Huawei Mate 20 Pro, i.e. buying with a thrill [we test]

Speaking, or rather writing directly - Mate 20 Pro has a problem that needs to be dealt with at the beginning of this review. It's a problem with the screen and the so-called. "glue affair". I'm already translating. The Chinese BOE and Korean LG are responsible for the OLED displays in the Mate 20 Pro. And it was the product of the latter company that gave the stain, in the literal sense. In some copies, strange, green discolorations appear on the sides of the screens - most likely caused by spilling glue. Unfortunately, this is a fairly common phenomenon, I have already seen three models with this condition with my own eyes - all with screens from LG.

How to check who produced the display in our copy? Install the Device Info HW application from the Google Play store. After opening it, in the "General" section, we will find "Touchscreen", and there its manufacturer. If it's BOE, we're lucky. If LG - we may face trouble.

What will Huawei do in this situation? For the first few days, he did nothing, then, when the case was getting louder, the company issued a rather bizarre statement in which it stated that discoloration is normal for screens with curved edges. Then there was talk of replacing the displays, and now it seems that Huawei has risen to the occasion and is simply replacing defective copies. This is the only right solution, it is a pity that the Chinese did not react so immediately and thus did not nip the scandal in the bud. In my opinion, the company should also withdraw from sale all models equipped with LG screens, so as not to expose potential customers to a not very pleasant shopping lottery. Huawei is not the only manufacturer who has something behind his ears, similar image bloopers have been behind them and Apple (yellow screens, problems with antennas, bending housings) and Samsung (exploding batteries in the Galaxy Note 7). The one who does nothing is not wrong, it is important to get out of the crisis with a face, which in this case Huawei succeeded just like that. Let's assume, however, that copies with screens from LG will disappear from the market, and those produced by BOE will remain (as it is in my test model). Should you spend over 4,000 without hesitation in such a situation? PLN, or can it bet on a model that is already proven, free of childhood diseases and still great, and much cheaper, i.e. P20 Pro? The difference in price is approximately PLN 1,300 - for this amount you can buy a good-class smartphone. So the game is worth the candle, especially since the P20 Pro, although of course it can do less than the Mate 20 Pro, still shines.

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Construction, execution

Both models start from completely different assumptions. I have already written about the P20 Pro here, comparing it with the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus. In short - it has a design modeled on the iPhone X, with a flat display, protruding camera lenses and a fingerprint reader placed under the screen. Compared to the Mate 20 Pro, the phone is slightly wider, but it is very comfortable in the hand, the lack of screen curves does not expose us to any accidental touches and for me using it is very comfortable.

Mate 20 Pro is also not original, because it draws handfuls from the style of top Samsungs. The curved edges of the screen look very good and modern, but the functionality is inferior to the flat P model. The grip, although comfortable (the phone is narrower than the P20 Pro), is not so sure, because we can accidentally touch the screen with part of our hand, accidentally turning on some application or another YouTube video (at least it happened to me a few times, especially at the beginning of my adventure with it).

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Definitely, my hands suffered much faster when holding the Mate 20 Pro during evening movie sessions than it was in the case of the P20 Pro. The camera lenses set in the shape of an induction cooker protrude much less above the surface of the back than in the case of the P20 Pro, the housing is also less fingered, because the glass is not smooth and has a slightly rough texture. So, despite a little complaining, I have to admit that the phone looks very nice and modern.

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The front of the P20 Pro is a 6.1-inch Full HD+ screen made in OLED technology, with a density of 408 pixels per inch. It is very bright, which definitely helps on sunny days, but a bit disturbing in the dark. And it has a notch, i.e. an indentation in the screen, which is not ridiculously large, so the number of notifications displayed on the upper bar is large and can be hidden if it annoys us a lot (not me).

In Mate 20 Pro, the OLED QHD+ screen with a density of 538 pixels per inch has a diagonal of 6.39 and is of excellent quality (of course, I am talking about displays produced by BOE, not LG). High resolution, however, has its consequences in the form of high power consumption (more on that in a moment). Notch is of the giant type of notifications, so it doesn't fit too much, and I decided to hide it for the first time.

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Some explanation for such dimensions is the placement of advanced 3D sensors in it, thanks to which we can unlock our phone with our face even in the dark in the blink of an eye he also has the ability to trick him with a photo (at least I haven't heard of anyone succeeding). The screen in Mate 20 Pro differs from that in P20 Pro with one more, quite important thing. Well, there is a fingerprint reader in it. When you hit the display anywhere, the point where you should put your finger is highlighted. The unlocking itself, however, takes a while, you have to press the screen lightly, and although the impression is very "futuristic" and modern, it is far from the effectiveness and speed of the solution used in the P20 Pro. Nevertheless, applause for Huaweia for introducing such a novelty.

In P20 Pro, the fingerprint reader is placed under the screen, the phone reacts in a fraction of a second to every touch of the plate and I do not know a smartphone that would be faster and more reliable in this respect. The P20 Pro loses in terms of "face unlock", because although the unlocking speed is practically identical, the system is not based on 3D technology, but only on the image recorded by the front camera, so it can't do it in the dark and we have to reach the reader with our finger .

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Specification, operation

Mate 20 Pro is powered by Kirin 980 - the latest and most powerful processor produced by Huaweia. In AnTuTu Benchmark draws 233457 points. In addition, we have 6 GB of RAM (128 GB of built-in memory). This set makes the phone "fly". Everything happens quickly, and most importantly, everything happens super smoothly and to be honest in everyday use I don't see any difference between this processor and Qualcomm's best child - Snapdragon 845. In addition, the phone has the entire "compulsory set" of flagships, i.e. water resistance (norm IP 68), super fast charging, inductive charging and a powerful battery (more on that in a moment), NFC, dual GPS, dual WiFi, dual SIM, stereo sound from external speakers, notification LED and Always on Display, infrared IrDa sensor, thanks to which we will change the phone into a remote control for home devices. There is also a slot for a memory card, but Huawei has messed up a bit here, because he wants us to use a card in the Nano Memory format, which he produces ... himself, of course. And which is not cheap, 128 GB costs PLN 299. The lack of a mini-jack input for headphones is also "flagship", because at the moment the advantage is probably on the side of top devices that do not have it.

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P20 Pro is of course a poorer model, which does not mean poor. The processor is older - because it is Kirin 970 (RAM and built-in memory are identical), but it still copes with all programs or games quickly and without any problems. The water resistance standard is IP 67, but the difference between it and IP 68 is that both guarantee that the phone will survive immersion for up to 30 minutes. However, in the latter case, the manufacturer may extend this time (e.g. to 35 minutes). There is no inductive charging, no memory card slot (however, 128 GB should last us quite a long time), and the GPS is single (however, I did not notice the difference in everyday use - and both are very good). In my opinion, the phone will still meet the expectations of even the most demanding users.

Software

At the time of writing this article (November 21), the Mate 20 Pro runs on Android 9 and EMUI 9, the P20 Pro unfortunately still has Android 8.1 and EMUI 8.1. So there are differences between them that will probably disappear when the P20 Pro gets an update. In my opinion, its preparation should be faster, but Huawei ensures that it will be available "in days".

Mate 20 Pro has, among others, the ability to block access to selected applications with a password or fingerprint reader, cloning applications (Facebook, Messenger), saving battery, changing screen resolution, themes and wallpapers, adjusting colors and temperature colors of the display, easy projection, i.e. wireless connection of the phone to the monitor. It also has, for the first time, gestures similar to those used in iPhones or some Xiaomi models. They work perfectly, and since I'm an ardent supporter of them, this is one of the great advantages of this phone for me. The appearance of "Settings" has also been changed, and that's a plus (the similarity to Samsung is striking, being inspired by the activities of other companies has always been a Chinese strong point). Instead of a long list of all settings in individual categories, in which it was easy to get lost, we get only the most important ones, and the rest can be found in the hints.

P20 Pro is still waiting for EMUI version 9, so the system looks a bit different and is a bit less user-friendly, but in principle we will find almost identical functionalities in it. Almost, because for "easy projection" we need a cable and a docking station, and unfortunately we do not have gestures and I'm afraid that they will not be in EMUI 9. All by placing the fingerprint reader under the screen, which interferes with their use. As a solace, we have to navigate with the reader - also comfortable, although slightly less than ordinary gestures.

Photos, video

Mate 20 Pro is, in my opinion, photographic progress, but also minimal regression at the same time. Progress, because one of the three cameras on the back is now a wide-angle camera, instead of a monochrome one. And it gives us incredible possibilities, so far known only from LG and Asus smartphones. Here we are able to catch much more in one shot than in any other phone.

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Regress - because the monochrome matrix was used, in simple terms, to increase the quality of processed photos. And this can be seen especially in night photos, which in my opinion look better in the P20 Pro.

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Still, however, a set of three lenses on the back (40, 20 and 8 mpx) makes the Mate 20 Pro one of the best, o if not the best photographic smartphone on the market. Especially since the super macro mode has been added here - thanks to it, the phone is able to catch the focus of the object realistically from a distance of 2.3 cm.

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The selfie camera has 24 mpx, but it sticks out a bit from those in front, it has trouble focusing from time to time, and it does not do well in low light. Huawei also tempered the operation of artificial intelligence. Photos with AI turned on are definitely more natural than those with the P20 Pro.

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The video quality has been improved thanks to the use of optical image stabilization, although it does not work perfectly with 4K recordings. You can also see slight image distortion on the left side, which I hope can be improved with updates. Original functions have been added, such as AI color - where the main object we film is colored, and the rest is black and white, or background blur - identical to what we can use when taking photos.

So if the P20 Pro looks great in terms of photography, the Mate 20 Pro is even better than it, maybe much more, and in video capabilities it even beats it.

Battery, sound

The one in Mate 20 Pro is larger than in P20 Pro - it has a capacity of 4200 mAh. It's just that the screen also has a higher resolution, it's also just bigger, so the times I get on a single charge are very similar, and sometimes I even manage to squeeze more out of the older model (4000 mAh). Let's remember that we are talking about performance that is definitely above average, especially for flagship models. 2 days away from the charger are easily obtainable, in my case the battery life oscillated around 6 hours. Mate 20 Pro beats P20 Pro with inductive charging, the ability to charge another device and super fast charging, where the battery will be filled from 0 to 100 percent. in just over an hour.

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The music capabilities of both phones are flagship, but you can easily find a few devices that sound better. The sound on headphones, which unfortunately we have to connect here and here with an adapter, is supported by the Dolby Atmos application. There are two external speakers - the music comes out through the one for conversations above the screen and in the case of the P20 Pro through the speaker on the bottom edge, and in the case of Mate 20 Pro - through ... USB C, because the speaker is unusually placed there. We can also listen to music while charging the phone, and the distortion is not significant, although audible.

So...

First of all - Huawei is suffering a lot right now. Because on the one hand, he created a perfect smartphone. On the other hand, he has problems with it, which can backfire on him in the sense of losing the trust of customers. In my opinion, trust is a huge value that takes years to build and can be lost in the blink of an eye. That's why I hope that the company will wave its hand at short-term costs and will take copies from the market with faulty displays, because by doing so, although it will lose in the short run, it will gain in the long run.

Secondly - if anyone has doubts about whether to risk buying the Mate 20 Pro, they can easily be tempted by the P20 Pro - it's a very successful model that has already proven itself over a longer distance and with which it will also be very happy.