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Huawei P20 and P20 Pro

March 29, 2018.

Huawei P20 Pro.

Huawei P20 Pro “Twilight”. © Chris Velazco/Engadget.

Huawei presented its two new high-end phones in Paris in front of a crowd of 1500 journalists at the majestic Grand Palais. They both run on Android 8.1; the P20 Pro has an OLED screen and the P20 an LCD, but both display the same resolution (2,240 x 1,080). Like the iPhoneX and many other copycats, these new phones have a notch, but it’s less wide than Apple’s. Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Technologies Consumer Business Group, promoted it as an advantage, although without the TrueDepth camera mechanism, the advantage seems questionable to us.

On the camera side of things is where the phones show their differences, as well as their ambitions. The P20 Pro has a unique configuration of three cameras that provide a maximum resolution of 40 megapixels (compared to 12 megapixels on the iPhoneX and the Galaxy S9). One camera is equipped with a monochrome sensor (20Mpx), the second manages colour (40 Mpx) and the third is a telephoto lens with integrated hybrid zoom (8Mpx with optical stabilization). The ISO sensitivity can be bumped to 102,400. With a global score of 109 points awarded by DxOMark, the Huawei P20 Pro sets a new standard for smartphone cameras, outperforming all of its closest rivals, like iPhoneX, Google’s Pixel 2 and the Galaxy S9 Plus, by a margin close to or greater than 10 points. The P20 features a rear 12/20 Mpx Leica dual camera system. Its front camera is 24 Mpx, optimized for selfies in low light. For video, both support 4K at 30 fps. Colours available are black, champagne gold, “twilight” (a kind of gradient from purple to turquoise), rose gold and midnight blue. The P20 should cost about $850 USD, and the Pro version $1,000 USD. Available in April.

Engadget, “Huawei P20 Pro hands-on: Camera tricks and a supercar finish .”

The Verge, “Huawei’s P20 Pro is a hugely promising phone that will upset Americans.”

Wired, “Huawei’s P20 and P20 Pro are serious rivals for Samsung.”