Huawei P20, the best camera on a smartphone • Forbes Mexico

At this point, it is not surprising that Huawei makes beautiful phones. They are the third largest supplier in the world, behind Apple and Samsung, and a good part of it is due to the fact that they manufacture durable, reliable and technologically loaded equipment (they invested only $ 14,000 million in research and development in 2017). The P20 is a good example.

Presented in Paris early in the year, the new member of the P family extends the alliance of the Chinese firm with Leica, the German house which is one of the largest authorities in terms photography is concerned, and, like the Mate series, it is available in several versions, ranging from the mid-range Lite version to the Pro version – the first smartphone to include a triple camera – for the Premium market.

Is it worth it? We have tested it for you.

Design and Materials

The orientation of your glasses has a purpose more than aesthetic. The details of the cameras are later in this review, but the idea of ​​Huawei is that the equipment is used largely horizontally during a capture, as would be the case with a traditional Leica, a nod to the German brand. It is for this reason also that all information on sensors and lenses, as well as the Huawei emblem have this same orientation.

Yes, the P20 looks very to an iPhone X, has a screen almost no bezel with a notch on top, its frame is also polished metal and, yes, its cameras are willing to similar way. In his defense, we can say that the materials are of very high quality and that the details on the back give it a very particular character.

That said, the P20 and P20 Pro both look like high-end equipment. With their screens of 5.8 and 6.1, respectively, they are not much bigger than their predecessors and with 7.7mm have exactly the same thickness as the iPhone X and are 0.8 mm thinner than the Galaxy S9.

models in the lineup, the P20 chooses to keep things simple and has only three physical buttons: one and two for volume (no dedicated button for Google Assistant or for the camera), and its Fingerprint sensor is located at the center of the base at the front, which is a good thing as it also serves as a trackpad to dispense with navigation buttons.

One more thing: Do not look for the 3.5mm port for headphones, you will not find it.

Cameras

This is certainly the most important aspect of the P20 and as there is a difference in the specifications of both models, we list them here -Dessous.

P20

On the reverse, the P20 has a 12 MP dual camera ( / 1.8, 27mm, 1 / 2.3 ", 1, 55μm) with optical stabilizer, which is combined with a 20 MP sensor ( f /1.6, 27mm), both with Leica optics

P20 Pro

Because two are not enough, the top end of the P series this year there are three: the main sensor of 40 MP ( f /1.8, 27mm, 1 / 1.7 ") plus a monochromatic secondary of 20 MP ( f /1.6, 27mm, 1 /2.7 ") and a third 8 MP telephoto lens ( f /2.4, 80mm, 1/4") that allow optical zoom of 3x and a hybrid of 5x. The three with Leica optics

Although the 40 MP sensor may seem crazy (we have not seen anything like this for 5 years, since the Lumia 1020), the reality is that the P20 Pro works by default for 10 MP, giving four times more light to each pixel and thus delivering a much higher quality image.

Here you can find examples of the same frame at 10 MP and 40 MP

Result [19659002] Although on paper the differences may seem radical, in the end the results are very similar. That's right, the Pro's three cameras have more robust features, however they are not so far from the standard version. Indeed, both teams were the first to exceed the 100 qualifying points of the DxOMark optical analysis company, with 102 in the case of the P20 and 109 in the P20 Pro.

To put things into perspective, other notable competitors, the most in the category, are the Galaxy S9 + (99 points), Google Pixel 2 (98) and the iPhone X (97) .

The DxOMark rating obeys the quality of still images in all lighting conditions and the use of artificial intelligence that recognizes scenes automatically and adjusts the settings accordingly.

In this department, it is worth noting something unique to the P20: its optical stabilization thanks to artificial intelligence even allows light scans no need to use a tripod. The result is exceptional, eliminating the unwanted sweeping of the hand:

You will find other examples of photos taken with the P20 and P20 Pro in our Flick account.

The other good reason for the ratings of 109 and 102 points is the remarkable ability of phones to capture moving images at 960 frames per second (fps).

While super slow motion at these speeds is present in other equipment (we saw it first in the Xperia XZ Premium and later in the Galaxy S9), in the case of the P20, it is exceptionally good despite occurring in HD (1280 × 720 pixels). The reason is simple: the combination of a larger sensor and the use of artificial intelligence allow optical stabilization and greater light input even under these adverse conditions. Here you can find some examples:

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5.8 inches LCD with a density of 429 pixels per inch.

the P20 Pro has a 6.1-inch AMOLED display with a density of 408 pixels per inch

The main differences between the LCD and the AMOLED is that the second produces colors more vivid and deeper blacks by being able to turn off the pixels independently, so that it also consumes less energy. More image quality for longer.

Both screens have the top tab which is the brand of smartphones in 2018 and can cover more area of ​​the front of the team while giving the horn space and to the main camera. ]

Performance

Both models feature an eight-core Kirin 970 processor (4 high-performance 2.4 GHz and 4 high-performance operating at a speed of 1, 8 GHz). In the same way, they share the same graphics processor. As for the RAM, while the P20 has 4 GB, the P20 Pro has 6.

The combination of these specifications and software Huawei EMUI 8.1, the customization of the company Android 8.0 (Oreo) make possible the recognition Face, capture video at 960 fps, download files at speeds greater than 1 Gigabit per second and everything you expect from a phone of this range to do without devouring the battery.

Battery and Charging

The standard version has a battery with a capacity of 3,400 mAh, while the Pro version has 4,000 mAh. Both have a fast charge via a USB-C port, which is necessary in these days of intensive use of the equipment. You can usually arrive at night with 15 or 20% charge, but in case you have a hectic day planned in which you will be using the phone a lot, you will definitely need a pit stop due in large part to the big screen of the equipment. 19659002] One of the things we would have liked to see in the P20 is wireless charging, which is more common in the Premium line of equipment.

Balance

The P20 and P20 Pro are two of the best devices currently on the market and certainly the best cameras on a smartphone. In their favor play their Leica optics, the quality of their finishes, the resistance to water and dust in the case of the Pro and its price (13,799 and 16,999 pesos respectively), while against him have the lack of wireless charging and space to expand storage via a Micro SD card. Still, is it worth it? Definitely yes.