In this review, we will be covering the Honor 20 pro. Now, most of you should know by know that Honor is the budget brand created by bigger brother Huawei. Let’s see how this phone compares to its rivals in the market.
The Honor 20 Pro comes in two main sizes the 256GB (£399) or 128GB ( £299) in this review we had 128GB to test and first impressions it’s a phone that has a good performance and the battery life lasted a long time. The Honor 20 Pro is the upgrade from the Honor 20 and apart from a better rear camera and little more storage and its slightly bigger there not a whole load of difference.
Design-wise the Honor 20 Pro is basically the same as the Honor 20 it has the same size screen which is a 6.26 inch LCD screen. The body of this phone is also the same as the Honor 20 although the pro has a nicer light-reflecting finish on the back. This phone measures in at 154mm x 74mm x 9mm which shows its a large phone but its not a brick. The phone comes in two main colours a dark purple or a reflective green. In this review, we have dark Purple.
On the right-hand side of this phone is one best feature on this phone its the fingerprint sensor which also doubles up as the power button. I like the fact you have a fingerprint scanner adding that extra level of security. I found this much quicker to use compared to my iPhone and its face scanner which can be a bit hit and miss at times. Every time I used this phone I could unlock it whenever needed.
Also on the same side is the volume controls the only thing which seems to be the case for most smartphones now is the headphone jack has been taken away. However, with more and more of us using Bluetooth audio devices its not a big concern. Last but not least, this phone is USB-C when charging this phone which most Android phones seem to be. On the back of this phone, it is dominated by the quad-camera setup. It takes a lot of space on the back. It has a bulge around the camera that protects the camera but also means the phone won’t lay flat.
One of the main considerations for a phone is the display and the Honor 20 Pro uses a 6.29 inch Full HD screen which don’t get me wrong is very good but I would have preferred an OLED display. If you are very picky you will notice a slight difference in the overall brightness compared to others in the price range. What the Honor 20 pro has done which is a nice touch is you do not have a notch on the screen instead of the on the screen you have a punch-hole camera which means you get more of the screen display.
Battery life on the Honor 20 pro is just fantastic. You never felt you had charge it like my iPhone X hits that 50% mark then it’s just panic. That is not the case here and that is due to the 4000mAh battery it just takes all worries away and will last a day with regular use and if you use your phone a little lighter you will get up to 2 days use. When that time comes and you need to charge the phone you get a 22.5W fast charger and this gives you 75% in an hour or a full battery in just 90 minutes. You do not get wireless charging which is disappointing but with a phone as good as this we can live without.
Moving on to the camera on this phone the Honor 20 Pro as a 48MP camera with added optical image stabilisation, in addition, you have a 16MP ultra wide-angle camera and an 8MP telephoto camera with 3X optical zoom. What this means if you are able to create some fantastic images that are a great colour and with very good detailed images making this one of the best phone cameras I have ever used. The ultra-wide-angle camera works well in good lighting but when the lighting is not perfect this is where this camera does fall down.
The star of the show when it comes to the camera is the 8MP telephoto camera which can give you up to 30X Digital Zoom. In testing, I found the 5x zoom produced the best usable images meaning you can get closer to the action which is perfect for when you go to a concert and want to get those professional images just like on a professional camera. The only thing to consider is when the lighting not perfect this can affect the quality of the image.
No Zoom Shot
30x Zoom image
Another aspect of the camera is the optical image stabilisation when in use the phone will recognize the subject from a range of options and adjust the colours and lighting to enhance images. This gives you the chance to take an average picture to the level of a professional image. Last but not least, In regards to the camera I liked the fact you have fast shutter speeds and snappy autofocus meaning it’s just so easy to take pictures when on the move.
All of this will be pointless without something powerful inside and the Honor 20 pro has the Kirin 980 chipset now this makes the phone fast and provides a high graphical frame by frame making this phone a step above most on the market and ideal for gaming as well as taking quality images that would give a professional camera a run for its money.
Finally, all of this is runs using the operating system unique the Honor the Magic UI 3.0, This Operating system is an improvement from the previous 2.1 version and it offers a brand new user experience that makes the all-round user experience a lot different if you’re moving over from IOS or even other Android models. You get an enhanced magazine layout when reading adding to the user experience. You will also notice a new drop-down menu, better immersive display and a better dark mode of heightened consistency and comfort.
Overall, the Honor 20 Pro is packed features for a camera that costs £399 and has one of the best cameras I have ever used. This phone allows you to get some outstanding images and gives you greater versatility compared to other phones of a similar price. Other great assets this phone has is a long battery life better performance due to the Magic UI 3.0 operating system.
The Honor 20 Pro has a lot of similarities to the Honor 20. One would question would I need the 20 pro when the Honor 20 is basically the same thing. Apart from a few changes. The key differences and what makes this phone worth the purchase are the optical zoom and overall camera. If I was going to find fault with this phone being left-handed the fingerprint sensor is on the wrong side of the phone but it is something you can handle and was not a deal-breaker. Once you get used to that you will find unlocking your phone much better compared to the face ID in an iPhone X that sometimes does not work. Another issue I have with this phone is it’s not water-resistant so be careful when you take your phone down by the pool or beach on holiday. The Honor 20 Pro is not able to use wireless charging but with massive battery life and the fact you have fast charging you can live without wireless charging.
Overall score – 4.6 Stars
Apart from that at £399 if you consider the camera as the most important aspect of buying a phone this is one for you. Available from Argos
