HUAWEI has been changing the smartphone photography game when they first announced their partnership with Leica earlier last year with the Mate 9 and P10. And earlier this year, the P20 with triple Leica cameras and some serious specs was one of the most exciting phones launches this year so far.
It sounds almost impossible, but HUAWEI managed to even best themselves by releasing the Mate 20 series. Announced yesterday in London, the HUAWEI announced their latest addition to the Mate line: Mate 20 series. Along with the new phones, the Porsche Design HUAWEI Mate 20 Rs and two new smart watches were also unveiled.
The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro is a monster of a phone, both in terms of camera and phone specs. But when browsing through the specs of the phone, we realised that it’s pretty similar to the P20 Pro. There’s a triple Leica camera, still has a notch, and has a curved glass screen.
WHAT’S NEW ON THE MATE 20 PRO
Ultimately, its the speed of the phone that’ll be faster. The Mate 20 uses a Kirin 980, whilst the P20 uses a Kirin 970 that’s about a year old now. In English, it means that your phone processes images and files faster. The phone is also slightly bigger with a 6.39″ screen, although the battery is slightly bigger too (probably to compensate for the bigger screen).
The cameras on the rear are now placed in a square right smack in the middle on the back of the phone, as compared to their previous placement along the side of the phone. The Mate 20 Pro keeps the 40MP wide angle and 8MP telephoto lens, but swaps out the monochrome lens for a 20 MP ultra wide angle camera because you don’t really need a dedicated camera for black and white photos when software can easily handle that.
The fingerprint scanner in the Mate 20 Pro is now hidden below the display, allowing for smaller bezel along the bottom of the phone. The Mate 20 has a teardrop notch, while the Mate 20 Pro has a wider notch to accommodate the extra camera.
And the Mate 20 is now wireless charging-enabled, plus a nifty new charging feature – the Wireless Reverse Charging. Your Mate 20 Pro is essentially a power bank, and you can charge other phones by simply placing your phone on top. Guess who’ll suddenly become very popular at staycations and parties whenever someone’s running low on battery!
The luxury version: PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 20 RS
And if you’ve got the spare cash, take a look at HUAWEI’s latest luxury phone collab with Porsche Design – the Mate 20 RS. Powered by one of the world’s fastest chipset, the Kirin 980, the sleek phone is all about blending state-of-the-art technology with luxurious design. Which is why the back of phone is lined with premium natural leather and glass in a racing stripe motif.
The Mate 20 RS doesn’t have a notch in the front, choosing to go for a narrow bezel instead. Even though the RS version has all the phone and camera features of the Mate 20 Pro, the AI capbilities are even more impressive. HiVision is a new feature that doesn’t just identify landmarks and paintings with the camera; it also provides detailed histories and fun facts, and the 3D Face Unlock apparently works even in pitch black darkness.
Other than the Mate 20 series, HUAWEI has also launched two new wearables – the WATCH GT and the new edition of the Band 3 Pro.
HUAWEI WATCH GT
The HUAWEI WATCH GT is a classic traditional timepiece for your wrist, with a round clock face. The WATCH GT comes in two different designs – one as a Classic edition paired with a brown leather strap and the Sport edition that comes with a simple black strap. We’re loving the classic design. It’s smart enough for formal occasions and hardy enough to take on outdoor sports.
The WATCH GT can do everything that most of the other smart watches can do, like track your fitness activities and monitor your heart rate and sleep cycles. You can also set reminders to monitor your workout intensity via heart rate monitoring, as well as other sports activities. It goes without saying that the watch is also made to be water-resistant and the rugged weather conditions.
The watch also boasts a pretty durable battery life – the power-saving mode is so efficient that the smart watch can stay powered for up to two even when used frequently. That’s one less electronic to worry about when going about your daily charging.
HUAWEI BAND 3 PRO
If you’re not so keen on having a classic round-faced watch, you might want to go for the Band 3 Pro instead, which sees a huge improvement from the previous Band 2 Pro.
The Band 3 Pro is now touch screen enabled, which is so much more convenient compared to the previous Band 2 Pro which is controlled by a single capacitative button. The heart rate tracking technology is also improved, with HUAWEI’s new infrared light tech that should be able to track higher intensities that the Band 2 Pro had trouble with.
Battery-wise, HUAWEI claims that the Band 3 Pro can last for 12 days, and 7 hours of GPS times. Oh, and it’s available in 3 colours – black, blue and gold.
The HUAWEI Mate 20 (128 GB) retails at $998 and is available in Midnight Blue and Black colours. The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro (128 GB) retails at $1,348 and is available in Emerald Green, Twilight and Black colours.
The HUAWEI Mate series will be available in Singapore from 27 October at authorised retailers.
The HUAWEI WATCH GT series and PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 20 RS will be available in Singapore from late November, pricing TBC.
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