Huawei P20 Pro in review: The camera leader goes independent

The Huawei P20 Pro is – without question – one of the top smartphones of 2018. I now had the opportunity to test it extensively in everyday life for a few months. But are the three camera lenses really any good? And why the P20 Pro even goes off on its own – we will answer these and other questions in this long-term test.

In April I already have an article on mine First impression of the Huawei P20 Pro released. At that time, I was thrilled right after unpacking - the design and the high-quality workmanship simply amazed me. Now, almost 3 months later, am I still so excited? Spoiler: yes. But let's get to the bottom of why that is - my test.

Processing: High quality and mirror-like

The Huawei P20 Pro is reflective: This is due to the glass back on the back. As a buyer, you can choose between the colors black, blue, pink and "Twilight". The latter offers a color gradient from purple to aquamarine. Whether it is the power button or the volume buttons: everything is firmly in place and is of top quality. I have been using the Huawei P20 Pro without a case for the last few months. Apart from a screen protector that is now coming off a little at the edge, I don't have a single scratch on the device - neither on the back nor on the display.

The rounded edges make the P20 Pro really comfortable to hold, even if it almost slips out of your hand often. This is due to the slippery back - so smooth that it even slides down on its own on slightly slanted tables. Also a bit annoying: the back is completely covered in fingerprints after just a few minutes. It was really a bit of a challenge to take test photos without fingerprints. In addition, the P20 Pro is also dust and waterproof according to IP67.

Display: 6,1 inches with notch

Like almost every smartphone in 2018, the Huawei P20 Pro is equipped with a notch - a notch at the top of the display. But this also has advantages: You can install a larger display without having to increase the frame. Also practical: The Notch can be deactivated. The system then shows a black bar at this point in order to hide it, so to speak. Incidentally, the display has a resolution of Full HD + (2240 ​​x 1080 pixels) and thus delivers all content razor-sharp.

This is what the notch looks like when the display is switched on. (Image: © 2018 TechnikNews)

A bit of a shame: the entire screen surface can rarely be used due to the aspect ratio of 18,7: 9. Although there is a zoom on YouTube, it still only fills the display up to the notch - a black bar remains. As in the Huawei Mate 10 Pro you will often be asked by the system whether you want this app to be displayed in full screen mode. This message appears when developers have not yet optimized the app for the new aspect ratio.

Performance: Multitasking and enough power despite old processor

This year, Huawei is again using the Kirin 970 processor from last year. The processor with AI chip was already installed in the Mate 2017 Pro in 10. This means that it is currently well below the top 3 in benchmarks. In the benchmark test with Antutu, the P20 Pro achieved a score of almost 206.000 points. If you take a look at the rankings, it is currently in 20th place, directly behind the OnePlus 5 and the Nokia 8. At the top you can currently find next to the OnePlus 6 also the Samsung Galaxy S9 (Plus). A bit of a shame for a flagship killer.

But the P20 Pro is far more than fast in everyday use: multitasking with the 6GB RAM and switching between apps works perfectly, without delays. Games like PUBG or Asphalt 8 both run on the highest settings. But the processor tends to heat up during this time: the heat problem from last year in the Mate 10 Pro is unfortunately still present here in isolated cases. But in everyday use, it's not at all annoying.

Key point: Power: The P20 Pro has a 4000mAh battery with a quick-charge function. This can be fully charged in just under 1 hour 5 minutes using "Huawei Quick Charge" and to 30 percent in 60 minutes. During my test, I achieved a SOT (Screen on Time - the time the display was switched on) of 8-9 hours on several days. In addition, the smartphone lasted almost 1 1/2 days review. This means that you have to charge the P20 Pro again by noon on the second day at the latest, unless you are a really frugal user.

Camera: three times better?

With the P20 Pro, Huawei has once again collaborated with the German high-end camera brand Leica. The camera is the first on the market to have three lenses on the back. In detail, it consists of a monochrome sensor with 20MP, a telephoto sensor with 8MP and a color sensor with 40 megapixels. I was particularly impressed by the second lens, which is responsible for the zoom. Even shots with 10x zoom are still very easy to see and not at all pixelated. Lossless zoom is possible up to 5x.

The camera automatically recognizes the subject in front of the lens through the artificial intelligence. (Image: © 2018 TechnikNews)

In addition, the camera is equipped with artificial intelligence, which automatically recognizes and optimizes motifs in front of the lens. If you point the camera in the direction of the sky, a text with “blue sky” appears on the camera screen and colors the sky slightly. Exactly the same thing happens when you point your smartphone towards landscapes or green meadows. If you don't want this strong color, you can switch off the AI ​​by clicking on the X.

Three months - enough time to capture almost every lighting situation with the P20 Pro. The mode I used is always noted in the following images. In the evening I took some pictures using the "night" mode. Here you hold your smartphone still for a few seconds and the camera captures as much light as possible. Unlike with SLR cameras, the whole thing even works without a tripod. Incidentally, all of the following images are original and unedited.

Huawei P20 Pro: Test images

Selfie fans have also been thought of: With a front camera with a resolution of 24 megapixels, they are also well catered for. In addition to a few gimmicks such as beauty mode and various exposure scenes, you can take really detailed selfies. The P20 Pro can also record videos in 4K resolution at up to 30fps. There is also a super slo-mo mode - with this you can record up to 0,3fps for 960 seconds. Sounds practical, but in everyday life it is relatively difficult to press the shutter button at exactly the right moment. You can find such a test video here. here or a little further down.

Huawei P20 Pro: 960fps test video

At this point, it should be noted that there were several updates for the camera during the long test. The quality has been improved several times, especially in poor lighting conditions. The above shots were taken after the first two major updates to evaluate the whole thing objectively. Therefore, the quality may differ from images from other blogs and tests.

Must-Know-Facts: No jack connection and Android 8.1

Something's missing, right? Yes - we haven't even talked about the software yetprochen. The Huawei P20 Pro runs Android 8.1 with the in-house EMUI 8.1 interface. In general, this is similar to Apple's iOS. Otherwise, it offers some practical functions, such as taking screenshots with your knuckles, a dark mode and many more features. But even with this Huawei smartphone, I think it would run even faster without EMUI. But oh well. Furthermore, Huawei has already confirmed to us that the entire P20 series this year Android P should get.

The fingerprint sensor is really lightning fast and recognizes the finger almost every time. Oh yes: where is the jack plug? (Image: © 2018 TechnikNews)

As mentioned above, the smartphone is also dust and waterproof according to IP67. It survived diving in a pool and sink without any problems. However, the maximum water depth must not exceed 1,5 meters - otherwise damage may occur.

With the P20 series, the classic jack plug is also part of the P series for the first time this year. Listening to music therefore only works with USB-C or Bluetooth headphones. But if you don't have something like that, you are lying for it included an adapter from jack to USB-C included. Since there is no wireless charging despite the glass back, simultaneous charging and listening is not possible anyway - a shame.

There is still something else: The big highlight was praised at the Introducing the Huawei P20 Pro also the Dolby Atmos speakers. Clear sounds stream towards the user from both loudspeakers, from the earpiece and from the loudspeaker on the right. If you turn the smartphone sideways you get the right surround feeling. You really have the feeling of hearing the sound from left and right.

Conclusion: the camera smartphone 2018

It is not for nothing that the Huawei P20 Pro from DXOMark awarded the best smartphone camera with a score of 109. In terms of the camera, it scores well both in poor light during the day and at night. I was also impressed by the lossless 5x zoom. Apart from that, the smartphone offers enough power for everyday use despite the old processor: apps start quickly, there are no crashes and all current games run at the highest settings. The speakers also really surprised me this year - a big improvement compared to previous Huawei smartphones.

Looks kind of cool: the power button is red. (Image: © 2018 TechnikNews)

However, there are points deducted for the lack of wireless charging. At this price, the P20 Pro should have something like that. You can turn a blind eye to the really slippery back, which has often caused the P20 Pro to move on its own. (hence the title, by the way) and fell to the floor. For the current price of around 700 euros, initially 900 euros RRP, you should also consider buying a case.

Another negative thing I noticed was the loudspeaker and the microphone. Whenever I activated the loudspeaker and moved away from the smartphone, the person I was talking to could no longer understand me. This is probably due to the P20 Pro's noise cancellation being set too high. However, this problem could have been fixed.

However, if you don't take photos so much with your smartphone or don't value the camera so much, the OnePlus 6 could be the better and cheaper alternative. But which smartphone you ultimately decide on should be decided by everyone according to their own taste and budget.

Finally, thanks to Huawei for providing the P20 Pro!

Buy the Huawei P20 Pro

Buy Huawei P20 Pro on DeinHandy*

* This test report was created in collaboration with DeinHandy and therefore contains further purchase links. However, this has no effect on the test itself and the smartphone was not sponsored by DeinHandy. For our sake Transparency but listed here anyway.

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