There’s still 3 months for 2018 to come to an end. So what better way to spice things up with a new flagship phone? A phone that was rumored for quite a while and supposedly packing an arsenal of features that would make current 2018 flagships cry. This is the Huawei Mate 20 Pro.
First glances
As always with flagships smartphones, the first thing that grabs attention is the large display. Huawei has opted for a 6.4-inch OLED display packing a resolution of 3120×1440. The display also houses a fingerprint sensor. This makes the Huawei Mate 20 Pro one of the first phones to have an in-display fingerprint sensor. This could mean that all flagship smartphones from Huawei could have this feature in the not-too-distant feature.
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro in all its glory (Image Credits: Gizmodo UK)
Proving that it is a top-notch phone, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro sports a notch at the top of its screen. The notch incorporates the 24 MP front facing camera and a speaker as well. The front camera also has a 3D face unlock for more secure authentication.
A closer look at the Huawei Mate 20 Pro (Image Credits: The Verge)
The rest of the phone on the outside looks pretty much like any other flagship phone. The volume rocker and power/unlock buttons are on the right side of the device. A single USB Type-C port is located at the bottom of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. Fear not. A Type-C to 3.5 mm headphone jack adapter is also included. Interestingly, the SIM tray that houses either two nano SIMs or one SIM plus an NM card is located at the bottom. The Type-C port also houses the loudspeaker as well.
The brains behind the Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Huawei’s latest flagship to the Mate series packs a Kirin 980 processor. This is the first phone to come with Huawei’s flagship processor. So, what’s new? Well, according to Huawei, the Kirin 980 offers better performance and efficiency compared to the Snapdragon 845.
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro packs the companies flagship Kirin 980 processor (Image Credits: Digital Trends)
The Kirin 980 processor is backed up by 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Managing all this is the AI of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. We’ve seen Huawei’s AI in action with the Huawei Nova 3 and the P20 Pro as well. With the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, these features are further enhanced with the Kirin 980 processor. These features include AI system optimizations to keep the phone from getting slow over time. It also plays a large role in the Huawei Mate 20 Pro’s cameras.
As we stated above, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is one of Huawei’s first phones to implement an NM card as opposed to the traditional MicroSD card for external storage. The new format is identical in shape and size and shape to a Nano SIM card and starts off at 256GB storage.
3x the camera goodness
Perhaps the most striking feature of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is the triple camera setup on the rear. There’s no monochrome sensor here. Rather, Huawei has packed a 40 MP wide lens, 20 MP ultra-wide and an 8 MP telephoto lens. All three lenses are equipped with Phase detection autofocus and laser autofocus. These are also backed up by a dual-tone LED flash. The result is a literal square grid of camera lenses on the back of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro.
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro packs a 40 MP wide lens, 20 MP ultra-wide, and an 8 MP telephoto lens. (Image Credits: CNet)
Adding to the AI features seen in previous flagship phones such as the Huawei P20 Pro, the cameras on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro also pack a plethora of AI features. Called Master AI 2.0, the AI in the Huawei Mate 20 Pro will segment a photo into sections and process each section differently. So if you take a picture with the sky in it, the Mate 20 Pro can recognize what area the sky is and process it accordingly. In addition, it can also identify people, buildings, or objects under the sky and give them appropriate treatment.
In terms of video, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro has a few new tricks up its sleeve. A few classic movie color modes have been added. The most interesting of these is a monochrome mode. Here, only people are in color, with everything else being in monochrome. Huawei calls this color isolation mode AI Portrait. Think of it as the Portrait mode seen in phones such as the Huawei Nova 3, only now you can shoot videos with it.
A bigger battery with some new features
All these features also need juice to keep them running, right? Well, to that regard, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro packs a 4,200 mAh battery. It also supports fast charging. So even if you find your phone running low on battery, you can have it go from 0-70% charge in under 30 minutes.
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro supports wireless fast charging (Image Credits: pickr)
It also supports wireless charging as well. So, you can just place the Huawei Mate 20 Pro on a wireless charger and you’re good to go. But what about charging another device through your phone? Well, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro supports reverse wireless charging. So all you need to do is press the Mate 20 Pro against another device that supports Qi wireless charging.
Supposedly, the Huawei Freebuds 2 earphones can be charged via the Huawei Mate 20 Pro (Image Credits: WinFuture)
From there, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro will automatically start transferring power. It’s not the fastest solution out there, neither is it the most practical. But it opens up new opportunities. For example, Huawei has their own variant of wireless earphones called the Huawei Freebuds 2. These can be charged by simply placing the earphone case on the back of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro.
So, how much is the Huawei Mate 20 Pro?
Well, that is the all-important question, isn’t it? Currently, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is priced at around USD 1,140. Convert that to local currency and you’re looking at roughly 195,000/-. That is quite a punch in the wallet for a smartphone. But then again, it has everything, and the kitchen sink thrown into it. So, is it really worth it? That’s entirely up to you. If you’re in the mood for a flagship with all the bells and whistles and you also have the cash to splash, you can get yourself a Huawei Mate 20 Pro.
If you want something a little lower on the price scale, you can also consider the Huawei Mate 20 or even the Huawei Mate 20X. Both models have tradeoffs in terms of specifications but are also priced lower than the Huawei Mate 20 Pro.
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