Huawei has officially announced the P20 family of devices, including the P20 and P20 Pro plus their signature Porsche edition. There's a lot to love here, especially for photographers.
The specs for both devices shouldn't be particularly surprising; we've seen the hardware in several leaks and pretty much guessed exactly what Huawei would announce.
| Huawei P20 | Huawei P20 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Announced | March 27, 2018 | March 27, 2018 |
| Display | 5.8-inch FullView LCD Display, 2240 x 1080 resolution, 429ppi, 18:7:9 aspect ratio | 6.1-inch FullView OLED Display, 18:7:9 aspect ratio, 2240 x 1080 resolution, |
| Processor | HUAWEI Kirin 970Octa-core CPU (4*Cortex A73 2.36GHz + 4*Cortex A53 1.8GHz) + i7 co-processor | HUAWEI Kirin 970Octa-core CPU (4*Cortex A73 2.36GHz + 4*Cortex A53 1.8GHz) + i7 co-processor |
| RAM | 4GB | 6GB |
| Storage | 64GB | 128GB |
| Rear Camera | 12MP RGB (f/1.8) + 20MP monochrome (f/1.6) HUAWEI AIS 4D predictive focus 5x Hybrid Zoom 4K and 960 fps video recording | 40MP RGB (f/1.8) + 20MP monochrome (f/1.6) + 8MP telephoto (f/2.4) HUAWEI AIS 4D predictive focus 5x Hybrid Zoom 4K and 960 fps video recording |
| Front Camera | 24MP | 24MP |
| Battery | 3,400mAh (non-removable) Huawei SuperCharge | 4000mAh (non-removable), Huawei SuperCharge |
| Charging | USB Type C | USB Type C |
| Software | Android 8.1 Oreo with EMUI 8.1 | Android 8.1 Oreo with EMUI 8.1 |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 2.4G, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac with Wi-Fi Direct support BT4.2, support BLE support aptX/aptX HD and LDAC HD AudioUSB Type CDisplayPort 1.2 | Wi-Fi 2.4G, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac with Wi-Fi Direct supportBT4.2, support BLE support aptX/aptX HD and LDAC HD AudioUSB Type CDisplayPort 1.2 |
| Sensors | Ambient, proximity, accelerometer, gyro, compass, fingerprint | Ambient, proximity, accelerometer, gyro, compass, fingerprint |
| Ingress protection | IP53, | IP67, dust & water resistance |
| Measurements | 149.1 mm x 70.8 mm x 7.65 mm | 155.0 mm x 73.9 mm x 7.8 mm |
| Weight | 165g | 180g |
| Colors | Black, Champagne Gold, Twilight, Pink Gold, Midnight Blue | Black, Midnight Blue, Pink Gold, Twilight |
But what's really important goes beyond the specs. Huawei's new triple camera system looks to impress with a mix of sensors and software, allowing up to 5x optical zoom and some fancy software Light Fusion that combines the four quadrants of the P20 Pro's 40-megapixel sensor for brighter, crisper images.
The regular P20 opts instead for a simpler dual camera system that lacks the massive 40MP sensor, but still utilizes Huawei's powerful image processing and AI image stabilization features for excellent shots. That AI functionality will also allow for 5-second long exposure shots without a tripod, which is generally not something that smartphones handle well. It'll be interesting to see how Huawei's implantation turns out.
There are also things like improved object recognition so the camera will be able to intelligently adjust for the kind of food you're photographing, really highlighting just how much Huawei is depending on the artificial intelligence of the phones.
The P20 Pro and regular P20 sport the same aspect ratio and screen resolution, although the P20 Pro opts for a slightly larger 6.1-inch display. That slightly lowers the pixel density, but both screens are 2240×1080 so that's probably not high on the worry list. They're both notched displays, but if you really don't like that, Huawei has included a software feature that will hide the notch and make the phone look a little more traditional, for better or worse.
You won't find a headphone jack, but you will get a physical home button at the bottom of the phone that doubles as a fingerprint scanner. Why did Huawei create a notched display instead of doing away with this home button to make a bigger screen? The world may never know.
On the backside, you'll notice that Huawei has crafted the P20 with a dual-tone paint job that shifts colors depending on the lighting. It can be hard to tell in pictures, but it's a nice touch even if it looks like it makes the phone a massive fingerprint magnet.
And, like always, there's a Porsche edition. This version of the P20 Pro picks up a higher resolution screen, up to 512GB of internal storage, and a fingerprint scanner built into the screen.
Anybody interested?
