The day came.
After many months of missing in action, Huawei’s latest smartphone series has now been officially launched in the country.
The Mate 20’s huge demand globally, apparently, is to blame for its delayed arrival to the local market.
Billed by many as one of the best smartphones of the year 2018, the Mate 20 comes in two variants: the standard Huawei Mate 20 and the hallowed Pro variant.
Both devices are powered by the Kirin 980 from Huawei’s subsidiary HiSilicon.
Mate 20 v Mate 20 Pro
The differences between the two, as can be seen in this spec sheet, are quite a number. First, there’s the display. The resolutions, the sizes and the technology involved are different.
The Mate 20 has a display that’s a hair larger than the Mate 20 Pro’s.
Whereas the standard variant packs a Full HD+ display, the Pro model goes with a 2K+ panel (the plus is just a fancy way of saying the display has been extended to support another aspect ratio as well as accommodate a notch). Talking about notches, the Mate 20 has a dewdrop notch while the Mate 20 sticks with the good old lengthy cutout at the top. The display on the former is an LCD panel while the one on the latter is an OLED.
The two devices also vary when it comes to their standout feature: the cameras.
The Mate 20 Pro goes full-blast with the series’ signature triple-camera arrangement with lenses that have a higher pixel count than those on its sibling. Of course, as we know, that shouldn’t count for much but the devil’s in the details and that’s what we are droning on and on right now.
The hawk-eyed among us will also be quick to notice that the positioning of the three cameras and the accompanying LED flash also differs. Going into the nitty gritties reveals the Mate 20 Pro’s advantages when it comes to having a higher optical zoom as well as stabilization.
The disparities between the two also play out when it comes to the juice. The Mate 20’s battery is a bit smaller than the Mate 20 Pro (4,000mAh v 4,200mAh). Additionally, the latter has faster charging speeds using Huawei’s proprietary Super Charge technology (40W supercharger v 22.5W). Still sticking with charge, it is only the Pro variant that supports wireless charging. Talking about which, there’s the famous reverse wireless charging on the device which is more of a gimmick than something that will juice up your other smartphone from a critical 5% to a stable 40%.
While there’s no point making noise over a war we’ve already lost, it is still worth noting that the Mate 20 Pro lacks a headphone jack. I am not sure if the IP68 water and dust protection it has that the Mate 20 lacks makes up for that. What I am sure is that the in-screen fingerprint sensor on the Pro has no equal and we’ll only get to see the technology, at least in a better variation, go mainstream this year and beyond. The 3D face unlock that the Mate 20 Pro offers is no longer much of a fad.
Price and availability
The Huawei Mate 20 is going for Kshs 74,999 while the Mate 20 Pro’s starting price is a whopping Kshs 99,999. Only the 6GB RAM + 128GB onboard storage options are available locally.
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is available for purchase in Kenya this week while those interested in the cheaper Mate 20 will have to wait till February to lay their hands on a unit.
