Huawei is back with two impressive new flagship smartphones: the Mate 20 and the Mate 20 Pro.
The Pro version has a high-resolution 6.4-inch OLED display (3120 x 1440 pixels), the Mate 20 is actually slightly bigger at 6.5 inches (2240 x 1080 pixels), and both have curved edges reminiscent of Samsung’s Galaxy models – although they are far from the only manufacturers with this feature nowadays.
The Mate 20 Pro is also one of the first smartphones to implement a widely anticipated piece of technology that allows for a fingerprint sensor underneath the screen rather than on the back. However the Mate 20 still features the same fingerprint sensor on the back as in previous models.
Both devices come with new facial recognition software that can be used to unlock the device, but the Pro version has additional depth sensors on the front for faster and more secure unlocking.
The Mate 20 has – as is the latest trend – three Leica camera lenses on the back that have 12, 16 and 8 megapixel sensors. The cameras also have an LED flash, which gives the phone a distinctive quadruple-block look.
The Pro is equipped with the same Leica triple camera setup that Huawei already presented with its high-end P20 Pro model. The setup consists of a wide-angle lens (40 MP colour sensor), an ultra-wide angle lens (20 MP sensor) and a telephoto camera (8 MP colour sensor).
If you care about headphone jacks, then the Pro might not be the one for you, as it only comes with a USB-C port for the charger. The smaller Mate 20 model, however, does come with a 3.5mm headphone jack.
If you do use Bluetooth headphones, and find that they constantly need recharging, then the Pro could be a game changer for you, as the phone can wirelessly charge other devices – such as headphones or even other people’s phones – by simply placing the device on the back of the phone. The Mate Pro has wireless charging enabled for itself as well.
The Mate 20 comes with a sizeable 4,000mAh battery, the Pro has a slightly larger 4,200mAh one. The Mate 20 is available in 4GB and 6GB RAM versions, which will set you back around 800 euros (920 dollars), the Pro only exists with 6GB RAM and costs 1,000 euros (1,150 dollars).
Both devices have 128 GB of storage capacity and run the latest Android version (Pie). They are available in some places already, but Huawei will be rolling the phones out to other markets at the end of October. An official launch date for the US market is far-off at best, amid US government fears that Huawei has been sharing user data with Chinese officials, which Huawei has denied.
