Huawei Mate 20 And Mate 20 Pro Are Now On Sale
It’s only been a couple of months since the Huawei Mate 20 was announced at IFA, but boy has a lot happened since then. There were fresh leaks and rumours every few days … and a lot of them were right.
But the wait is finally, we’ve seen it for real and it’s out today. Here are all the details.
Very early this morning Huawei announced its brand new Mate 20 series, and the teclos are already rolling out their plans. Optus was first out the door earlier today, but Vodafone has now joined the party - and with a distinct difference.
Like so many other flagships this year, the leaks were dead on when it came to the Mate 20 Pro’s key specs. As anticipated, it has 6GB RAM, 128GB storage and an 6.3-inch AMOLED panel.
There were a few surprises though.
Firstly, people seemed unsure as to whether the flagship device would have an on-screen sensor or go the way of Apple and double down on Face ID. As it turns out – it has both. Meanwhile, its Mate 20 sibling has its fingerprint sensor on the rear of the device.
The Mate 20 Pro has also finally brought wireless charging to Huawei (outside the realms of the Porsche Design Mate RS), with a healthy 15kW capacity, which is quite impressive. Sadly, the Mate 20 doesn’t have this functionality.
But Huawei didn’t stop there. In a world first, it also decided to turn the Mate 20 Pro into a reverse wireless charger that can charge other Qi-capable phones. It’s quite a neat idea, but after some testing I’m looking forward to seeing where the technology is at a few years down the road.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Huawei phone if there wasn’t a focus on the camera. This time around we’re looking at a triple-threat rear lineup that combines a 40MP wide angle lens, a 20MP ultra-wide angle lens and an 8MP telephoto lens.
Interestingly, Huawei has chosen to ditch the monochrome lens from previous generations, claiming that they can get just as good a quality with what they have injected into the Pro now.
But that isn’t the only thing it got rid of. You also won’t be able to use Micro SD to expand the storage on this series. Instead, Huawei has introduced its own alternative called Nano Memory. It will be really interesting to see if this is adopted by other manufacturers in the coming years or will firmly remain within Huawei’s wheelhouse.
Image: HuaweiAnyway, onto the cold, hard specs!
| Mate 20 Pro | Mate 20 | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Android 9 (Pie) | Android 9 (Pie) |
| Display | 6.39-inch AMOLED 3120 x 1440 2K+ display with 19:5:9 aspect ratio | 6.53-inch LCD 2244 x 1080 FHD+ display with 18:7:9 aspect ration |
| Body | 157.8 x 72.3 x 8.6mm, 189g | 158.2 x 77.3 x 8.3mm, 188g |
| Camera | Rear: Triple camera with 40MP wide angle lens (F1.8), 20MP ultra wide angle lens (F2.2), 8MP telephoto lens (F2.4). Front: 24MP wide angle lens (F2.0) | Rear: Triple camera with 12MP wide angle lens (F1.8), 16MP ultra wide angle lens (F2.2), 8MP telephoto lens (F2.4). Front: 24MP wide angle lens (F2.0) |
| Video | Up to 4K UHD, 960fps slow motion capable | Up to 4K UHD, 960fps slow motion capable |
| Chipset | 7nm Kirin 980 with dual AI CPU: 2 x Cortex A76 processor(2.6GHz) + 2 x Cortex A76 processor (1.92GHz) + 4 x cortex A55 (1.8GHz), 720MHz Mali-G76 GPU | 7nm Kirin 980 with dual AI CPU” 2 x Cortex A76 processor(2.6GHz) + 2 x Cortex A76 processor (1.92GHz), 720MHz Mali-G76 GPU |
| Memory | 6GB RAM128GB + expanded Nano Memory (NM) card up to 256GB | 6GB RAM128GB + expanded Nano Memory (NM) card up to 256GB |
| Battery | 4200mAh with 40W SuperCharge 2.0 Technology, Qi 15W wireless charging and reverse wireless charging | 4000mAh with SupeCharge technology |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz and 5G enabled), Bluetooth v 5.0 (BLE supported), USB type-C | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz and 5G enabled), Bluetooth v 5.0 (BLE Support), USB type-C, 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Payment | NFC | NFC |
| Authentication | Lock type: PIN. Biometric lock type: fingerprint scanner (front in-screen), facial recognition | Lock type: pattern, PIN, password. Biometric lock type: fingerprint scanner (rear), facial recognition |
| Audio | aptX/aptX HD and LDAC HD audio capable | aptX/aptX HD and LDAC HD audio capable |
The Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro are available from today through Optus, Vodafone, JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, MobileCiti and Kogan. The Mate 20 Pro is available in two colours, black and midnight blue and has an RRP of $1599. The Mate 20 is available in black and has an RRP of $1099.
Last night the Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro were finally launched in London. It didn't take long for Optus to get its plans out, which are available for pre-order from today. Interestingly, they only include the Pro.
