Beautiful inside out
The Huawei P20 Pro is catered to photography enthusiasts with other features that many can appreciate.
I FOUND myself really popular over the last two weeks, being asked to parties and events. At first, I thought that it was due to my dazzling personality, but my friends brought me back to reality quite bluntly. “We just want you to take photos using the Huawei P20 Pro.” They are not my friends anymore.
However, I understand the craze. The P20 Pro does take amazing photographs, and the best part? That is not all there is to this latest flagship from the Chinese tech giant.
Hey good lookin’
This is by far the prettiest smartphone I have reviewed. Named Twilight, the colour is inspired by the Northern Lights, and one is supposed to see purple fading to blue and then green on the panel. Don’t worry, I don’t always see the green either.
The aluminium finish gives it a sleek and gorgeous feel, but I seriously cannot handle the amount of fingerprints it attracts. Don’t get me started on how slippery it is. If I don’t lay it flat on a flat surface, it will slide, threaten to fall and give me mini heart attacks.
And then there’s the notch, which unfortunately is an OCD freak’s nightmare in this case because it’s uneven. Gasp! So how did I deal with it? I just opted to hide the notch.
The P20 Pro has a 6.1in OLED (organic light emitting diode) screen, slightly bigger than the 5.8in LCD screen sported by its sibling, the P20, and both have an aspect ratio of 18.7:9 for an immersive viewing experience.
As someone who could watch an entire movie and more on a smartphone, I love its vivid colours and the brightness is just right.
Because I didn’t have the earphones with a USB Type-C jack that were supposed to come with the review set, I had to watch my shows with the speakers on blast – but only when I was alone, and the stereo speakers at the bottom deliver clear and rich audio even from a few metres away.
What makes it work
The device runs on Android 8.1 with Huawei’s EMUI 8.1 user interface, and is powered by the company’s Kirin 970 processor.
The P20 Pro has a 4,000mAh battery while the P20 has a 3,400mAh one.
I used the P20 Pro while covering the GE14 nomination day, and I was so worried that the phone would run out of battery.
Well, I Wazed my way to and from the nomination centre while listening to Spotify in the car, took hundreds of photos and videos of the candidates, recorded interviews, wrote articles, WhatsApped bosses, checked social media accounts, made phone calls, and still didn’t have to charge the phone till the next day.
And when I needed to charge the phone, the SuperCharge capability brought the battery from 1% to 100% in about 60 minutes or so. Unfortunately, the P20 Pro doesn’t support wireless charging.
With 128GB memory and 6GB RAM, I didn’t have to worry about running out of space or even dealing with a lagging phone.
Smile for the camera
If you haven’t heard the hoopla surrounding the three rear cameras on the P20 Pro, then welcome back from the year you spent in a cave.
The phone is equipped with three cameras – 40-megapixel RGB sensor, 20-megapixel monochrome sensor and 8-megapixel sensor with 5x hybrid zoom telephoto lens.
I am not great at taking photographs, so I let someone who knows cameras test out this feature. One of the outstanding results was the crisp and clear night time images taken without a tripod. Even when you zoom into your subject, with slightly shaky hands, the photo doesn’t turn out blurry.
If you’re a photography enthusiast, be sure to check out the Pro mode where you can play around with the shutter speed, aperture and ISO level (which goes up to 6,400, by the way).
I particularly like the Ultra Snapshot feature which lets you take a quick snapshot even when the screen is off. Just double-press the down volume button and voila! You get a picture.
And of course, selfie fans will love the 24-megapixel front-facing camera that takes impressive portrait shots and even throws in dramatic blurred backgrounds.
You don’t have to worry about the lighting as the 3D lighting effect automatically adjusts the setting to make sure that you get a great selfie each time.
Conclusion
The Huawei P20 Pro is absolutely worth the hype. This device gives everything you possibly want from a smartphone – amazing photos, fast performance and a long-lasting battery.
The P20 Pro is priced at RM3,299 while the P20 goes for RM2,599. They come in Black, Midnight Blue and Pink Gold. The special Twilight edition is only available for the P20 Pro.
P20 PRO
(Huawei)
Android smartphone
NETWORK: 4G
OPERATING SYSTEM: Android 8.1 Oreo
DISPLAY: 6.1in (1,080 x 2,240 pixels) PROCESSOR: Hisilicon Kirin 970 CAMERA: 40-megapixel RGB + 20-megapixel monochrome + 8-megapixel (rear); 24-megapixel (front)
MEMORY: 128GB storage, 6GB RAM
CONNECTIVITY: WiFi 802.11, Bluetooth, NFC
BATTERY: 4,000mAh DIMENSIONS (W x D x H): 73.9 x 7.8 x 155mm
WEIGHT: 180g
PRICE: RM3,299
RATING: ★★★★✩
Review unit courtesy of Huawei Technologies Malaysia, 1800-223366
PROS: Excellent cameras; fast performance; sleek design. CONS: No wireless charging; slippery.