Introduction
A strange bird this Huawei P20 - a headliner without a spear. The omission of the triple camera is baffling, but as long as you give it a chance, you may be surprised. And if you don't dwell on what didn't make the cut, you should be able to see the P20 for what it is - one dazzling flagship.
The signature Twilight hue is among the things the P20 duo will be remembered for. It's available on both devices if you are lucky enough to reside in a region which stocks it, but the similarities don't end here. The notched screen is shared, as is the Kirin 970 chip which even though is six-months-old already is still relevant.
Now, the elephant in the room - the dual-instead-of-triple camera on the back. Yes, it's a step down from the more prominent P20 Pro but, fret not, this is not the same dual-camera we left on the Huawei P10 and Mate 10 Pro either. The 12MP color sensor is brand new and has much bigger pixels and thus we can expect brighter low-light images and less noise.
The MasterAI is also a thing on the P20, improving the way we take pictures by allowing for some previously impossible tripod-free long-shutter pictures. You can use lossless telephoto zoom, record 960fps slow-mo videos, but you can also switch to monochrome and take some artsy shots downtown.
The 24MP selfie camera stays the same on both P20 phones, too. It may lack autofocus but can do Face Unlock and shoot portraits with blurred backgrounds in line with the curent trends.
Huawei P20 specs
- Body: dual-glass with metal frame, 7.7mm thick
- Screen: 5.8" LTPS IPS LCD, 1080 x 2240px resolution (429ppi);
- Chipset: Kirin 970 chipset, octa-core processor (Cortex-A73 2.4GHz + A53 1.8GHz), Mali-G72 MP12 GPU
- Memory: 4GB RAM, 128GB storage
- OS: Android 8.1 Oreo with EMUI 8.1;
- Camera: 12MP f/1.8 OIS color + + 20MP f/1.6 monochrome; 4K video capture, 720@960fps slow-mo; Leica co-developed
- Camera features: 1/2.3" 12MP sensor, 2x optical zoom, OIS + EIS, can change focus and lighting in photos after they are taken, Variable Aperture, Portrait Mode, shoots long-exposure without a tripod
- Selfie cam: 24MP, f/2.0 Leica lens, Portrait Mode with live bokeh effects; 2D Face Unlock
- Battery: 3,400mAh; Super Charge
- Security: Fingerprint reader (front), 0.4 seconds response time
- Connectivity: Dual SIM, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2 + LE, NFC, USB Type-C
- Misc: IR blaster, stereo speakers
Seeing that Huawei didn't copy-paste its old dual-camera but instead came up with some notable improvements is enough for us to let the company off the hook here. We can even forgive the switch to IPS LCD screen which some might consider a downgrade from Pro's OLED.
The crime we can't let slide is the failing to secure the P20 body against water. It's beyond us why Huawei made water-right only the P20 Pro, but it's not fair and puts even more pressure on the P20. The IP53 rating is not the best excuse for ditching the analog jack, and yet Huawei still opted for its retirement.
It's clear we are starting on the wrong foot, so let's pop this Huawei P20 out of its box and hopefully we get on the right one.
Unboxing the Huawei P20
Fancy is not what the Huawei P20's white cardboard box is. But the maker has an excellent track record for bundles and this one doesn't disappoint.
Inside that box, you'll find eye-catchy Huawei P20 packed with a 22.5W charging plug, an enhanced USB Type-C cable compatible with Huawei's Super Charge, a pair of headphones, and a must-have 3.5mm-to-USB-C adapter.
Design
Here is something you don't see every day - a phone that's instantly recognizable because of its style. We have seen a lot of notched screens and dual-cameras, but those catchy paint jobs are the P20's unforgettable trait and potentially the next big trend.
The flashy paint was a brilliant idea for an otherwise ordinary and conventional design. Dual-glass body reinforced with a metal frame is the popular choice this season, so if it weren't for the paint's charm, the P20 would have been just another notched glass phone.
Apple iPhone X and Huawei P20
The P20's design is an obvious departure from the P10. The metal unibody is gone for good, at least for now, and so are the screen bezels. Behind the screen glass sits a big but notched 5.8" display, a massive jump from the 5.1" unit on the P10, yet the growth in size is pretty negligible - just 4mm in height.
Huawei P10 and Huawei P20
The P20 is noticeably heavier, though, due to switch of materials - it has gained some good 20g over the P10 up to 165g.
And while we are comparing siblings, the other notable change is the camera orientation. It seems the iPhone X didn't just kick off the notch trend, but the vertical camera configuration, too.
Huawei P10 and Huawei P20
Back to the Huawei P20. Both of its glass pieces are slightly curved, matching nicely with the frame's chamfers. The metal frame is smooth and polished. Admittedly, this works well for the good looks, but hurts the grip - the P20 is as slippery as it looks.
Unlike the water-tight P20 Pro, the P20 is just IP53-rated for moderate dust and light-splash resistance. And while this fact was officially announced at the launch event, you won't find this mentioned anywhere on the official P20 pages.
Huawei P20
This omission is baffling, as the P20 phones have virtually identical bodies, slots, holes, and everything, and yet only the Pro got the ingress protection. The P20's case is not helped by the fact that all current flagships and premium mid-rangers are water-protected. What's up with that, Huawei?
Huawei P20
The missing audio jack doesn't help the P20 either. While this could have been explained with the aqua-shielding on the Pro, it's merely a missing feature on the P20.
The front-mounted fingerprint scanner is here to stay - it's an always-on one and is used for system-wide navigation. On the opposite side of the screen is the notch housing a circular grille for the earpiece and the 24MP selfie camera. The earpiece is not centered, which may look odd to some. It does, however, double as a second speaker in a hybrid stereo setup, Mate 10 style. A tiny status LED is also around.
Comparing notches: iPhone X vs. P20
The vertically-oriented dual-camera is on the back occupying a small hump. It has kept the previous 12+20 MP specs but packs a new color sensor and new lenses. Next up are the dual-LED flash and the laser-AF sensors. The Leica logo is not as boisterous as before, but it's there.
So, the Huawei P20 is a glass phone like any other. There is nothing special in its bill of materials, the credit for its coolness goes to the clever paint jobs. But that's enough to make it one of the best-looking devices this season and the fashion-conscious might grab it just for that. Slippery and often smudgy, the Huawei P20 has to be polished and cleaned quite often to look its best, but beauty always comes at a price.
Display
Huawei opted for a notched display design this generation, which can be a double-edged sword. While we can't speak for prospective buyers, as far as we are concerned, Huawei is one of the few manufacturers out there to make proper use of the odd display cutout. That is to say, it is not merely an attempt to copy the Apple aesthetic, but is there as part of the pursuit to maximize screen real estate. The P20 still has a pretty wide bottom chin, but it hasn't sacrificed its home button either.
Notch aside, Huawei has put a lot of effort into the displays of both the P20 and P20 Pro, trying its best to offer a consistent experience. The rounded corners, for instance, are present on both and do make for a modern, albeit not necessarily more functional, profile. Unfortunately, market segmentation is the reason the regular P20 lacks the AMOLED panel of its bigger sibling.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | ||
| 0.382 | 703 | 1840 | |
| 0.481 | 695 | 1445 | |
| 0 | 679 | ∞ | |
| 0.468 | 667 | 1425 | |
| 0 | 658 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 647 | ∞ | |
| 0.468 | 640 | 1368 | |
| 0 | 618 | ∞ | |
| 0.431 | 618 | 1434 | |
| 0.032 | 616 | 19250 | |
| 0 | 582 | ∞ | |
| 0.399 | 566 | 1419 | |
| 0.328 | 477 | 1454 | |
| 0.278 | 453 | 1629 | |
| 0 | 440 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 437 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 432 | ∞ | |
| 0.3 | 415 | 1383 | |
| 0.002 | 414 | 207000 | |
| 0 | 412 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 412 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 370 | ∞ | |
| 0.19 | 309 | 1626 | |
The LTPS IPS LCD it got, however, is quite decent. Well, it has its ups and downs. Opting to hide the notch entirely from the UI is not exactly as convincing on an LCD because the black line is not as deep as on an AMOLED.
It doesn't help either that even at its minimum brightness level, the P20 still shows some notable light bleed in the black.
Still, the screen is not too shabby. Combined with a decent maximum brightness of 477 nits (only achievable in vivid mode), it adds up to a perfectly usable contrast ratio.
Sunlight legibility is not record-breaking, but the P20 remains perfectly usable outdoors. Plus, the LCD in the P20 has an incredibly bright Max Auto mode, which can help when battling sunlight.
Sunlight contrast ratio
- Apple iPhone X
5.013 - OnePlus 5T
4.789 - Samsung Galaxy S8
4.768 - Samsung Galaxy S8+
4.658 - Samsung Galaxy S9
4.63 - Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
4.615 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
4.537 - Motorola Moto Z2 Play
4.459 - Oppo R11
4.454 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
4.439 - OnePlus 3
4.424 - Samsung Galaxy S7
4.376 - HTC One A9
4.274 - Samsung Galaxy Note7
4.247 - Samsung Galaxy A3
4.241 - Nokia 8
4.239 - Google Pixel 2 XL (pre-update)
4.234 - OnePlus 3T
4.232 - Google Pixel XL
4.164 - ZTE Axon 7
4.154 - Samsung Galaxy Note8
4.148 - Meizu Pro 7 Plus
4.147 - Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
4.124 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
4.124 - Huawei Mate 10 Pro (normal)
4.096 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
4.09 - Huawei P20 Pro
4.087 - Google Pixel 2 (pre-update)
4.023 - LG V30
4.022 - Huawei Nexus 6P
4.019 - Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro
3.998 - OnePlus X
3.983 - Vivo Xplay5 Elite
3.983 - Oppo R7s
3.964 - Apple iPhone 7
3.964 - Apple iPhone 8 (True Tone)
3.957 - Huawei P9 Plus
3.956 - Meizu Pro 6 Plus
3.935 - Lenovo Moto Z
3.931 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
3.918 - OnePlus 5
3.914 - Samsung Galaxy C5
3.911 - Samsung Galaxy C7
3.896 - Samsung Galaxy A5
3.895 - Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
3.879 - Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
3.873 - Samsung Galaxy A8
3.859 - Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
3.842 - Sony Xperia XZs
3.818 - Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
3.817 - Motorola Moto X (2014)
3.816 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
3.812 - Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
3.804 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
3.802 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
3.798 - LG V20 Max auto
3.798 - Sony Xperia XZ
3.795 - Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
3.789 - Apple iPhone 6s
3.783 - Meizu Pro 5
3.781 - Microsoft Lumia 650
3.772 - Xiaomi Mi 6
3.767 - Sony Xperia XZ1
3.765 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.756 - Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact
3.729 - Apple iPhone 8 Plus (True Tone)
3.725 - Oppo F1 Plus
3.709 - Vivo X5Pro
3.706 - Sony Xperia X Compact
3.694 - Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
3.688 - Huawei P20
3.683 - Apple iPhone SE
3.681 - Huawei Mate 9
3.68 - Samsung Galaxy A7
3.679 - Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
3.675 - Meizu PRO 6
3.659 - BlackBerry Priv
3.645 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
3.597 - Apple iPhone 7 Plus
3.588 - Sony Xperia XZ2
3.58 - LG G6
3.556 - Apple iPhone 6s Plus
3.53 - Motorola Moto Z Play
3.526 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
3.523 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
3.523 - Acer Jade Primo
3.521 - Microsoft Lumia 950
3.512 - Oppo R7 Plus
3.499 - nubia Z11
3.466 - Huawei P10 Plus
3.456 - HTC U Ultra
3.453 - Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra
3.445 - Samsung Galaxy J7
3.422 - Meizu MX5
3.416 - LG V20
3.402 - Huawei P10
3.379 - Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
3.378 - Oppo R9s
3.352 - Honor 8 Pro
3.341 - Oppo R7
3.32 - Lenovo P2
3.316 - Archos Diamond Omega
3.305 - Honor 9
3.289 - Xiaomi Mi 5s
3.276 - Nokia 5
3.261 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
3.244 - Nokia 6 (Global version)
3.238 - Samsung Galaxy J2
3.235 - Sony Xperia X Performance
3.234 - Xiaomi Mi Note 2
3.228 - Motorola Moto X Play
3.222 - Oppo F3 Plus
3.218 - Huawei Mate 9 Pro
3.206 - Huawei P9
3.195 - Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
3.19 - ZTE Nubia Z17
3.159 - Oppo R11s
3.153 - Lenovo Vibe Shot
3.113 - HTC U11 Life
3.108 - Motorola Moto X Force
3.105 - LG Nexus 5X
3.092 - HTC U11
3.089 - Huawei Mate S
3.073 - Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
3.065 - Apple iPhone 6 Plus
3.023 - Asus Zenfone 4 ZE554KL
3.019 - Sony Xperia XA1
3.012 - Motorola Moto X4
3.012 - Sony Xperia L1
2.994 - Sony Xperia X
2.989 - LG Q6
2.987 - Huawei P10 Lite
2.974 - Samsung Galaxy Note
2.97 - Xiaomi Redmi 5
2.951 - Huawei Mate 8
2.949 - Sony Xperia XA2
2.938 - Xiaomi Redmi 4
2.92 - Xiaomi Redmi 3S
2.913 - Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
2.913 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
2.906 - LG G5
2.905 - Huawei Honor View 10
2.896 - Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
2.893 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
2.884 - Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB)
2.877 - Sony Xperia XZ Premium
2.877 - Sony Xperia Z5
2.876 - Nokia 3
2.871 - Microsoft Lumia 550
2.851 - Lenovo Moto M
2.813 - Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
2.803 - Sony Xperia Z5 compact
2.784 - Nokia 2
2.752 - Meizu MX6
2.751 - LG V10
2.744 - Huawei Mate 10 (normal)
2.742 - Motorola Moto G5S Plus
2.737 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
2.735 - Huawei Honor 7X
2.734 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
2.714 - Meizu M5
2.71 - Sony Xperia M5
2.69 - Xiaomi Mi A1
2.689 - Huawei P9 Lite
2.679 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
2.679 - vivo V7+
2.671 - Vivo V3Max
2.659 - Xiaomi Mi Mix
2.658 - Huawei Mate 10 Lite
2.654 - Oppo F5
2.653 - Doogee Mix
2.642 - Xiaomi Mi 4i
2.641 - Xiaomi Redmi 4a
2.635 - Xiaomi Mi 5X (Standard)
2.616 - Sony Xperia XA
2.609 - Motorola Moto G4 Plus
2.582 - Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
2.582 - Meizu M5s
2.58 - Xiaomi Mi 4c
2.574 - LeEco Le Max 2
2.567 - Microsoft Lumia 640
2.563 - Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
2.563 - Huawei P Smart
2.563 - Xiaomi Mi Max 2
2.561 - HTC U11+
2.556 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)
2.556 - Lenovo Moto G4
2.544 - Lenovo K6 Note
2.544 - Oppo F1
2.528 - Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
2.525 - Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
2.506 - Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
2.503 - BlackBerry Motion
2.494 - Oppo F1s
2.481 - Motorola Moto G
2.477 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
2.473 - Huawei G8
2.471 - Huawei nova
2.467 - Sony Xperia Z
2.462 - Lenovo Vibe K5
2.459 - Meizu m3 max
2.447 - Xiaomi Mi 4
2.424 - Xiaomi Mi 5X (Auto)
2.417 - HTC 10 evo
2.407 - Huawei Honor 7
2.406 - Vivo V7
2.404 - Sony Xperia E5
2.386 - ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
2.382 - HTC 10
2.378 - Oppo F3
2.376 - vivo V5 Plus
2.371 - Meizu m1 note
2.362 - Huawei nova plus
2.329 - Razer Phone
2.328 - HTC One E9+
2.305 - Alcatel One Touch Hero
2.272 - Sony Xperia L2
2.266 - Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
2.254 - Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
2.253 - HTC U11+ (EU)
2.253 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
2.249 - Sony Xperia C4 Dual
2.235 - Xiaomi Mi Note
2.234 - Motorola Moto G (2014)
2.233 - LG Nexus 5
2.228 - Huawei P8
2.196 - Meizu M5 Note
2.189 - Huawei Honor 6
2.169 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
2.166 - OnePlus Two
2.165 - HTC One X
2.158 - LG Aka
2.145 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)
2.145 - Archos 50 Diamond
2.134 - Xiaomi Redmi Note
2.119 - Xiaomi Mi 4S
2.095 - Acer Liquid X2
2.084 - Huawei P8lite
2.078 - vivo V5
2.059 - Moto G 3rd gen max manual
2.026 - Xiaomi Mi 3
2.001 - Xiaomi Mi Max
1.996 - Sony Xperia E4g
1.972 - OnePlus One
1.961 - Sony Xperia Z2
1.944 - Meizu m3 note
1.923 - BlackBerry Leap
1.892 - Meizu m2 note
1.892 - HTC Butterfly
1.873 - ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
1.759 - Sony Xperia U
1.758 - Asus Zenfone Selfie
1.68 - Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
1.675 - ZTE Nubia Z9
1.659 - Jolla Jolla
1.605 - Motorola Moto E
1.545 - Sony Xperia M
1.473 - Sony Xperia L
1.351 - HTC Desire C
1.3 - Sony Xperia C
1.283 - Meizu MX
1.221 - Sony Xperia E
1.215
As for the really positive aspects of Huawei's LCD of choice, it is really color accurate, with an average deltaE of just 2.1 and a maximum of 3.6. Interestingly enough, these numbers were achieved using the default factory settings in Normal mode. The P20 also offers a vivid mode, as well as an interface to fine-tune the white point. Despite our best efforts, we couldn't get better results fiddling with the settings. So just leave it on normal for color accuracy and vivid for a punchier color pallet.
Battery
Huawei has never been one to skimp on the battery capacity in general. Still, a smaller body does mean less room for everything. In the case of the P20, the reduction is down to 3,400 mAh, instead of the full 4,000 mAh, the P20 Pro gets. A 15% drop, or so, but still, and adequate capacity.
But it's not only about battery capacity, it's also what you do with it that's important.
Looking at the number breakdown in detail, we find the video playback and web browsing scores are barely affected by the lower capacity battery pack, compared to the P20 Pro. That's because the P20's smaller LCD is obviously more frugal in the screen-on tests. The 3G talk time has taken a more notable hit. Nothing too drastic, though.
The bulk of the endurance difference between the P20 pair manifests itself in standby time. Still, 75 hours is a strong showing, overall. Quite similar to what the Huawei Mate 10 Lite manages to squeeze out of its slightly smaller battery, with slightly less potent internals.
Despite its lower capacity, the battery in the regular P20 still offers fast charging capabilities. Huawei's custom solution requires using a compatible charger and special cable combo, which is kind of a bummer in 2018. Still, we can't be too cross, since the 4.5V/5A SuperCharge adapter can bring the P20 from 0% to about 65% in around 30 minutes.
Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Huawei P20 for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
Loudspeaker
The Huawei P20 has a single bottom-firing speaker at its disposal. The lack of stereo is kind of a bummer. Then again, Samsung only recently made the push to a hybrid setup, so, Huawei is not exactly behind the curve on this one.
| Speakerphone test | Voice, dB | Ringing |
Overall score | |
| 65.0 | 67.8 | 75.0 | Average | |
| 67.8 | 69.5 | 71.5 | Good | |
| 66.2 | 70.5 | 72.5 | Good | |
| 66.0 | 71.6 | 76.4 | Good | |
| 66.1 | 71.8 | 78.1 | Good | |
| 68.9 | 74.0 | 76.2 | Very Good | |
| 67.7 | 70.0 | 83.6 | Very Good | |
| 67.6 | 71.0 | 82.7 | Very Good | |
| 65.1 | 70.5 | 86.6 | Very Good | |
| 68.5 | 74.3 | 81.1 | Very Good | |
| 66.6 | 69.8 | 90.0 | Very Good | |
| 70.1 | 73.8 | 84.2 | Excellent | |
| 76.0 | 74.6 | 79.0 | Excellent | |
| 71.8 | 69.2 | 91.0 | Excellent | |
| 88.0 | 77.1 | 81.4 | Excellent | |
| 90.6 | 73.7 | 84.0 | Excellent |
It's a decent speaker as well - a bit quieter than the P20 Pro overall. But that is more or less expected, given the phone's smaller body. Dolby digital optimization is always working behind the scenes (it can't be toggled off for the speaker). The default, Intelligent mode, produced the loudest output the phone is capable of. Music mode sort of tries to open up the sound stage a little, but the default mode, with no equalizers on, doesn't really make up for the loss in volume. It might be worth it if you find an equalizer setting you like.
Last, but not least, there is Film mode, which tries to provide a sense of spacial audio to some degree. The overpowering sound at every given moment seems to end up filling the space around you, while any voices typically get isolated and come off as if the speaker is standing in front of you, a few steps away. It's an odd effect, overall. But, once you get used to it, it could improve some movie watching experiences.
Audio quality
The Huawei P20 delivered excellently clean output with an active external amplifier, but much like its larger Pro sibling it was let down by its below average loudness.
It was mostly the same story when we plugged in headphones as the volume went further down, but overall output was still nicely accurate. A moderate hike in stereo crosstalk was all the clarity damage we observed, which isn’t bad at all. So those using high impedance headphones might want to keep away from this one - everyone else should be pleased with it.
| Test | Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk |
| +0.01, -0.04 | -92.4 | 92.7 | 0.0023 | 0.011 | -92.7 | |
| +0.23, -0.06 | -92.0 | 92.2 | 0.0029 | 0.096 | -65.2 | |
| +0.01, -0.04 | -92.1 | 92.3 | 0.0050 | 0.012 | -92.1 | |
| +0.25, -0.10 | -91.9 | 92.9 | 0.0021 | 0.117 | -65.9 | |
| +0.01, -0.02 | -93.7 | 93.5 | 0.0009 | 0.0065 | -92.0 | |
| +0.46, -0.10 | -92.8 | 93.3 | 0.0079 | 0.290 | -56.6 | |
| +0.01, -0.03 | -92.6 | 92.5 | 0.0012 | 0.0076 | -93.4 | |
| +0.03, -0.03 | -92.2 | 92.2 | 0.0017 | 0.042 | -76.3 | |
| +0.05, -0.11 | -94.1 | 94.1 | 0.0017 | 0.0067 | -94.5 | |
| +0.05, -0.02 | -93.7 | 93.8 | 0.0018 | 0.105 | -53.7 | |
| +0.02, -0.01 | -93.2 | 93.1 | 0.0008 | 0.0069 | -94.2 | |
| +0.03, -0.02 | -92.9 | 92.9 | 0.0057 | 0.051 | -68.1 |
Huawei P20 frequency response
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
Android 8.1 with EMUI on top
Huawei synchronized the version number of its Android overlay with the release of the Mate 10, and now on the P20, it's Android 8.1 Oreo and EMUI 8.1. Not that it's radically different or anything, but there are some fresh bits.
First up, the notch. You can embrace it, or you can opt to mask it with a black status bar that extends all the way down to the bottom edge of the notch. Hiding it doesn't really work too well with an LCD panel. The corners of the active display area will be rounded too, to match the actual corners on the bottom of the display. The size of this software bezel on the top ends up being symmetrical to the physical bottom bezel all while showing your status information white on black. This reminds us of what the LG V10 and V20 did with their extra displays, but this implementation is quite different, of course.
Notch control
Then there's the navigation bar. Or, rather, the navigation bar is one of the numerous options for navigation you can set up on the Huawei P20, most of them available on the Mate 10s too. The most straightforward method seems to be with on-screen Back/Home/Recents buttons (or the other way around) with an optional notification pulldown button. In this scenario, the fingerprint reader is also Home.
Alternatively, you can use the fingerprint reader only (Off-screen navigation button in the menu) - tap to go back, tap and hold for Home, and swipe in either direction for Recents. Or, you could do the same, only not with the fingerprint reader, but instead, with an onscreen key down at the bottom - that's the new addition this time around.
Whichever of the above three options you choose, you can complement it with a 'Navigation dock' - a floating button you can place anywhere on the screen. The actions are the same and will yield the same results.
One issue we have with the alternative methods for navigation is that you can't double-tap the Recents key to switch back and forth between apps - simply because there isn't a Recents key, but it's a gesture instead.
Navigation options
If you would rather stick to the traditional on-screen button navigation scheme of AOSP, Huawei even offers a few button arrangement options. We appreciate it since the back button positioning is a deeply subjective preference to long-term Android users.
Navigation bar options
But, taking a few steps back from navigation schemes, the first thing you'll be greeted by on the Huawei P20 is a lockscreen. It is the familiar custom Magazine style only now called Covers. Or covers are the wallpapers for Magazine Lock? We're confused. In any case, it displays a different wallpaper every time you wake up the device. Or you can pin a single one there, if that is more to your liking. Shortcuts for some quick actions are available on the lockscreen but are non-configurable.
Lockscreen
You could be skipping the lockscreen entirely, however, if you opt for fingerprint unlock - it's the most natural way to unlock the P20 in our opinion and no Face unlock will change our mind. After all, the front-mounted reader setup is becoming increasingly rare. The setup process is straightforward, and the phone will even give you pointers which part of your fingertip to scan next.
Fingerprint settings • Fingerprint settings • Face unlock
By default, EMUI uses a homescreen only UI scheme, as is the preference in most Asian markets. Still, there is an option to get the app drawer back. If you do opt for the drawer, be prepared to have an Apps button instead of a swipe action to get to the drawer.
No app drawer by default • You can opt for app drawer • Apps button like it's 2016
App twins for multiple instances of a single application is available on the P20 in case you need to manage two social accounts. Other security features include App lock, which will only allow you to run an app if you provide a password or a fingerprint, and PrivateSpace, which takes the App twin concept to the next level and lets you have an entire separate desktop.
App twin • Twin Facebooks • App lock • PrivateSpace
The rich Theme support has always been a popular EMUI feature. The theme store offers a wide selection and some artsy options that fit in well with the general high-design image of the P20. There are different static and live wallpapers, transition animations, and icon packs. Most every aspect of the UI is customizable.
Themes
The notification area is a 50/50 mix of stock Android and EMUI. There are (expandable) quick toggles and a brightness bar, but the auto brightness switch is gone, for some reason.
The task switcher is the usual rolodex of apps with a 'kill all' shortcut. From here you can also use split-screen mode - tap the icon to the left of the padlock.
Notification shade • More toggles • Toggle settings • Task switcher • Split screen
Huawei's Phone Manager app for granular battery, permission, and mobile data control is available, of course. There is a one-key memory cleaner and a virus scanner powered by Avast.
Phone manager
Assorted apps
Huawei is still persisting with its own multimedia apps and has a custom Gallery, Music player and Video player. There is even a Huawei app store - all part of the company's own ecosystem efforts, necessary on it's home Google-free market and some form of experience independence from the web titan elsewhere. In addition to your camera roll, the Gallery offers sorting by albums, or smart sorting by subject, places, events, among others. It has its own image editor, if needed, and it also works with variable aperture shots for adjusting the bokeh effects post shot.
EMUI Gallery
The built-in image editor is actually quite powerful and in-depth, with a wide selection of adjustment options and effects.
Powerful built-in image editor
The EMUI's Music app changes background dynamically to match the album art. Lyrics are available and downloaded automatically. There is a Dulby Atmos mode selector in the setting menu, with some basic equalizers available in one of the modes.
Music app: Home page • Now Playing • Lyrics • Dolby Atmos settings
There's a ton of useful pre-installed apps on the P20. Among the more notable ones is the Health app, which tracks steps and calculates calories, but can also count the number of floors you've climbed.
Health app • File manager • Calendar • Clock
The list of tools includes a proper file manager, calendar , notes, weather, compass, sound recorder, flashlight and a few more pre-loaded utilities. The remote control app is a notable omission, compared to the P20 Pro, but the regular P20 simply lacks an IR blaster.
Pre-loaded apps
Performance
Huawei and its HiSilicon silicon branch, in particular, seem to currently be a few months behind the curve on chipset development. It's a release cycle issue, more than anything else, since news of the Kirin 980 and its most likely ambassador - the Mate 20, is already surfacing. In the meantime, however, the Huawei P20 is stuck with the Kirin 970. Don't get us wrong, while slightly dated, it still has plenty of power to go around. So, we can't really complain about the chipset choice.
That's if you don't count how abnormally hot the P20 got during our benchmark run. So hot, in fact, that it was actually uncomfortable to the touch, especially around the top frame of the unit.
The situation actually got so bad that we were forced to whip out our special peltier-based cooling setup and re-run the benchmarks with active cooling applied to the back of the unit. Examining the performance numbers in more detail reveals that the four 2.4 GHz Cortex-A73 and other four 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53 units inside the Kirin 970 actually favoured quite well, even with the intensive heat.
GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Apple iPhone X
10215 - Apple iPhone 8
10214 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
8883 - Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
8487 - Samsung Galaxy S9+ (Snapdragon)
8349 - OnePlus 5T (Oreo)
6759 - Huawei P20 (cooled)
6739 - Huawei P20
6722 - Huawei P20 Pro
6679 - Samsung Galaxy S8
6656 - HTC U11+
6654 - Huawei Mate 10
6625 - Nokia 8
6568 - Google Pixel 2 XL
6428 - LG V30
6365 - Huawei Honor 7X
3535
GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Apple iPhone X
4256 - Apple iPhone 8
4234 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
3771 - Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
2446 - Samsung Galaxy S9+ (Snapdragon)
2199 - Samsung Galaxy S8
1991 - OnePlus 5T (Oreo)
1974 - HTC U11+
1939 - Nokia 8
1925 - Google Pixel 2 XL
1915 - Huawei P20 Pro
1907 - LG V30
1901 - Huawei P20 (cooled)
1900 - Huawei P20
1897 - Huawei Mate 10
1882 - Huawei Honor 7X
904
GeekBench reports scores quite similar to those of a Huawei Mate 10 and easily comparable to the previous generation of competing chips, like the Snapdragon 835 and Exynos 8895. So, about what we expected.
AnTuTu scores seem mostly unaffected by the heat overall, although we are still seeing consistently lower numbers than the Mate 10. It is also worth noting that we ran AnTuTu 5 as well and saw noticeably bigger difference.
AnTuTu 7
Higher is better
- Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
265326 - Samsung Galaxy S9+ (Snapdragon)
264044 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
246660 - Huawei Mate 10
214037 - Nokia 8
210323 - Huawei P20 Pro
209884 - OnePlus 5T (Oreo)
207072 - Huawei P20 (cooled)
207016 - Huawei P20
206906 - Google Pixel 2 XL
203119 - Samsung Galaxy S8
199022 - LG V30
182374 - Huawei Honor 7X
67636
Other compound benchmarks, like BaseMark OS 2.0 are less kind to a smouldering Huawei P20 and clearly showcase the adverse effects on performance.
Basemark OS 2.0
Higher is better
- Apple iPhone X
4708 - Samsung Galaxy S9+ (Snapdragon)
4196 - Apple iPhone 8
3934 - Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
3681 - Nokia 8
3503 - Huawei P20 (cooled)
3487 - OnePlus 5T (Oreo)
3458 - Huawei Mate 10
3415 - Google Pixel 2 XL
3379 - Samsung Galaxy S8
3376 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
3354 - Huawei P20
3338 - HTC U11+
3257 - Huawei P20 Pro
3252 - LG V30
2705 - Huawei Honor 7X
1398
The CPU might be fine, but the Mali-G72 MP12 GPU, not so much.
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- Apple iPhone 8
85 - Samsung Galaxy S9+ (Snapdragon)
83 - Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
82 - Apple iPhone X
81 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
74 - Huawei P20 Pro
66 - Huawei Mate 10
65 - Huawei P20 (cooled)
65 - Google Pixel 2 XL
61 - LG V30
60 - Nokia 8
57 - HTC U11+
56 - OnePlus 5T (Oreo)
56 - Samsung Galaxy S8
50 - Huawei P20
47 - Huawei Honor 7X
8
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Apple iPhone 8
60 - Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
59 - Apple iPhone X
59 - Huawei P20 (cooled)
56 - Huawei P20 Pro
55 - Samsung Galaxy S9+ (Snapdragon)
51 - OnePlus 5T (Oreo)
50 - Huawei P20
46 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
45 - Huawei Mate 10
43 - HTC U11+
36 - Google Pixel 2 XL
36 - Samsung Galaxy S8
36 - LG V30
35 - Nokia 8
33 - Huawei Honor 7X
8.3
The difference in frame rate is clearly there in both off-screen and on-screen scenarios. The GPU clearly thermal-throttles, which can also be observed by monitoring the GPU core frequencies during tests.
GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- Samsung Galaxy S9+ (Snapdragon)
35 - Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
35 - Nokia 8
32 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
28 - OnePlus 5T (Oreo)
26 - HTC U11+
25 - Google Pixel 2 XL
25 - Samsung Galaxy S8
25 - LG V30
24 - Huawei P20
23 - Huawei P20 (cooled)
23 - Huawei P20 Pro
23 - Huawei Mate 10
21 - Huawei Honor 7X
2.8
GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
33 - OnePlus 5T (Oreo)
24 - Huawei P20
23 - Huawei P20 (cooled)
23 - Huawei P20 Pro
21 - Samsung Galaxy S9+ (Snapdragon)
20 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
14 - Huawei Mate 10
13 - LG V30
13 - HTC U11+
13 - Google Pixel 2 XL
13 - Samsung Galaxy S8
13 - Nokia 8
12 - Huawei Honor 7X
2.8
Higher version OpenGL GFXBench tests report smaller, or even entirely non-existent scores, regardless of temperature state. The GPU's is clearly hitting some unrelated limitation that causes the fps cap.
But, believe us when we say, the adverse effects are still there. Take Basemark ES 3.1, for instance. Not only does it take into consideration a total rendered frame count, but it is also a very lengthy test to run, leaving the Mali-G72 MP12 plenty of time to get all toasty.
Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal
Higher is better
- Apple iPhone X
1854 - Apple iPhone 8
1690 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
1481 - Samsung Galaxy S8
1189 - Samsung Galaxy S9+ (Snapdragon)
1177 - Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
1174 - Huawei Mate 10
1142 - Google Pixel 2 XL
874 - LG V30
860 - Nokia 8
855 - HTC U11+
851 - OnePlus 5T (Oreo)
829 - Huawei P20 (cooled)
699 - Huawei P20
538
Basemark X paints the exact same picture.
Basemark X
Higher is better
- Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
44058 - Samsung Galaxy S9+ (Snapdragon)
44013 - Samsung Galaxy S8
42370 - Samsung Galaxy S9+
42134 - Huawei Mate 10
40809 - Google Pixel 2 XL
39143 - HTC U11+
38315 - OnePlus 5T (Oreo)
38248 - Huawei P20 (cooled)
37659 - Nokia 8
37593 - LG V30
36704 - Huawei P20
26842 - Huawei Honor 7X
8616
All that being said, in real world terms, you are quite unlikely to notice any slow-downs, even in the most demanding game titles. Modern engines are simply too good at adjusting to deliver the best possible experience. Playing games for extended periods of time didn't result in the colossal heat build-up which we observed while benchmarking.
The dual-camera, reformed
The Huawei P20 has a dual-camera setup similar to what we saw on the Huawei Mate 10. This means we're looking at a 12MP OIS color and a 20MP monochrome imager sitting behind f/1.6 lenses each.
Numbers might be deceiving though, as Huawei has upgraded the main 12MP sensor. Yes, the resolution is the same as before, but the sensor is now bigger at 1/2.3" and its pixels are among the largest on a smartphone around at 1.55µm. To put things in perspective the Mate 10's 12MP sensor is 1/2.9" large with 1.25µm pixel size.
The 12MP sensor on the P20 (probably Sony IMX378) is 61% larger than the iPhone X's 12MP one and 22% larger than the 12MP main snappers on the Galaxy S9 duo.
The 20MP monochrome is the same as before with 1.00µm pixels and 27mm-equivalent f/1.6 aperture lens.
Huawei's 2x lossless zoom is available on the P20, but that's as far as you can go. The Pro, thanks to its high-res 40MP one, can do 3x optical-like and 5x-hybrid.
For autofocus, the P20 can rely on a combination of depth detection from the multiple cameras, contrast and phase detection, and a laser that works at up to 2.4m. There is also a dual-tone LED flash is there to illuminate your subject in the dark. Unlike the P20 Pro, the regular P20 omits the light temperature sensor for improved white balance.
The front-facing camera is a whopping 24MP unit, but this one doesn't have autofocus - the big number is easier to sell than the check mark. The lens aperture is f/2.0.
Huawei introduced the so-called Master AI option to do all the image awesomeness, and it's enabled by default (but you can turn it off from the settings). It should recognize 500+ different scenes and adjust photo parameters accordingly, presumably HDR in high-contrast scenes included. Sony should probably add an 'AI' moniker to its Superior Auto - they've been doing scene detection since forever.
The camera interface has been reworked some since the Mate 10, but we wouldn't go as far as to call it intuitive. First off, you have a mode selector on the bottom that you swipe left and right to change modes, but you can't swipe on the viewfinder, just on the selector itself. Swiping up and down doesn't switch between front and rear camera either, you have a button for that (admittedly, on the bottom within easy reach). Basically, you're wasting the viewfinder by not having gestures enabled on it, except for pinch to zoom.
Camera interface
As for zooming, it's most precise when you use the '1x' button in the viewfinder, which will take you into '2x' magnification (around 54mm equivalent).
Another thing that's hidden is the access to the monochrome camera. You now need to swipe the mode selector all the way to the 'More' position, where the extra modes are: Monochrome, Panorama, and HDR, among others. And while we're at it, it's really odd to have a manual HDR mode when you have that Master AI enabled, there is image stacking happening, so basically, it's like HDR is happening no matter what you do.
The Monochrome mode has its own modes right there on its viewfinder - Normal, Aperture, Portrait, and Pro. That's something we actually liked even though this extra menu moves the viewfinder to the left.
The default (color) Pro mode here where you can adjust parameters yourself - ISO (50 to 6400), shutter speed (1/4000s to 30s), exposure compensation (-4 to +4EV in 1/3 stop increments), and white balance (presets and light temperature). You can also choose the metering mode (matrix, center-weighted and spot), and the focus mode (single, continuous and manual). If the phone thinks you messed up the exposure, an icon will pop up to warn you.
Pro mode
Since bokeh effects became all the rage, Huawei phones have had both a Portrait mode and an Aperture mode. There's now more differentiation than ever between the two. In Aperture, you can choose the simulated aperture in the range from f/0.95 to f/16. Post shot, you can change the aperture and the focus point within the Gallery.
Aperture mode • Aperture mode • Aperture mode • Portrait mode • Portrait mode
In Portrait mode you can enable and disable the background blur (why disable it, though), you can change the simulated lighting, and you can also add some beautification on a scale from 0 to 10.
The P20 records video up to 4K resolution at 30fps - there's no 4K/60fps mode. You can, however, choose between h.264 and h.265.
There's super slow-mo recording as well, in what's become the industry-standard 720p/960fps, as well as 'regular' slow-mo in 720p/240 and 1080p/120fps. While the regular slow-mo clips are only limited in length by your free storage, the super slow-mo clips last precisely 10s - 6s of slow-mo and two seconds of regular speed action on both ends.
Video recording
The Huawei P20 offers you a choice between the h.264 and h.265 codecs (the P10 only used h.265). We were surprised to find a very the small difference in bit rate for 4K videos - it's 22Mbps vs. 20Mbps so h.265 doesn't really give us the huge file size reduction benefit we're used to seeing elsewhere. So unless you have specific reasons to go for h.265, we'd recommend using the h.264 codec for its inherent compatibility with all platforms and devices.
The 4K footage is nice and detailed, with pleasing colors and plenty of contrast. Dynamic range is a turned out great. The colors are a bit punchier than they should be even though there is no Master AI for videos.
The only thing we didn't like was the foliage presentation - it turned out too complex for the Huawei P20 and we got some greenish spots instead of real grass or leaves. Everything that's not foliage was nicely rendered with rich detail.
The recorded audio is stereo with 192kbps bitrate.
Not bad overall though, especially given the small file size of the videos. But we've definitely seen better.
Shooting at 1080p at 30fps and 60fps turned out a bit disappointing. It comes with penalty on the resolved detail but keeps the punchy colors and the good dynamic range.
Stabilization is only available in 1080p/30fps and not in 4K or 1080p/60fps. It is super effective, and you can see the difference in the viewfinder as you're shooting. What you can't see is that the stabilized 1080p footage is much softer and less detailed than regular 1080p - it's looking more like upscaled 720p. Non-stabilized footage, on the other hand, is extra jerky, so we're not sure which side we're leaning on. In any case, shooting video while walking is not a good idea with the P20.
Finally, the Huawei P20 can shoot the trending 720p slow-mo videos at 960fps. Despite having a Master AI for pictures, this is nowhere to be found for videos, slow-mo included. This means you need to do the same thing as on the Xperia phones - hit the button right after the moment you want to capture happenes and the frames will be unloaded from the buffer into a 10s slow-mo clip. It takes a few try but you can easily learn how to use it.
You can also download the untouched video samples: 2160p (10s, 27MB), 1080p at 60fps (10s, 17MB), 1080p at 30fps (10s, 8MB).
Video Compare Tool
Finally, for some extra pixel peeping head over to our Video compare tool, where you can examine the Huawei P20 output against any phone we've tested before. We've pre-selected the Huawei P20 Pro and the P10, but you can, of course, pick your own set of phones.
2160p: Huawei P20 against the Huawei P20 Pro and the Huawei P10 in our Video compare tool
Daylight image quality
Huawei's Master AI is enabled by default from Settings and the maker wants you to use it. As we established on the Huawei P20 Pro, this "smart scene recognition" has a lot to learn. While it does recognize the scenery properly and pops the right icon, its understanding of color is way off base, Instagram-level off.
Take the Blue Sky and Greenery for example. The Master AI overdoes it with the blues and greens to some extreme levels, and in the meantime, it applies some unnecessary vignetting. At first, we thought we might have switched on the Vivid Leica mode accidently, but no, it's the Master AI that goes all-in for those eye-popping looks.
Master AI (Blue Sky) • Off • Master AI (Greenery) • Off
On a positive note, those vivid looks work brilliantly on food and you won't need any filters to make your friends envy of your chocolate cake.
We will return to explore more of the Master AI for the low-light shots. For now, we'd advice to switch it off in broad daylight if the popping colors are not your cup of tea.
The regular 12MP snaps (no Master AI) turned out very good. The dynamic range is impressive, but we already expected that as Huawei has been doing the multi-stacking things for a few years now. The resolved detail is plenty for the most part, but not that impressive on foliage.
The colors are accurate, the white balance is on spot, the noise levels are low, and the contrast is excellent. The samples suffer from over-sharpening here and there, but nothing extreme.
Huawei P20 12MP camera samples
Leave it to the Master AI and you'll get less boring and more colorful shots at the expense of some detail, blown highlights, excessive oversharpening, and darkened corners.
Huawei P20 12MP camera samples with Master AI
The Huawei P20 can do the 2x lossless zoom we have already seen on the P10 and Mate 10. It's possible thanks to those multiple captured frames giving more data to work with than what you'd get from a single 12MP shot (or 20MP). We tried some shots, and those indeed turned out pretty good with enough detail, same colors and dynamic range as the normal samples, but a little bit noisier. We wouldn't go that far to call this optical zoom, but it's much better than any digital one we've seen so far.
Huawei P20 12MP 2x zoomed camera samples
Even though it packs a 12MP color sensor, the Huawei P20 can do 20MP hybrid color images. These don't match the 20MP monochrome ones for high-intricacy resolution. We don't know the magic behind the combination of high-res monochrome + lower-res color image, but we can't think of a reason to use this mode. The samples are a notch better than upscaled 12MP color samples, yes, but 12MP should be more than enough.
Huawei P20 20MP color samples
The monochrome images have even more impressive dynamic range, but as usual taking black and white pictures is more of an artistic experiment rather than a mainstream behavior. The monochrome 20MP images came with great amount of resolved detail - we noticed much better-defined foliage and other high-intricacy detail when compared to the color images. Noise is pretty much non-existent, while the contrast is simply amazing.
Huawei P20 20MP monochrome samples
It's a bit annoying to switch from 12MP to 20MP from settings each time you go from color to monochrome camera and vice versa, so we'd advice for leaving everything to 12MP. The monochrome shots at 12MP are simply one of the most detailed images you can get from a smartphone camera, and they have a smaller memory footprint than the 20MP ones.
Huawei P20 12MP monochrome samples
And now the million-dollar question - is the P20 Pro camera better than the P20's? Short answer - no, they are on par. Shooting with both phones on default settings (12MP with Master AI for P20, 10MP with Master AI on P20 Pro) revealed pretty much identical samples, sans the resolution that is. The resolved detail seems the same, the Master AI goes all-punchy, the contrast and dynamic range - on par.
The new multi-frame noise-reduction does a wonderful job, but it also pops more detail whereas previously impossible even when mounted on a tripod.
So, at the end of the day - if you opt for the P20 instead of P20 Pro, you won't miss anything in quality. You'll just be limited to 2x lossless zoom instead of 3x. Big deal.
Huawei P20 (12MP) • Huawei P20 Pro (10MP) • Huawei P20 (12MP) • Huawei P20 Pro (10MP)
Low-light image quality
Let's say this from the start - in low-light cases you should keep the Master AI on if you want the Night mode to go automatically on, or use the dedicated Night mode from the viewfinder rolodex. This special low-light mode is near-magical and can present you with some stunning results in spite of some limitations.
The Night Mode creates pseudo long exposures by stacking multiple frames gathering light along the way. We're talking three-, sometimes five-second, hand-held exposures which would otherwise result in a blurry mess. This is what Huawei claimed as tripod-free long-exposure shots and while somewhat correct, the Night Mode can't be used for blurring car lights or similar. There is another mode for that, but a tripod is a must there.
Anyway, not all of the samples you take with the Night mode will be keepers and you still need to have a reasonably steady hand, but you'll be getting usable photos in situations you'd otherwise get none. The phone also does a remarkable job of retaining color where others would lose saturation.
Night mode • Off • Night mode • Off
The only caveat of Night mode is that if subjects move, they will get blurred. That's to say, the algorithm will successfully cancel out camera shake, but there's little it can do against motion blur. This is how long-exposure pretty much works, so this is not a criticism, we just wanted to clarify that.
Night mode • Off • Night mode • Off
You can also tune the so-called shutter speed in this mode, but we'd advice against that - the blurry shot is pretty much guaranteed.
When the Master AI won't trigger the Night Mode (or you just left the AI off), you would still get an impressive picture. There is plenty of resolved detail, impressively low noise levels, preserved colors, and overall sharp images with things visible even at the darkest of spots.
Huawei P20 12MP low-light samples
We also snapped a few monochrome samples at night. Those turned out impressive for sure, but the autofocus with the monochrome camera is terrible - it misses more often than not.
Huawei P20 12MP low-light monochrome samples
When using the manual mode you can select a shutter speed up to 32s with ISO up to 3200. The viewfinder image will change as the exposure develops, so if you figure you've gathered enough light you can stop at any time.
And with this freedom, you just need a small tripod to get wonderful images. If you lock the ISO to 50 and use the longer shutter speeds, you can get some stunning long exposure shots.
Huawei P20 long-exposure samples
Then there's the Light painting mode, which includes four sub-modes: Car light trails, Light graffiti, Silky Water and Star track. You'd need to have the phone perched on a stable support for shooting in these modes (a tripod or a beanbag) as these extremely long exposures can't be done handheld without camera shake.
Huawei P20 Light Painting Car Trails samples (19s shutter)
Picture Compare Tool
Finally, you can head over to our Photo compare tool to see how the Huawei P20 handles the controlled environment of our studio. We've pre-selected the Huawei P20 Pro and P10, but you can replace those with any other two phones you feel like.
Huawei P20 (12MP) vs. Huawei P20 Pro (10MP) vs. Huawei P10 (12MP) in our Photo compare tool
Portraits and Variable Aperture
The Huawei P20, just like other multi-camera Huawei phones, has a couple of faux bokeh modes - Portrait and Aperture. Portrait is the one meant for people, complete with bokeh toggle, beautification and simulated lighting.
Aperture, on the other hand, let's you do post-shot focus and simulate apertures in the f/0.95-f/16 range. We've been clamoring which one actually is best for pictures of people, and we haven't reached a consensus, so samples from both will follow. Note that you can shoot with both color and monochrome camera in wide or regular (telephoto) portrait views.
Wide Portrait • Normal Portrait • Wide B&W Portrait • Normal B&W Portrait
Separation is similarly non-perfect in both modes but given the right subject and background you can have some usable and convincing portraits.
Variable aperture f/2.0 • Variable aperture f/2.0
The Variable Aperture mode is recommended for non-human subject.
F/1.0 • F/2.4 • F/4.5 • F/8.0
The P20 does well with the subject isolation with simpler forms, but it's not too proficient when things get more complex.
F/1.0 • F/2.0 • F/4.0
Panorama
The Huawei P20 captures great panoramic shits with a vertical resolution around 3,200px. Stitching is flawless, and there are no issues with varying exposure. The dynamic range is quite impressive, as is the resolved detail.
Huawei P20 panorama
Selfies
Huawei P20 has one of the highest resolution selfie cameras on a smartphone - a 24MP snapper with a fixed-focus lens. We'd gladly trade half those megapixels for autofocus, or at least a focus plane further from the phone, because as it is you need to be pretty close to be in sharp focus.
Huawei P20 24MP selfies (the wrong distance)
Once you get the distance right, there'll be plenty of fine pores for you to marvel at - the level of detail is quite amazing, but then you're also quite close to the camera. Colors are faithfully represented, and dynamic range is good for a selfie camera.
Huawei P20 24MP selfies (the right distance)
There's also a portrait mode. In fact, it's the mode the selfie camera defaults to when you switch from the main cam - a bit weird. You can turn the blur on and off, there's also beautification (a 0-10 setting).
Huawei P20 24MP Portrait selfies
Various Simulated Lighting effects are available for the portraits, because that is a thing now.
Huawei P20 24MP Portrait selfies with Lightning effects
Competition
The price! Everything boils down to the moment when you put those digits in context. The Huawei P20 is currently selling for €580 in Europe, which makes it one of the cheapest flagships around. This means the lack of water-protection among other omissions have been acknowledged.
The Pro model is currently one of the most expensive offers on the market. Huawei has put a hefty price tag on the triple-camera, the AMOLED panel and that extra ingress protection - about €270 for a total of €850. Or more.
Yet, the Huawei P20's dual-camera is acing on its own even when overshadowed by its three-eyed sibling. Beyond those camera analogies lie one excellent screen, stunning design, and blazing-fast performance. On a bargain for the flagship bracket price.
There are two notch-favoring smartphones to come close to P20's specs and pricing - the Asus Zenfone 5z and the coming soon OnePlus 6. Big screens, glass designs, Snapdragon 845 chips, and dual-cameras that sound similar on paper, but we doubt they will deliver in quality. Both the Zenfone and 6 are yet to be released, and even announced, so there is that.
For some extra €80 over the P20 you could grab a notch-less Samsung Galaxy S9. Exceptional design and AMOLED screen is what you get in addition to even snappier theoretical performance, but the main camera is just one, sitting alone at the back, with limited artsy skills.
Then, there is the recently refreshed LG V30 ThinQ. It has a high-res P-OLED to impress, nice Moroccan Blue glass body, and regular + super-wide dual-camera opening some creative possibilities. The phone runs on the last year's Snapdragon 835 chip, which is still scoring flagship numbers though. This V30 costs a few bucks less than the P20 and it's worth checking out.
Huawei P20 Pro • Asus Zenfone 5z ZS620KL • OnePlus 6 • Samsung Galaxy S9 • LG V30S ThinQ
The Verdict
The Huawei P20 comes from a well-established flagship breed, which has never disappointed us. The focus on the camera this year didn't tip the scales against other features such as design and display. The P20 is as stunningly beautiful as it is powerful. And while the notched screen isn't everybody's favorite, it is the top pick of the season and we can't argue with people's choice.
The dual-camera got a behind the scenes upgrade with a new sensor, better lens, 960fps slow-mo capturing, and some advanced machine learning to help you take the best snaps. The latter has some more learning to do, for sure, but it has already impressed us with that tripod-free long-shutter night shots.
Pros
- Stunning looks
- Excellent screen, you can hide the notch
- Great main camera day and night, color and monochrome
- Dependable performance
- Feature-rich software
Cons
- Smudges and glass can't be friends
- No IP67 rating, don't dunk it in water
- The AF on the mono camera is hit and miss
- The video recording lacks 60 fps on 4K, the 960fps slow-mo could have benefitted from that AI
- Taking a sharp selfie is a tough job with this fixed focus camera
Sure, the Huawei P20 could have been better. Water-proofing would have made it on par with the competition, an audio jack would have made it easier to swallow the lack of the ingress protection. But the relatively low for a flagship price is what makes those omissions easily sink and disappear.
The Huawei P20 turned out surprisingly well-thought and worthy of being the Pro's companion. It's as beautiful and as powerful, while its camera isn't that inferior to the Pro's as it looks. Finally, the Huawei P20 price was masterfully chosen to make the perfect sense, and in a few months from now, the P20 could become the company's top best-seller to date.
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