Huawei Mate 20 Pro in test: The best and most modern smartphone 2018?

With the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, which was released in mid-October, the Chinese have released a smartphone that is quite impressive based on the data sheet. Great camera, fingerprint sensor in the display and other interesting functions can be seen there. Is this really the case and can the Mate 20 Pro be called the best smartphone of 2018? My review.

Huawei has with the Mate 20 Pro caused a lot of excitement when it was released. It was one of the first major manufacturers to install a fingerprint sensor in the display and caused quite a stir with functions such as "reverse charging". With this function, you can also charge other smartphones wirelessly with the Mate 20 Pro. Is the Mate 20 Pro the best smartphone of 2018? After all, the Mate 20 Pro is supposed to Almost completely sold out in Western Europe have been. I tested it for just under a month.

Unboxing & setup

Like every other Huawei smartphone, the Mate 20 Pro comes in a white box. If you lift the lid, you'll see the flagship, protected by foil. The basic equipment with power adapter, charger, USB-C headphones, USB-C to jack adapter and SIM needle is of course included. There's also a thick quick start guide in all possible languages, as well as a warranty card.

The setup is actually pretty quick. After selecting the language, you can log in with your Google and Huawei account as usual and insert the SIM card. Then the fingerprint sensor is configured. This is the novelty here: the fingerprint sensor is not located on the front or back as usual, but in the display of the smartphone. The setup takes a little longer than usual, but is still completely uncomplicated. Then you land on the start screen - preinstalled with some advertising apps. After these are deleted, you have a completely "clean" smartphone.

Processing & design

There is nothing to complain about here. In my opinion, the Mate 20 Pro is the best design hit since the first Huawei smartphone. Thanks to the rounded display and corners, it sits even better in the hand, but is even more slippery, and is easy to use even with smaller hands. Despite the 6,39 inch with a resolution of 1440 x 3120 pixels (QHD+), operation is - as already mentioned - no problem at all. However, such a display diagonal is only possible thanks to the thin display edges and the notch.

The back in particular looks really appealing thanks to the twilight colors - the arrangement of the cameras also really impressed me this time. Admittedly, the Mate 20 Pro does look like an iPhone X (because of the notch) and a Samsung Galaxy Edge (because of the display edges). Nevertheless, they didn't just copy it, but also made it a little better with some ideas. There were negative headlines about the display, however: the display turned yellow for some users. I don't know why this is - the problem didn't occur with my test device.

The notch doesn't bother you at all in everyday life, but only very few notifications are displayed. (Image: © 2018 TechnikNews)

Multitasking & performance

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is equipped with a Kirin 980 processor Compared to the Kirin 970, the new processor is said to be 20 percent faster and 40 percent more energy efficient. The Kirin 980 is also equipped with a dual NPU. For better AI performance. In general, this improvement in performance is not really noticeable in everyday use, but the battery life - compared to the Mate 10 Pro - is definitely noticeable. Even though I don't really think much of benchmarks, I still have some results:

• Geekbench 4 Single Core: 3319
• Geekbench 4 Multi Core: 9745 points
• Antitu 7: 273 941

For everyday multitasking, the CPU has 6 GB of working memory aside. In everyday life, switching between apps was always very reliable and quick. The "Task Manager" is now - as usual in Android 9 - aligned horizontally. This means that apps are now swiped upwards instead of left or right. In addition, the recycle bin for closing all apps would have disappeared with Android 9 Pie - but Huawei has retained that in EMUI 9.

Camera & video

The camera of the Mate 20 Pro has once again surpassed previous Huawei smartphones – both in terms of layout and quality. (Image: © 2018 TechnikNews)

Even though smartphone cameras cannot be replaced with an SLR camera due to the small lenses, Huawei has done a good job with the Mate 20 Pro in collaboration with Leica. Although the quality of the camera has not noticeably improved compared to the P20 Pro, it is currently ahead in all tests. The cameras each have a resolution of 40 MP + 20 MP + 8 MP and an aperture of f/1.8 + f/2.2 + f/2.4. The wide-angle lens is completely new and did a really good job during the test.

Of course there is also the up to 10x zoom - as with the P20 Pro - included. This time, however, it has been improved a little and the shots from far away now look even better. We already know things like the night mode from the P20 Pro, but this has been surpassed again here. Below are some test photos (slightly compressed due to the otherwise large image size) with explanations.

Huawei Mate 20 Pro camera: test photos

Fingerprint sensor & face recognition

Due to the new fingerprint sensor and facial recognition, we will take a closer look at the two functions. Basically, the fingerprint sensor in the display worked a little faster before the first update - after that, the finger often had to be placed on it 2-3 times. However, if the display is a little damp or even wet, the fingerprint sensor is of course unusable. So unlocking the smartphone in the rain unfortunately doesn't work. Compared to the fingerprint sensor on the Huawei P20 Pro, however, this is significantly slower and not as reliable.

The fingerprint sensor lights up when you hold your finger on it. Unlocking is also possible without the display being switched on (Image: © 2018 TechnikNews)

Face recognition is said to have become a bit more secure thanks to the new cameras on the front and should also work faster. It actually does. But I deactivated this again shortly afterwards for a good reason: The display becomes completely bright at night when the smartphone tries to recognize the face. That's the downside here. Otherwise it is even a bit faster than the new fingerprint sensor.

Expand storage space with nano SD cards

The standard 128 GB memory cannot be expanded with a micro SD card. The Huawei Mate 20 Pro has its own nano SD cards, which can be inserted instead of a second SIM card. However, since these cards are currently quite expensive (50 euros for 128 GB, instead of just under 35 euros for a 128 GB micro SD card) and are not supported by any other manufacturer, they are still somewhat impractical. Nevertheless, the cards are quite small and could actually become the standard size - after all, they are then exactly the same size as current nano SIM cards.

Battery life & charging with "reverse charging"

The battery life felt like one of the longest I have ever gotten out of a Huawei smartphone. With the Mate 20 Pro, I managed proproblem-free throughout the day - almost two days were prowithout any problems. And despite mobile data, Bluetooth and GPS permanently on. The 4200 mAh battery is fully charged in just over an hour using the quick charger. It takes just under two hours with the QI charger from Huawei.

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro supports wireless charging – also vice versa “to” other smartphones. (Image: © 2018 TechnikNews)

With the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, the Chinese are also bringing a completely new function called "Reverse Charging" onto the market. This technology allows you to use the smartphone to charge other smartphones via wireless charging. To do this, you simply have to place the "foreign" smartphone on the back of the Mate 20 Pro and activate the corresponding option in the settings under "Battery". The function is not particularly practical, but it is useful if you want to briefly supply your friends with battery. Charging a Galaxy S7 with 3000 mAh took just under three hours.

Conclusion

Huawei is currently stepping on the gas. This was clearly demonstrated with the Mate 20 Pro. In my opinion, no other manufacturer has combined as much modern technology in a smartphone as Huawei has with the Mate 20 Pro. In terms of display, camera and battery life, the competition has clearly been beaten.

Although Huawei has slimmed down the software a bit with the new EMUI 9, there are still some incomprehensible menus and senseless interleaving. On the other hand, I find my own implementations such as closing all apps and a global dark mode very good.

Although the smartphone is still expensive with a recommended retail price of 999 euros, there is no reason not to buy it. Unless you are not satisfied with Huawei's software - there is simply no getting around it. Even with alternative launchers, the "core" of the software has not been covered up. This means that Huawei could be making a big difference with the Mate 20 Pro. prolet the name be given as the “best smartphone of 2018” without any problems. It's definitely one of the best. The test reports on the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Lite will follow in the coming weeks.

Buy Huawei Mate 20 Pro

• Buy Huawei Mate 20 Pro on Amazon
• Buy Huawei Mate 20 Pro at MediaMarkt (DE | AT)
• Buy Huawei Mate 20 Pro at Saturn (DE | AT)

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