Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 X are not just big and mighty

The Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 X comes with 6.53-inch and 7.2-inch Full View LCD display respectively each with 1080 x 2244 pixel resolution. The later being a supersized smartphone bigger than some tablets on offer.

The Return of the Phablet

Using the Mate 20 Pro as a baseline but with supersized displays, the Mate 20 is slightly bigger than the iPhone XS Max (6.5-inch) and the Mate 20 X’s 7.2-inch display in the tablet territory.

While the displays on Mate 20 and Mate 20 X with 1080 x 2244 pixel resolution are no where near as sharp as the Mate 20 Pro’s 1440 x 3120 pixels, most users won’t notice the difference.

Here is a quick comparison between the displays of Huawei Mate 20 Pro, Mate 20 and Mate 20 X as well as Apple’s offerings; which includes Apple iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.

Mobile Devices: swipe left to see more.

One LCD and One OLED

Over the years, LCD with IPS technology has caught up its OLED counterpart. Not so much in contrast but in display colour and gamut. Both LCD and OLED when compared achieves the same colour standards:

• Colour: 16.7 million colours
• Colour gamut: DCI-P3

Unless you put them side by side, just like you do with iPhone XR with its IPS LCD display and iPhone XS with its OLED display, there isn’t a great deal of difference.

In the case of Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 X, while both displays has the same display resolution (FHD+ 2244 x 1080), the smaller of the two phones are based on LCD with IPS technology. The bigger display on the Mate 20 X is an OLED panel. Again both displays are capable of 16.7 million colours and DCI-P3 colour gamut.

Big on Display, Big on Entertainment and Gaming

Like the iPhone XS Max, the phones are not designed to be use with one hand, unless you have a great big hand. Still, they offer good grip as seen in the photos below. They are just the smartphones for those who want to replace their small tablet and carry only one device. These are without a doubt designed for entertainment, for those who binges on TV shows and gamers, for those addicted to mobile gaming.

Great big display, super slim body, ultra narrow bezels and an impressive OLED technology for high contrast, deeper black and vibrant colours, its what every commuter needs. The cinema mode makes videos on the phone appear more like films. The phones offer the classic 21:9 movie ratio plus real-time HDR for superior clarity.

Even with the supersized displays, both phones are still super slim at 8.3mm (Mate 20) and 8.2 (Mate 20 X). The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is slightly thicker at 8.6mm. Both Mate 20 and Mate 20X has the same thickness as the iPhone XR (8.2mm). The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max however are the slimmest of the lot at 7.7mm.

Look Ma’ No Big & Ugly Notch

The 6.53-inch and 7.2-inch Full View LCD display may not be OLED but comes with a minimal U shaped notch or dewdrop as Huawei likes to cal it. Keeping the notch simple and small is the order of business for smartphones now. Gone are the huge ugly and in your face notches.

Powered by Flagship Class Chipset

This makes the devices considerably bigger than the Huawei Mate 20 Pro with 6.39-inch OLED. Just like the Mate 20 Pro, both Mate 20 and Mate 20 X is powered by Kirin 980 chipset. The biggest difference here is the new dew drop or U shaped notch, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro has a conventional notch.

Memory and Storage

The Mate 20 can be had with 4GB or 6GB RAM memory and 128GB ROM storage. The Mate 20 X comes with 6GB RAM memory and 128GB ROM storage. There are no bigger storage options but at 128GB, its sufficient to carry all your applications, cached movies and tv shows as well as games, photos and captured videos.

For memory expansion, you can get up to 256GB of extra Nano Memory (NM) but it will take up one of the SIM slot (SIM 2). NM memory are still rare and expensive compared to microSD but knowing that option is there is useful should more storage space is require.

Leica Triple Camera Setup

For cameras, the Huawei Mate 20 features a Leica Triple Camera setup for its main camera. The setup includes a 12MP RGB lens for everyday photo, 8MP telephoto lens for zoom and 16MP Leica Ultra Wide Angle Lens for landscape photos. The main cameras are arranged in a square formation together with the flash. The Leica Ultra Wide Angle Lens also let one take super close up shots or macro from 2.5cm, capturing details that you would otherwise miss.

Huawei Mate 20

• Leica Triple camera: 12 MP (Wide Angle Lens, f/1.8 aperture) + 16 MP (Ultra Wide Angle Lens, f/2.2 aperture) + 8 MP (Telephoto, f/2.4 aperture), supports autofocus (laser focus, phase focus, contrast focus), supports AIS (Huawei AI Image Stabilization).
• Front Camera: 24 MP, f/2.0 aperture

Huawei Mate 20 X

• Leica Triple camera: 40 MP (Wide Angle Lens, f/1.8 aperture) + 20 MP (Ultra Wide Angle Lens, f/2.2 aperture) + 8 MP (Telephoto, f/2.4 aperture), supports autofocus (laser focus, phase focus, contrast focus), supports AIS (Huawei AI Image stabilisation).
• Front Camera: 24 MP, f/2.0 aperture

A much bigger sensor is found on the Huawei Mate 20 X boasting a main Leica Triple camera setup that uses a massive 40MP sensor, complemented with a second 20MP lens, both of which are wide angle and a 8MP telephoto lens. The 8MP telephoto lens offers 3x optical zoom. Together, the setup captures impressive detail.

Even More AI in Every Shot

Night shots are enhanced with AI Image Stabilisation. Even the gloomest of night will be captured with impressive detail by using multiple shots and merging them using clever algorithm for an amazing result.

Every shot taken with the cameras is AI enhanced with more than 1500 scenes in 25 different categories using objects segmentation and different scenes application. Automatic adjustments are made to the colours, brightness and contrast of each photo for that perfect balance. For the front camera you get a 24MP f/2.0 sensor.

Huawei Mate 20 on Amazon 

High Capacity Batteries

The phone is available in four different colours, Midnight Blue (above), Black, Emerald Green and our favourite Twilight. Light bounces off the back plate with its unique Hyper Optical Pattern finish, a special glass texture that is both functional and beautiful, with its non-slip and anti-fingerprint finish. Given its big display and equally big case, it carries a 4000mAh and 5000mAh high capacity battery on the Mate 20 and Mate 20 X respectively. Still, when you run low, use the Huawei SuperCharge cable and adapter to bring it back to life. On the Mate 20, a quick 30 minutes charge brings it back to 58%.

Huawei Mate 20 X on Amazon

There is AI in Video Capture Too

Like the OnePlus 6T, the phone comes pre-loaded with AI Cinematography prowess. Use the AI Cinema Mode to capture real time HDR video at the classic 21:9 movie ratio. A range of video filters are also available to add drama and mood to your video in real time. Choose from Fresh, Vintage, Background Blur and Suspense. The AI Portrait Colour detects people and greys out the background to record films with Hollywood like effects. Finally, the AI video editor picks up different faces and create separate highlights for each of them automatically.

Great Big Sound

The Huawei Mate 20 X includes dual firing stereo speakers. The stereophonic sound system is symmetrically placed at either ends of the device. It has a super high dynamic range of up to 40db producing every sound from bass to treble with great clarity, depth and richness. For a more private session, Huawei maintained the headphone jack, and for good measure, the IR blaster.

You Can Poke It With A Stylus

The Huawei Mate 20 X is also stylus ready. Pick up a Huawei M-Pen, sold separately and use it to activate the Memo directly from a locked screen and scribble away. The pen is highly sensitive and supports 4096 level of pressure for a more natural writing experience. With a display at 7.2-inch it is way more spacious than Samsung Galaxy Note 9’s 6.4-inch display.

Wireless Mirroring With PC Mode

Both phones also support wireless screen mirroring via Miracast to project your display onto a compatible big screen. In PC mode, you can project your presentation, games and video to the big screen while using the phone to send messages and make phone calls privately separate to what is on the screen.

Landmark, Painting, Food and Product Recognition

Other features include AI Vision, a smart camera that helps you discover landmarks, paintings and measure calories in your meals. AI Shopping helps you find the thing you see quickly using services by Visenze and offering a list of online shops that offer this.

Only Dust and Splash Protection

No deep immersion protection here like IP68 on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro (also on the iPhone XS and XS Max) with up to 2 meters for 30 minutes protection. The Mate 20 and Mate 20 X are only IP53 rated, protected against dust and splash. Not that it matters, not everybody take their phones for a swim. The iPhone XR is IP67 rated, protection against dust and water resistant for up to 1 meter for 30 minutes.

Final Thoughts

The Huawei Mate 20 is priced to compete with with OnePlus 6T. The Mate 20 X with the biggest display on our list and stylus support costs more but not eye watering like some of todays flagship smartphones, we are looking at you Apple and Samsung!

Huawei’s latest Kirin chipset is super quick and tried and tested Leica Triple Lens setup works wonders at capturing beautiful photos and with Mate 20 X’s variety, at even higher resolution. The only things lacking are on display fingerprint sensor, using instead the conventional fingerprint sensor on the backplate, wireless charging and no curved glass. Still, the Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 X are true all-round flagship smartphones with the added bonus of super huge displays.