Honor 20 Pro Review: Honor Has Perfected The Recipe For An Affordable Flagship

The new Honor 20 Pro is stirring people’s curiosity as it is following the path smartphones as OnePlus 7 Pro has chosen. The makers add only the most useful features that they think users will appreciate and omit everything else to cut cost.

The tension between China and the US has obviously cast a shadow on the future of Huawei and honor devices; however, it will be unwise to think that Honor 20 Pro is not worth buying anymore.

Style From The Segment Above

With a design called Dynamic Holographic glass back, to human eyes, the phone will appear green, but when you take a picture of it, the Honor 20 Pro will look blue. The cover consists of three layers to achieve that shimmering effect. The three layers are a depth one, a glass one, and a color one. They reflect light differently, making the phone appears with more depth to our eyes.

With the size of 154.6 x 73.97 x 8.44 mm, the phone is slightly bigger than the Galaxy S10 Plus or the iPhone XS.

Camera Is King

The display measure 6.26 inches with a punch-hole selfie camera on the front. On the other side, there is a quad camera setup consisting of a 48 MP IMX586 sensor supported by an optical image stabilization; a 16 MP super wide-angle camera capable of providing a 117-degree field of view; an 8 MP telephoto camera; and a 2 MP macro camera.

The macro one is an experiment for Honor. If users respond well to it, the camera will get more budget and megapixels on the next smartphone.

Honor thinks that users love selfie photos, so it gives the Honor 20 Pro a 32 MP front snapper. They also want the phone to be used by one hand, so the fingerprint sensor is put in the power button.

When it comes to taking photos, Honor has the edge even over iPhone XS Max or Galaxy S10 Plus. The camera can take in 60% more light, thanks to the f/1.4 optics.

To take pictures in a darker environment, users can make use of the Super Night Mode. This feature can be paired with the super wide angle camera. However, the Night Mode can also be used under sunlight for more detail and a better dynamic range, but to achieve a similar effect, users can make use of AI Ultra Clarity. That same technology can be useful for Handheld Moon Shot detection.

The quad camera arrangement can be a bulge, and the phone will not lay flat on a surface. However, it is far from being a deal breaker as many people will consider this a small price for all the benefits he cameras can bring.

Inside, The Best Of Huawei

The quad camera setup has taken most of the budget Honor has for this phone, but fortunately, Honor still has something left for the Kirin 980 chipset, a feature it shares with Huawei P30 Pro.

You will get Honor SuperCharge support with the 4,000 mAh battery. If users pair the device with the proper charger, you will get 50% more power in half an hour. Honor said that it would rather spend its budget on wired fast charging than the wireless technology as the latter is too slow.

Another feature you have to sacrifice is the headphone jack, but you still have the USB-C port. The virtual 9.1 surround sound can take any headphone, at least that is what Honor claims. The company’s algorithm will determine which elements should be in play depending on whether that is a song or soundtrack of a game.

The 2340 x 1080p screen is bright and has enough colors. There is a notch on the front, but it does not stand out much. The phone will switch automatically between the full resolution and the 1560 x 720 to save power.

While other features may gain users fondness right away, the operating system, Magic UI 2.1.0 will grow on you. The only concern you may have is the latest incident between China and the US that has resulted in Huawei being cut off from Google’s services. If things do not change in the future, users of Honor 20 Pro will be affected in the next few months.

A Familiar Sacrifice

If you decide to go for an Honor 20 Pro, prepare yourself for these following omissions. It is not dust or water resistant. Users should also add a case to prevent the shiny glass back from being scratched.

There is no 5G support onboard either. Huawei is famous for advanced connectivity, but Honor has been known to think that its users are not ready for 5G. We doubt that the cost does have a role in driving the decision.

The Honor 20 Is Even More Competitive

Among the Honor 20 Pro and the Honor 20 Lite, there is another member of the 20 lineup, which is the Honor 20. With this phone, you have a few key features that we can find on its more expensive cousin, the Kirin 980 chipset, the Dynamic Holographic Design, the fingerprint sensor, the same display size, and the quad camera setup.

However, with a more budget-friendly price, the phone does have to sacrifice something with the cameras. There is no optical image stabilization with the 48 MP snapper, and the 2 MP supports portrait mode rather than the optical zoom.

You still get the Super Charge support, but the battery is a little smaller, reaching 3,750 mAh instead of 4,000 mAh.

Honor 20 Pro Verdict

In short, Honor 20 Pro is a great phone that gives you everything a typical user would want at a competitive price. The tension between Huawei and the US does have a negative effect on the company’s prospect, but it does not mean you should ignore this phone completely. For those who insist on having OIS and optical zoom, the company announced that these two features are going to be available soon.

The Honor 20 Pro is eye-catching and packs a camera technology differs just a little bit from the Huawei P30, which asks for a more expensive price. Honor has obviously found the perfect recipe for a budget smartphone with premium features. All it needs now is a stable market to introduce its creation.