Huawei

All hail to the King of Android 2018: Say hello to Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro Smartphone

by Elise Quevedo

Consider it the Porsche of cars, the Louboutin of Shoes, the Chanel of Perfumes and the Zeus or Venus of Greek Gods. I say we can most likely crown Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro as the King of Android 2018If you thought Huawei was done when they released the P20 Pro earlier this year, then think again! Limitless human imagination—that’s the inspiration for the Huawei Mate 20 Series

October is a busy month for tech launches and with nearly every manufacturer doing what they can to be the ones at the top, this year Huawei wins again and shows the world they are a worthy competitor and will stop at nothing to keep researching and innovating to bring us the latest in smartphone technology.With the new Kirin980 chipset and features that are jaw dropping, get ready to fill those Xmas stockings with the Mate 20 Pro!

I have been a big Apple fan for many years but Huawei won me over as I have mentioned on previous write ups with their Mate 10 Pro and P20 Pro. And just when I thought it could not get better, my sleek Mate 20 Pro makes me fall in love with Android all over again!

I may still have some love for my backup iPhone, but it’s more like an old pair of shoes you don’t want to get rid of… reminds me of the country song by Randy Travis where he says : “You’ve always been my one and only,love… It ain’t no easy thing to give you up..” Haha my iPhone is there, but my new Android Love has taken over!

So what makes the Mate20 Pro and its siblings (Mate 20, Mate 20x and Porsche Design Mate 20 RS) so powerful?

During the launch on October 16th Richard Yu presented the Huawei Mate 20 series, which embodies the pinnacle of innovation

According to Huawei, The Huawei Mate 20 Series is powered by Huawei’s densest and highest performing system on chip (SoC) to date -the Kirin 980. Manufactured with the advanced 7nm process incorporating the powerful Cortex-A76-based CPU and Mali-G76 GPU, the SoC offers improved performance and an unprecedented smooth user experience.

“Smartphones are an important entrance to the digital world. The Huawei Mate 20 Series is designed to be the best ‘mate’ of consumers, accompanying and empowering them to enjoy a richer, more fulfilled life with their higher intelligence, unparalleled battery lives and powerful camera performance,” said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer BG.

So let’s talk about the features on the Mate 20 Pro co-engineered with Leica:

Aesthetics meet innovation. An iconic square combining Leica Triple Camera and one flash inherits the Mate series’ central and simple camera design concept to create an aesthetic signature,giving the device a unique visual identity that is recognizable even at a distance. A forged masterpiece of 3D glass with smooth curves and seams that dissolve into the design. A streamlined symphony in the palm of your hand.

A tribute to nature’s rich colours, Huawei Mate 20 Pro is available in four vibrant colours. Light reflects beautifully off the back of the midnight blue and emerald green making the unique Hyper Optical Patterns glitter. A special glass texture which is non-slip and anti-fingerprint. Also available in Black and Twilight

The IP68 rated water and dust resistance means no worry of taking spills, splashes, and dunks.

Huawei Mate 20 Pro is the world’s first smartphone to support the 4.5G LTE Cat. 21 standard, allowing consumers to experience download speeds of up to 1.4Gbps. It also supports the world’s fastest Wi- Fi connection speeds — 2GB footage requires only 10 seconds to download. The top-end flagship also supports dual-band (L1+L5) GPS positioning technology. The AI GPS Satellite Selection technology enhances the positioning accuracy across a wide range of scenarios.

The Mate 20 Pro houses a large, high-density 4200mAh battery, and supports 40W HUAWEI SuperCharge, which gives the device 70 percent charge in just 30 minutes. The safety of the technology is certified by TÜV Rheinland. Moreover, The Huawei Mate 20 Pro supports 15W Wireless Quick Charge, the industry’s fastest wireless charging solution, and Wireless Reverse Charge, which enables the device to work as a power bank for selected electronic devices supporting wireless charging. This is one of those jaw dropping features. Can I help you recharge your iPhone? 😉

The new 40W Huawei SuperCharge, 15W Wireless Quick Charge and large batteries work in tandem to provide users with the best battery life. For example, after 18 hours of use, my Mate 20 Pro still had 48% battery left!

The new Leica Triple Camera powered by AI reveals life’s drama, texture, colour and beauty in every photograph that will take your breath away. Designed for different scenarios, the 40 MP main RGB lens captures great details in everyday photos, while the 8 MP telephoto lens will focus on your distant shots. The front facing camera is 24 MP. Same MP’s as the P20 Pro.

The Matrix Camera System includes Leica Ultra Wide Angle Lens that lets users not only see wider, but also closer with its new macro distance capability,which produces crisp images of objects that are placed as close as 2.5cm from the lens. The Hyper Optical Pattern on the glass back plays with light and shadows, producing an iridescent optical effect that is immediately captivating. The trio of lenses supports a wide range of focal lengths (equivalent to the performance of a 16-270mm zoom lens), enabling it to mimic the results from professional cameras.

The HUAWEI Mate 20 Series also features an AI Portrait Color video mode. Using AI, the Huawei Mate 20 Series can isolate human subjects and desaturate the colors around them to dramatically highlight the person. AI Spotlight Reel identifies clips with a shared theme and auto-generates a montage, made entirely of highlights. ( more on this below)

Powered by advanced AI Image Stabilisation, the Night mode will shoot blur-free and focused handheld photos in low-light. It also balances high-contrast scenes to present incredible images in every setting.

Director’s cut- The AI video editor can identify faces and create separate video highlights for each person, saving you the time and effort of editing the video for your beloved ones to share the best moments

AI Cinema Mode- To make phone videos more like a film, Huawei Mate 20 Pro offers the classic 21:9 movie ratio plus real-time HDR to create immersive videos with superior clarity

Create the Mood with colors- In films, colour establishes an emotional connection with audiences, and now you can adjust a range of filters like: Fresh, Vintage, Background Blur and Suspense in real time. The AI Portrait Colour detects people and greys out the background to record films with an artistic taste. Another jaw dropping feature!

HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro and PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 20 RS both support 3D Face Unlock. The solution quickly and securely authenticates users within 0.6s at a false acceptance rate of below 1/1,000,000. Using the 3D Depth Sensing Camera System located at the front, the two devices can accurately read the facial features of a subject and recognize even small details. Besides user authentication, this suite of sensors also enables the portrait beautification effects to be realized in a more natural and effective way.

You face ID can also be used to securely access a private screen containing locked APPs and personal data.

Scan a toy with the 3D Depth Sensing Camera to create an AI live model. Not only can you take photos, but also record it moving and dancing on your desk. Enjoy the fun of interaction and share with your friends. Great to entertain the kids too

With the ergonomic design and Dynamic Pressure Sensing technology, you just need to raise your finger and touch the screen, your phone will get unlocked securely and instantly.

Discover the details of nature and reflect these in the new EMUI 9.0. Simplify the interface and interaction to offer you the advanced and smooth mobile experience easily connecting to your real life.

An encyclopedia in your pocket– Satisfy your curiosity of exploring the world with a simple scan. HiVision gives you information about goods, landmarks, and famous paintings. Hivision also measures food calories by its volume to help keep your diet healthy

Make Shopping Smart- See it, scan it, get it! The magic of two fingers. Long press on the image of something you want and e-commerce links from top platforms pop up. Enjoy a quick shopping experience.

Be a local, wherever you go– Love travel, but worried about the language barrier? HiVision can scan and translate street signs, menus and many types of documents!

Get rid of the wires. HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro allows you to project presentations, gaming or video immediately to a larger screen, maximising the fun of sharing. In this PC mode, you are still able to send messages or make phone calls independently with privacy well-protected.

And if that wasn’t enough… With the customised Snorkeling Case and easy-to-use under­water camera mode, you can take the Mate 20 Pro into water up to 5 meters deep for shooting the colourful aqua life or dramatic portraits.

As a key pillar supporting Huawei’s all-connected, all-scenario ecosystem, HUAWEI Share 3.0 delivers a revolutionary improvement in device interconnection, allowing users to transfer files between smartphones and PC. This is an innovative, Huawei-proprietary solution that enables device interconnectivity. It revolutionizes the way people transfer images and videos: all it takes is one tap to establish a connection between a smartphone and PC for easy and fast file sharing3.

For the tech readers and those who love to know the SPECS, here they are:

Size:

Width: 72.3 mm

Height:157.8 mm

Depth: 8.6 mm

Weight: Approx. 189 g

Colour:

Black, Emerald Green, Midnight Blue & Twilight

Display:

Size: 6.39 inches

Colour: 16.7 million colours

Colour Gamut: DCI-P3

Type: OLED

Resolution: 2k+ 3120 x 1440 , 538 PPI

Chipset:

Huawei Kirin 980

2 x Cortex A76 2.6 GHz + 2 x Cortex A76 1.92 GHz + 4 x Cortex A55 1.8 GHz

Operating system:

 Android 9

Memory:

6 GB RAM + 128 GB ROM

8 GB RAM + 256 GB ROM

NM card: support up to 256 GB

GPS:

GPS (L1 + L5 dual band) / AGPS / Glonass / BeiDou / Galileo (E1 + E5a dual band) / QZSS (L1 + L5 dual band)

Connectivity:

802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (wave2), 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz

Bluetooth 5.0, BLE, SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, LDAC and HWA Audio

Type-C, USB 3.1 GEN1

Type-C earjack

PC Data Synchronisation

Sensors:

Camera:

Leica Triple camera:
40 MP (Wide Angle Lens, f/1.8 aperture) + 20 MP (Ultra Wide Angle Lens, f/2.2 aperture) + 8 MP (Telephoto, f/2.4 aperture), supports autofocus (laser focus, phase focus, contrast focus), supports AIS (Huawei AI Image Stabilization).Front Camera:
Support 3D Depth Sensing Camera.
24 MP, f/2.0 aperture

Audio:

Video:

EMUI:

EMUI 9.0

Battery:

4200 mAh (typical value)

Wire Charging: MAX 40 W HUAWEI SuperCharge

Wireless charging: 15 W HUAWEI Wireless Quick Charge

NFC:

Read Write mode / Peer to Peer mode / Card Emulation mode (payment by *SIM card, or HCE) is supported.*SIM card only support SIM 1 slot.

Splash, Water and Dust Resistant:

IP68The device has been tested in a controlled environment and certified to be splash, water, and dust resistant in specific situations (meets requirements of classification IP68 as described by the international standard IEC 60529).

Water and dust-proofing are not permanent, and resistance may decrease as a result of normal wear over time. Do not charge the phone when it is wet or in moist environments. Refer to the manual for cleaning and drying instructions.

I have to give a mention to the PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 20 RS, Huawei and Porsche Design ingeniously combined race track elements with premium materials to create a device that exudes elegance and offers a firm, ergonomic grip. Luxury at its best.

Here is the video to prove it

So how much will the Mate 20 Pro set me back?Mate 20 Pro (6GB + 128GB configuration) will have a MSRP of EUR1049

PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 20 RS (8GB + 512GB configuration) will have a MSRP of EUR2095 from 16th November, 2018.

Embodying exquisite design, powerful performance, extraordinary capturing capabilities and next- generation intelligence, the new Huawei Mate 20 Series is the partner of choice for professionals pursuing quality of life. Committed to delivering the latest and best user experiences to consumers, Huawei has always been keen to incorporate the latest technologies into its products

Here is a  video recap of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro

It’s fair to say that Huawei has become one of the biggest smartphone players in a very short space of time. They are pushing the boundaries of what smartphones can do and it’s hard to imagine than in less than 6 months the P30 series will come out with even more innovation and advancements.

I have yet to come across a bad review of the Mate 20 Pro since it was released. I think we are all still in awe of its beauty, performance and cutting-edge technology. It’s like the Venus effect.

For more information please visit: https://consumer.huawei.com/en/

If you already got your hands on the Mate 20 series, send me your comments or photos via Twitter or instagram @EliseQuevedo . Would love to see your captures!

I shall leave you how it all began….

All hail to the King of Android 2018: Say hello to Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro Smartphone!!

Elise Quevedo aka The Digital Ghost Queen