The Huawei P20: A Solid Option for Those Who Don't Need the Latest and Greatest

The Huawei P20 is a good phone, despite not having the three show-stopping camera lenses on the back like some of its competitors. However, it still offers two cameras with plenty of photography tricks, a roomy 5.8 inch screen, and oodles of storage for all your photos and videos.

One thing to note is that the P20 comes in a variety of colors, including black, blue, and a killer iridescent shade called Twilight. However, one feature that might be off-putting to some users is that this phone is an absolute fingerprint magnet. If you don't have a cloth handy, you'll need to get used to wiping it on your clothes.

In terms of design, the P20 fits comfortably in my hands, with slim bezels but a chin at the bottom where the fingerprint reader goes. While I don't mind this setup, as I can unlock the screen when the phone is flat on a table or desk, some users might find the button to be a little narrow.

Now we get to the controversial part: the notch. Many Android fans absolutely hate this feature, and it's understandable why - it does change the way you look at the screen footprint. However, Huawei has given users an option to mask the notch in the settings, which might make some people feel better about it.

Moving on to the camera, I was happy with the photos that I took on this phone. It has a 12 megapixel rear lens for all those colorful shots and a 20 mega pixel monochrome lens that adds shadowing in detail. The phone also features portrait lighting effects like you see on the iPhone X, as well as super slow motion video and night mode, which takes excellent photos even in dark restaurants and bars.

The camera software also detects where you're shooting and automatically adjusts the settings - say, a close-up or a portrait or photos with a big blue sky. This AI intervention might feel a bit much to some users, but if you love camera tricks, there's plenty to play with. And yes, Huawei tops Android 8.0 Oreo with its own Emotion UI layer, which I'm not a fan of, but you can customize with themes and drag-and-drop icons to rearrange them on the screen.

One thing to note is that this phone doesn't have a headset jack, so you'll need to use the USBC adapter dongle that comes in the box if you want to plug in wired headphones. Now let's talk about the decision between the P20 and its Pro counterpart - there are a few other things you should consider. The P20 Pro always saves the best features for its larger sibling, including an OLED screen, a bigger battery, and full water resistance.

While the P20 itself won't sell itself in the US due to its limited availability, it's still worth looking at if you don't require every cutting-edge innovation that a phone has to offer. And yes, Huawei does make some good phones - I like them for their money, and I think they're worth considering as long as you set realistic expectations about what they can do.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enokay so it doesn't have the three show-stopping camera lenses on the back like the Huawei peeps mini Pro but the regular old p20 here is still a pretty good phone there are two cameras on the back with plenty of photography tricks a roomy 5.8 inch screen and oodles of storage for all the photos and super slow-motion videos that you'll take but let's take a step back and look at design I have it in black and blue but the p20 also comes in that killer iridescent shade called Twilight that I can't wrap my eyes away from but whichever color you get this phone is an absolute fingerprint magnet if you don't have the cloth get used to wiping it on your clothes the p20 fits pretty comfortably in my hands the bezels are slim but there's a chin at the bottom where the fingerprint reader goes I don't really mind this since I can unlock the screen when the p20 is flat on a table or a desk but the button is a little narrow now we get to the controversial part the knotch I know a lot of Android fans absolutely hate this and if you're one of them Huawei at least gives you the option of masking the notch in the settings remember if this changes nothing except that you have a smaller screen footprint to look at but hey if it makes you feel better anyway let's talk about the camera I was happy with the photos that I took on this phone it has the 12 megapixel rear lens for all those colors shots and a 20 mega pixel monochrome lens that adds shadowing in detail but while we've frozen a lot of extra settings to portrait mode for the front and rear cameras portrait lighting effects like you see on the iPhone 10 and super slow motion video there's also night mode which takes excellent photos and dark restaurants and bars there is also a default feature where the camera software detects where you're shooting and automatically adjusts the settings say a close-up a portrait or photos with a big blue sky this AI intervention can all feel like a bit much but if you love camera tricks there's plenty to play with and the photos are pretty good huawei tops android 8.0 oreo with its own emotion UI layer I'm not a big fan of this look but you can customize with themes and drag and drop icons to rearrange them on the screen and come up with a layout you like oh and there's no headset jack on this phone you have to use the USBC adapter dongle that comes in the box if you want to plug in wired headphones if you're deciding between the p20 Pro and the p20 there are a few other things you have to think about you always save the best features for the p20 Pro the OLED screen the bigger battery and full water resistance you don't want to drop the p20 into a bath but at least it is splash proof this phone won't sell it all in the US and if you buy it off the Internet make sure it'll support your carrier network bans wherever you live I like the huawei Pete's money and I think it's worth looking at as long as you don't require every cutting-edge innovation that a phone has to offerokay so it doesn't have the three show-stopping camera lenses on the back like the Huawei peeps mini Pro but the regular old p20 here is still a pretty good phone there are two cameras on the back with plenty of photography tricks a roomy 5.8 inch screen and oodles of storage for all the photos and super slow-motion videos that you'll take but let's take a step back and look at design I have it in black and blue but the p20 also comes in that killer iridescent shade called Twilight that I can't wrap my eyes away from but whichever color you get this phone is an absolute fingerprint magnet if you don't have the cloth get used to wiping it on your clothes the p20 fits pretty comfortably in my hands the bezels are slim but there's a chin at the bottom where the fingerprint reader goes I don't really mind this since I can unlock the screen when the p20 is flat on a table or a desk but the button is a little narrow now we get to the controversial part the knotch I know a lot of Android fans absolutely hate this and if you're one of them Huawei at least gives you the option of masking the notch in the settings remember if this changes nothing except that you have a smaller screen footprint to look at but hey if it makes you feel better anyway let's talk about the camera I was happy with the photos that I took on this phone it has the 12 megapixel rear lens for all those colors shots and a 20 mega pixel monochrome lens that adds shadowing in detail but while we've frozen a lot of extra settings to portrait mode for the front and rear cameras portrait lighting effects like you see on the iPhone 10 and super slow motion video there's also night mode which takes excellent photos and dark restaurants and bars there is also a default feature where the camera software detects where you're shooting and automatically adjusts the settings say a close-up a portrait or photos with a big blue sky this AI intervention can all feel like a bit much but if you love camera tricks there's plenty to play with and the photos are pretty good huawei tops android 8.0 oreo with its own emotion UI layer I'm not a big fan of this look but you can customize with themes and drag and drop icons to rearrange them on the screen and come up with a layout you like oh and there's no headset jack on this phone you have to use the USBC adapter dongle that comes in the box if you want to plug in wired headphones if you're deciding between the p20 Pro and the p20 there are a few other things you have to think about you always save the best features for the p20 Pro the OLED screen the bigger battery and full water resistance you don't want to drop the p20 into a bath but at least it is splash proof this phone won't sell it all in the US and if you buy it off the Internet make sure it'll support your carrier network bans wherever you live I like the huawei Pete's money and I think it's worth looking at as long as you don't require every cutting-edge innovation that a phone has to offer\n"