Honor View 20: Deep Analysis - Look, a little hole! - The Happy Android

It's been a couple of weeks since Huawei's new premium terminal for the upper-middle range has landed, the Honor View 20. A phone where the great novelty is the notch or hole inside the screen, where the camera has been located. It is the natural substitute for the "sometimes loved, sometimes hated" notch that we saw so much last year in a multitude of high-end phones.

In general, it stands out for its good value for money, since it includes many characteristics of a flagship without being worth the same as a top of the range of 800 or 900 euros. Although it also has its shortcomings, how can it be otherwise. Let's see!

Honor View 20 in review, a premium phone with a perforated screen and great hardware

In today's review we are going to put a good review on Huawei's Honor View 20. For that, we will first review its technical characteristics, and then we will go into the matter taking a look at both its positive and negative aspects. Finally, we will see what the experts think and I will also give you my own assessment about it.

Technical specifications

Among the specifications of the Honor View 20 stand out its large Kirin processor, a powerful battery and a rear camera with an almost chilling resolution.

• 6.4-inch IPS screen with Full HD + resolution (2310x1080p) and a pixel density of 398ppi.
• Kirin 980 Octa Core 2.6GHz SoC.
• GPU Turbo 2.0
• 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM. 8GB version also available.
• 128GB / 256GB of non-expandable internal memory.
• 48MP rear camera with f / 1.8 aperture and a pixel size of 0.800 µm.
• 25MP front camera with f / 2.0 aperture.
• 4,000mAh battery with fast charging via USB type C.
• Android 9.0 Pie.
• Magic UI customization layer.
• Bluetooth 5.0.
• NFC connectivity.
• Dual SIM slot.
• Biometric security: facial recognition and fingerprint detection (located on the back).
• Available in Phantom Blue, Black and Red colors.

Huawei Honor View 20 Highlights (The Good)

The first thing that strikes us about the Huawei Honor View 20 is its appearance. It has a really striking curved unibody glass case with reflections that denote V-shaped visual patterns. Something that is still a detail, but it makes the terminal look really incredible.

Screen

Regarding the screen, although it is not an AMOLED, it has very good brightness and viewing angles. It has a hole in the screen, yes, but it is more discreet than in other mobiles that have just been released. A notch that is at the height of the notification bar, and that like the classic notch, can be hidden by adding a black bar at the top of the screen.

Performance

The performance of the phone goes without saying that it borders on a very high level. We have a Kirin 980 at 2.6GHz and up to 8GB of RAM, which gives us an Antutu result of 305,000 points, a figure within the reach of very few phones. One fact that we have seen reflected in the reviews of several experts is how well the Honor View 20 performs when it comes to games. No lags, no jerks, something that we should require of any mobile that exceeds 500 euros.

Another plus point, when it comes to software, is that it allows you to clone apps natively. This enables us to use several accounts of the same app simultaneously.

Camera

In the photographic section, the Honor View 20 mounts a 48MP double camera with an additional sensor type “Time of fly” (TOF 3D) that serves as support to improve the quality of the selfies and achieve a good effect bokeh blur. A lens that delivers sharp, high dynamic range photos, and performs very well in low-light and night environments.

The selfie camera also offers an AR lens: something that helps us to do a little silly from time to time and change our face to that of a 3D doll (a dog, a penguin, a Martian, a robot etc.) while we talk and make gestures. Something that we'll probably get bored of after the first month of use, but hey, there it is.

Another aspect that we cannot ignore, and that is cool for a long time, is that it has super slow motion at 960fps. It also allows you to record in 4K resolution and apply video effects in real time (such as displaying people in color and the background in black and white simultaneously).

Battery

Autonomy is another of the strengths of this terminal. It equips a 4,000mAh battery with fast charging (1 hour and 20 minutes to reach 100%) with 24 hours of intensive use and 8 hours of screen on. Something that translates into about two days of normal use.

Connectivity is pretty good, too, with a triple-antenna WiFi and AI-managed dual GPS helping to get a better connection.

Finally, mention that it maintains the 3.5mm audio output, delivering a decent sound both in headphones and in speaker. Likewise, the system includes sound calibration software, something that gives the user a greater margin of maneuver in this regard.

Negative aspects of the Honor View 20 (the bad)

These are the brightest and most sweet spots of Huawei's View 20, but of course it also has its dark side with the occasional not-so-positive detail. These are the most noteworthy:

• Thickness. The Honor View 20 has to house a large battery, which makes the phone a bit thicker than expected and slightly heavy. They are only 180 grams, which is not much, and the grip is quite good, but it is still a point to mention.
• The screen offers somewhat oversaturated colors and the factory calibration is somewhat cold. Something that, on the other hand, we can modify from the temperature and color settings of the screen.
• The rear camera is set to 12MP by default. If we want to take photos in 48MP we will have to adjust the resolution by hand.
• Portrait mode is not bad, but it could be something better. Sometimes it does not cut the person well from the background of the image, giving a little artificial results on certain occasions.
• The Magic UI customization layer can be improved on an aesthetic level. It does not offer changes with respect to EMUI (it is practically the same layer).
• It does not offer memory expansion via SD.
• It is not waterproof.
• It does not have wireless charging.

The rumor of the failure on the screen: Is there image degradation at the bottom of the panel?

This is a topic that I already mentioned last week in this other POST. It seems that a user has detected a glitch in the screen that causes the bottom edge to be shown with a slight shadow. Is it true or is it just a rumor?

Personally I am more inclined to think that it is a faulty unit, since it does not seem that there are more users affected by this same problem. I have tried searching for more references on this problem, and at first it seems like an isolated case. Of course, it is something that is worth mentioning, in case more cases like this come to light in the future.

Price and availability

At the time of writing the Honor View 20 It has a price of about 549 eurosin Amazon in its 6GB RAM + 128GB version. The most powerful 8GB RAM + 256GB model is currently also available for 599.99 euros.

Opinion and final assessment of Huawei Honor View 20

To close this analysis a bit, we are going to take a look at the opinions of the experts who have had this terminal in their hands. This time we bring the ratings of Xataka, Topes de Gama and ComputerHoy (you can see their video analysis by clicking on the name).

Engadget: “Honor's first attempt at a perforated screen has gone well. The phone is distinctive and curious on several levels. A phone that delivers in all respects. Maybe the software is the point where they should improve for the future. "

Top of the range: “The value for money of this Honor View 20 has delighted me. The truth is that it is one of the best phones in its price range ”.

ComputerHoy: “We are looking at a mobile phone that, although it has some“ but ”, is one of the roundest in the market this year. Clearly a smartphone to recommend ".

Regarding my personal assessment, the first thing that comes to mind is that it is an expensive phone (what are we going to do, I am a more faithful user to the mid-range). That in itself is not a bad thing, as long as it offers good performance. In this regard, the Honor View has a host of functionalities that are very close to the high-end, with a value for money that can be very worth it if we are looking for quality in high doses, but without reaching exorbitant prices. from a Galaxy S9 or a Huawei P20 Pro.

The perforated screen is not something that I back off, and I see it more as a passing fad than anything else. What worries me is that supposed degradation of the screen, but I repeat: it does not seem something far from generalized. So I guess if I could get it at a good price I'd be more than happy with it.

Amazon | Buy Honor View 20