4 reasons to hang onto your Huawei P20 Pro in 2020
The Huawei P20 Pro was unveiled more than a year and a half ago and we know that, in the space of a year, smartphones can be enriched in terms of updated features and software, as well as embellishing themselves with new design choices. The Huawei P30 Pro is a great example but in this article, I want to explain why the P20 Pro is still a good phone that will not let you down in 2020.
1. It still looks modern
The Huawei P20 Pro is simply still an attractive smartphone with its iridescent body and its triple camera on the back. It's true, in a year and a half some things have changed and the P20 Pro renounces the new trends adopted by the latest flagships: a dewdrop notch, and an integrated fingerprint sensor under the display, a quad camera, a display with 90Hz refresh rate...
You won't find these things on the P20 Pro but it offers, compared to smartphones like the Huawei P30 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+, a slightly more compact design and it's easier to handle for those with smaller hands. The notch is more visible but can be hidden via the settings. The triple camera offers less versatility but still does a great job and the fingerprint reader on the front takes up more space but is efficient.
2. Great performance and Android 10 coming soon
The Huawei P20 Pro is powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 970 processor supported by 6GB of RAM. This chip integrates a dedicated artificial intelligence unit that optimizes camera performance as well as other features such as translation services.
On the Huawei P30 Pro, it is possible to have the Kirin 980 and on the most recent Mate 30 Pro we find the Kirin 990, presented in September. However, the Mate 30 Pro is not officially available in Europe or North America because of the US trade ban and, apart from the fact that having the latest chipsets available is undoubtedly an extra guarantee in terms of device longevity and support for new technologies and features, I can assure you that the P20 Pro still manages to guarantee good performance in daily use. Gaming, multitasking, the consumption of multimedia content such as movies and videos, none of it is a problem at all. The transition between the apps is also fluid.
At the software level, launched with Android Oreo, the P20 Pro now offers Android 9 Pie and will update to Android 10. This means that for another year you can rest assured and stay up to date with the latest software from Google. Despite the controversial situation with the United States, updates for devices already on the market that have therefore previously obtained Google certifications have no problems. The background app management system is a bit aggressive but you can adjust it from the appropriate app. This is, unfortunately, a general EMUI problem.
3. The camera is still very good
The P20 Pro offers an excellent camera consisting of three (8-megapixel (f/2.4), 40-megapixel (f/1.8) RGB, and 20-megapixel (f/1.6) monochrome) sensors on the back. Close-ups, night shots, and black and white shots are really convincing as is the camera app, which is quick and intuitive.
Leica's signature on the bodywork is a guarantee and the P20 Pro continues to make its mark by placing eighth with on DxOMark with a score of 109 (on the podium are the Mate 30 Pro and the Xiaomi CC9 Pro Premium with 121, both launched in 2019 as virtually all devices that surpass it in the standings except Mate 20 Pro). The P20 Pro's camera, compared to the more recent flagships, offers less creativity due to the absence of a wide-angle lens that I personally find very practical especially when it comes to urban and landscape photography. However, it's interesting to see how even the latest Google Pixel 4, in fact, has decided to dispense with this lens.
4. Market and environmental impact
There are two other reasons, somehow related, why I think you should keep your Huawei P20 Pro in your pocket for a while longer. One is the smartphone market, increasingly crowded with devices and new brands that seek to better meet the needs of users in all price ranges.
Replacing your high-end device, designed to last over time, after two years is often not necessary. The speed with which technology advances and the presence of devices more fascinating features and better performance than what you have purchased, often pushes users to perceive their older smartphone as bad and they begin to consider replacing it with the next generation. Unless you rely on tariff plans so that switching to a newer model with the same operator is immediate and free, you're better off keeping the P20 Pro in your pocket.
The other reason is the weight that WEEE, or waste electrical and electronic equipment, has on the environment. In the first quarter of 2019, Ecolamp reports that 1926 tonnes of WEEE were collected and 1023 tonnes are part of the R4 type, the group to which smartphones also belong. That fact should make us reflect and think better about our habits. Is the increase of 11 percent compared to the previous year really worth it?
And with this, I don't want to be controversial at all, but just to list one more reason why you should consider keeping your Huawei P20 Pro for a while longer!
90hz really possible on P20 PRO? Other sources state 60hz and my is set to this. How do I change to 90hz?
Jessica Maam thank you for the informative article.