BUT, I would think that most of us own Bluetooth headsets anyway, and if you don’t, then Huawei has looked after you by providing the earphones to fit the C-USB for you. The downside, if you’re making use of the headphones with the P20Pro – you can’t listen to your music or your podcasts with those earphones while also trying to charge the phone at the same time. It’s one or the other. The design with less “points of access” does look sleek and neat.

And so, this round still goes to the P20Pro.

Round 2: Display

The LG G7 ThinQ features a 6.1-inch FullView Super Bright LCD display that offers a 3120 x 1440 pixel resolution for a pixel density of 564ppi. It comes with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and it is HDR10 compatible.

The Huawei P20 Pro has a 6.1-inch FullView OLED display with a Full HD+ resolution at 2240 x 1080 pixels, resulting in a lower pixel density of 408ppi. It has an aspect ratio of 18:9.

As mentioned above, both the LG G7 ThinQ and the Huawei P20 Pro have a notch at the top of their screens but both offer the option to conceal it with software – but that’s obviously if you want it gone.

Technically, the LG has the better display – it has more detail and it’s brighter, but you can’t argue with the intensity of the P20Pro.

In a nutshell – both phones have great screens and resolution but this round goes to the P20Pro.

Round 3: Hardware

The LG G7 ThinQ features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, supported by 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage and microSD for storage expansion. There is a 3000mAh battery capacity, charged via USB Type-C with support for Quick Charge.

The Huawei P20 Pro meanwhile, runs on Huawei’s Kirin 970 processor, supported by 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, with no microSD slot for storage expansion. LG has an obvious advantage here with expandable storage, a real bonus.

But the Huawei P20 Pro has a 4000mAh battery, charged via USB Type-C and this gives it excellent battery life, a record two-days of battery life when I was using it. I was so impressed.

This round? Did you need to ask – the Huawei P20 Pro.

Round 4: Camera

The LG G7 ThinQ comes with a dual camera on the back of the phone. It is made up of a standard 16-megapixel sensor with a f/1.6 aperture and a 107-degree wide-angle 16-megapixel sensor with an f/1.9 aperture. It has optical image stabilisation, phase detection autofocus and a manual mode to adjust shutter speed, ISO, exposure and white balance.

The G7 ThinQ’s camera also features AI Cam.

The Huawei P20 Pro has three Leica cameras on the back. There is a 40-megapixel RGB sensor with an aperture of f/1.8 and a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor with an aperture of f/1.6 arranged together. The third sensor is an 8-megapixel lens with 3x optical zoom and an aperture of f/2.4, positioned below the dual combo. The third sensor can be combined with the 40-megapixel sensor for 5x Hybrid zoom and there is also a 24-megapixel sensor on the front of the P20 Pro with an aperture of f/2.0. `the P20Pro then also uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) which improves the function of the camera. It’s like you’re unable to take a bad shot – the camera simply refuses! Be confident in the fact that your pictures will always (okay mostly) look pretty great.

The options and camera settings on both phones seem to have no limit and your confidence in photography will probably skyrocket. I do have to say though that the P20Pro did it for me – literally and figuratively.

Winner: P20Pro

Round 6: Price tag

The LG G7 is the more affordable phone at R13 399 for 64G. Take note, again, you can expand the memory with an SD card.

The Huawei P20 Pro will set you back R15 499, what more can I say?

The knockout!

The LG G7 ThinQ and the Huawei P20 Pro are two phones with very impressive specifications. The Huawei P20 Pro is all about camera. The LG is about AI and audio. It all depends on what you prioritise on a phone.

That said, my favourite, if you haven’t gathered is the Huawei P20 Pro.

Check out the video here: