Huawei Mate 20 Pro First Impressions: Insane camera and gorgeous design

Huawei Mate 20 Pro will be available online exclusively on Amazon starting Midnight on December 3,2018 for Prime Members and Midnight on December 4, 2018 at Rs. 69,990 for regular customers.

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Huawei today unveiled the company's best-ever flagship smartphone- Mate 20 Pro in an event in New Delhi, India. The new smartphone carries a hefty price tag of Rs. 69,990 and challenges every other premium flagship smartphone in the market such as Apple iPhone XR, Google Pixel 3/3XL, Samsung Galaxy Note 9, iPhone XS Max, etc. The Mate 20 Pro was first unveiled globally at an event in London on October 16 and instantly grabbed our attention. This is due to the fact that this handset offers everything that you would expect from an ultra-premium top-of-the-line smartphone in today's time.

 
Huawei Mate 20 Pro First Impressions

Huawei Mate 20 Pro packs in probably the most insane camera hardware, a super vibrant QHD+ AMOLED screen, a gorgeous glass-metal design, and a big 4,200 mAh battery unit. Besides, the smartphone runs on the latest Android 9.0 and is backed by Huawei's in-house Kirin 980 octa-core chipset. We spent some time with the new smartphone and loved the kind of performance it has to offer as a daily driver. Here's what we have to say about the handset in our first impressions.

Triple-lens camera setup offers amazing results
 

Triple-lens camera setup offers amazing results

Let's address the elephant in the room. The Mate 20 Pro packs in one-of-the most interesting camera hardware in the smartphone market. Huawei has placed a visually unique camera module, which the company calls- matrix camera setup. The three camera sensors are arranged in two-by-two array to make the design symmetrical. The camera module has one 40 MP sensor, which is a wide angle lens working on f/1.8 aperture. Then you will find a 20 MP Leica powered ultra-wide angle lens with f/2.2 aperture, and in the last one 8 MP telephoto lens with a f/2.4 aperture. The Leica powered 20MP ultra-wide angle lens has a shorter focal length and can also be used to capture impressive macro shots. The camera output is brilliant. You will get to see a very good contrast, vibrant colours, and amazing detailing.

Huawei's camera app is full of useful modes that can even let you capture some professional class images and videos. The Night mode offered stunning results and some images came out even better than the Google Pixel 3XL, which is a benchmark in smartphone photography. The portrait shots are excellent and Leica's wide-angle lens makes Mate 20 Pro an excellent device for street and landscape photography. We will talk more about the Mate 20 Pro's camera performance in our comprehensive review of the smartphone. For now, we can tell you that the market now has one smartphone that can even surpass Google Pixel 3XL in pure camera performance.

Full Glass-Metal design which feels ultra-premium

Full Glass-Metal design which feels ultra-premium

Without any doubt, Mate 20 Pro is one of the most premium and appealing flagship smartphones you can buy today in the market. It is an all glass and metal build that gives a solid feel in hands. The handset has been given a curved design on all sides that make it very comfortable to hold. To maintain a symmetrical design, the company has integrated the speaker unit within the Type C port. Thankfully, the audio delivery is not affected when you are charging the handset.

But the design is not entirely original as the handset resembles the Samsung Galaxy S9+/S9 a lot. Nevertheless, Huawei has managed to craft a beautiful phone that looks and feels premium from every nook and corner. Huawei has unveiled the Mate 20 Pro in two variants- Emerald Green and Twilight Blue, and the smartphone is also IP68 water-dust resistant.

Gorgeous QHD+ AMOLED Screen

Gorgeous QHD+ AMOLED Screen

Coming onto the front, the smartphone flaunts a crisp and super vibrant 6.39-inches QHD+ AMOLED display that also houses an in-display fingerprint scanner. Unlike OnePlus 6T and Vivo's flagship handsets, the in-display fingerprint scanner is placed slightly up from the bottom making it slightly more convenient to unlock the phone. The screen comes in 19.5:9 aspect ratio and offers a resolution of 1,440 x 3,120 pixels. This makes for an impressive pixel count of 545 ppi. The screen is super vibrant and offers very good viewing angles. If you spent a lot of time watching high definition videos and playing games, you will love the screen on Mate 20 Pro.

Hardware and Software

Hardware and Software

Talking about the processor, the smartphone is backed by the flagship Kirin 980 chipset which is designed by Huawei's HiSilicon division. This chipset has two neural processing units to execute AI related tasks such as real-time language translation, real-time photo manipulation, and other AI-related tasks. The phone comes in 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage option and feels blazing fast. It runs EMUI 9.0, based on Android Pie which is smooth and offers a lot to explore but at the same time is stuffed with so many software features that might confuse you at first. If you are a stock Android fan, EMUI 9.0 can give you a tough time.

Big battery unit and super fast 40W Power adaptor

Big battery unit and super fast 40W Power adaptor

Last but not least; the smartphone is backed by a massive 4,200 mAh battery unit which is one of the beefiest batteries we have tested on a flagship smartphone. With the 40 W Super Charge adaptor in the package, this battery unit easily lasts for a day.

Innovative Reverse Wireless charging

Innovative Reverse Wireless charging

I am quite impressed by what Huawei is doing with the battery and wireless technology. Huawei Mate 20 Pro supports 15W HUAWEI Wireless Quick Charge, which is capable of wireless Reverse Charge. What this means is that the Mate 20 Pro works as a power bank for smartphones that support wireless charging. Simply enable the feature and hold the two phones together and the Mate 20 Pro will start charging the other Qi supported device. It's a feature that can come quite handy if you carry a second device that also supports wireless charging.

Verdict

Verdict

Huawei Mate 20 Pro has impressed us with its camera, display, and design. The smartphone also seems to offer a solid battery life and swift processing and multitasking performance. Moreover, the company has offered some really innovative features like wireless revere charging, 40W power adaptor, and impressive HDR image processing. While there's no doubt that Mate 20 Pro is the one-of-the best smartphone in the market today, what we ask from you is the question which is most relevant- Would you spend Rs. 70,000 on a Huawei phone or would go with Google, Samsung or Apple?

Let us know in the comments and stay tuned for our comprehensive review of Mate 20 Pro where we will push the smartphone to its limits to test Huawei's claims of calling Mate 20 Pro the King of smartphones.

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