Huawei Mate 20 Pro: Long Term Review

by Samrat Amatya
Huawei Mate 20 Pro Review in Nepal

2018 has been a good year for Huawei! After winning over the world with their critically acclaimed P20 Pro, they sought out to spark the same magic with the Mate 20 Pro. The phone further improved upon everything the P20 Pro had to offer. A better display, better cameras, better design and all that. Even in Nepal, the P20 Pro was a huge success and everyone applauded it, including us. But will the same be the case for the Huawei Mate 20 Pro? Will it live up to the standard set by the P20 Pro? And most important of them all, is the phone worth the asking price of Rs 1,29,900 here in Nepal? Well, let us find out the answers to these questions in this full review.

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Huawei Mate 20 Pro

Huawei Mate 20 Pro Review In Nepal

A quick disclaimer! Before we get into the review I would like to mention that I have been using the Huawei Mate 20 Pro for almost a month now. Unlike other reviews, this one is going to be purely based on my experience and how the device held-up in the above-mentioned time span. So, without wasting your time any further, let’s get started!

In-hand Experience

Before we dive deep into all the technical stuff, let’s first talk about the in-hand feeling of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. It is as important for a device to have a superior in-hand feeling as the powerful internals. And lucky for the Mate 20 Pro, the phone absolutely nails the in-hand experience. Being made out of glass and metal, the phone feels quite premium in the hands. The curved sides of the back panel, further add to the ergonomics of the phone. But unlike other glass-backed phones, the Mate 20 Pro is not that slippery. This is all thanks to the patterned back the phone comes with. The tiny grooves on this pattern help in better gripping the phone. Truly an engineering marvel!

Besides that, the phone also has a light-weight body weighing in at just 189 grams. Coming from a Galaxy Note 9, this reduction in weight has been a welcoming change. The Note 9 is a bit on the bulky side compared to the Mate 20 Pro. Speaking of which, an in-depth comparison of these two phones is coming out real soon. So, stay tuned for that!

Huawei Mate 20 Pro in Nepal

Multi-media Experience

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is a beast when it comes to media consumption! Its large 6.39-inch Quad HD (1440 x 3120 pixels) AMOLED display, amazingly so, plays a huge role in it. Adding to that is the curved panel centered by a notch. This makes up for quite a combo!

Getting into the details, the media-consuming experience on the Mate 20 Pro has been amazing. Lately, I have been binging on older shows like “Orange is the New Black” and “Mr. Robot”. And the Mate 20 Pro has been a perfect companion during this escapade. This is largely thanks to the vibrant colors and sharpness that the display offers. HDR 10 compatibility is yet another bonus! Something Huawei could improve upon in the multi-media aspect is the speakers. Although the phone packs stereo-speakers, the output is not that loud. Don’t get me wrong, they are by no means bad! For the average consumers, the speakers on the phone will be just fine. But for the media-hogs, the output might sound a bit tinny.

The gaming performance of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is also phenomenal! The curved Quad-HD display coupled with the Mali-G76 MP10 GPU and 6GB of RAM made up for the most hypnagogic gaming performance. Like most of us, I have been playing PUBG Mobile a lot these days. And I am happy to report that the game runs flawlessly even under the high settings. Needless to say, the phone can easily handle other games without any problems.

Huawei Mate 20 Pro in Nepal

Photography experience

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro packs a rear triple-camera set up. Among the three, the first is an f/1.8 40MP sensor, the second an f/2.4 8MP telephoto lens, and finally an f/2.2 20MP ultra-wide sensor. Huawei, this time around, has gotten rid of the monochrome sensor in favor of an ultra-wide lens. This, in my personal opinion, is a great move on Huawei’s part.

These three sensors work in conjunction to provide us with some stunning images. In good lighting condition, the Mate 20 Pro produces some mind-boggling photos with high-dynamic range, eye-popping vibrancy, and bull’s eye sharpness. I took the phone out for a spin, during different occasions, and came back with some pretty amazing results. Although I prefer shooting manually, the auto mode on the Mate 20 Pro does a fine job. I, however, feel that phone overexposes the shots by a stop. Not a big deal though!

Also Read – Huawei P20 Pro: Long Term Camera Review & Shootout

Talking about the low light performance of the camera, it has slightly improved over the P20 Pro. The low-light images have more details in them with a decrease in the graininess. Although a marginal change, the results have been amazing. Huawei somehow manages to stay ahead of the curve in the camera technology. Truly amazing!

Huawei Mate 20 Pro Camera SampleHuawei Mate 20 Pro Camera Sample

Besides having a kickass image quality, the camera on the Mate 20 Pro has a slew of modes and features. Everything from Portrait Mode to Slow-Mo, Hyperlapse, and Moving Picture are here. A new feature worth mentioning is the HiVision integration into the cameras. You can easily scan barcodes, text and identify products, objects straight from the camera app. This is all thanks to their new 3D scanning technology!

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro also comes with an f/2.0 24MP selfie camera. The shooter is more or less the same one I have seen on the P20 Pro. It takes some amazing selfies in almost all lighting conditions. Great for those quick late night snaps! Something I enjoyed using, with the selfie camera, was the 3D Panorama and the AR Emoji feature. With social media platforms like Facebook supporting 3D images, this inclusion is very handy. A new way to express yourself!

Huawei Mate 20 Pro in Nepal

Day-to-day experience

Like everyone else, my daily activities constitute of scrolling through Facebook, checking my E-Mail and calendar, binging on some shows, and a lot of messaging & web surfing. The Huawei Mate 20 Pro was easily able to handle these task, no-brainer! I also didn’t notice any visible lags or stutters while doing so. This is largely thanks to the octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 980 processor that the phone packs.

I also listen to a lot of music, use a billion apps, and take a ton of photos on a daily basis. The onboard 128GB of storage keeps the phone ready for more files. Besides that, the Mate 20 Pro also supports storage expansion via a Nano-Memory card. This is a new type of memory card pioneered by Huawei themselves! The combo of both these storage options make using the phone, in the long run, ever so convenient.

Another feature worth talking about is the all-new Reverse wireless charging. Now not only can you charge you Mate 20 Pro wirelessly but also share the charge. Imagine being the cool guy in the group to share their precious phone charge with the others. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Or if you are someone like me who uses multiple devices on the go, this feature can be a lifesaver.

Huawei Mate 20 Pro

Just turn on reverse wireless charging from the settings and place any compatible phone on top of the Mate 20 Pro. And just like that, the compatible phone starts charging. An amazing feature that sets the Mate 20 Pro apart from the competition. A convenient feature to have!

Also Read – Huawei Mate 20 Pro: 48 hours later

The battery life, on this phone, with my day-to-day usage also has been very good. The large 4200mAh battery was able to get me 6-7 hours of on-screen time with my medium to heavy usage of the phone. With the power-efficient Kirin processor and optimized software, the battery life of the phone is commendable. Now not only do you have a great multi-media powerhouse but also a device which will last you the entire way of your day’s escapade.

Software Experience

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro runs the latest EMUI 9.0 based on Android 9.0 Pie. EMUI and I have had a love-hate kind of relationship over the years. I love some aspects of the UI while I am not so happy with the others. But now with the Mate 20 Pro, Huawei has solved the one major gripe I have had with the UI. And that is UI customizability!

Huawei Mate 20 Pro Review in Nepal

EMUI has always been this feature-packed workhorse. It can bust some chops and flex some muscle! But I felt that something was still missing in it. Jump to the present and Huawei has added a new theming capability to the Mate 20 Pro. It also has a theme store now! You can customize the Mate 20 Pro to your heart’s content. From the icon packs to the color scheme, you can change it all!

Among the many themes available, my favorite probably is the Dynamic Nebula. It is the theme that I am rocking right now. And man, do I love it! It is just a perfect mix of color, icon pack, and wallpaper for me. If you do get the Mate 20 Pro, definitely check this theme out!

Another software/hardware tweak that I am impressed with is the Face Unlock. I know, Face Unlock has been around for a while on Huawei devices. But the one present of the Mate 20 Pro is the best version of it. This has been achievable through the perfect synchronization of the new 3D mapping technique and the flood illuminator. Just a quick glance and the phone unlocks in a flash. It’s that fast! That said, these days, I am more inclined towards the in-display fingerprint scanner than the Face Unlock feature. The digit biometric is just too cool to pass out on!

Huawei Mate 20 Pro Review in Nepal

Huawei Mate 20 Pro Review In Nepal: Verdict

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is an amazing flagship smartphone that has a lot to offer. It builds on everything the P20 Pro had to offer and improves upon it. The phone has an amazing display, the best cameras on the planet, feature-packed software, and a large battery/battery life. Not only the big stuff, but the Mate 20 Pro also perfects the smaller stuff. Huawei’s attention to details is commendable!

The patterned glass back, reverse wireless charging, and a whole new storage expansion method is features that you don’t see every day. All though very benign, these are the features that make the Mate 20 Pro so great. They help the phone stand above the cut-throat competition.

So does the Mate 20 Pro live up to the standard set by the P20 Pro? Will it be as popular? And, is the price of Rs 1,29,900 worth it? Well, the answer to all these questions is yes! The Mate 20 Pro, in many ways than one, surpasses the P20 Pro. If the past trends are of any indication, the phone will be more popular than its predecessor.

Also Read – Huawei Mate 20 Pro: The Best Flagship smartphone

Huawei Mate 20 Pro in Nepal

Talking about the price, it is a bit of a touchy-feely subject. Many people feel that the phone is overpriced in the context of Nepal. Well, they are right! The phone is, after all, the most expensive Android smartphone in the market right now. That said, comparing paper to paper with the likes of the iPhone’s and the Galaxy’s, the Mate 20 Pro has a lot more to offer. It clearly is far superior to anything in the market right now. So, yes although a bit pricey the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is worth every paisa.

Thank you for reading our Huawei Mate 20 Pro review in Nepal! If you have any questions regarding the phone please feel free to drop them in the comments down below. And for more tech reviews like this, like our  Facebook page and also visit our website regularly. Please also subscribe to Phones In Nepal Youtube channel for awesome unboxing, hands-on, review, tech news, and tips and tricks videos.

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