Once in a while, there comes along a trendsetter that can change the existing paradigm on it’s head and redefine the market from there.The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is globally proving that it is one such device that is effectively smartphone royalty. The phone is all set to hit the Indian market. I spent time with the device and here are my first impressions of this trendsetter phone that is taking the year by storm.
The new Huawei device features a flowing design. It is beautifully curved on all eight sides, and holds its iconic Matrix Camera that is immediately recognizable even at a distance. One look at the phone and you will fall in love with it. The design is a head turner, I just had to put the phone on the table in front of people to start conversations. The beautiful glass finish with the triple camera and flash in the rear and the wonderful curved screen are brilliant to look at hold in the hand. There is a notch in the front that houses the IR sensor that helps in the strong 3D face unlock implementation that the phone comes with. The phone tops the charts in the design and looks department. A royal look and feel.
HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro achieves almost full screen coverage with the vibrant FullView display. The rules of symmetry are also observed: the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro is vertically and horizontally symmetrical on both sides. This echoes the themes of harmony and balance that are pervasive throughout the design. In pursuit of an ultimate minimalist look, Huawei’s engineers pioneered an invisible speaker design where the speaker unit is integrated with the USB-C port. It necessitated an overhaul of the speaker system, which shows how far Huawei is willing to go to achieve this particular aesthetic.
The Matrix Camera is arranged in the rear in a unique two-by-two array, with one of the openings reserved for the flash. Each of the lenses in the two-by-two camera array on HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro is encircled in polished metal frames, producing a visually impactful avant-garde look that is both bold and distinct. But the camera assembly is not just a good thing to look at, they are very strong in the imaging department.
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro camera is now better than ever with the new Leica Ultra Wide Angle Lens. The Matrix Camera system comes with three sensors (40MP, 20MP and 8MP), with the Leica Ultra Wide Angle Lens equipped on the 20MP sensor. The Leica Ultra Wide Angle Lens lets you see and capture much more. It also helps to create a sense of spaciousness when you are capturing in a small area as the camera takes in much more information from where you’re standing. You just have to simply tap into the Camera app to use access the Leica Ultra Wide Lens for taking wide shots. You can set the magnification settings to 0.6x to shoot with an ultra-wide field of view.
Get deep into the details with the new macro feature. The Leica Ultra Wide Angle Lens doubles as a macro lens that can land a focus on an object as close as 2.5cm from the lens.The Super Macro mode is enabled automatically when you take a close-up shot – so lean in and shoot away!
The Master AI image recognition capability gets an upgrade with HUAWEI Mate 20 Series. On HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro, the camera can recognize 1,500 scenarios across 25 categories. AI helps you optimize your colors so that every shot comes out perfect from the get-go—saving you from the hassle that is post-processing. Accessible via Camera; you may enable/disable Master AI in the Camera Settings.
There is a nifty feature called HiVision on the camera UI. With HiVision , the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro is an encyclopedia that fits in a pocket. HiVision leverages the AI capabilities of the device to identify various objects in the real world. The phone also promises a lot of value addition when recording videos. There are interesting AI enabled features there. I will get to them in the full review that is coming soon.
The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro is powered by a massive 4200mAh battery The new flagship supports the TÜV Safety Certified 40W HUAWEI SuperCharge. That means you can charge your HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro quickly and safely. The fast-charging technology can charge the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro to up to 70 percent (or 2940mAh) in 30 minutes.
The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro supports 15W HUAWEI Quick Wireless Charge. Simply place it on a HUAWEI Quick Wireless Charge dock to enjoy convenient charging at extreme speeds: a 30-minute charge gives the device 30 percent (1300mAh) battery. The phone supports Wireless Reverse Charging, effectively enabling it to act as a power bank for other devices.
The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro features a new and improved version of Face Unlock: 3D Face Unlock. Once you have a profile set up, simply lift the device to scan your face to unlock the device quickly and securely. 3D Face Unlock uses the 3D Depth Sensing Camera to accurately identify the user by projecting more than 30,000 dots onto the user’s face to map his or her facial features. The 3D Face Unlock solution recognizes a user within 600ms, with a false acceptance rate below 1/1,000,000.
HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro features a snappy In-Screen Fingerprint Sensor. It works just like the way you expect it to – place your finger on the on-screen prompt for authentication. Once it has done its job, the prompt disappears into the background, as quickly as you lift your finger.
The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro is powered by the world’s first 7nm mobile AI chipset, Kirin 980. Manufactured with TSMC’s cutting edge 7nm
process technology, the Kirin 980 delivers 75 percent better CPU performance and 58 percent better CPU power efficiency. In my experience, the phone breezes through heavy tasks so fast that you hardly feel it. Long and heavy usage is handled efficiently and very fast. The performance of the phone is one of the best I have seen all year.
Huawei has integrated the Mali-G76 GPU into the Kirin 980 to deliver unparalleled gaming experiences. Debuting with the Kirin 980, Mali-G76 offers 46 percent greater graphics processing power at 178 percent improved power efficiency over the previous generation. Mali-G76 also features an innovative AI clock boosting technology that utilizes AI to intelligently identify gaming workloads and adjust resource allocation for optimal gaming performance.
So as far as first impressions go – The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is the undisputed king of smartphones this year. All hail the king. More details coming in the full review. Like I said, this is trend making device. Thoroughly impressed with this one so far. Full review coming soon. Stay tuned.
