Huawei Y9 2019 vs Samsung Galaxy J6+ – Detailed Comparison and Review

Huawei Y9 2019 vs Galaxy J6 Plus - Comparison

Mid-range smartphone segment has always been in the focus for having a lot of variety to choose for customers in developing. With that in mind, the two major players in the market are the Chinese tech giant – Huawei and the Korean smartphone maker – Samsung.

Both Huawei and Samsung are the rivals in every price segment of smartphones. Where the former has recently launched its flagship Mate 20 Pro, the latter has its Galaxy Note 9. However, both serve the market in different levels of mid-range segments. Huawei recently launched the new Huawei Y9 2019 (review) following a little upper mid-ranger Huawei Nova 3i and a lower high-end Nova 3. On the other hand Samsung launched the Galaxy J6 plus following the launch of its A and J series smartphones earlier this year.

We just chose the current and most recent mid-rangers from the two companies to compare and put an opinion for our readers to easily choose one. So which one would you prefer to buy – the Huawei Y9 2019 or the Samsung Galaxy J6 Plus? Just proceed to find out.

Huawei Y9 2019 vs Galaxy J6 Plus - Comparison

First thing first, checkout the spec-sheet of both the devices side by side.

Huawei Y9 2019 vs Samsung Galaxy J6 Plus – Side by Side Features

Huawei Y9 2019 Samsung Galaxy J6+
OS
Software
Android 8.1 Oreo
EMUI 8.2
Android 8.1 Oreo
Experience 9.5
Chipset
CPU
GPU
Kirin 710 Octa-core
4×2.2GHz + 4x 1.7GHz
Mali-G51 MP4
Snapdragon 425 Quad-core
4×1.4GHz
Adreno 308
Display 6.5″ IPS LCD
Res: FHD+ 2340×1080
~83% Screen ratio
6″ IPS LCD
Res: HD+ 1480×720
~74% Screen ratio
Memory 4GB RAM
64GB Storage
3GB RAM
32GB Storage
Camera Dual Main: 13MP + 2MP
Dual Front: 16MP + 2MP
Dual Main: 13MP+5MP
Front: 8MP
Battery 4000 mAh 3300 mAh
Price ~$260 ~$240

You might think of a price difference between the two device. Well yes, the Galaxy J6+ is little cheaper than Y9 but the former also offers a little less on features. Such as the Galaxy J6+ offers 3GB RAM and 32GB storage only while the Y9 2019 has doubled the storage with 64GB and larger 4GB RAM. Additionally, the Huawei’s contender has bigger 4000 mAh battery compared to 3300 mAh battery in the Samsung’s counterpart.

There are quite a few other differences, however if the Galaxy J6+ would offer similar memory configuration, it would definitely be priced higher. There, in fact, is a J6+ variant with 4GB/64GB configuration which is not available in Pakistan. So it’s appropriate to compare the two. Let’s start with the design and built quality.

Build, Design and Handling

Huawei Y9 2019 vs Galaxy J6 Plus - Comparison

Both the phones have the plastic build, however they differ extensively at the design. Mimicking glass, the polished plastic panel covers the back on both the Y9 and J6+. Though the Huawei’s design is more attractive with dual curved edges. Galaxy J6+, on the other hand, has a flat panel with dotted print inside which is only visible in light shades.

Both the phones have dual-camera setup on the back – the Y9 hosts it on the left upper corner aligned vertically and an LED flash below it. The product labeling follows company’s recent design language – shifting to left side which feels cool. J6+ has the same old-school approach which is not too bad either.

You can see that the fingerprint sensor stays on the back with Huawei’s Y9 2019. Samsung has embedded it into the power button on the right side – you will see after the break. So frankly, the former’s idea is not really practical and adaptive. That power button is even slimmer than the home button that usually you have seen having embedded the fingerprint sensor. I never liked that either, specially due less-friendly reach.

Huawei Y9 2019 vs Galaxy J6 Plus - Comparison

When talking about J6+, you can either register your right thumb as an identity or your left index finger for most easiest reach. I always prefer it on the back, so Y9’s is ideal for me personally. Eventually it depends on personal preference, so it’s really not a problem unless you have one.

Handling wise, both the phone are pretty much good in handling. The J6+ is only a bit heavier with 178 grams than the 173g Y9, however you won’t feel a difference in hands. Y9 on the other side is thicker with only difference 0.2mm with J6+. Again you won’t be able to tell the difference when holding them side by side.

Huawei Y9 hosts a single inside-long slot on the left side that allows you to use both SIM cards and a micro SD card at once. J6+, besides it, offers the volume button on the upper part of the left side. Right there on the lower left part, the J6+ hosts two separate slots – a single main SIM slot and another slot for secondary SIM card and a microSD card.

On the right side, Y9 goes standard with a power button and a volume buttons.

Galaxy J6+ on the other hand has a power button with embedded fingerprint sensor. A little loudspeaker grill is also right there on J6+.

Both the phones host the 3.5mm audio jack and a micro USB port along with a microphone (or mouthpiece). Additionally there is a loudspeaker on the bottom of Huawei Y9.

The top barely hosts a secondary microphone on Huawei Y9, whereas the Galaxy J6+ doesn’t seem to have anything there.

Both the phones have pretty much similar components to offer visually. However the placement of those components is more user friendly on Huawei Y9 2019. Y9 is also has more attractive looks compared to the J6+. So the Y9 is clearly a winner unless you want opposite.

Display

Huawei Y9 2019 has a larger screen of 6.5-inch with almost minimal bezels around but a notch on the top and a little chin. This is Huawei’s FullView display with Full HD resolution of 2340×1080 pixels. The pixel density is around 396 ppi whereas the phone has around 83% screen to body ratio.

Huawei Y9 2019 vs Galaxy J6 Plus - Comparison

With aspect ratio of 19.5:9, the Y9’s display is significantly taller than the Galaxy J6+ which is 18.5:9. While having around similar body, J6+ could only feature a 6-inch display in it. But the real issue is that it even has lower resolution than Y9. With 1480×720 px resolution, the J6+ only serves at a pixel density of around 274 ppi. Let alone the screen-to-body ratio that is only around 74%

Both the phones have IPS LCD displays, however the Galaxy J6+ is little brighter than Y9. The maximum brightness reached around 500 nits on Galaxy J6+. On the other hand, the Y9 maxed out at around 415 nits. Automatic brightness works good on both the phones.

Even if I give point to Galaxy J6+ for a little more brighter display, Y9 2019’s display has several other properties to impress. What do you think is the winner here?

Huawei Y9 2019 vs Galaxy J6 Plus - Comparison

Software

Running Android 8.1 Oreo, both Huawei and Samsung shipped their devices with their respective software skins on top. Y9 2019 comes with company’s latest EMUI 8.2, whereas the Galaxy J6 Plus comes with Samsung Experience 9.5 UI.

It’s worth mentioning here that both companies have come a long way from a dull and unimpressive to an elegant and friendly user interfaces. However both have their key elements to taunt each other.

Huawei’s EMUI

Huawei’s EMUI now provides friendly user experience with added useful apps and features, but some bloatware still exists that you would never use. In addition to standard home screen with all apps, the software offers you to enable app drawer that turns your home screen as favorite place for app shortcuts. You can also choose from a variety of themes.

Huawei EMUI 8.2 – Themes

It offers a Smart Display resolution that would shrink down the resolution automatically to save power. Or you can manually set to use the phone on 720p all the time which gives you dramatic change in power consumption.

Huawei EMUI 8.2 – Custom screen resolution

It has a phone manager that would help you organise things in your phone and offer added security. There is a built-in app lock that you may or may not prefer to use. There is a game suite, designed to give you uninterrupted game play. It also presets the phone to optimise to play games more smoothly. Then you also have a Party mode that offers to connect, sync and play with other devices.

Samsung’s Experience UI

Even though Samsung’s Experience is cool and compact with impressive visual elements, it uses a few core stock UI features such as context menus. User experience also feels like a stock one but it brings some interesting features out of the box.

The company also ships the software with built-in themes manager which also provides option to choose from separate icon set.

Samsung Experience 9.5 – Themes and Icons

The software also has a similar Game mode like in EMUI, however it seems a bit more customisable. The UI also offers to explore and discover new games from Samsung Apps store.

Samsung Experience 9.5 – Game Launcher

With regards to the software features, which are quite a lot in Huawei’s EMUI, I won’t count them because the UI also adds some more apps and tools which aren’t so useful. Samsung’s software, on the other hand, offers less features but also comes with less bloatware comparatively. That also makes it under your control, install only what you want.

So I’ll count the user experience and the user interface to compare the two devices. That’s where both the devices are equally good. As it’s just a preference of use, I have told you the titbits of both the devices. So you should be good to decide between the two.  If ask me, I’d put them at a tie.

Performance

Now that’s where the game changes between the two smartphones in subject. Which one takes the real lead? Let’s just take a look at the hardware once again – in detail this time.

Huawei Y9 2019 vs Galaxy J6 Plus - Comparison

Let’s justify the memory configurations of both the phones.

There’s a little catch to consider first – the memory configuration. The variant of the Samsung Galaxy J6+ only offers 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The Huawei Y9 2019, on the other hand, offers doubled the storage of 64GB with 4GB of RAM.

Samsung Galaxy J6+ Memory Configuration

If you consider this, then you would know that companies usually use this part of a smartphone to provide variety of memory configurations in different prices. In fact, Galaxy J6+ was also launched in 4GB RAM and 64GB but it wasn’t available for us to compare. However, it was only important here to mention that the phone actually comes in a similar price as the Y9 2019.

Huawei Y9 2019 – Memory Configuration

Now you should understand that a 3GB or 4GB RAM will hardly make difference in quick performance tests. Yet they indeed start making differences in long run when you keep installing apps and they run in background and leave no memory for your general tasks.

So for now in our comparison that’s not the case. We didn’t install any additional apps (other than the benchmark tools) and tested the phones’ performance. What’s due for that, is the general and graphics processing power.

Chipset, Processor, and GPU

Huawei Y9 2019 comes packed with Huawei’s latest and most powerful mid-range chipset – the Kirin 710, with 12nm manufacturing process. The chip features an octa-core processor with four high performance and four efficient cores (more detail). It comes with Mali-G51 GPU with four cores. This combination is unbelievably strong for mid-range devices and comes right up to par with Snapdragon 660.

Samsung Galaxy J6+, on the other hand, features just a lower mid-range processor Snapdragon 425. Now that’s where we think Samsung wanted to take more benefit by selling it at a price which can not be justified for this level of chipset. Adreno 308 is also way less performer than ARM’s Mali-G51.

Let’s just jump to the benchmark scores which will definitely blow your mind out. Here’s how the Huawei Y9 2019 throws the Galaxy J6+ in dust.

AnTuTu

  • Huawei Y9 2019: 139,814
  • Samsung Galaxy J6+: 42,487
AnTuTu Scores: Huawei Y9 2019 (left 2) – Samsung Galaxy J6+ (right 2)

Geekbench

  • Huawei Y9 2019: 1,610 (single core) – 5,646 (multi-core)
  • Samsung Galaxy J6+: 638 (single core) – 1,677 (multi-core)
Geekbench Scores: Huawei Y9 2019 (left) – Samsung Galaxy J6+ (right)

3DMark

This test includes various graphics API including OpenGL ES 3.0, Open GL ES 3.1, and the newere Vulkan. Unfortunately Galaxy J6+ that features Adreno 308 only supports OpenGL ES 3.0. Even though the Android 8 does have the support for all those APIs, Qualcomm won’t ship any driver to support the same.

That means the tests which use higher or different API’s won’t be supported on this Galaxy J6+. That also means, if those APIs are used in any game, that game won’t be supported at all. However, on Android, most Android devices have still have support for Open GL 3.0 and most Android developers seem to stick with that.

  • Huawei Y9 2019:
    • 1,424 (SlingShot, OpenGL 3.0)
    • 953 (Sling Shot Extreme OpenGL 3.1)
    • 1,127 (Sling Shot Extreme, Vulkan)
  • Samsung Galaxy J6+:
    • 68 (SlingShot, OpenGL 3.0)
3DMark Scores: Huawei Y9 2019 (left 2) – Samsung Galaxy J6+ (right 1)

GFXBench

Being a 3D graphics benchmarking tool, GFXBench also uses different APIs to test the phone. So once again, the Galaxy J6+ could only use the tests with OpenGL ES 3.0.

GFXBench Scores: Huawei Y9 2019 (left) – Samsung Galaxy J6+ (right)

Well, there is no more description to provide for the winning side of Huawei Y9 2019. I’d say that Galaxy J6+ is just not comparable to Y9 2019. I must say here that Samsung should have used a Snapdragon 6xx at least for the price.

Talking about the real time usage, Y9 obviously performed much better as you can see in our detailed review. I’ll appreciate that Samsung has a very optimised software to run Galaxy J6+ with its smoothness. Still we can tell the sluggish scrolling all the time.

Battery Power and Performance

Huawei Y9 2019 features a larger battery with 4000 mAh capacity, while the Galaxy J6+ has only a 3300 mAh battery. However both the phones have well optimised with their respective battery packs. Still Y9 2019 last longer than the J6+ in various but similar kind of usage.

Both have standard 10W chargers bundled in retail package and none of them support fast charging. Both take over 2.5 hours to charge from 0 to 100.

Even though the J6+ offers three levels of power saving modes compared to Y9’s two, I’d give my points to Y9 for having larger battery that lasts longer.

Camera

Huawei Y9 2019 sports a dual-camera setup on the back with 13MP primary and 2MP secondary unit. Similarly the front side also features two cameras with 16MP primary and 2MP secondary. The main rear camera has f/1.8 large aperture lens while on the front it has f/2.0 lens.

Huawei Y9 2019 vs Galaxy J6+ Comparison

Galaxy J6+, on the other hand, features a similar dual-camera setup on the back with a 13MP main camera paired with a 5MP secondary camera. However the front facing camera is single, an 8MP unit. Both, the rear main and front camera have large f/1.9 aperture lens.

Both the phones actually did good outdoor in bright light. But at some occasions Y9 captured true colours, while at some the J6+ colours were more true to real. Y9 handled the exposure well whereas the J6+ was inconsistent to use the right exposure at right time. Y9 was also good at delivering some better image detail with controlled noise, while on the other hand, the shots from J6+ had over sharpened edges. Galaxy J6+ was actually better at handling dynamic range, while you would see frequent highlight clipping in Y9 shots.

This shot was much better from Y9 with true colours and and good image detail. Whereas the one from J6+ didn’t deliver the right detail in image.

Auto: Huawei Y9 2019 (1/1603s f/1.8 ISO50) – Galaxy J6+ (1/1961s f/1.9 ISO40)

Following shot is an example how J6+ has added a blue tint across the frame. he Y9 is much better with warm feel, right at the time of shoot.

Auto: Huawei Y9 2019 (1/1479s f/1.8 ISO50) – Galaxy J6+ (1/1556s f/1.9 ISO40)

Here we have a little yellow tint in the shot from Huawei Y9, even though it tried to capture right amount of light according to the bright condition. It was a cool sunny day of winter-starting. The shot from Y9 also captured impressive detail while the J6+ has still oversharpened image.

Auto: Huawei Y9 2019 (1/1479s f/1.8 ISO50) – Galaxy J6+ (1/1556s f/1.9 ISO40)

Galaxy J6+ continued to deliver less warm feeling in its images, however this shot was pretty much equal from both the phones. Still you can feel little warmness in Y9’s shot

Auto: Huawei Y9 2019 (1/664s f/1.8 ISO50) – Galaxy J6+ (1/658s f/1.9 ISO40)

Here we have a little overexposed shot from Galaxy j6+ but the image still looks good. Y9 again did well in this shot with capture the detail in trees at the background.

Auto: Huawei Y9 2019 (1/766s f/1.8 ISO50) – Galaxy J6+ (1/695s f/1.9 ISO40)

Over sharpness is actually damaging the most part of the shots from J6+. It also seems to be introducing visible noise at dark transitions. Yet both of these shots look pretty much same with good colours.

Auto: Huawei Y9 2019 (1/503s f/1.8 ISO50) – Galaxy J6+ (1/434s f/1.9 ISO40)

Now this is what Y9 did its best to ruin the image with the green tint across the frame. It was an auto shot with AI disabled and I tried it several times, all were similar. Just take a look at the mud-track and the tree trunks. Then look at the one from J6+ which actually delivered the right colours of the scene.

Auto: Huawei Y9 2019 (1/153s f/1.8 ISO50) – Galaxy J6+ (1/154s f/1.9 ISO40)

Just like above, this shot was taken at the same time at the same place as above. You can see the same green tint here as well in Y9’s shot. Also you would notice the highlight clipping in the same shot. You should also see the little golden flair right in the middle of the shot from Galaxy J6+, that’s the sun going down there. You can also consider these shots as very first samples in low-light condition. The detail has been lost in both shots.

Auto: Huawei Y9 2019 (1/100s f/1.8 ISO50) – Galaxy J6+ (1/145s f/1.9 ISO40)

Here’s the bokeh mode from both phones, Huawei calls it Aperture mode, Samsung dubbed it as Live focus. I think the one from Galaxy J6+ is more appealing.

Auto: Huawei Y9 2019 (1/900s f/1.8 ISO50) – Galaxy J6+ (1/183s f/1.9 ISO40)

Here you can tell which one is better in capturing portrait shots. Y9 did really great job everything – skin tone, image detail, absolutely no grain. J6+ on the other hand seems to be struggling with focus and has introduced grain between the color transitions. Just look at the eyes.

Auto: Huawei Y9 2019 (1/262s f/1.8 ISO50) – Galaxy J6+ (1/503s f/1.9 ISO40)

Front Camera

Here I guess the Y9’s dual-camera is doing a good job with both indoor and outdoor shots as well as the normal and portrait/bokeh mode. Inline photos are good to see but if you see them at 100% scale, you will see the difference.

Outdoor Standard/Normal

Auto: Huawei Y9 2019 (1/287s f/1.8 ISO50) – Galaxy J6+ (1/117s f/1.9 ISO40)

Outdoor Bokeh Mode (Huawei Portrait/Samsung Selfie Focus)

Auto: Huawei Y9 2019 (1/249s f/1.8 ISO50) – Galaxy J6+ (1/121s f/1.9 ISO40)

Indoor Standard/Normal

Auto: Huawei Y9 2019 (1/20s f/1.8 ISO50) – Galaxy J6+ (1/13s f/1.9 ISO40)

Indoor Bokeh Mode (Huawei Portrait/Samsung Selfie Focus)

Auto: Huawei Y9 2019 (1/20s f/1.8 ISO50) – Galaxy J6+ (1/14s f/1.9 ISO40)

Frankly, both the cameras did well at occasions, while at some situations both seemed to be struggling to maintain the image quality. However, if you prefer to have more vibrant colours out of your smartphone camera, you would tend towards Huawei Y9 2019. If you talk about dynamic range, then J6+ is definitely better.

If you ask an overall point of view from my side, I’d say that both were good, but Y9 had some edge with handling the image detail and skin tones in portrait shots with consistency.

Conclusion and Verdict

Well, I have put every section in detail and have put my remarks at the end of it. I guess only the Software part was where I tied both the devices. Then there was camera, that I still can’t say any bad about Galaxy J6+ so just take them both pretty much equal, or decide with your own preference.

Design, performance and everything else I liked, was in the Huawei Y9 2019. Display was too good to be compared with Galaxy J6+. Samsung’s Galaxy J6+ should have been priced little more down so that we couldn’t have a chance to compare the two devices.

I really hope this comparison would help deciding if you should buy the Samsung Galaxy J6+ or it’s better to add in some budget and go for the Huawei Y9 2019. It still depends on your preference what you choose. But whatever you choose, do let us know in comments below. Tell us what did you choose and for what preference.