Product test
Huawei P30 Pro: perfection of a platform
by Dominik Bärlocher
Huawei Mate 20 Pro: Strong battery, weak screen
16.11.2018
Translation: machine translated
Video: Stephanie Tresch
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is strong, very strong. System performance, battery life and the look are impressive. But please be careful with the phone, because the screen has its flaws.
I'm known to be a fan of black phones. Amoled at the front, black at the back. Sure, I use other colours from time to time for professional reasons - a gold iPhone Xs, for example - but if I have a free choice, my phone is black.
About the device from London: I must point out that my test device is a pre-production model. I know for sure that my software is not completely up to date, because some apps such as the 3D scanner are missing. I will have a look at that, but I wasn't able to for obvious reasons.
I'm not only a fan of the new Twilight, but also - this year at least - of Huawei. Because no other manufacturer has put in as much effort this year as the Chinese. And it has paid off. With two flagships, both of which are in the running for Phone of the Year, Huawei has proven that it has what it takes, shown its teeth and demonstrated its hunger. This will be good if it continues.
A warning at the beginning
EU countries, including Switzerland, do not receive a film or case.
My pre-production model didn't come with a film. I removed it from my P20 Pro out of curiosity. Don't do that. Really don't. After two days, my Mate 20 already had scratches. Now there are more, some of them big ones. That didn't even happen to me with the P20 Pro. So I'm not entirely sure whether this has anything to do with the pre-production model or not. But I seem to remember that the hardware is final.
The screen is on the same level as that of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, impressing with rich, strong colours. Videos just look good and since I've been employing the Mate 20 Pro, I've been watching a lot more videos. Instead of my morning podcasts, sceptic Myles Power comes on the screen. Instead of listening to music, I watch Unbox Therapy on the tram.
The back, on the other hand, is a fingerprint magnet, but it can take a beating. Even after a good month, there are no scratches or other signs of wear. I wonder why the front can't do the same. Logically, the material is completely different and only feels similar, but I think it should be feasible.
If there really isn't a protective film on your mobile, then I strongly recommend that you buy one. Sure, it costs extra, but you'll really enjoy your phone more if there are no scratches on the display. As I rarely or never apply protective films to my test devices, I simply recommend the brand that always makes a good impression at trade fairs such as MWC or IFA and that I used on my ancient Galaxy S5 back in the day.
Lots of battery, unobtrusive grip
Small hacks for Huawei and sometimes for other phones
A lot goes wrong with Huawei on the screen. Especially askew. I've been complaining about Huawei's and Honor's user interface for two years now. Because I don't like Emui at all. It doesn't have a consistent design language, looks old-fashioned at best and simply doesn't do justice to the phone's system performance.
That's why I've found all sorts of tricks over the past few years to get round Emui as far as possible. These include replacing the launcher with Nova Launcher, a new font for your mobile and how to get prettier icons on your phone.
These little hacks are also easy for beginners to master and I highly recommend them. It's a little more complex, but still quite okay, if you want to reclaim the space in the status bar lost due to the wide notch of the Mate 20 Pro.
For insurance reasons, I have to add here that I or my employer do not accept any liability for damage to your device, even if the probability of you breaking something is extremely small. I'm also not sure if the two projects you're working on with the Android Developer Bridge (adb) will do anything to your warranty. But the chance of something going wrong is very small.
The phone of the year?
In the video from London, I raised the question of whether the Mate 20 Pro will be the phone of the year. Certainly in terms of colour, but that's not the point. However, I don't want to answer the question conclusively today, because I have decided to go through all my test devices and highlights from trade fairs and the like again at the end of the year and then create a ranking list.
I wasn't as emotionally overwhelmed by the Mate 20 Pro as I was by the P20 Pro. Not that the P20 Pro is necessarily the better phone, but the P20 Pro in the spring simply set a new standard and overwhelmed me. The Mate 20 Pro is a solid upgrade of the P20 Pro, with improved battery performance and a better SoC, but I didn't get the wow effect. Nevertheless, in the battle for the title of Phone of the Year, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is a strong contender.
So, that's it. I'll see if I can get the scratches out of my display. Then put some armoured glass over it. Any tips on where I can have the scratches removed would be appreciated. <p
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
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