Review of Huawei P20 Lite - a lightweight flagship. Huawei P10 review - top cameras, designer bottom

A smartphone that raises the bar for camera phones: Huawei P20 review

Yesterday Huawei introduced the top camera phones of 2018: P20 and P20 Pro. They have glass backs, unibrows, 2 and 3 (!) cameras respectively, as well as neural networks that manage performance and resources and blur the line between professional and amateur photography. And this is not an exaggeration. The P line is aimed at photography enthusiasts.

Last year, Huawei spent more on R&D than Apple, but less than Volkswagen and Intel - according to this indicator, the Chinese company is the sixth largest in the world. It is developing rapidly, and when it seems that Huawei has caught up with the rest in terms of innovation, the manufacturer literally breaks through the wall and throws in something new.

The P20 model received a 5.8″ RGBW LCD display. The iPhone X and Galaxy S9 have exactly the same diagonal, but the new product from Huawei has the largest screen area. At the same time, the LCD display is brighter than the OLED in the iPhone X.

“Small unibrow - more information”,- with this motto Huawei approached the screen with “ears”. Hidden in the unibrow itself is a 24.8-megapixel selfie camera, a sensor and a round speaker. The phone is protected from moisture and dust according to the IP53 standard.

The device is powered by a Kirin 970 processor. The eight-core platform has four Cortex A53 cores with a frequency of 1.8 GHz and four Cortex A73 cores with a frequency of 2.4 GHz. The single crystal is produced using a 10nm process technology; it is a processor with a separate Neural Processing Unit module. It provides hardware support for artificial intelligence and machine learning. The device can recognize objects and languages ​​without connecting to the cloud, and understand the context of the owner’s work. The processor is not the most powerful, but it looks decent compared to the new products of 2018.

The phone is quite light and does not feel fragile. We received a black P20 for testing. Fingerprints are clearly visible on it, but in comparison with its competitors, the markings are moderate. It should be noted that this is the only colorway with matte rather than glossy edges.

Other body colors of Huawei smartphones are special, gradient, and look very impressive.

It is noteworthy that the P20 is slightly thinner than the iPhone X and Galaxy S9, but has the most capacious battery. It should be understood that Huawei devices managed to achieve a better ratio of battery and size by “amputating” the memory card slot and the 3.5 mm headphone jack - the kit includes a “pendant” adapter. It is also worth noting support for Hi-Res Audio via Bluetooth.

The bottom of the P20 display retains the signature Home button with a built-in fingerprint sensor and gesture recognition. A sort of small touchpad.

Huawei notes that customers love it very much. Navigation is quite fast and frees the bottom of the screen from the standard Android panel.

Unibrow

On the front of the device, a 24-megapixel camera with Light Fusion technology is hidden in the monobrow. Unlike the iPhone X, it doesn't have the sophisticated Face ID recognition system, but it's the first Huawei smartphone to feature Face Unlock using just the camera. And this function works, perhaps, two times faster compared to Apple’s flagship.

If you're sensitive to your unibrow, Huawei has a software solution for masking that part of the screen, which works especially well with the P20 Pro's OLED display. The P20's RGBW backlighting still leaves this element barely noticeable. When viewing photos and videos, it is hidden by default. In any case, a unibrow is not as scary as the conversations of people who have only seen it in pictures. We got used to the unibrow of the iPhone X in one day, but in the case of the P20 you hardly notice it.

Camera

How important is the camera in the P20 smartphone? So much so that the only inscription “Huawei” is read correctly only when you hold the device with a horizontal grip.

The P20 model received a new sensor, and obviously not from Samsung, but from Sony. Technologically, it is more advanced than the sensor in the Galaxy S9. Sony is the main innovator in this matter. To catch up with the Japanese, the Koreans had to dodge patent violations and leave the lithographic process on the old rails. That's why Samsung's flagship shoots HD video at 960 frames per second.

Huawei promises professional DSLR-like image quality in its smartphones, which you can take with ease.

As before, the photo module contains two Leica cameras: a 12-megapixel color and a 20-megapixel monochrome with an aperture of F1.8 and F1.6, respectively. These sensors work in tandem: monochrome allows you to obtain an additional brightness mask. It lets in significantly more light and can shoot successfully at lower ISOs.

We emphasize that Leica does not produce photo modules for the P20, but the lens layout and signal processing process have undergone strict German control. Contrast, deep blacks and high midtone contrast are the strong point of Huawei's flagship photos. The device can also shoot 4K video with H.265 compression.

The manufacturer tested the new product in DxOMark: the model outperformed everyone in photo quality, but was slightly inferior to Google Pixel in video quality. Consequently, the stabilization work was assessed seriously by the French test bureau.

The P20 has a 1/2.3″ matrix (the iPhone X has a 1/2.9″ sensor, and the Galaxy S9+ has a 1/2.55″ sensor). These are the sensors that were used in the vast majority of digital point-and-shoot cameras that have been successfully sold over the past 10 years. It's hard to believe, but a mobile phone has finally caught up with them in quality. And the computing power of a modern smartphone leaves even flagship DSLRs far behind. Feel this historical moment: compact cameras have virtually no right not to be removed from store shelves.

Test photos taken on Huawei P20:

The scene recognition program has become softer compared to the Mate 10 Pro: it does not pull the blue over the gray clouds, the contrast and colors have become more natural. Unless, of course, the P20 recognizes flowers. Then hold on.

What is obviously good about the Huawei P20 camera?

Almost zero shutter lag (believe me, we won’t mince words here) and AI stabilization. One can only guess how it works: most likely, the phone tracks the position of contrasting areas and combines them. Never before have we seen the ability to take perfectly sharp handheld photographs with a shutter speed of 6 seconds (!) on any smartphone or camera.

The P20 recognizes the volumetric shape of the face. Taking into account the constructed three-dimensional mesh, the new product can smooth out the skin more efficiently and emphasize the edges and light-shadow pattern of the face. Huawei (neatly following Apple) has introduced additional portrait lighting modes. On some of them, the face can be re-illuminated (within certain limits) after shooting. As in the case of Apple, it all works mostly so-so.

However, we do not lose our enthusiasm: it is amazing how quickly niche solutions for professional photographers find their way to the average user. Moreover, this era of computational photography is just beginning.

The P20 smartphone recognizes 32 dog breeds and detects 500 scenes in 19 scene modes. The Chinese mentioned that they even worked with food photographers. So the device knows not only the difference between a poodle and a shepherd, but also the differences between Asian food and burgers, desserts and other gastronomy. In each case, the neural network was “twisted” towards the optimal image.

Laser autofocus began to hit not at 1.2, but at 2.4 meters. Therefore, now it is easier for her to follow the movement of, for example, a twig swaying in the wind. It also allows the camera to predict movement in the frame and switch to macro mode automatically if the distance to the object has decreased.

What is obviously bad about the Huawei P20?

In the heat of the moment, Huawei noted that the maximum ISO of the Samsung and Apple flagships is only 6400, while the P20 has as much as 102,400, like the full-length Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. Don't be fooled: even for DSLRs this ISO is completely unusable.

Also, when shooting in the evening, the phone tends to mute the yellowness. Technically, this white balance is more correct. However, the distribution may include a warm atmosphere and lighting elements for buildings, which look more impressive this way.

The smartphone allows you to shoot spectacular night shots at long exposures: the camera very evenly saturates dark areas with light, without losing contrast or blowing out highlights.

The P20 has a professional mode with full control over exposure parameters and the ability to lock them. Of course, there is shooting in RAW - it is a .DNG format that is understandable to all editors and Adobe products.

When metering in dark areas, the new product understands that it is being asked to make the photo adequately light, and not to lighten dark colors directly to a gray tint. In fact, the camera in automatic mode provides flexibility, but does not allow you to make mistakes.

Neural networks and AI

Huawei insists on the superiority of its own processor for neural network computing, Kirin 970: they say it is faster than the Snapdragon 845 and Apple A11. The chip processes photos in Prisma three times faster than the iPhone. This processor is also focused on recognizing the nature of the relationship between the user and the smartphone. Over time, Kirin 970 adapts to your most frequent activities, optimally allocating resources and improving the smoothness of operations.

This is exactly what one of the Leica photographers, Alex Lambrechts, said, who shot image shots for the launch of the flagships together with model Helena Christensen.

A few days later, the smartphone realized that its user liked to take photographs and select pictures - the battery charge began to be consumed more slowly. Using the P20 as an example, we didn’t have the opportunity to test these words during the day, but based on our experience with the Mate 10 Pro on the Kirin 970, we can say that this is absolutely true.

The new product supports sound commands taking into account the specific functions of the device. A few words were said about AR Core: here Android 8.1 and P20 can recognize the environment, evaluate lighting and track motion.

During the augmented reality demonstration, a full-size model of a Porsche car drove off stage. The girl photographer who was near the stage shuddered and almost jumped to the side, but in reality there was no car.

The smartphone can be connected to the monitor: you don’t even need a docking station, just a USB Type-C cable. The device itself can act as a touchpad, multitasking is available.

Conclusion

Cameras are increasingly improving and beautifying reality. Huawei product manager shakes the phone in his hand: “With its help I will improve my Instagram feed!” A murmur of approval echoes throughout the hall. The world seen on smartphone screens is becoming more and more “fake”. How many people you know travel because it allows them to appear online as fearless explorers of the planet? How often do we automatically try to seem like someone instead of being someone? How long do you wait on trips for friends who look at the world not with their eyes, but through their phone camera? These are ethical questions to which we have no answer.

Network speed

Adaptation to the user's work style

Performance

Don't like it

Repetition of the controversial iPhone X design

Reduced memory card slot

I've been using Android P Beta for a week. Some of the new features work for me, some don't. There are changes that constantly irritate me, and I don't know when I'll get used to them. Here are my impressions.

Interestingly, this operating system can be installed not only by Pixel owners, but also by Sony Xperia XZ2, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, Nokia 7 Plus, Oppo R15 Pro, OnePlus 6, Vivo X21 and Essential PH-1 phones.

According to the manufacturer, based on first impressions, the test version of this software is quite stable and you can even use it on your main smartphone.

I installed Android P on Google Pixel XL (1st) phone. And spent one week with Google's new operating system.

Android P ends with the triangle, circle and square symbols, which are almost always visible on the screen, and are the interface specific to Android.

In the beta version of the new system, the user can enable a new navigation method based on gestures. If enabled, you will no longer see the square icon in the bottom bar. Sometimes a triangle appears indicating the back button. The wheel will be replaced with an ellipsoid (thanks to Rafał!), which in some cases is also used as a slider.

How to use Android OS if there are no old and clear buttons? In a new way! Fortunately, the feedback option appears wherever needed, so the problem disappears.

The main button (instead of the circle) still serves as the Home button, and a long press on it brings up Google Assistant or the Now Connected feature (depending on whether Google Assistant is available in your country/language).

The biggest change concerns the multitasking button, because the square that until now was responsible for this menu is no longer available. Now we go to the list of all applications using the gesture of dragging the screen from bottom to top.

Such a gesture will bring up a carousel with a preview of applications, which, although they work, there is a change - this list scrolls horizontally. Previously, the square would bring up what looked like minimized apps. Now there is a carousel.

Is this a change for the better? It’s hard to say for sure, because so far I’ve spent dozens of hours with this solution, and with the previous one... several years. The force of habit takes its toll.

However, in some ways the new solution is different. For example, if you want to run two applications at the same time and place them on a split screen. You must first bring up the multitasking menu with a gesture, then move to the side, select the appropriate application, press exactly the icon at the top of the window and finally select split screen from the new menu. Now all you have to do is select the second app you want to place on the screen and you can use both at the same time.

This is not the end. For some time now, double-tapping the square would quickly switch between the last two apps. I used it very, very often. Now in Android P Beta, the square has disappeared, and along with it, my favorite shortcut. To do the same, I have to use a slider, which leaves much to be desired.

There's no sliding, and this method of switching between apps is more about the lottery than multitasking—I almost never know where I'll end up when I try to use the slider. It will take me a long time to get the hang of this feature, and perhaps the next versions of Android will bring some reasonable updates to make it work.

I have another complaint about the gesture control. Previously, to bring up a list of all installed applications, it was enough to perform a gesture on the desktop. Now such a gesture calls a function instead of a square button. To open the list of all applications in Android P, you need to do the same gesture twice, or once, but a little longer.

This is where the problem arises with smartphones, with large screens - on the Pixel XL I have to wave my finger so far, which is not always possible. Trying to throw away your app list is like trying to catch a Pokemon that's far away.

However, it is worth noting that the new multitasking menu does not only mean new problems, but also new useful features. At least in theory, by having carousels with apps open, you can work without having to log in completely. The way the presentation works is that you can mark and copy selections in the preview of open apps.

New notifications

The appearance of notifications, as well as the animations associated with them, have also been updated. These are small changes, but if you're paying attention, they make an impression. As a user, I like them, I get the feeling that if someone perfected such a small thing, then they definitely had the time to work on everything.

It has become easier to control unwanted notifications. After expanding the top, the user can select the Manage Notifications option, which will launch a menu where the ability to send notifications to specific apps can be easily disabled. The user can select apps that will continue to do this and specify specific permission categories for them - a feature that was already there, but now we have easier access to it.

If you often use your phone in Do Not Disturb mode - I do almost all the time - then you'll be delighted by the changes in Android P that let you hide notifications completely. Now the phone in Do Not Disturb mode will not only not make unwanted sounds, but also will not vibrate and will even hide all notifications that have come to us.

This feature allows you to focus on your work, even when your phone is on your desk or within reach. The smartphone behaves as if it has no new information for us, so it does not seduce or distract.

The final version of Android P will have many more features that will allow us to control the time we spend with the phone in our hand. So far, Google has only introduced them, but did not introduce them on the beta version that I tested.

Google AI Artificial Intelligence

I know Google seems to be overdoing it with artificial intelligence (AI). I know that artificial intelligence is absolutely everywhere today. I know some people have a gag reflex when they hear about AI. But the artificial intelligence that Google puts on Android P is cool. I answer.

In the new Android, artificial intelligence helps with the keyboard and screen brightness control, among other things. I know this is crazy. But what if Google pushes its AI wherever it can.

Fortunately, further examples of the use of AI in Android P are quite reasonable. First of all, artificial intelligence translates into longer battery life because it learns our habits even better. This allows you to more efficiently manage processing power for specific applications. Programs not used by the user at certain times of the day will be inactive, which will lead to better energy management without any restrictions for us.

AI will also be in the system browser. If, for example, we search for a request for a taxi in the morning, and then use the so-called deep linking, we will get a shortcut in the results that will allow us to book a ride directly to work. This is because the artificial intelligence will know what we want to do - in the morning we want/need to go to work.

The same search performed during the day or evening may already return different results, and instead of sending us to work, we will quickly order a taxi home.

Google's AI also appears in the list of all applications and in the multitasking menu, where it shows us the applications that you probably want to run at the moment. This advice is based on our habits and the circumstances in which we use a smartphone.

Additionally, there may be some shortcuts to perform certain tasks in the All Apps list. The phone may suggest a conversation with a specific person if we do this regularly at some time or attend an event - for example, evening training.

Automatic screen rotation

I've always had problems with automatic screen rotation. On the one hand, I wanted the phone to rotate the displayed content when I rotate the phone from vertical to horizontal and vice versa. On the other hand, it annoys me when a smartphone doesn't do it when it's needed.

Android P could mean the end of such problems. Now, after rotating the smartphone, a small icon appears on the bottom panel that allows you to rotate the image on the screen, despite the automatic rotation being disabled. After changing the position we must use the small icon again.

It may not be a perfect solution to the problem of automatic screen rotation, but it is probably the best that smartphone developers have come up with. Of course, as long as the new feature works well. But Android P Beta, unfortunately, does not yet provide such a guarantee to the user.

Volume control

In Android 8.1 Oreo, I praised the fact that the power menu (shut down or restart) appears next to the power button. It gives a nice experience - press a button and a certain menu will appear on the screen next to that button.

Now the same option is available for the volume buttons - next to the keys responsible for setting it, a balloon with a volume level indicator is displayed.

You should also remember that in Android P these buttons default to media volume.

Editing the screen in Android P OS

Editing allows you to crop, draw, or mark with a translucent marker pen. We can also save this work so we can easily share it.

Bottom line

Android P OS introduces a number of changes and promises further important updates. I really like the new notification features and Do Not Disturb mode. I'm looking forward to adding tools that will allow us to better control the time we spend using our smartphone.

However, I'm not sure about the new gestures and multitasking menu. These changes mean that the device is slower in some situations and there will be some issues for me. Time will tell whether I'll get used to these changes in a few weeks.

But, it is unclear to me whether Google will add permanent changes. On the one hand, they were shown at the conference as the future of Android, on the other hand, they are not mandatory at the moment.

Android P Beta review - video

If you find an error, the video does not work, please select a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

There were a lot of big words and a huge number of straightforward comparisons with competitors were made - in the Chinese style, without the slightest embarrassment. And the cameras of both smartphones set records in DxO Mark, and the screens are better, and artificial intelligence is handled more skillfully. On the other hand, when was it different? Do you remember the company that introduced the smartphone saying: “Well, we didn’t do a very good job here, Apple, of course, is better at doing such things”? However, this time, on many points, Huawei at least wanted to be believed.

But you can’t live in our business by faith alone, so it’s imperative to check all these statements. True, in this review we will talk exclusively about Huawei P20 Pro - a more interesting version of the new flagship, which is distinguished by a larger display (6.1 inches versus 5.8), a more capacious battery (4000 mAh versus 3400 mAh) and absolutely another camera. And it was precisely for the sake of the latter that it was worth starting all the fuss: the P20 Pro has a unique three-chamber (!) module with a leading sensor of 40 (!) megapixels. Besides this, the gadget still boasts a lot, but we are already getting used to the fact that the competition between flagship smartphones essentially comes down to comparing their cameras (while the market for cameras themselves has fallen and is not rising). But we will still talk about everything, not focusing only on photography and videography.

⇡ Specifications

⇡ Design, ergonomics and software

Smartphone design, while leaving little room for artistic imagination, remains as important a battleground for premium devices as cameras. And Huawei is definitely losing this battle. Yes, the task before the designers was initially difficult - to reduce the frames around the display as much as possible (as fashion says), while at the same time preserving individuality, corporate style and introducing some features that are characteristic of them into the appearance of the P20/P20 Pro. Alas, the result is precisely an attempt to sit on several chairs, visible to the naked eye.

The cutout put into use by Apple (popularly called the “unibrow”) right in the middle of the top edge of the display is combined with a hardware “Home” key located below, and the IP67 protection class declared for the P20 Pro is combined with the absence of a mini-jack. When will Chinese technology developers understand that not everything Apple does is equally useful! You can make a secure phone by keeping the mini-jack in place - ask Samsung or Sony how if you are at a dead end.

All this is supported by a not very neat-looking “sandwich” of the front panel, consisting, as usual, of laminated glass. The situation is somewhat corrected by the beautiful back panel, made of mirror glass, which, of course, collects your every fingerprint, but when wiped, it looks really cool. Especially not in the black version, as in our case, but in the blue or gradient version (Pantone). This P20 Pro is truly capable of impressing, but the eclectic, recycled and slightly scruffy front panel brings the score down.

The edges are made of metal with small plastic inserts for the correct operation of the antennas - this is a common solution.

There is something wrong with the oleophobic coating of the display, as is the case with Huawei - the front panel is covered by default with a protective film, and it is not recommended to peel it off, since fingerprints stick to the screen.

Huawei P20 Pro, as befits a serious smartphone of the 2018 model year, combines what previously seemed incompatible simply by physical laws - a huge display and relatively small dimensions. The 6.1-inch screen is “packed” into a body with dimensions of 155 × 73.9 × 7.8 mm - yes, the P20 Pro is larger than that, but there is also a larger display. Be that as it may, the gadget fits into any pocket and does not cause serious discomfort when used. At least we are all (well, almost) already used to it. Nothing unusual, just another “spatula”.

Among the unusual solutions, I would also like to note the round earpiece - it really looks good, and saves space on the cutout (as a result, it is noticeably smaller here than on the iPhone). We've already seen something like this (including on budget smartphones like Wileyfox), but it still looks non-standard. Otherwise, there are no surprises: hardware keys are on the right edge, a SIM card slot is on the left, and the main speaker is on the bottom. The sound here, by the way, is stereophonic - this speaker works in tandem with the same round speaker.

To control the gadget, you can use both the on-screen navigation panel, consisting of three standard Android elements, and exclusively the “Home” key. It is here, as has long been the custom, touch-sensitive and reacts both to single touches and to various gestures - their purpose can be changed in the settings.

Huawei P20 Pro offers both of today's main options for verifying your identity when unlocking the device. There is both a fingerprint scanner built into the Home key and a facial recognition system. A special sensor is not used for this - only a software part that uses the capabilities of the front camera. At the same time, recognition occurs very quickly, including in the dark - to identify the user, the camera has enough light from the screen, which in this case remains on. Yes, in theory, there is not the same reliability and security that the system of a dot projector and IR camera in the iPhone X provides, but you most likely will not notice the practical difference.

If you wish, you can use both facial recognition and a fingerprint scanner - just for different purposes. One, for example, to unlock the device, the second - to pay via Google Pay or access your personal space.

Huawei P20 Pro: Screenshot

Huawei has not prepared a new version of EMUI for the release of P20/P20 Pro - here is the same EMUI shell of the eighth version, which debuted back in the fall on . In a nutshell, it's a slightly specialized shell, but it works extremely smoothly. In my opinion, it is faster than any of those on the market - Huawei smartphones are sometimes faster than their more powerful competitors in terms of the speed of redrawing screens and opening applications. The P20 Pro has exactly this situation - in terms of speed, it is quite on par with the Samsung Galaxy S9. Energy efficiency is also not bad, although the Always-On Display function added here (after all, the OLED screen allows you to do this) eats up more charge than Samsung or LG smartphones - 10% is easily lost overnight.

Huawei also promises to reduce the effect of smartphone fatigue due to improved work with neural networks - these are the same promises that were made when releasing the Mate 10 Pro. It must not lose speed and not accumulate errors over time, giving in six months or a year the same feeling from work as immediately after the purchase. Naturally, it was impossible to reliably verify these promises during the relatively short-term testing of the P20 Pro.

The P20 Pro also has its own specifics. It concerns - as is easy to understand just by looking at a smartphone - working with the “cutout”. If you're annoyed by the sight of that "pier" bursting into a single space of the screen, with a status bar to the right and left of it, you can fix it by simply painting the status bar black. It looks a little wild, but perfectionists might like it.

⇡ Display and sound

To release an expensive smartphone with an LCD screen in 2018 is blatant bad manners. There are no longer any illusions about any advantage of liquid crystal technology over organic LEDs - except that we can talk about the burnout of individual pixels of OLED matrices, but taking into account the lifespan of smartphones (extremely rarely more than three to four years), this is not very serious. Huawei installed an IPS matrix in the P20, but the Pro version still received OLED.

It uses a 6.1-inch display with a resolution of 2240 × 1080 pixels - the aspect ratio is 19:9. This is not the same screen that is installed in the Huawei Mate 10 Pro - it is slightly different in diagonal and format. The pixel density here is slightly higher than on the Mate - 408 ppi. This is not so much by flagship standards - here it is more common to see Quad HD displays with a density exceeding 500 ppi. But it is impossible to notice the difference with the naked eye - only when used with virtual reality glasses. The video can be watched either in the original format (this is usually 16:9) or stretched to fill the entire screen - in this case the format will be 18:9, however, the “ears” around the cutout with sensors are not used during playback.

The touch panel (supports ten touches, works with gestures) can respond to the touch of a gloved hand when a special setting is activated. The display has a polarizing layer, but, of course, there is no air gap between the display matrix and the front panel sandwich.

The measured maximum brightness level without software enhancement during auto-adjustment is 411 cd/m2. The figure itself is not very impressive, especially in comparison with the OLED display of the iPhone X, but due to the relatively infinite contrast level, using the smartphone is quite convenient in any situation, including in the sun. Especially if you activate automatic brightness adjustment - in this case, due to automatic adjustment, it can jump up to 580 cd/m2. And in general, the adaptive backlight works very softly and pleasantly - there is no desire to turn it off.

Huawei P20 Pro, bright mode, gamma. Yellow line - Mate P20 Pro performance, dotted line - reference range

By default, the display mode is set to “bright”. An expanded color space is used, but the colors are not entirely natural - the picture in this mode should “please the eye” and not correspond to the truth. The color temperature is expectedly high (6700-7700 K), the average deviation DeltaE for the expanded Color Checker palette (shades of gray + a wide range of color shades) is 4.30 - not bad, but nothing special (the upper limit of the norm passes, let me remind you, according to result 3, 00). The average gamma is excellent - 2.18, but the curves behave incorrectly.

If you change the color rendering mode to “normal”, the picture will immediately become warmer, and the color space will approach the sRGB standard. Gamma is 2.25 with slightly more stable curves (although again there is no point in talking about extreme accuracy), the temperature “warmers” by about 1000 K and is approaching normal, the average deviation DeltaE on the Color Checker scale is 2.44. The overall impression of the screen settings is not much different from what we had after getting acquainted with the flagships of Apple or Samsung. Decent flagship level.

The Huawei P20 Pro doesn't sound mediocre - it just sounds ordinary. You can use wired headphones only through an adapter (included), this may well affect the sound. However, I didn’t notice any critical lack of volume or detail - everything was fine with that. There is good news for fans of wireless headphones - the high-quality audio transmission standard (aptX, aptX HD) is supported. However, in any case, audiophiles are better off not thinking about smartphone sound and using familiar specialized players.

At the same time, external speakers sound great by telephone standards. The technology has been tested on the Mate 10 Pro, here we get the same level - a stereo effect, very high (for such small speakers) volume, if you really want, you can even watch the video without using headphones, without suffering too much. Making calls using the Huawei P20 Pro is comfortable - I didn’t experience any problems in this regard during two weeks of testing.

The build quality of the case is impeccable, and when you try to twist and squeeze, the case bends only slightly and does not make any sounds. Such high torsional rigidity of the case is ensured by a durable aluminum alloy frame. The back surface is glossy, which is not particularly disturbing in the case of the iridescent blue-violet version. But we were given a black version for testing, which instantly collects a variety of prints. But, what’s remarkable is that the gloss is not particularly scratch-resistant, and it’s quite easy to wipe off your fingers.

On the front side, in the upper cutout of the screen, there is a pair of front cameras, proximity and light sensors, as well as a tiny earpiece.

From the rear you can see a block of two cameras and a flash, as well as a fingerprint reading sensor.

On the left side surface there is a tray for installing a pair of SIM cards in nanoSIM format, one of which can be replaced with microSD media. On the right are the lock and volume control keys.

Only the microphone is visible on the back end. The bottom end is a little more loaded. There is a system speaker, a microUSB connector, a second microphone and a standard analog audio connector.

Display

In terms of dimensions, the smartphone is comparable to 5.7...6-inch models, but its screen diagonal is 6.3 inches. It’s all about the non-standard aspect ratio, which has become even closer to the cinematic one and is 19.5:9, and the resolution is 1080 * 2340 pixels. It is worth noting that the indicated screen resolution is the maximum for the system-on-chip used. Unlike the usual non-plus screen, the screen of the tested smartphone has rounded corners, and there is also a cutout. The “unibrow” can be hidden if necessary. The display has an oleophobic coating and supports up to 10 simultaneous touches. In general, there is a full range of modern functions and features.

The screen brightness in standard mode is 341.42 cd/m2, and in “bright” mode - 412.08 cd/m2. The difference, frankly, is quite impressive. But at high brightness, it is worth considering not only increased battery consumption, but also significant color distortion, as well as a very serious increase in color temperature. In addition, when activating the “Bright” mode, the contrast drops slightly - 937:1 versus 995:1 in standard mode

As for the accuracy of color display, in normal mode there is nothing to complain about - the gamma is close to the standard, the color temperature by smartphone standards is not too high, the delta E color deviation on the gray wedge does not exceed 10.1, and on the primary colors (RGBCMY) – no more than 7.0, which is an excellent result for a mid-budget smartphone. In the “Vivid” mode, the Delta E deviation on the gray wedge reaches a value of 23.1, and on the primary colors the maximum deviation is 10.8. The color temperature, depending on the lightness of the hue, is in the range of 8550...9750 K. Of course, here you can remember about the ability to adjust the color temperature, but the controls are not very convenient, so using them to achieve correct color display is quite difficult. In addition, when manually lowering the color temperature, the brightness decreases in parallel, which is the only advantage of the “Bright” mode.

Standard mode

Vivid mode

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Sound

The decorative grille of the speaker is not very different in size from the camera eyes, and the speaker itself is small. But, nevertheless, it copes with its function perfectly - the volume is sufficient in almost all typical conditions of use, and no defects were identified during testing. The system speaker also did not have any pronounced defects, but its overall sound quality is very mediocre - the frequency range is quite narrow, and it lacks not only lows, but also high frequencies. In addition, the speaker volume level is low. When playing a sinusoidal signal with a frequency of 1 kHz at a distance of 1 meter from the smartphone, a value of 70.1 dBA was recorded. In our database of results, the test one turned out to be one of the quietest smartphones, while the one we recently tested showed one of the best results. It seems as if Huawei deliberately made the speaker simpler and quieter in order to reduce the attractiveness of the smartphone, which is a potential threat to both the older models of the Y line and the younger model of the P20 line.

Unfortunately, the situation is no better, if not worse, on the analog audio output. When playing the test signal and operating with a 32 Ohm load, a level of only 99.9 mV was recorded, and when using a 16 Ohm load – 79.2 mV. Most likely, this is a feature of a specific sample, and not the model as a whole, because values ​​​​less than 150 mV (with a load of 32 Ohms) are extremely rare. Often this indicates a defect or a feature of the pre-sale sample, or rather the firmware. In any case, if you like this smartphone, then the volume in the headphones should be assessed first.

Performance

Huawei P Smart Plus became the first smartphone based on the new HiSilicon Kirin 710 system-on-chip, which aims to compete with Qualcomm Snapdragon 636/660. This SoC is made using the 12 nm FinFET process technology and is equipped with 8 cores – 4 Cortex-A73 with a frequency of up to 2.2 GHz and 4 Cortex-A53 with a frequency of up to 1.7 GHz. The video subsystem is based on the Mali-G51 MP2. The amount of RAM is quite standard for a mid-budget solution, and is 4 GB (for the SoC used, the maximum amount of RAM is 6 GB).

It was not possible to fully test the system in popular benchmarks. When trying to install Antutu, Geekbench and PCMark, a syntax error was thrown. Moreover, the error is widespread and well-studied - 501. But all known methods for eliminating it did not work. It is noteworthy that any other software, including little-known test packages, installs absolutely smoothly and without problems. Probably, this feature was intentionally included by the manufacturer in the test samples for the press.

I was able to install Androbench without any problems. The CPU Throttling Test was also installed without any problems, which showed an average performance of 112,181 GIPS during the stress test, as well as some problems with overheating and throttling under prolonged high loads. Not without problems, but we still managed to launch the 3Dmark package, in which HiSilicon Kirin 710 demonstrated performance at the level of Qualcomm Snapdragon 636. In popular JavaScript tests, HiSilicon Kirin 710 is slightly ahead of its main competitor.

According to information from the network, in Antutu 7 the tested smartphone scores about 138 thousand points, and in Geekbench – 1601 points in single-core mode and 5457 in multi-core mode, which is comparable to the results of testing Qualcomm Snapdragon 636/660.

Camera

The smartphone is formally equipped with 4 cameras at once - two each from the front and rear. But in fact, only one module is used, and a pair of 2 MP sensors are installed only as auxiliary sensors to ensure the background blur function works. Considering the price of the smartphone, it was difficult to expect high-quality photos from it, but Huawei P Smart Plus was able to pleasantly surprise. Moreover, I was pleased not only with the main camera, but also with the front camera.

The front camera is based on a sensor with a resolution of 24 megapixels. The lens aperture is not impressive, but standard for its class - f/2.0. Automation accurately sets the exposure, the detail of the images is high, and the colors are reproduced accurately. The front camera shoots well not only in good lighting, but also in low artificial lighting. The background blur function works, but not as well as, for example, in ASUS smartphones. Moreover, the problem is not even with the quality of the blur, because it really looks like bokeh, but with determining the boundaries of the subject. But in general, the results of the function are very interesting.

The subject does not have a front flash, so in the absence of lighting, a screen with a white fill is used to illuminate the subject being photographed. The power of the light flux is low, so the automation uses high sensitivity values ​​and active software noise reduction (read: blurring).

natural light	natural light, background blur
artificial lighting, 30 lux	display lighting in flash mode

The main camera is based on a 16 megapixel sensor. The lens aperture is only f/2.2. The rear camera can blur the background, but, as in the case of the front camera, the boundaries of the photographed object are not determined in the best way.

no blur	with blur

The smartphone manufacturer is actively focusing on AI (artificial intelligence), which can be activated when shooting. But in practice, all the power of AI comes down to increasing the brightness and saturation of colors. This function is especially active when shooting landscapes. But the AI ​​doesn’t yet have a sense of proportion – the color of greenery and the sky turns out to be overly saturated and far from reality. The activity of this function cannot be adjusted. In general, from a subjective point of view, AI is still damp.

AI activated	AI disabled

But here the tested smartphone has a trump card, or rather an ace up its sleeve - the ability to shoot in RAW from the standard application. Thanks to this function, you can adjust the saturation of certain colors and play with exposure compensation in the RAW development program. Of course, this will have to be done manually and take time, but the result will be better than with AI.

If you don’t pay attention to the newfangled functions, then overall the camera works great for its price class. Automation correctly sets the exposure even in the most difficult situations (for example, when shooting with the sun in the frame), does not distort colors in bright daylight, which is typical of competitors (for example,), and the detail of the images is pleasantly pleasing.

The camera settings provide the ability to select exposure metering mode, sensitivity level, shutter speed, focus operating mode, set white balance, as well as introduce exposure compensation.

To evaluate image quality, a test pattern was shot using the rear camera with a sensitivity of ISO100-3200 in 1 EV increments. Test images were saved in JPEG and RAW formats and then converted to JPEG with minimal compression.

Shooting in RAW

Shooting in JPEG

Also, thanks to the possibility of shooting in RAW, a graph of the dependence of the brightness noise level on the sensitivity level was constructed. He was taken as an opponent. As can be seen in the graph, despite the overall high quality of the photo, the tested smartphone is still noticeably inferior in terms of noise level to its more expensive opponent.

Flash

When measured at a distance of 1 meter from the smartphone, the built-in flash based on 1 LED provides illumination at 30.4 lux, which is an average value.

Video recording

In video mode, the smartphone is capable of recording videos with a resolution of no more than 1920*1080 pixels, but in 60p mode, which is a good bonus for a mid-budget smartphone. Unfortunately, the sample provided for testing flatly refused to focus, so it was not possible to provide an example video. It's worth noting that this feature is clearly a problem with the specific image, not the model.

Autonomous operation

The smartphone is equipped with a battery with a capacity of 3340 mAh. In reading mode, the smartphone lasted 891 minutes, in FullHD video viewing mode – 676 minutes, and 277 minutes in game mode.

A complete charger was not provided for testing, so a third-party charger with a configuration of 5V/2.5A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A was used.

Conclusion

Externally, the smartphone is extremely similar to the representative of the flagship P20 line. At the same time, the test subject is significantly ahead of the younger model of this line in terms of performance. It is worth noting here that the home-grown SoC Kirin 710 turned out to be very successful, and it easily competes with Snapdragon 636 and 660.

Despite some shortcomings, in general, Huawei has turned out to be an excellent mid-budget smartphone, which can even be forgiven for the microUSB connector (if using USB Type-C, the tested smartphone would have greatly hindered sales of older models). And in general, it could be safely recommended for purchase, but only if it had an NFC module, without which any smartphone now loses its attractiveness. Of the strong competitors, it is worth noting, which has NFC and a larger battery capacity, but the Huawei P Smart Plus has a more interesting design and much better cameras.
Cons:
— low power of the system speaker;
— sound quality of the system speaker;
— low signal level on the analog audio output;
— 5 GHz Wi-Fi band is not supported;
- no NFC;
— microUSB connector;
Pros:
— design (subjective);
— build quality and torsional rigidity of the case;
— high-quality display;
— high productivity;
— generally high-quality cameras (for their price class);
— the ability to shoot in RAW in the standard camera control program;
- price.

Sometimes it’s quite difficult to understand a new smartphone model, because it comes in several versions, the appearance of which may be very similar, but the set of capabilities is significantly different. There will also be a noticeable difference in cost. Huawei just recently showed a new flagship line. Its most powerful representative is already in our editorial office, and this time we are getting acquainted with the P20 model with the Lite index.

Model range

At the end of March 2018, the flagship P20 line was presented in Paris. The younger model – Lite – was in China a week earlier, where it was called Nova 3e. The “Lite” variant looks similar to the standard P20 and P20 Pro, but differs in performance and cameras. But a large display with a notch is a common feature of the entire line.

Naturally, the price is also very different. While the Lite costs a little over $300, the standard version costs more than twice as much. This is not to mention Pro, whose price tag has completely crossed the $1000 mark and is fighting for a place among the best of the best.

Equipment and first impressions

There is nothing new in the box with the P20 Lite - a charger with the corresponding cable, a clip for removing the SIM card tray, a headset and documentation. Not the most careful users should immediately recommend a case to keep the device in its original form. For everyone else, the basic set will be enough.

At first glance, it is difficult to distinguish which version of the device is in front of us. For those who have not gone into details, there is a simple marker - a fingerprint scanner on the back, and not under the display, where on the Lite version there is simply a logo. And yet, even the relatively inexpensive Lite looks very cool compared to most devices in its price range. It is appearance that should already be part of success in sales. It may not be a fact that absolutely everyone will like it, but it will definitely attract attention.

Appearance and ease of use

All devices in the P20 line look very similar. The Lite is built with glass on the front and back, with a metal base. The body color is available in three options: Klein Blue, Sakura Pink and Midnight Black. At the same time, there is a refraction of light under the glass, which, depending on the angle, will show pleasant (almost neon) rays. It looks quite nice and stands out well from ordinary smartphones, where almost all manufacturers have a more restrained approach to design. The decision is definitely bold and interesting.

I would not call the smartphone itself large for such a screen diagonal. Its dimensions are 148.6x71.2x7.4 mm and it weighs about 145 grams. It is quite convenient to use, but you still have to intercept it. In fairness, it is worth noting that this will happen with all such gadgets. The main thing is not to let it out of your hands, because glass is not the most tenacious coating option and will not survive any fall. Even though the smartphone itself is well assembled and feels confident, it is probably very sensitive to falls. Also with fingerprints, which easily cover it. In general, a case will not be superfluous, but it will ruin the nice design.

The location of all working elements is completely normal. The buttons and fingerprint scanner are exactly where the user expects it. Separately, it is worth noting the protruding cameras on the back side, which do not help balance on a flat surface in the best way, but you can feel them under your fingers, which helps not to cover the lenses when shooting. And it’s also nice that the body still has a standard headphone jack.

But the most distinctive thing about the device is the cutout on top of the display. Despite the blue color of the case, the different size of the cutout and other quite noticeable differences, I was still asked several times if it was an iPhone X. I don’t see anything wrong with borrowing a design, but as practice shows, very nice ideas in external design are simply canceled out by the popular display cutout. He turned a beautiful smartphone into a banal iPhone clone, or so it may seem from the outside. And if we abstract from this, then there are absolutely no complaints about the appearance and ergonomics.

Display

This year, Huawei smartphones followed the trends and the P20 Lite display is in the same line. There is a notch, rounded corners, and a new aspect ratio. All this immediately catches the eye. But the frames are still noticeable, especially at the bottom and top - this is not a big problem, except that the logic behind the appearance of the “bangs” is not entirely clear.

So, under the protective glass there is a 5.8-inch screen with FHD+ resolution (2280×1080), and the aspect ratio is 19:9. The system itself adapts applications to the screen, but warns that there may be unexpected problems (in this case, you can use the standard display, but there will be a small black bar at the bottom). Interestingly, thanks to the slightly unusual aspect ratio, videos and games on the screen are stretched without falling under the notch. Quite a good decision. And the rest of the time, the cutout slightly interferes with notifications when there are several of them, thereby forcing you to turn to the notification “curtain” more often. You can also “hide” the cutout in the settings, the sides of which will simply be black, but notifications, time and other icons will remain there.

As for colors, here we have good IPS. Without a direct comparison, it will be difficult to notice a slight deviation towards warm shades, and in the settings there is an item that allows you to adjust the color temperature as comfortable for the user. I had no desire to change anything, because initially the picture was well set up. Also in the settings there is an important item Eye Comfort (the same “night mode”), but you cannot force it to turn on depending on sunset and sunrise (either manually or at a given time).

In use, the display fully satisfies all needs. Under the open sun, the picture is still legible, the oleophobic coating is in place, the light sensor works correctly, and the touch layer is accurate. It is extremely rare that I have had accidental touches, which the system sometimes misses when the user reaches with his thumb across the entire screen. True, this is not a big inconvenience and over time you can get the hang of reaching across the entire display a little differently.

Sound

There is a single speaker on the bottom edge of the smartphone. It is quite consistent with the price of the gadget - not the most impressive sound. In order to voice a video, or notify about a call/message, it is enough. But for those who like to listen to music from a smartphone, this will definitely not be enough.

On the other hand, for music there is a 3.5 mm Jack or wireless connection. We didn't have a standard headset. And the smartphone easily accepts third-party headphones. In any case, the headphones I was used to sounded good.

The earpiece is quite small and sometimes you had to “search” for it with your ear. True, it sounds good and I heard the interlocutor without problems. Likewise, on the other side there were no disturbances about the quality of speech transmission.

Fingerprint scanner and Face unlock

Like the older versions, Lite got both a fingerprint sensor and face unlock. I repeat, unlike flagships, here the fingerprint scanner is located on the “back”. His position is correct and his finger hits exactly where it is needed. In most cases it works very quickly and accurately.

But the company didn't stop there. Using the front camera, a smartphone can “recognize” the owner. This method is a little slower and less accurate, but also convenient. There are conditions under which it is noticeably more difficult for a gadget to unlock in this way (poor lighting, bright light in the camera, inconvenient position of the smartphone, etc.), but in this case, the fingerprint scanner quickly solves the problem.

Performance and Software

It is quite expected that all new Huawei smartphones work with proprietary Kirin processors, and the P20 Lite is, of course, no exception. The eight-core Kirin 659 (4 A53 cores at 2.53 GHz and another 4 A53 at 1.7 GHz) with Mali-T830 graphics is responsible for the performance of the younger model. Even in an inexpensive smartphone, the storage capacity was 64 GB (of which about 50 are available), and the RAM was 4 GB. If the user only needs one SIM card, then a memory card can be installed in place of the second one. Of course, there are Wi-Fi sensors that support the AC standard, Bluetooth 4.2 and NFC.

For most everyday tasks, this power reserve is enough, but when running a demanding game you will not get the best graphics settings, and the heating will be noticeable. I don’t think that users will choose such a device as a gaming device, so this won’t be a problem. Moreover, during the time spent with the smartphone, it never produced any errors, and the operation was mostly smooth and pleasant.

For now, Android 8.0 with EMUI 8.0 shell is available for this model. The appearance of the system has been noticeably changed, with the addition of various options, but experienced users will not be surprised by anything. In general, everything you need is there, but something is slightly missing. For example, Eye comfort mode cannot be “linked” to sunset and sunrise, and Do not disturb cannot be turned on for a couple of hours, as in standard Android. But these are probably the only two little things that I did not find in the settings. Everything else is there.

Autonomy

The P20 Lite had a fairly standard 3000 mAh battery. This was enough for 6 hours 19 minutes in the PCMark test, and in actual use I got an average of 5.5 hours of screen time. As always, gaming and/or navigation can significantly reduce this time. And yet the result is quite ordinary. Active users will most likely have to charge it at least once a day, and on busy days they will need a power bank or outlet.

Unfortunately, we did not have a complete charger. The smartphone also does not support inductive charging. The reference point was the MacBook Pro charging unit, with which the smartphone’s battery was fully restored in two and a half hours.

Cameras

As is now fashionable, the P20 Lite has a dual main camera. It consists of a 16-megapixel sensor and an additional 2 MP. The second serves as an auxiliary tool for identifying objects and blurring the background. For the dark time of day, a flash with one diode is placed under the camera block. On the front there is a sensor with a resolution of 16 MP.

The images from the main camera, for obvious reasons, cannot be compared with the flagship ones. However, for its price, the device can take quite good shots. Unfortunately, it’s worth reviewing the result on the spot, because sometimes even in good conditions you can get a blurry photo. On the other hand, sometimes you can photograph something very well and without blur without stopping. But the bokeh didn’t work out very well, because the camera doesn’t clearly find the edges of objects, and the blur level is too high for the result to look natural.

Videos can be shot in Full HD maximum. A standard problem with recording in this price category of a device is noticeable shaking and not the fastest adaptation to changes in lighting.

For selfies, there is a good front-facing camera that can take decent photos even in difficult conditions. It also has a portrait mode, but you shouldn't rely on it.

The camera app is simple, but for amateurs there is a “pro” mode that can even shoot RAW. In normal mode (which is where most users will work) there is no HDR switch. But there are no global complaints against him. Everything works quite quickly and does not require much time to learn and get used to.