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You must have read a lot of reviews already about the Huawei Mate 20.
Understood.
So this won’t be too long. We will share some stuff that we liked and we did not like about this smartphone with a price tag of P40,990.
After more than a week of actual usage, taking it to our regular events coverages snapped several photos and took a few videos, we are now ready
Here’s what’s inside the box of the Mate 20.
Huawei Mate 20 Specs
| Huawei Mate 20 | |
| Display | 6.53-inch 3D curved OLED display, FHD+ 2244 x 1080 resolution, 381 ppi, 86.90% screen-to-body ratio |
| Dimensions | 58.2 x 77.2 x 8.3 mm |
| Weight | 188 g |
| OS | Android 9.0 Pie with EMUI 9 |
| CPU | 2.6GHz 64-bit Kirin 980 octa-core processor w/ Dual-NPU and i7 co-processor |
| GPU | Mali-G72 MP12 |
| RAM | 4GB/6GB LPDDR4x |
| Storage | 128GB/256GB expandable via nanoSD card slot up to 256GB |
| Cameras | 16MP f/2.2 ultra wide-angle + 12MP f/1.8 wide-angle + 8MP f/2.4 2x telephoto triple Leica cameras |
| 24MP 3D RGB + IR front camera | |
| Dual SIM, dual stand-by, supports LTE connectivity | |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | |
| GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS | |
| NFC | |
| USB Type-C | |
| Sensors | 3D Facial Recognition, Fingerprint Scanner, Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Barometer, Compass |
| Battery | Battery: 4000mAh Li-Po, non-removable, with SuperChage |
| Colors | Emerald Green, Midnight Blue, Classic Black, Pink Gold, Twilight |
Huawei Mate 20 Design and Build Quality
The device has a glossy glass finish with a really thin bezel on the front, which is complemented by a dew drop notch where the front camera is located.
There is also a one-button volume rocker while the red-textured power button. All these are located on the right side. The opposite side has a hybrid nano-SIM tray.
Huawei Mate 20 Display and Media
The Mate 20 has a super clear display having a 6.53-inch 3D curved OLED display, FHD+ 2244 x 1080 resolution, 381 ppi, and an 86.90% screen-to-body ratio.
The bezel is really thin which is really nice for media consumption.
Huawei Mate 20 Software, UI & Apps
Out of the box the Huawei Mate 20 ships with Android 9.0 Pie with EMUI 9. Sounds really nice since it is the latest OS from Android.
But wait until you used it as your daily driver.
Firstly, the Huawei Mate 20 comes with a lot of pre-loaded apps which you don’t really need. You can uninstall them without a problem. Also, there is no issue with the store since it comes with a really large one.
The HiBoard is kind of problematic. I’ve read in forums that it became coma after several updates. Others reported being working after the recent updates. As for our review unit, we just have to disable it. (Settings, Home Screen& wallpaper, Home screen settings).
Huawei Mate 20 Performance
In this department, the phone is really reliable and can deliver a really impressive performance. That’s because the phone is armed with 2.6GHz 64-bit Kirin 980 octa-core processor w/ Dual-NPU and i7 co-processor, plus there’s a 6GB RAM onboard.
Huawei Mate 20 Camera Review
There is where the Mate 20 may be unsuccessful. The cameras did not deliver well. The video recording in low-light areas is really dark, so as the photos.
But the close-up shots are really good. Here’s one of them:
The wide lens on a night shot also got a spectacular result.
The selfie camera is good when the lighting is on its favor.
For the price of P40k, Huawei Mate 20 camera needs real improvement. I hope that it can be done thru a firmware update.
Others
The fingerprint scanner at the back works perfectly, but its a totally different story on the face unlock feature. The Mate 20 face unlock feature needs some polishing. Out of 10 tries, we only registered at least five successful unlocking. Better turn it off and use the fingerprint scanner.
Verdict
If I have a budget of P40,000 I’d look for another smartphone to buy. That’s because I use the camera a lot in my work: I take photos and record videos.
But for its overall performance, design, and looks, the Mate 20 wins.
