Huawei Mate 20 Pro Hands-On


Huawei Mate 20 Pro is now official and available for purchase, here are our initial thoughts and first impressions on the new phone. Mate 20 Pro forms the highest spec-ed smartphone you can buy from the whole Mate 20 lineup and we were lucky enough to get some hands-on time during the launch event in Dubai. Mate is a flagship series from Huawei and it gets updated each year. For 2018’s new Mate 20, the brand has packed in some amazing new features — which are not just gimmicks — as well as some exceptional hardware: Kirin 980, 128GB base storage and an in-display fingerprint scanner. Tying it all is Huawei’s EMUI 9 which is based off of Android 9.0 Pie.

On top of hardware, there are key things that Mate 20 Pro offers which immediately stand out from other 2018 flagships. The first, one of our favorites, is reverse wireless charging. On top of the normal wireless charging standard that everyone has gotten used to by now, Mate 20 Pro can charge other devices through its rear — acting as a portable wireless charger. This seems extremely useful when you have wireless earbuds to charge or even if you want to charge up another smartphone. Further, the in-display fingerprint scanner is quite responsive and accurate which is great to see!


Huawei Mate 20 Pro

First Impressions

Gripping the Mate 20 Pro, the glass back gives it that premium feel and thanks to the curvature, it is quite easy to hold despite its large size. Also, the color options available are truly spectacular. All emit amazing reflections and have a weave pattern underneath the paint. For the camera system, Huawei has introduced a new Matrix arrangement for the three lens at the back. Basically, all 3 camera lens and the single LED flash are arranged in a symmetric square, which, as a complete module, is placed in the center. This design characteristic makes the whole device quite unique.

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In terms of display, Mate 20 Pro has a large 6.39 inch AMOLED panel with a 1440 x 3120 resolution (19.5:9 aspect ratio). As the bezels are minimal — it carries a notch –, the phone has more than 85% screen to body ratio. It is also worthy to mention that powering the whole device is a large 4,200 mAh battery module which is then combined with SuperCharge and Wireless Quick Charge. These fast charging techniques help in recharging the phone quickly and avoid you the stress of prolonged charge times associated with bigger batteries.

Coming to the software side of things, Mate 20 Pro is shipping with EMUI 9, which is Huawei’s proprietary skin that is based on latest Android Pie. The main concept behind EMUI 9 is integration of AI and efficient algorithms to make everything run smoothly and reliably. There is full gesture support throughout the system and the UI has been tweaked to conform better with modern design standards. All in all, it is a great update to EMUI and if you are already running an older revision, you would love EMUI 9.

Conclusion

The Mate 20 Pro seems quite a promising smartphone. It carries the looks of a modern flagship, latest and greatest hardware, innovative new features and latest software. We can’t wait to thoroughly test the Mate 20 Pro but with the initial time we had with the device, it has our attention!

Huawei Mate 20 Pro: Gallery

Taimur Akmal
Taimur Akmal

Devoted writer, enjoys developing code. Appreciates excellent food, exceptional coffee and great company. He is also into sublime design and nicely built cars.

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