In 2018, the P20 Pro was Huawei’s best phone on the market. It gave other flagships a run for their money, but how well does it fair in 2020? Let’s answer this below.
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Remember that this price is not set in stone. The warranty, especially the memory variant you get, affects its final price. In case you didn’t know, company warranties are more expensive than store ones.
No doubt about it, the Huawei P20 Pro is mesmerizing. Huawei loves adding flashy gradients to their phones. This is especially true for the P20 Pro’s purple variant: the purple blending into teal is gorgeous.
The other colour choices don’t come with much of a gradient, but all versions of the P20 Pro are incredibly reflective. They’re super glossy too, which we’re here for. Now, what exactly are these other colour choices? Well, black and gold.
Unfortunately, the glass on its back is not gorilla glass. You’re probably going to place a phone case on the device, so no worries.
If you’re a fan of heavy phones, the P20 Pro has some heft to it. It’s a 180-gram device after all. The heavier a phone is, the more premium it feels. We think the P20 Pro accomplished this. Its sturdy build helps it feel premium too.
Its dimensions are 155 x 73.9 x 7.8 mm, fitting comfortably into your palms. Its edges are pretty curved too, letting the phone be a breeze to use. Let’s not forget that buttons are easy to reach as well.
It’s a fingerprint magnet, sadly. This isn’t a surprise as its back is so glossy. Fingerprints are the most apparent in the black variant.
There’s also a camera bump.
With one look at its back, you’ll notice that it’s pretty empty. Huawei decided to cram its fingerprint sensor inside its screen. This isn’t the only sensor it has. There’s a face unlock as well. They’re both known to be fast.
The P20 Pro’s display is 6.1 inches. It’s large and in charge, coming with an OLED display. This means the colours pack a punch. Seriously, blacks are intense.
When the P20 Pro came out, it was one of the more expensive phones on the market. Yet, it wasn’t as detailed as some of its counterparts. The Huawei phone came with a 408 PPI while the S9 Plus came with a 529-pixel density. This doesn’t mean that the P20 Pro isn’t sharp though.
Its display is pretty bright. It comes with 477 maximum nits. The closer to 500, the better. Is it the brightest phone on the market? Definitely not. For starters, the S9 Plus beats it, coming in at 574 maximum nits.
Although you don’t get gorilla glass on the back, there is gorilla glass 5 on the front. What’s better is the fact that you’re getting a preinstalled screen protector with your purchase.
How immersive of an experience does the phone offer? Well, its screen to body ratio is 82%. Considering that its display is vivid and pretty sharp, the lack of bezels give you a great viewing experience, especially since the display’s quite big.
The phone adjusts its screen temperature depending on the setting you’re in. This improves your viewing experience, as you can imagine.
Unfortunately, its notch is pretty big. It’s very iPhone X like, but thankfully, it can be hidden through the phone’s settings.
We were fans of the device’s standard colour mode. The P20 Pro comes with many colour modes to choose from. So you’re bound to get a colour accuracy you’re happy with.
You’re getting a large battery with your purchase. Time and time again, we found the P20 Pro to last over a day. Its 4000 mAh unit is great, being 500 mAh larger than the S9 Plus’. It runs laps around the iPhone X’s battery too, being 1284 mAh larger.
No surprise, the device comes with fast charging. A 22.5 W fast charger powers the phone, making it a little less than an hour and a half to fully charge.
Battery-wise, it’s clear that the P20 Pro holds its own when compared to newer phones. We’re impressed.
If you’re wondering what type of port your cable will be utilizing, the P20 Pro comes with USB-C capabilities.
Since it’s a phone released in 2018, it’s not shocking that the Huawei device comes with Android 8 out of the box. Thankfully, it can be upgraded to Android 10.
Its processor is pretty powerful too. Once again, we’re not surprised. The phone was a 2018 flagship after all.
In terms of what you’re getting, it’s the Kirin 970 processor. It’s incredibly snappy but not as fast as 2020 flagships.
Gaming extensively is not an issue. Speaking of which, you’ll have incredible gaming experience. Not only is the P20 Pros’ processor powerful, but it also has a screen built for vivid gameplay.
Its chipset is not new, to say the least. It was introduced in 2017’s Huawei Mate 10 Pro series. We’re not too keen about this.
Countless memory variants are at your disposal, however. You can choose from 64, 128, or 256 gigs of space. If you’re looking to expand its storage, know that it doesn’t come with a MicroSD slot. That being said, you can choose from 6 or 8 gigs of RAM. This helps the phone be as snappy as it is. It’s one of the most responsive phones we’ve worked with.
Then again, the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus come with the Exynos 9810, beating the P20 Pro’s processor.
Other than this:
Huawei’s UI, EMUI is notoriously easy to use. The phone barely comes with any bloatware, but you’ll see no app drawer. It can be enabled through settings, thankfully.
Hands down, the P20 Pro is one of the best camera phones we’ve worked with. All tech enthusiasts would agree.
There’s a triple camera set up on its rear. The primary sensor is 40 MPs, the secondary telephoto lens is 8 MP, and the tertiary monochrome lens is 20 MPs.
In the blink of an eye, you’ll be shooting ultra-detailed shots. Images are very colour accurate and come with little graininess. This is something the P20 Pro’s brothers struggled with, and we’re surprised that it doesn’t.
We’re also fans of how detailed its shots are in low-lit environments.
You get 3x optical zoom, letting you zoom into shots naturally. There’s also a 5x optical zoom, but it’s more intense.
Let’s not forget about its front camera. You get a 24 MP sensor, which unfortunately does not come close to how great its rear cameras are. Not a surprise, it works well in low light, however.
Although the P20 Pro seems amazing, our review wouldn’t be complete without comparing the device with a few alternatives.
You’ll notice that the S9 Plus is heavier than its Huawei counterpart. The phone is 189 grams after all.
It also comes with a glass back. This time around, you get gorilla glass 5 on its rear. You’ll see it on its front too.
Did we mention that the S9 Plus also comes with an OLED screen? You get Samsung’s favourite Super AMOLED panel. It delivers a punch, giving the P20 Pro a run for its money.
It’s more detailed though. You get a 529-pixel density, making it impossible to notice any blurriness.
Not just this, you’re getting a brighter display. To the P20 Pro’s detriment, the S9 Plus comes with 572 maximum nits, as we mentioned earlier. It can easily handle the harsh Sri Lankan sun. This doesn’t mean that the P20 Pro can’t either, it’s just not as well.
Overall, you’re getting a more immersive viewing experience. The Samsung device comes with a better screen-to-body ratio of 84.2%.
It’s clear that the S9 Plus does better display-wise, but what about battery-wise? The phone has a 3500 mAh unit. It can’t last as long as its Huawei counterpart, unfortunately.
In terms of charging capabilities, things don’t look that great either. The Samsung phone takes over an hour and a half to fully charge.
The S9 Plus takes the lead when it comes to processors, however. As we mentioned earlier, it has a more powerful chipset.
It doesn’t come with as many memory variants, unfortunately. You can choose from 64, 128, or 256 gigs of space along with just 6 gigs of RAM. This isn’t much of a difference though.
Samsung knows what they’re doing when it comes to cameras. Although you’re only getting a dual camera, 12 MP set up, the S9 Plus gives the P20 Pro a run for its money. For starters, the S9 Plus comes with autofocus while the P20 Pro doesn’t, which is pretty major.
Think of the P30 Pro as the new and improved P20 Pro. No surprise, it looks similar. That being said, we’re bigger fans of its gradient.
The phone is heavier. It’s a 192-gram device, which we’re here for.
Although its front and back are also glass, there’s something different about it. It’s not gorilla glass, but aluminosilicate. Don’t get us wrong, the material’s quite tough.
Not only is it heavier, but the phone’s also bigger. Its screen is 6.47 inches, providing a more immersive viewing experience.
Speaking of the viewing experience, how great of an experience do you get? Well, the P30 Pro comes with the best screen-to-body ratio so far. You’re getting an 88.6% ratio. Along with this, an OLED display that packs a punch.
The P30 Pro is more detailed, but you might not notice this. Its display has a 398 PPI, so a magnifying glass may be needed to notice a difference.
No, you don’t get the Kirin 970 chip. Instead, the new and improved Kirin 980 is in the device. It out performs the P20 Pro’s chipset any day of the week.
In terms of its memory variants, you can choose from 128, 256, or 526 gigs of space. I don’t know about you, but 526 GBs is jaw-dropping. If for some reason you find this too little, know that you get a MicroSD slot. RAM-wise, you get 6 or 8 gigs like its brother.
Out of the box, you’re not getting Android 8. Instead, you’re met with Android 9. If you’re wondering, yes, the P30 Pro can be upgraded to Android 10.
Battery-wise, the phone rocks a larger unit. But is it larger by much? Not really, only 200 mAh. Both phones can last over a day.
What about charging capabilities? The P30 Pro eats the P20 Pro up. You get a 40 W fast charger that fully charges in an hour.
No surprise, the P30 Pro has a better camera. There’s a 40 MP primary sensor, an 8 MP telephoto lens, and a 20 MP ultrawide sensor. Its front camera does better too. You’re getting a 32 MP selfie camera.
You probably know how we feel about the P20 Pro: we love it! The phone’s a flagship that would work well in 2020.
Not only does it come with great specs, but it looks amazing too. Who wouldn’t want that?
It’s obvious that the P30 Pro is the better choice, but the P20 Pro is cheaper and is as good.
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