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Huawei Mate 20 Lite Smartphone Review

The fast Phablet. The arrival of the Mate 20 Lite heralds the next generation of Huawei’s elite-performance smartphones. Huawei has equipped the device with the brand-new HiSilicon Kirin 710 SoC, which integrates an ARM Mali-G51 MP4 among other components; we are expecting good things of both chips. Find out in this review whether the Huawei Mate 20 Lite can meet expectations and if the device has any shortcomings.
Huawei Mate 20 Lite

The Huawei Mate 20 Lite, the focus of this review, is the first model in the much speculated about Mate 20 series. Huawei has yet to unveil any other Mate 20 devices officially, but there have been numerous leaks and sightings, something which we have covered separately. The Mate 20 Lite directly succeeds the popular Mate 10 Lite and offers some improvements that were missing from last year’s model.

The new model includes NFC and ac Wi-Fi along with the compulsory CPU and GPU upgrades. The new HiSilicon Kirin 710 SoC powers the Mate 20 Lite and integrates an ARM Mali-G51 MP4 GPU among other components. Huawei complements its new SoC with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of eMMC flash storage.

The Mate 20 Lite costs €400 (~$462) at launch, a price bracket for which there is plenty of competition. We have chosen to compare our test device against the ASUS ZenFone 5, the BQ Aquaris X2 Pro, the Nokia 7 Plus and the Sony Xperia XA2 Plus.

Huawei Mate 20 Lite (Mate 20 Series)
Processor
HiSilicon Kirin 710 8 x 2.2 GHz, Cortex-A73/-A53
Graphics adapter
Memory
4 GB 
Display
6.30 inch 19.5:9, 2340 x 1080 pixel 409 PPI, Capacitive, IPS, glossy: yes
Storage
64 GB eMMC Flash, 64 GB 
, 50 GB free
Connections
1 USB 2.0, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm jack, Card Reader: up to 256 GB microSD cards formatted in FAT, FAT32 or exFAT, 1 Fingerprint Reader, NFC, Brightness Sensor, Sensors: Accelerometer, Gravity sensor, Proximity sensor, Gyroscope, Compass, USB Type-C
Networking
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.2, 2G & GSM: B2, B3, B5, B8. 3G & WCDMA: B1, B2, B4, B5, B8. 4G LTE & FDD: B1, B3, B7, B8, B20., Dual SIM, LTE, GPS
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 7.6 x 158.3 x 75.3 ( = 0.3 x 6.23 x 2.96 in)
Battery
3750 mAh Lithium-Ion
Operating System
Android 8.1 Oreo
Camera
Primary Camera: 20 MPix f/1.8 20 MP sensor & 2 MP depth sensor
Secondary Camera: 24 MPix f/2.0 24 MP sensor & 2 MP depth sensor
Additional features
Speakers: One speaker, Keyboard: Virtual keyboard, Keyboard Light: yes, USB charger, USB Type-A to Type-C cable, headphones, screen protector, SIM tool, EMUI 8.2, 24 Months Warranty, SAR values: Head – 0.94 W/kg, Body – 0.41 W/kg, fanless
Weight
172 g ( = 6.07 oz / 0.38 pounds), Power Supply: 20 g ( = 0.71 oz / 0.04 pounds)
Price
400 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

The Mate 20 Lite has a metal case with a glass back and comes in a choice of black, blue or gold for the German market. Huawei has placed the device’s two hardware buttons on the right-hand side of the case; both sit firmly within the case on our test device. Moreover, the transitions materials on our test device are clean and even.

The Mate 20 Lite is one of the heavier smartphones of its class, with our test device weighing 172 g (~6.1 oz). The device is noticeably tall too at 158.3 mm (~6.2 in) , putting it on par with the Nokia 7 Plus. While the Mate 20 Lite is a relatively large device, Huawei has squeezed in a 6.3-inch 19.5:9 aspect ratio display compared to the Nokia 7 Plus’ 6-inch display. Our test device is easy to hold though, despite its large footprint.

Huawei Mate 20 Lite
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
Huawei Mate 20 Lite

Size Comparison

158.4 mm / 6.24 inch 75.64 mm / 2.98 inch 9.55 mm / 0.376 inch 186 g0.4101 lbs157 mm / 6.18 inch 75 mm / 2.95 inch 9.6 mm / 0.378 inch 204 g0.4497 lbs158.3 mm / 6.23 inch 75.3 mm / 2.96 inch 7.6 mm / 0.2992 inch 172 g0.3792 lbs156.2 mm / 6.15 inch 75.2 mm / 2.96 inch 7.5 mm / 0.2953 inch 164 g0.3616 lbs153 mm / 6.02 inch 75.7 mm / 2.98 inch 7.7 mm / 0.3031 inch 155 g0.3417 lbs150.7 mm / 5.93 inch 72.3 mm / 2.85 inch 8.35 mm / 0.3287 inch 168 g0.3704 lbs148 mm / 5.83 inch 105 mm / 4.13 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

Connectivity

The brand-new HiSilicon Kirin 710 SoC powers the Mate 20 Lite and integrates an ARM Mali-G51 MP4 GPU. Huawei has also equipped the device with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of eMMC flash storage, the latter of which can be expanded with up to 256 GB microSD cards. The Mate 20 Lite is a Dual-SIM device too, but there is only room for two nano-SIMs or a single SIM card and a microSD card.

The device also has a fingerprint sensor, NFC, Bluetooth 4.2 support and a USB Type-C port. Huawei has included only a USB 2.0 connection, but the Mate 20 Lite supports USB On-The-Go (OTG) nonetheless for connecting the device to peripherals. There is even a 3.5 mm jack too.

Left-hand side: No connections
Left-hand side: No connections
Underside: 3.5 mm jack, USB Type-C, Microphone, Speaker
Underside: 3.5 mm jack, USB Type-C, Microphone, Speaker
Right-hand side: Power button, Volume rocker
Right-hand side: Power button, Volume rocker
 

Software

The Mate 20 Lite ships with EMUI 8.2, a Huawei customized version of Android Oreo 8.1. EMUI offers a stock Android akin experience but with different icons and Huawei specific apps. The Settings menu is also structured differently, but it should be clear enough for EMUI newcomers. Our test device has Android security patch level 1 July 2018 installed, which is several months behind the patch level at the time of writing.

Our test device also has plenty of pre-installed apps such as Huawei’s suite of apps, which includes a File Manager and Data backup software. There are also apps by Amazon, Facebook and a few games among others. Fortunately, Huawei allows users to uninstall these apps from within the Settings menu. The Mate 20 Lite supports multiple user accounts too.

Default home screen
Default home screen
Default home screen
Default home screen
Huawei tools
Huawei tools
Pre-installed apps
Pre-installed apps
Pre-installed games
Pre-installed games
Quick Settings and customisation options
Quick Settings and customisation options
Storage settings
Storage settings
Device information
Device information

Communication & GPS

The Mate 20 Lite supports GSM, 3G and LTE Cat. 12, which allows for up to 600 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload speeds over LTE. The device also has Bluetooth 4.2 and ac Wi-Fi connectivity, although Wi-Fi performance is between nineteen and 64% slower than that of our comparison devices.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
Adreno 508, SD 630, 32 GB eMMC Flash
347 MBit/s +49%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
Adreno 512, SD 660, 64 GB eMMC Flash
346 MBit/s +48%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
Adreno 509, SD 636, 64 GB eMMC Flash
308 MBit/s +32%
Nokia 7 Plus
Adreno 512, SD 660, 64 GB eMMC Flash
307 MBit/s +32%
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
Mali-G51 MP4, Kirin 710, 64 GB eMMC Flash
233 MBit/s
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
Mali-T830 MP2, Kirin 659, 64 GB eMMC Flash
53.3 MBit/s -77%
iperf3 receive AX12
Average of class Smartphone
  (last 2 years)
376 MBit/s +82%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
Adreno 509, SD 636, 64 GB eMMC Flash
339 MBit/s +64%
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
Adreno 508, SD 630, 32 GB eMMC Flash
309 MBit/s +49%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
Adreno 512, SD 660, 64 GB eMMC Flash
281 MBit/s +36%
Nokia 7 Plus
Adreno 512, SD 660, 64 GB eMMC Flash
247 MBit/s +19%
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
Mali-G51 MP4, Kirin 710, 64 GB eMMC Flash
207 MBit/s
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
Mali-T830 MP2, Kirin 659, 64 GB eMMC Flash
41.9 MBit/s -80%
GPS test: Outdoors
GPS test: Outdoors
GPS test: Indoors
GPS test: Indoors

The Mate 20 Lite uses GPS and GLONASS for location services, with BeiDou reserved for Asian market variants. The GPS Test demonstrates that our test device achieves a location accuracy of up to 5 m (~16 ft) when indoors or outdoors.

We also took our test device on our compulsory bike ride to compare its location accuracy against a professional navigation device, the Garmin Edge 500. Our test device achieved mixed results. On the one hand, our test device deviated by only 60 m (~197 ft) compared to the total distance that the Garmin recorded. However, taking a closer look at the routes plotted reveals that our test device struggled to plot us accurately through corners and even on straight stretches of road. Moreover, our test device frequently displayed us next to the road on which we were cycling. In short, we would recommend using the Mate 20 Lite only for simple navigation tasks.

GPS test: Huawei Mate 20 Lite – Overview
GPS test: Huawei Mate 20 Lite – Overview
GPS test: Huawei Mate 20 Lite – Route around a lake
GPS test: Huawei Mate 20 Lite – Route around a lake
GPS test: Huawei Mate 20 Lite – Loop
GPS test: Huawei Mate 20 Lite – Loop
GPS test: Garmin Edge 500 – Overview
GPS test: Garmin Edge 500 – Overview
GPS test: Garmin Edge 500 – Route around a lake
GPS test: Garmin Edge 500 – Route around a lake
GPS test: Garmin Edge 500 – Loop
GPS test: Garmin Edge 500 – Loop

Phone Features & Call Quality

EMUI 8.2 Dialler
EMUI 8.2 Dialler

Launching the Phone app on our test device automatically brings up the keypad. The app is structured by tabs, with three options for “Phone”, “Contacts” and “Favorites” at the top of the app, while your call history is divided into “All”, “Missed” and “Unknown”.

Our test device has good call quality with voices reproduced clearly but lacking in deeper tones. The earpiece gets loud enough to make calls even on a busy street; our test device reliably filters out ambient noise too.

The included headphones are a good alternative for making calls, with both sides of the call sounding clear. The headphones also have a higher maximum volume than the earpiece, which is useful if you are struggling to hear your call partner when calling them from a noisy environment.

Cameras

A photo taken with the front-facing camera
A photo taken with the front-facing camera

The Mate 20 Lite has two sets of dual-cameras. Huawei has opted for a 24 MP and 2 MP pairing on the front with 20 MP and 2 MP sensors on the rear. The two smaller sensors support the larger sensors with depth of field information and cannot be used independently. Moreover, the 20 MP rear-facing sensor has a wider aperture than the 24 MP rear-facing sensor at f/1.8 and f/2.0 respectively. Both cameras should take good photos in low-light conditions, but the rear-facing sensor’s wider aperture will allow it to capture more light than its front-facing counterpart.

The front-facing camera takes excellent portrait photos with the object in focus captured sharply and in detail. Fine structures are preserved too. By contrast, background objects are blurry, although the fixed focus lens can focus on faces or objects in the distance should you need to. Huawei also incorporates AI games and lighting effects into its camera app, but the customization options for the front-facing camera are limited; for example, the “professional” mode only works with the rear-facing camera.

The 20 MP rear-facing camera supports Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF) and Contrast Detection Autofocus (CDAF), which combine to take impressive panoramic photos. The camera handles different light conditions well; light and dark areas within the same shot are uniformly reproduced too. However, objects lack separation when looking at photos in detail, while surfaces at a greater distance from the camera tend to look muddy. Objects captured at close range are detailed and look sharp though. Additionally, the colors in macro shots look vibrant, and objects are separated well. With that said, objects outside of the main sensor’s focus area look blurry and are dominated by image noise.

Our test device performs well in low-light conditions, with the main camera able to capture objects clearly with a good level of detail. Photos are affected by image noise, but to a lesser extent than many competitors. Using the “professional” mode can help mitigate image noise with its ISO, white balance, and exposure options among other features.

The “professional” mode can also be used with video recordings, but there are only options for ambient light, autofocus and white balance. The image stabilization works well though, and compensates for even the strongest of shaking. Video quality is on par with our test shots.

Image Comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

Scene 1Scene 2Scene 3
click to load images
ColorChecker: The lower half of each area of color displays the reference color
ColorChecker: The lower half of each area of color displays the reference color

We also subjected our test device to photo tests under controlled lighting conditions and assessed the results With ColorChecker Passport. Overall, our test device tends to reproduce colors too lightly compared to reference colors and darker tones too darkly.

The Mate 20 Lite reproduces our test chart well with fine details and structures remaining visible even at the edges of the picture. Colors look comparatively strong too, although the bottom right-hand corner of the image looks paler than the rest of the shot. Our other test shots did not replicate this same paleness though.

Photo of our test chart
Photo of our test chart
Test chart in detail

Accessories & Warranty

Our test device comes with a USB charger, a matching USB Type-A to Type-C cable, a pair of headphones and a screen protector. Huawei also offers other general accessories on their website such as Bluetooth headphones, selfie stick and portable chargers.

The Mate 20 Lite comes with a twenty-four month manufacturer’s warranty. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Input Devices & Operation

Our test device has SwiftKey installed as its default keyboard app, which is easy to use and has various settings for key sizes, layout and themes among others. The touchscreen responds accurately and quickly to inputs, while the display finish is smooth enough for drag and drop movements even after a prolonged period of using the device.

The positional sensor works well too, and adjusts the display’s orientation with only a slight delay. Regarding security, the Mate 20 Lite supports Android’s typical pattern and PIN authentication methods along with biometric security via a fingerprint sensor. The sensor in our test device reacts quickly and recognizes stored fingerprints even if they are optimally placed on the reader.

Using the default keyboard in landscape mode
Using the default keyboard in landscape mode
Using the default keyboard in portrait mode
Using the default keyboard in portrait mode

Display

Sub-pixel array
Sub-pixel array

The Mate 20 Lite has a 6.3-inch IPS display that runs at a native 2,340x1,080 resolution with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and a pixel density of 409 PPI. Our test device achieves an average maximum brightness of 460 cd/m² according to X-Rite i1Pro 2 and a maximum brightness of 453 cd/m² at the center of the display. These values place the Mate 20 Lite second bottom in our comparison table and only marginally ahead of the Mate 10 Lite. Our test device has an 89% uniformly lit display too, which again is below most of our comparison devices, albeit by a smaller margin than in terms of maximum luminosity.

459
cd/m²
468
cd/m²
475
cd/m²
467
cd/m²
453
cd/m²
440
cd/m²
484
cd/m²
459
cd/m²
433
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 484 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 459.8 cd/m² Minimum: 1.7 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 89 %
Center on Battery: 453 cd/m²
Contrast: 871:1 (Black: 0.52 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 7.1 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 8.3 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
99.6% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.35
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
IPS, 2340x1080, 6.30
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
IPS, 2160x1080, 6.00
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
LTPS, 2160x1080, 5.65
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
IPS, 2246x1080, 6.20
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
IPS, 2160x1080, 5.90
Nokia 7 Plus
IPS, 2160x1080, 6.00
Screen
49%
29%
26%
26%
41%
Brightness middle
453
597
32%
675
49%
595
31%
467
3%
458
1%
Brightness
460
592
29%
650
41%
561
22%
457
-1%
463
1%
Brightness Distribution
89
92
3%
92
3%
87
-2%
89
0%
92
3%
Black Level *
0.52
0.32
38%
0.46
12%
0.54
-4%
0.3
42%
0.22
58%
Contrast
871
1866
114%
1467
68%
1102
27%
1557
79%
2082
139%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
7.1
2.4
66%
5.9
17%
4.2
41%
5
30%
4
44%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
11.6
5.3
54%
9.5
18%
6
48%
8.2
29%
7.4
36%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
8.3
3.4
59%
6.6
20%
4.7
43%
6.1
27%
4.7
43%
Gamma
2.35 94%
2.2 100%
2.36 93%
2.12 104%
2.15 102%
2.19 100%
CCT
9082 72%
7172 91%
7846 83%
7577 86%
7961 82%
7425 88%

* ... smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM not detected

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18100 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

The Mate 20 Lite has a below-average contrast ratio too. We measured an 871:1 contrast ratio during our tests, which is considerably lower than the contrast ratios of our comparison devices. Our test device’s comparatively high 0.52 cd/m² black value is partially to blame here as is the display’s relatively low maximum luminosity. In daily use, colors will look muddier than on our comparison devices, while blacks will have a gray haze to them.

What is more, our test device has a noticeable blue tint with the display set to the default color mode. Fortunately, EMUI 8.2 includes a freely adjustable color temperature scale, allowing you to give the display a warmer color temperature to compensate for any blue casts.

CalMAN: Color accuracy
CalMAN: Color accuracy
CalMAN: Color space
CalMAN: Color space
CalMAN: Grayscale
CalMAN: Grayscale
CalMAN: Saturation
CalMAN: Saturation

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
22.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 7.6 ms rise
↘ 14.8 ms fall
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 44 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
26.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 21.2 ms rise
↘ 25.2 ms fall
The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 30 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Our test device is usable outdoors despite its relatively low display brightness. Content is easily readable on cloudy days, but reflections make the display increasingly difficult to read in direct sunlight.

Using the Huawei Mate 20 Lite outside in the shade
Using the Huawei Mate 20 Lite outside in the shade
An example of the Huawei Mate 20 Lite's highly reflective display
An example of the Huawei Mate 20 Lite's highly reflective display

Our test device has strong viewing angles thanks to its IPS display. We noticed no brightness or image distortions even at acute viewing angles. Only reflections obscured the display when looking at our test device from unusual angles.

Viewing Angles
Viewing Angles
Viewing Angles
Viewing Angles

Performance

The brand new HiSilicon Kirin 710 SoC powers the Mate 20 Lite and integrates an ARM Mali-G51 MP4 GPU for graphics. These components are complemented by 4 GB of RAM for smooth system performance and 64 GB of eMMC flash memory for plenty of storage. In short, the Mate 20 Lite is powerful enough for many applications, with its Kirin 710 SoC around thirty percent faster than the MediaTek Helio P23 MT6763T and ten percent slower than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845. The main advantage that the Kirin 710 SoC has over the Kirin 970 SoC is its more modern manufacturing process, which should make the Kirin 710 more energy efficient than its predecessor.

Our test device often ranks near the top of our comparison table in system performance benchmarks, but falls somewhat short of our comparison devices in GPU benchmarks. Please note: Our 3DMark results for the Mate 20 Lite are inaccurate. We downloaded the app from the Google Play Store, but our test device failed to recognize that we were running a benchmark. As a result, the benchmark scores varied by up to 50%. We have included these abnormalities in our benchmark results.

AnTuTu v6 - Total Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
111303 Points
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
70346 Points -37%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
115834 Points +4%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
125213 Points +12%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
63195 Points -43%
Nokia 7 Plus
117165 Points +5%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (104012 - 112870, n=8)
108955 Points -2%
AnTuTu v7 - Total Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
139050 Points
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
89006 Points -36%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
140875 Points +1%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
138661 Points 0%
Nokia 7 Plus
141701 Points +2%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (124870 - 183420, n=10)
139210 Points 0%
PCMark for Android
Work performance score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
8525 Points
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
5659 Points -34%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
6332 Points -26%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
6999 Points -18%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
6024 Points -29%
Nokia 7 Plus
6825 Points -20%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (7004 - 9854, n=13)
8380 Points -2%
Average of class Smartphone (10884 - 19297, n=2, last 2 years)
15091 Points +77%
Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
Points
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
4953 Points
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
5965 Points
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
6068 Points
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
4847 Points
Nokia 7 Plus
6077 Points
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (5803 - 7141, n=12)
6497 Points
Average of class Smartphone (9101 - 12871, n=4, last 2 years)
10872 Points
BaseMark OS II
Overall (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
2417 (5556min) Points
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
1570 Points -35%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
2394 Points -1%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
2156 Points -11%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
1398 Points -42%
Nokia 7 Plus
2369 Points -2%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (2140 - 2445, n=13)
2255 Points -7%
Average of class Smartphone (411 - 11438, n=158, last 2 years)
5704 Points +136%
System (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
5556 Points
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
3284 Points -41%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
5048 Points -9%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
5348 Points -4%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
2983 Points -46%
Nokia 7 Plus
4976 Points -10%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (4826 - 5568, n=13)
5208 Points -6%
Average of class Smartphone (2376 - 16475, n=158, last 2 years)
9621 Points +73%
Memory (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
3507 Points
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
1334 Points -62%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
2494 Points -29%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
2314 Points -34%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
1998 Points -43%
Nokia 7 Plus
2503 Points -29%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (2823 - 4360, n=13)
3181 Points -9%
Average of class Smartphone (670 - 12306, n=158, last 2 years)
6230 Points +78%
Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
1450 Points
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
1480 Points +2%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
2279 Points +57%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
1605 Points +11%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
849 Points -41%
Nokia 7 Plus
2298 Points +58%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (1450 - 1489, n=13)
1470 Points +1%
Average of class Smartphone (697 - 58651, n=158, last 2 years)
13900 Points +859%
Web (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
1208 Points
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
936 Points -23%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
1146 Points -5%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
1088 Points -10%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
753 Points -38%
Nokia 7 Plus
1101 Points -9%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (982 - 1212, n=13)
1092 Points -10%
Average of class Smartphone (10 - 2145, n=158, last 2 years)
1487 Points +23%
Geekbench 4.4
64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
1612 Points
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
858 Points -47%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
1579 Points -2%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
1506 Points -7%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
914 Points -43%
Nokia 7 Plus
1646 Points +2%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (1523 - 1614, n=11)
1560 Points -3%
Average of class Smartphone (800 - 9574, n=90, last 2 years)
5063 Points +214%
64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
5615 Points
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
4152 Points -26%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
5856 Points +4%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
5426 Points -3%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
3631 Points -35%
Nokia 7 Plus
5867 Points +4%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (5266 - 5615, n=11)
5454 Points -3%
Average of class Smartphone (2630 - 26990, n=90, last 2 years)
13549 Points +141%
Compute RenderScript Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
3909 Points
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
3621 Points -7%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
5688 Points +46%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
5041 Points +29%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
3015 Points -23%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (2631 - 4083, n=11)
3514 Points -10%
Average of class Smartphone (2053 - 18432, n=70, last 2 years)
10590 Points +171%
3DMark
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
20466 Points
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
12120 Points -41%
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
16972 Points -17%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
26175 Points +28%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
20404 Points 0%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
10294 Points -50%
Nokia 7 Plus
26610 Points +30%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (12120 - 22168, n=12)
19147 Points -6%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
21465 Points
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
12426 Points -42%
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
18472 Points -14%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
29306 Points +37%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
20722 Points -3%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
9936 Points -54%
Nokia 7 Plus
29333 Points +37%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (2177 - 22605, n=12)
18746 Points -13%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
17598 Points
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
11158 Points -37%
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
13217 Points -25%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
19050 Points +8%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
19365 Points +10%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
11780 Points -33%
Nokia 7 Plus
20085 Points +14%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (11158 - 22668, n=12)
16572 Points -6%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
1441 Points
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
673 Points -53%
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
1334 Points -7%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
2059 Points +43%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
1493 Points +4%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
627 Points -56%
Nokia 7 Plus
2035 Points +41%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (673 - 1503, n=15)
1218 Points -15%
Average of class Smartphone (712 - 7285, n=52, last 2 years)
3548 Points +146%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
1277 Points
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
568 Points -56%
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
1248 Points -2%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
1938 Points +52%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
1329 Points +4%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
532 Points -58%
Nokia 7 Plus
1895 Points +48%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (568 - 1355, n=15)
1072 Points -16%
Average of class Smartphone (618 - 9451, n=52, last 2 years)
3905 Points +206%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
2625 Points
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
1907 Points -27%
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
1757 Points -33%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
2638 Points 0%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
2626 Points 0%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
1667 Points -36%
Nokia 7 Plus
2734 Points +4%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (1907 - 2654, n=15)
2422 Points -8%
Average of class Smartphone (1093 - 4525, n=52, last 2 years)
3005 Points +14%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
960 Points
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
550 Points -43%
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
824 Points -14%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
1361 Points +42%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
962 Points 0%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
353 Points -63%
Nokia 7 Plus
1332 Points +39%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (550 - 1002, n=15)
891 Points -7%
Average of class Smartphone (286 - 7890, n=102, last 2 years)
2685 Points +180%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
812 Points
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
457 Points -44%
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
718 Points -12%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
1196 Points +47%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
814 Points 0%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
289 Points -64%
Nokia 7 Plus
1161 Points +43%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (457 - 857, n=15)
755 Points -7%
Average of class Smartphone (240 - 9814, n=102, last 2 years)
2675 Points +229%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
2641 Points
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
1924 Points -27%
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
1712 Points -35%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
2628 Points 0%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
2634 Points 0%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
1527 Points -42%
Nokia 7 Plus
2749 Points +4%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (1924 - 2716, n=15)
2429 Points -8%
Average of class Smartphone (858 - 4679, n=102, last 2 years)
3127 Points +18%
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
36 fps
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
28 fps -22%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
51 fps +42%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
34 fps -6%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
16 fps -56%
Nokia 7 Plus
48 fps +33%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (31 - 36, n=12)
34.6 fps -4%
Average of class Smartphone (22 - 165, n=177, last 2 years)
83.6 fps +132%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
39 fps
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
30 fps -23%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
46 fps +18%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
36 fps -8%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
16 fps -59%
Nokia 7 Plus
50 fps +28%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (33 - 39, n=12)
37.6 fps -4%
Average of class Smartphone (19 - 791, n=177, last 2 years)
243 fps +523%
GFXBench 3.0
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
19 fps
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
13 fps -32%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
22 fps +16%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
15 fps -21%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
6.7 fps -65%
Nokia 7 Plus
22 fps +16%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (14 - 19, n=12)
17.9 fps -6%
Average of class Smartphone (6.8 - 165, n=178, last 2 years)
71.3 fps +275%
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
21 fps
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
14 fps -33%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
23 fps +10%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
16 fps -24%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
7.3 fps -65%
Nokia 7 Plus
23 fps +10%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (17 - 21, n=12)
20 fps -5%
Average of class Smartphone (9.2 - 363, n=178, last 2 years)
137.9 fps +557%
GFXBench 3.1
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
13 fps
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
9.3 fps -28%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
14 fps +8%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
9.8 fps -25%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
4.5 fps -65%
Nokia 7 Plus
15 fps +15%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (11 - 13, n=12)
12.3 fps -5%
Average of class Smartphone (3.7 - 158, n=178, last 2 years)
60.2 fps +363%
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
14 fps
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
9.8 fps -30%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
15 fps +7%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
10 fps -29%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
4.8 fps -66%
Nokia 7 Plus
14 fps 0%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (12 - 14, n=12)
13.6 fps -3%
Average of class Smartphone (6.2 - 279, n=178, last 2 years)
97 fps +593%
GFXBench
on screen Car Chase Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
6.8 fps
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
5.3 fps -22%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
8.6 fps +26%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
6 fps -12%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
2.7 fps -60%
Nokia 7 Plus
9.1 fps +34%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (6.4 - 7.3, n=12)
6.74 fps -1%
Average of class Smartphone (5 - 117, n=178, last 2 years)
42.9 fps +531%
1920x1080 Car Chase Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
7.6 fps
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
5.6 fps -26%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
9.1 fps +20%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
6.3 fps -17%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
2.9 fps -62%
Nokia 7 Plus
8.3 fps +9%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (6.4 - 7.7, n=12)
7.49 fps -1%
Average of class Smartphone (2.9 - 166, n=178, last 2 years)
58.6 fps +671%
Lightmark - 1920x1080 1080p (sort by value)
Nokia 7 Plus
15.07 fps
Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal - offscreen Overall Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
431 Points
Nokia 7 Plus
349 Points -19%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (431 - 431, n=2)
431 Points 0%
Average of class Smartphone (177 - 6114, n=61, last 2 years)
2145 Points +398%

Legend

 
Huawei Mate 20 Lite HiSilicon Kirin 710, ARM Mali-G51 MP4, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus Qualcomm Snapdragon 630, Qualcomm Adreno 508, 32 GB eMMC Flash
 
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, Qualcomm Adreno 512, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL Qualcomm Snapdragon 636, Qualcomm Adreno 509, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
Huawei Mate 10 Lite HiSilicon Kirin 659, ARM Mali-T830 MP2, 64 GB eMMC Flash
 
Nokia 7 Plus Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, Qualcomm Adreno 512, 64 GB eMMC Flash

The Mate 20 Lite scored solidly in browser benchmarks, finishing mid-table in our comparison table. In daily use web browsing on our test device is smooth with websites loading quickly and media content following shortly afterwards.

JetStream 1.1 - Total Score
Average of class Smartphone (66.1 - 104.3, n=2, last 2 years)
85.2 Points +80%
Nokia 7 Plus (Chrome 60)
53.9 Points +14%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL (Chrome 67)
51.5 Points +9%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (47 - 55.1, n=10)
50.2 Points +6%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro (Chrome 67)
49.4 Points +4%
Huawei Mate 20 Lite (Chrome 69)
47.32 Points
Huawei Mate 10 Lite (Chrome 62)
30.23 Points -36%
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus (Chrome 67)
27.61 Points -42%
Octane V2 - Total Score
Average of class Smartphone (4633 - 89112, n=202, last 2 years)
33355 Points +269%
Nokia 7 Plus (Chrome 60)
10945 Points +21%
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL (Chrome 67)
9746 Points +8%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (9041 - 10544, n=13)
9659 Points +7%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro (Chrome 67)
9582 Points +6%
Huawei Mate 20 Lite (Chrome 69)
9041 Points
Huawei Mate 10 Lite (Chrome 62)
5096 Points -44%
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus (Chrome 67)
5017 Points -45%
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus (Chrome 67)
10086 ms * -140%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite (Chrome 62)
8694 ms * -107%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (3999 - 4853, n=13)
4223 ms * -0%
Huawei Mate 20 Lite (Chrome 69)
4205 ms *
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL (Chrome 67)
4105 ms * +2%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro (Chrome 67)
4094 ms * +3%
Nokia 7 Plus (Chrome 60)
3937 ms * +6%
Average of class Smartphone (388 - 9999, n=165, last 2 years)
1658 ms * +61%
WebXPRT 2015 - Overall
Nokia 7 Plus (Chrome 60)
168 Points +14%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710 (147 - 178, n=5)
163.2 Points +10%
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro (Chrome 67)
159 Points +7%
Huawei Mate 20 Lite (Chrome 69)
148 Points
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus (Chrome 67)
106 Points -28%
Huawei Mate 10 Lite (Chrome 62)
104 Points -30%

* ... smaller is better

The Mate 20 Lite has 64 GB of eMMC flash storage, of which around 50 GB is available to use. Transfer speeds are fast, with our test device outscoring all our comparison devices overall in AndroBench 3-5.

The microSD card reader is less impressive though, with transfer speeds matching that of our comparison devices. Huawei has improved on the microSD card reader in the Mate 10 Lite though, with our test device achieving 48% faster write and 10% faster speeds than its predecessor.

Huawei Mate 20 LiteSony Xperia XA2 PlusBQ Aquaris X2 ProAsus Zenfone 5 ZE620KLHuawei Mate 10 LiteNokia 7 PlusAverage 64 GB eMMC FlashAverage of class Smartphone
AndroBench 3-5
-18%
-20%
10%
-41%
-17%
-17%
358%
Sequential Read 256KB
304.3
281.1
-8%
280.8
-8%
286.6
-6%
286.8
-6%
283.1
-7%
273 ?(95.6 - 704, n=201)
-10%
1468 ?(215 - 4512, n=210, last 2 years)
382%
Sequential Write 256KB
217.3
146.2
-33%
204.8
-6%
201.8
-7%
99.8
-54%
211.6
-3%
176.8 ?(40 - 274, n=201)
-19%
1078 ?(57.5 - 3678, n=210, last 2 years)
396%
Random Read 4KB
78.5
77.4
-1%
51.3
-35%
71.2
-9%
31.5
-60%
54.7
-30%
59.1 ?(9.58 - 148.5, n=201)
-25%
242 ?(22.2 - 543, n=210, last 2 years)
208%
Random Write 4KB
48.78
10.5
-78%
15.43
-68%
83.5
71%
15.26
-69%
19.62
-60%
31.7 ?(2.34 - 146.9, n=201)
-35%
266 ?(13 - 709, n=210, last 2 years)
445%
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard
76.4 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
86 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
13%
83.3 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
9%
85.8 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
12%
69.1 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-10%
82.2
8%
77.4 ?(21.1 - 107.6, n=144)
1%
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard
67.8 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
67 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-1%
61.1 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-10%
65.2 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-4%
35.35 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-48%
62.3
-8%
58.3 ?(11.2 - 83.3, n=144)
-14%

Games

The Mate 20 Lite plays most games well, but will struggle with more demanding games such as “PUBG Mobile”. Our test device plays “Arena of Valor” and “Asphalt 9: Legends” smoothly at all graphics settings.

The touchscreen and positional sensor worked reliably throughout testing. Our test device accurately reproduced inputs during games, and we had no issues when testing the device with either game.

Arena of Valor
Arena of Valor
Asphalt 9: Legends
Asphalt 9: Legends
Arena of Valor
 SettingsValue
 min30 fps
 high HD30 fps
  Your browser does not support the canvas element!
Asphalt 9: Legends
 SettingsValue
 High Quality30 fps
 Standard / low31 fps
  Your browser does not support the canvas element!

Emissions

Temperature

GFXBench 3.1 Manhattan benchmark results
GFXBench 3.1 Manhattan benchmark results

Surface temperatures rise to no more than 37 °C (~99 °F) in daily use even under sustained load. Hence, the device never gets too hot to hold even when subjecting it to the toughest of workloads.

Our test device also handles the performance intensive GFXBench 3.1 Manhattan benchmark well. Framerates vary over a loop of 30 run-throughs as demonstrated by the included screenshot, but performance remains consistent overall. Typically, devices struggle to maintain initial framerates as internal temperatures rise.

Max. Load
 35.5 °C
96 F
35.8 °C
96 F
34.9 °C
95 F
 
 34.7 °C
94 F
35 °C
95 F
34.5 °C
94 F
 
 32.6 °C
91 F
33.6 °C
92 F
34 °C
93 F
 
Maximum: 35.8 °C = 96 F
Average: 34.5 °C = 94 F
30.3 °C
87 F
32.2 °C
90 F
36.5 °C
98 F
30.6 °C
87 F
31.4 °C
89 F
33.2 °C
92 F
30.6 °C
87 F
31.4 °C
89 F
32.8 °C
91 F
Maximum: 36.5 °C = 98 F
Average: 32.1 °C = 90 F
Power Supply (max.)  25.8 °C = 78 F | Room Temperature 20.2 °C = 68 F | Voltcraft IR-260
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 34.5 °C / 94 F, compared to the average of 32.7 °C / 91 F for the devices in the class Smartphone.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 35.8 °C / 96 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 36.5 °C / 98 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 29.9 °C / 86 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.
Heatmap of the front of the device under sustained load
Heatmap of the front of the device under sustained load
Heatmap of the rear of the device under sustained load
Heatmap of the rear of the device under sustained load

Speakers

The Mate 20 Lite has a single speaker on the underside of the device, with a maximum volume of 84.1 dB(A). Audio playback sounds clear, albeit with a lack of bass tones. In short, the speakers sound good enough for occasional audio playback, but we would always recommend using headphones or external speakers instead.

The included headphones sound clear too, but also fail to reproduce deep tones. The 3.5 mm jack tightly holds cables in place; we had no issues with cables slipping out during testing.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2035.438.22533.236.83123.725.34031.9355039.739.36330.232.28025.224.610021.922.512522.324.316019.326.620016.636.925016.344.131516.548.84001851.850015.45363015.653.780014.261100014.866.5125014.666.5160014.465.4200014.570.1250014.873.5315014.671.9400014.875.9500014.875.6630015.275800014.674.31000015.172.31250014.671.91600015.359.5SPL27.184.1N0.952.6median 15.1median 65.4Delta1.412.9303836.136.83233.529.427.931.536.327.924.722.121.52223.821.224.421.529.720.340.118.446.417.354.316.760.91760.616.162.915.865.615.870.415.372.115.874.514.971.91573.114.775.514.774.91572.515.173.11573.615.473.61567.116.347.727.684.7159.3median 15.8median 67.1212.1hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseHuawei Mate 20 LiteSony Xperia XA2 Plus
Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)
Huawei Mate 20 Lite audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.1 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 31.6% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 6.1% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 8.6% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (3.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (27.3% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 65% of all tested devices in this class were better, 6% similar, 28% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 80% of all tested devices were better, 4% similar, 16% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Sony Xperia XA2 Plus audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 30.7% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (10.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.8% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 6.6% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (2.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (24.5% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 52% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 40% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 70% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 24% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Battery Life

Power Consumption

The Mate 20 Lite is a relatively inefficient device with high power consumption values than all but all one of our comparison devices. Our test device consumes a minimum of 1.01 W, which is higher than all our comparison devices except for the ASUS ZenFone 5. By contrast, we measured maximum power consumption at 6.32 W, which is beaten only by the Xperia XA2 Plus and the Mate 10 Lite. Overall though, the Mate 10 Lite is an average of 8% more energy efficient than its successor despite being powered by an older and supposedly less efficient SoC.

The Mate 20 Lite comes with an 18-W charger which supports Huawei QuickCharge and fully recharges our test device in just over two hours. The charger proved powerful enough during testing to keep charging our test device regardless of the load to which we were subjecting it.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.02 / 0.3 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 1.01 / 2.21 / 2.23 Watt
Load midlight 4.06 / 6.32 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
3750 mAh
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
3580 mAh
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
3100 mAh
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
3300 mAh
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
3340 mAh
Nokia 7 Plus
3800 mAh
Average HiSilicon Kirin 710
 
Average of class Smartphone
 
Power Consumption
28%
1%
-98%
8%
4%
-11%
1%
Idle Minimum *
1.01
0.35
65%
0.63
38%
1.75
-73%
0.87
14%
0.65
36%
1.058 ?(0.8 - 2.3, n=13)
-5%
0.894 ?(0.42 - 2.37, n=157, last 2 years)
11%
Idle Average *
2.21
1.81
18%
2.16
2%
4.48
-103%
2.14
3%
1.76
20%
2.2 ?(1.2 - 3, n=13)
-0%
1.452 ?(0.69 - 4.26, n=157, last 2 years)
34%
Idle Maximum *
2.23
1.83
18%
2.18
2%
4.5
-102%
2.16
3%
1.78
20%
2.57 ?(2.2 - 4.2, n=13)
-15%
1.632 ?(0.79 - 4.45, n=157, last 2 years)
27%
Load Average *
4.06
3.31
18%
4.48
-10%
7.92
-95%
3.7
9%
4.47
-10%
4.61 ?(4.06 - 6, n=13)
-14%
5.55 ?(2.4 - 16.5, n=157, last 2 years)
-37%
Load Maximum *
6.32
4.97
21%
7.87
-25%
13.62
-116%
5.48
13%
9.13
-44%
7.6 ?(6.13 - 9.4, n=13)
-20%
8.23 ?(4.32 - 20.8, n=157, last 2 years)
-30%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

The Mate 20 Lite has a 3,750 mAh battery that lasted fourteen hours and two minutes in our Wi-Fi battery life test. We conduct this test by running a script that simulates the load required to render websites and then measuring how long our test devices take to discharge fully. Our test device finished first in our comparison table, but also has a larger battery capacity than all but one of our comparison devices. Notably, our test device outlasted the Nokia 7 Plus despite the latter being more energy efficient. By contrast, the Xperia XA2 Plus had a five minutes shorter runtime, but has a 170 mAh smaller battery.

Battery Runtime
WiFi Websurfing
14h 02min
Huawei Mate 20 Lite
3750 mAh
Sony Xperia XA2 Plus
3580 mAh
BQ Aquaris X2 Pro
3100 mAh
Asus Zenfone 5 ZE620KL
3300 mAh
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
3340 mAh
Nokia 7 Plus
3800 mAh
Battery Runtime
WiFi v1.3
842
837
-1%
605
-28%
497
-41%
520
-38%
672
-20%

Pros

+ large display
+ long battery life
+ quick internal storage speeds
+ good cameras

Cons

- Bluetooth 4.2
- only USB 2.0
- comparatively slow Wi-Fi performance
- low-contrast display

Verdict

The Huawei Mate 20 Lite review. Test device courtesy of notebooksbilliger.de
The Huawei Mate 20 Lite review. Test device courtesy of notebooksbilliger.de

The Mate 20 Lite is a high-performance smartphone, which impresses with its large display. Performance is on par with other mid-range Android smartphones, but Huawei has brought nothing innovative to the party. In short, the Mate 20 Lite is little more than an evolutionary upgrade of the Mate 10 Lite. 

The Huawei Mate 20 Lite is a powerful smartphone with a large display, but is only a minor update over its predecessor.

The Mate 20 Lite is a €400 (~$462) device with few compromises. Huawei has done a good job with the device’s cameras, equipping the Mate 20 Lite with impressive rear-facing cameras and a front-facing camera that will please even the most ardent selfie fan. We are disappointed though that Huawei has equipped the device with only a Bluetooth 4.2 modem and a slow USB 2.0 Type-C port.

Huawei Mate 20 Lite - 11/04/2019 v7
Mike Wobker

Chassis
86%
Keyboard
67 / 75 → 89%
Pointing Device
92%
Connectivity
46 / 70 → 66%
Weight
90%
Battery
90%
Display
82%
Games Performance
10 / 64 → 16%
Application Performance
57 / 86 → 66%
Temperature
92%
Noise
100%
Audio
70 / 90 → 78%
Camera
50%
Average
72%
77%
Smartphone - Weighted Average

Pricecompare

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Mike Wobker, 2018-10-11 (Update: 2019-02-26)