Huawei Mate 20 Pro in the big test

Just a week ago, Huawei introduced its new flagship model, the Mate 20 Pro. The smartphone was already convincing in our short test. After a week of intensive testing, a final conclusion can now be drawn on the qualities of the device. How does the Mate Pro 20 beat in everyday life and why did it jump to the Android throne, read the following comments. This is based on the first test, but has been extended to long-term results and a slide show.

Quality and display

Visually, Huawei has been successful with the Mate 20 Pro. In front and on the side, it brings together the central elements of the iPhone XS (wide notch) and the Galaxy S9 + (rounded screen). Overall, the IP68 smartphone, which conforms to the dust and water protection standard, looks like a one-stop shop. The back is truly eye-catching with its squared, square triple cam. The simple design is not disturbed by any fingerprint sensor. The front and the back of the glbad are connected by a metal frame. The rounded corners of the very thin device are also good for the hand and seem much more compact than they are with dimensions of 157.8 x 72.3 x 8.6 mm. However, you are not immune to awkward fingerprints on your back. With longer fingers, the operation also succeeds with one hand. Huawei even offers a special one-handed operation. In addition, you can completely disable the Android virtual bar. Then, the Mate 20 Pro – just like the iPhone XS – can be used while performing gestures. For Android users, but it takes a while to get used to it. The few manual buttons (volume control and on / off button) are installed on the right side of the case. There is nothing wrong with the quality of workmanship and materials. Here, the Chinese play in the first division. The same thing applies to the AMOLED display with a resolution of 2K + (3120 x 1440 pixels). Thanks to its high brightness, the Mate 20 Pro is easy to read, even in direct sunlight. The texts are displayed very clearly, the rendering of colors is quite natural and the viewing of videos on the big screen is also fun. Only the broad notch is a bit disturbing. At least, however, all the important information (network, battery, time, etc.) will be displayed on the right and on the left.

Performance and features

The drive is the new Kirin 980 processor, announced at IFA 2018, used. This clearly surpbades its predecessor of the Mate 10 Pro (Kirin 970). In addition to the A12 Bionic Apple iPhone XS / XR models, it is the only smartphone chip available with a 7-nanometer structure width, allowing more transistors to be used. integrate in the same area. The eight-core processor consists of two Cortex-A76 cores for performance, two Cortex-A76 cores for performance and four Cortex-A55 cores for efficiency. Coupled with the two additional NPU cores, the processor is perfectly equipped for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. This is recognizable in the accelerated recognition of images and the processing of photos and videos. The Kirin 980 can detect up to 4,600 images per minute, an increase of 120% over the Kirin 970. The integrated graphics unit (GPU Mali G76) offers 46% more power and 178% more power. # 39; s efficiency. The latter is particularly visible when you play graphically complex games. These not only work smoothly, but also suck the battery not as quickly empty, as you know many other smartphones. The cooling has well Huawei under control. Because even at full capacity, the Mate 20 Pro never became extremely hot. It's a little warmer. Overall, there was nothing wrong with the performance. The screen immediately responds to commands, applications start without waiting, with videos, there was no awkward loading time and websites are also very quickly established. But here are all the flagship models to such a level that you have hardly noticed any differences in everyday use. With 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of memory, the Mate 20 Pro also plays a leading role. Incidentally, the internal memory can be expanded up to 256 GB via new memory cards (nano-memory cards), which are the same size as nano SIM cards. This size should be according to Huawei the new standard of the industry. If you use such a memory card, but you lose the dual SIM function, because the nano card is inserted into the slot of the second SIM card. The fastest WLAN standard (1.7 Gbps), NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC and GPS are also on board. In addition, a particularly fast LTE modem (Cat.21) for speeds of up to 1.4 gigabits per second is included in the download. On a 3.5mm jack, Huawei unfortunately (like many other manufacturers) gave up. A suitable adapter and a headset with USB-C port are included.

cameras

In his new flagship model, Huawei is clearly focusing on the enhanced main camera with its three goals. The main sensor has a resolution of 40 MP and covers the usual wide-angle range. The lens for the telephoto range offers a resolution of 8 MP. These two goals are similar to those of the P20 Pro. However, the Mate 20 Pro is equipped with a super wide angle sensor of 20 MP. The use via the camera application is largely intuitive. If you click on the zoom icon, you automatically switch to the new super wide angle camera (20 MP). Here you can easily switch between 0.6, 1.3 and 5x zooms. In Wide Angle (0.6) mode, you can capture extreme subjects. There is almost a panoramic feeling. The same applies to the video function. Here, the new sensor makes it possible to record clips in 21: 9 format. The key word for the 40 MP sensor is artificial intelligence (AI). Overall, the AI ​​for the photos has been significantly improved. Not only that, it can now identify 4,600 images per minute, allowing for new live video effects. In the new flagship product, the KI can also detect 1,500 different scenes in real time and quickly define all relevant parameters for quality. In the test, everything seemed pretty mature and quite impressive. We tested the AI ​​for several reasons (moving car, dog, group of people, bridge, sushi, forest, etc.). Here, the auto-sensing AI has almost never encountered any problems. The results were good. In good lighting conditions, the camera sets new standards. Here, nothing can complain about the fidelity of colors, saturation and details. In addition, the Leica Triple Cam adapts well to the backlight. This is not the case with many other smartphone cameras. And thanks to the improved night mode, photos and videos work very well, even in a dark environment. Again, the Mate 20 Pro does not have to hide from the competition. In our test, extreme RAW images (only 2.5 cm apart) and HDR support were convincing. In addition to artificial intelligence, the owner also benefits from optical image stabilization, a very fast focus with a laser measurement and a LED flash. Overall, the main camera offers excellent performance. Here, the different rankings should again give rise to a duel with Google (Pixel 3 XL). Currently, these lists are still dominated by the P20 Pro and Pixel 2 due to missing tests on new devices.

The 24 MP front camera with 3D function (see also next paragraph) also supports the owner with AI. There are also a number of special selfie features. The quality is also fully in order here. The same applies to video calls. Thanks to built-in sensors, the front camera can also be used as a scanner for objects such as stuffed animals. As part of the presentation in London, there was a pretty impressive live demonstration. A teddy bear has been transformed into a virtual figure after being digitized. These can then be browsed in Augmented Reality, Wave, etc. The videos can then be shared on social networks or via a messaging service. However, this feature "3D Live Object" was not (yet) preinstalled on the review example. The so-called "3D-Qmoji" – the equivalent of Apple's Animojis – worked perfectly. They are 3D virtual animals whose facial expressions mimic those of the user. You can then use the Qmojis for messaging services or social networks.

>>> Read: New Huawei Mate 20 Pro in the short test

Biometric unlocking

The main reason for Notch's extreme width is that Huawei supports for the first time on a 3D face unlock. This feature used by Apple for the first time on the iPhone X. From now on, it is also available on an Android smartphone with such quality that it can even be used to authorize payments. The initial setup takes a little longer than Apple. After a few minutes, the procedure is also complete. During the test, the accuracy and speed of unlocking almost always convinced – according to Huawei, it takes 600 milliseconds. From time to time, the face was not immediately recognized at first sight. The (rare) errors appeared mainly under unfavorable lighting conditions. With sunglbades, the technology was no problem. With the unlocking of the face, the Mate 20 Pro offers an undeniable advantage on the Face ID of Apple. Because if desired, the display is completely unlocked by facial recognition. So, you do not have to clear the screen anymore. On the other hand, with the iPhone XS (Max), this is always necessary. With the maté 20 one has the choice in the attitudes of security. Huawei has even surpbaded the American rival with another biometric feature. The Chinese managed to integrate the fingerprint sensor directly on the screen. Just press a little harder on a preset position (in the center of the lower half of the screen). When you lift the smartphone, the fingerprint sensor appears on the screen. Soon after, you will find him also "blind". It's really great. The device is quickly pbaded out of hand. And if you press the right place, the technology works very reliably.

Battery, calls, sound and software

At the time of execution and charging, the Mate 20 Pro also sets new standards. And even in these points, the smartphone was not a nudity. The enormous battery of 4,200 mAh thus guarantees a suitable autonomy. Even in the absolute endurance test with navigation, videos, downloads, etc., it easily lasted a whole day. In normal tests, a full charge of two days is enough every day. Who uses his smartphone rather moderately, should even come up to three days to make ends meet. To keep the charge of the large battery running, Huawei is offering for the first time an ultra-fast charge of 40 watts. Thus, the battery is again full at 70% after half an hour. But the last thirty percent take a little longer. To solve security problems, the Chinese have this technique certified by TÜV Süd. When charging wirelessly, the Mate 20 Pro can also score points – provided you have the appropriate Huawei charger. With that, the smartphone can be charged 15-watt wireless – the normal standard is only 7.5 watts. Another novelty is the technology that allows the Mate 20 Pro to wirelessly charge other smartphones. If this option is enabled in the battery settings, you only need to have a compatible smartphone on the back of the Mate 20 Pro. Then the charging process starts automatically. We tried this when testing with an iPhone X, with which it immediately worked. So you can help a friend if you travel together and it is difficult to find a charging option.

Of course, we have also used the smartphone to make calls: there is nothing to criticize the quality of voice and reception during calls. Incidentally, the built-in earphone has another function. Huawei uses it to provide stereo sound when playing music or videos. The sound comes not only from the speaker located in the lower part, but also from the upper area. For a smartphone, the acoustics are pretty good, but that does not set the standards. The operating system is Android 9 "Pie" preinstalled. Above is the EMUI 9 internal user interface. It also comes with some preinstalled features and applications. However, some of them can be completely uninstalled, which frees up space. In addition, Huawei offers its own Appstore. However, no app would exist in the Google Play Store.

>>> Read: The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is so good

conclusion

Huawei has already promised an innovative smartphone that will set standards before the launch of its new flagship product. And after a week of intensive testing, it's safe to say that the Mate 20 Pro is keeping that promise. The device is currently the most ambitious and comprehensive Android smartphone. For performance, display, cameras, battery, processing, AI or software, it does not burn anything. In some areas, it even sets standards. There are also innovative features such as wireless charging of other devices, Nano memory cards in SIM format or integrated fingerprint sensor. If we could have wished, it would be a conventional jack and a little less pre-installed additional software. Otherwise, there is really nothing to complain about. Unfortunately, this performance also has its price. If the Mate 20 Pro at the end of October in the trade, it costs at least 999 euros. And that could be a problem. Indeed, several other excellent Android smartphones are already on the market for several months. Here, the introductory prices, which were just as high, have already dropped considerably. So there is already about 650 euros on the Samsung Galaxy S9 +, the LG G7 ThinQ or the P20 Pro. Even the brand new Sony Xperia XZ3 already costs well under 800 euros. The Mate 20 Pro should take time until the price drops significantly. But if you want to have the most complete and best Android smartphone, you must invest 1,000 euros and you will not regret this investment.

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