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Huawei Mate 20 Smartphone Review

Insider tip. The Huawei Mate 20 is largely identical to its 200-Euro (~$225) more expensive sibling, the Mate 20 Pro. Read on to find out whether the Mate 20 is worth the money and its differences from the Mate 20 Pro.

The new Huawei Mate 20 series has already been making a name for itself in the premium smartphone market. We reviewed the Mate 20 Pro last month, which scored highly not only for its strong performance in our tests but also for its arsenal of features that it includes.

Its lesser sibling, the Mate 20, may interest many buyers though. The Mate 20 costs around 200 Euros (~$225) less than the Pro, but it is largely the same device. Both devices share the same form factor, SoC, 128 GB of UFS 2.1 flash storage, version of EMUI and a Leica-branded triple rear-facing camera array.

Our review will pit the Mate 20 against the Mate 20 Pro to determine which is the better deal and for whom the Mate 20 is suited. We will also compare the Mate 20 against the Huawei Mate 10 and other flagship devices, including the HTC U12 Plus, LG V30, OnePlus 6T and Xiaomi Mi 8.

Huawei Mate 20 (Mate 20 Series)
Processor
HiSilicon Kirin 980 8 x - 2.6 GHz, Cortex-A76/-A55
Graphics adapter
Memory
4 GB 
, LPDDR4x
Display
6.53 inch 18.7:9, 2244 x 1080 pixel 381 PPI, Capacitive, 16.7 million colours, DCI-P3 colour space, TFT LCD (IPS), glossy: yes
Storage
128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash, 128 GB 
, 113.1 GB free
Connections
1 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm jack, Card Reader: Up to 256 GB nano memory cards, 1 Fingerprint Reader, NFC, Brightness Sensor, Sensors: Accelerometer, Compass, Fingerprint sensor, Gyroscope, Hall, IR, Proximity sensor, Pyroelectric detector, Colour temperature , USB Type-C OTG, DisplayPort, HDMI, LDAC, aptX, aptX HD
Networking
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 5.0, 2G/GSM: 850, 900, 1,800, 1,900 MHz. 3G/UMTS: Bands 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19, 34, 39. 4G/LTE Cat.16: Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41. SAR values: Head - 0.44 W/kg, Body - 0.99 W/kg, Dual SIM, LTE, GPS
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 8.3 x 158.2 x 77.2 ( = 0.33 x 6.23 x 3.04 in)
Battery
4000 mAh Lithium-Polymer, Talk time 2G (according to manufacturer): 38 h, Talk time 3G (according to manufacturer): 31 h, Standby 2G (according to manufacturer): 629 h, Standby 3G (according to manufacturer): 632 h
Operating System
Android 9.0 Pie
Camera
Primary Camera: 12 MPix Leica Triple Camera: 12 MP wide-angle lens, f/1.8, 16 MP ultra-wide-angle lens, f/2.2, 8 MP telephoto lens, f/2.4). Autofocus Laser Focus, Phase Focus, Contrast Focus, AIS
Secondary Camera: 24 MPix , f/2.0
Additional features
Speakers: Dual speakers, Keyboard: Virtual, 22.5 W SuperCharge charger, USB cable, Headphones, SIM tool, quick start guide, EMUI 9, 24 Months Warranty, IP53, fanless
Weight
188 g ( = 6.63 oz / 0.41 pounds), Power Supply: 120 g ( = 4.23 oz / 0.26 pounds)
Price
799 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

The first visual difference that we spotted between the Mate 20 and the Mate 20 Pro is that they have different displays. The Mate 20 has a flat display like many other smartphones compared to the curved display in the Mate 20 Pro, which makes the former look less premium than the latter in our opinion. With that said, the cheaper model has a noticeably smaller notch, which gives the device a more consistent design. Unfortunately, the smaller notch only houses a 24 MP front-facing camera. There are no notification LEDs or IR sensors that are used for 3D face recognition like in the Mate 20 Pro.

The Mate 20 has an aluminium frame that is sandwiched between two layers of glass like its sibling. Our test device is sturdy, while gaps between materials are consistently even and tight. Moreover, we could not twist the device regardless of how hard we tried, although the display brightens slightly if we apply pressure to the front or back glass.

Our test device feels good in the hand thanks to its rounded corners, and it is surprisingly grippy despite having a glass back. We never felt like the Mate 20 would slip out of our hands or off a flat surface during testing. Our test device is the ‘Black’ version, and Huawei also sells the Mate 20 in ‘Midnight Blue" and ‘Twilight’. The blue has a ‘Hyper Optical Pattern’ like the ‘Emerald Green’ Mate 20 Pro, which should be grippier and will pick up fewer fingerprints than the glossier ‘Black’ and ‘Twilight’ variants.

The card slot is on the left-hand side of the device and houses either two nano-SIM cards or a SIM and a nano-memory card (NM card). Oddly, the Mate 20 is only IP53-rated, which certifies that the device is protected against dust but not completely so and that it can withstand water falling as a spray. By contrast, the Mate 20 Pro is IP68-rated, which guarantees that it is dust proof and that it will work even after being immersed in up to one metre of water. In short, the Mate 20 is not waterproof.

Size Comparison

158.2 mm / 6.23 inch 77.2 mm / 3.04 inch 8.3 mm / 0.3268 inch 188 g0.4145 lbs156.6 mm / 6.17 inch 73.9 mm / 2.91 inch 9.7 mm / 0.3819 inch 188 g0.4145 lbs157.5 mm / 6.2 inch 74.8 mm / 2.94 inch 8.2 mm / 0.3228 inch 185 g0.4079 lbs156.9 mm / 6.18 inch 72.4 mm / 2.85 inch 8.6 mm / 0.3386 inch 189 g0.4167 lbs154.9 mm / 6.1 inch 74.8 mm / 2.94 inch 7.6 mm / 0.2992 inch 175 g0.3858 lbs151.7 mm / 5.97 inch 75.4 mm / 2.97 inch 7.3 mm / 0.2874 inch 158 g0.3483 lbs150.5 mm / 5.93 inch 77.8 mm / 3.06 inch 8.2 mm / 0.3228 inch 186 g0.4101 lbs148 mm / 5.83 inch 105 mm / 4.13 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

Connectivity

The Mate 20 has an impressive array of connectivity. The device has MIMO Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX HD, NFC and an IR transmitter for controlling electrical appliances like the Mate 20 Pro. There is also the same USB 3.1 Type-C port that supports USB On-The-Go (OTG) and video output over HDMI or DisplayPort. The Mate 20 supports fast charging like its more expensive sibling too, but the former comes with a smaller 22.5 W charger. By contrast, Huawei includes a 40 W charger with the Mate 20 Pro. Moreover, the Mate 20 supports slower Cat.16 LTE compared to the Cat.21 that the Mate 20 Pro utilises. However, our test device has a headphone jack, which is a welcome inclusion and is something that the Mate 20 Pro lacks.

The list of Mate 20 Pro features that are missing from the Mate 20 continues. Huawei has not included wireless charging, reverse wireless charging, an in-screen fingerprint sensor or IR face detection. The Mate 20 supports the company’s NM card though. The NM card is as small as a nano-SIM, but it has no other advantages over a traditional microSD card. NM cards currently cost more per GB than microSD cards too.

Left-hand side: card slot
Left-hand side: card slot
Right-hand side: power button, volume rocker
Right-hand side: power button, volume rocker
Top side: microphone, IR transmitter, microphone, headphone jack
Top side: microphone, IR transmitter, microphone, headphone jack
Underside: microphone, USB 3.1 Gen.1 Type-C, microphone, speaker
Underside: microphone, USB 3.1 Gen.1 Type-C, microphone, speaker

Software

The Mate 20 currently ships with EMUI 9.0, which is a Huawei-customised version of Android 9.0 Pie. EMUI 9.0 looks and feels practically identical to its predecessor, but it should react and load apps more quickly than EMUI 8.0 can.

EMUI 9.0 offers familiar features like a Google search bar on the home screen and gesture control, examples of which include waking the display when the device is lifted or tapping the display to take a screenshot. The OS can also open apps if a letter is drawn on-screen. These features can be disabled if you prefer.

Fortunately, Huawei does not include much bloatware besides a few tools and Google apps. The Mate 20 has an integrated radio receiver too with headphones acting as the antenna. Our test device had around 113 GB of free storage upon delivery.

Impressively, our test device had the most recent Android security patches at the time of testing, which is rarely the case. Huawei has promised to update security patches regularly and to deliver two major updates per year.

Default home screen
Default home screen
Preinstalled apps
Preinstalled apps
Preinstalled tools
Preinstalled tools
Preinstalled tools
Preinstalled tools
Preinstalled ‘Top Apps’
Preinstalled ‘Top Apps’
Storage information
Storage information
Device information
Device information
Software information
Software information

Communication & GPS

Huawei has included support for a total of 21 LTE TDD and LTE FDD bands to ensure that the Mate 20 will have LTE coverage practically worldwide. The device utilises LTE Cat.16 for gigabit download speeds like the Mate 20 Pro too.

The Mate 20 supports all modern Wi-Fi standards up to IEEE 802.11 ac and can connect to either 2.4 GHz or 5.0 GHz Wi-Fi networks. The 2x2 MIMO antenna should provide fast transfer speeds in daily use too. 

Our test device performed well in iperf3 Client Wi-Fi benchmarks when tested with our Linksys EA8500 reference router. The Mate 20 averaged 663 Mb/s in the download and 507 Mb/s in the upload test, both of which are significantly higher than what the Mate 10 could achieve. However, the Mate 20 finished behind the Mate 20 Pro in our comparison tables, which indicates that Huawei is using a different Wi-Fi modem. Overall, the Mate 20 should have fast Wi-Fi connectivity in daily use.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
LG V30
Adreno 540, SD 835, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
703 MBit/s +6%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Mali-G76 MP10, Kirin 980, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
696 (647min - 714max) MBit/s +5%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Mali-G76 MP10, Kirin 980, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
663 (289min - 805max) MBit/s 0%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Mali-G76 MP10, Kirin 980, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
650 (6min - 792max) MBit/s -2%
Huawei Mate 20
Mali-G76 MP10, Kirin 980, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
663 (565min - 714max) MBit/s
HTC U12 Plus
Adreno 630, SD 845, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
573 MBit/s -14%
OnePlus 6T
Adreno 630, SD 845, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
474 (241min - 497max) MBit/s -29%
Huawei Mate 10
Mali-G72 MP12, Kirin 970, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
347 MBit/s -48%
iperf3 receive AX12
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Mali-G76 MP10, Kirin 980, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
1001 (209min - 1106max) MBit/s +97%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Mali-G76 MP10, Kirin 980, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
615 (532min - 642max) MBit/s +21%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Mali-G76 MP10, Kirin 980, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
491 (100min - 534max) MBit/s -3%
LG V30
Adreno 540, SD 835, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
657 MBit/s +30%
OnePlus 6T
Adreno 630, SD 845, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
629 (621min - 638max) MBit/s +24%
HTC U12 Plus
Adreno 630, SD 845, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
579 MBit/s +14%
Huawei Mate 20
Mali-G76 MP10, Kirin 980, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
507 (496min - 517max) MBit/s
Average of class Smartphone
  (last 2 years)
376 MBit/s -26%
Huawei Mate 10
Mali-G72 MP12, Kirin 970, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
305 MBit/s -40%
04080120160200240280320360400440480520560600640680Tooltip
Huawei Mate 20; iperf3 receive AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø507 (496-517)
Huawei Mate 20; iperf3 transmit AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø663 (565-714)
GPS Test: Inside
GPS Test: Inside
GPS Test: Outdoors
GPS Test: Outdoors

The Mate 20 uses BeiDou, Galileo, GLONASS, and GPS including A-GPS and SBAS for location services. Most smartphones rely on band L1 for finding a satellite fix, but the Mate 20 also uses band L5 for a more accurate satfix. The Mate 20 was able to locate it almost instantaneously and for four metres at a time. Our test device utilised its two frequency bands well and achieved a location accuracy of up to four metres both inside and outdoors.

We also took the Mate 20 on a bike ride to compare its navigation accuracy against the Garmin Edge 500, a professional navigation device. Our test device plotted a route that deviated by just 30 metres compared to the one that the Garmin recorded. Both devices struggled for accuracy on certain points of our route, but overall the Mate 20 is accurate enough for all general navigation activities.

GPS Test: Huawei Mate 20 - Overview
GPS Test: Huawei Mate 20 - Overview
GPS Test: Huawei Mate 20 – Cycling around a lake
GPS Test: Huawei Mate 20 – Cycling around a lake
GPS Test: Huawei Mate 20 - Loop
GPS Test: Huawei Mate 20 - Loop
GPS Test: Garmin Edge 500 – Overview
GPS Test: Garmin Edge 500 – Overview
GPS Test: Garmin Edge 500 – Cycling around a lake
GPS Test: Garmin Edge 500 – Cycling around a lake
GPS Test: Garmin Edge 500 – Loop
GPS Test: Garmin Edge 500 – Loop

Telephone Features & Call Quality

Huawei has left the phone app in its original state despite tweaking much of the UI. The keypad appears after the app opens like the stock Android app, which is accompanied by tabs for contacts, favourites and call history.

The Mate 20 has four microphones, which filtered ambient noise reliably in our tests and delivered decent call quality. The device supports VoLTE and VoWiFi, but these technologies will only work on carriers that support them and specifically the Mate 20. Huawei sells the device in single or dual-SIM variants, the latter of which supports two nano-SIM cards with full 4G, VoLTE and VoWiFi on both SIMs.

Cameras

Photo taken with the main rear-facing camera
Photo taken with the main rear-facing camera

The Mate 20 has a Leica triple rear-facing camera array like the Mate 20 Pro. These consist of a 12 MP RGB sensor with a wide-angle lens and an f/1.8 aperture, a 16 MP ultra-wide-angle lens with an f/2.2 aperture and an 8 MP telephoto lens with an f/2.4 aperture. Huawei has equipped the Mate 20 with a 24 MP front-facing camera too that has an f/2.0 aperture.

On paper, there are big differences between the cameras with which Huawei has equipped the Mate 20 and the Mate 20 Pro. The latter has a 40 MP main sensor, a 24 MP ultra-wide-angle lens and an 8 MP telephoto lens. The telephoto lens also has 3x optical zoom compared to the 2x optical zoom that the equivalent in the Mate 20 supports. In short, our test device has decent cameras, but they are not on the same level as the Mate 20 Pro.

Photo taken with the front-facing camera
Photo taken with the front-facing camera

The Mate 20 delivers excellent-looking and detailed photos in good lighting though. Objects look sharp and dynamic range is high, which is something that scenes 1 and 2 show well. In our opinion, our test device fares well against the Mate 20 Pro in this scenario, but it cannot keep up in low-light conditions. The Mate 20 Pro captures objects in greater detail in poor lighting than the Mate 20, while photos taken with the latter also have noticeably more image noise.

The Mate 20 can record videos in up to 4K at 30 FPS, which is on par with other flagships like the Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL. Other recent flagships can record in up to 60 FPS though. Videos look good in our opinion, but the practical AI image stabilization is only available in 1080p at 60 FPS, which is a pity.

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 Passport: The lower half of each area of colour displays the reference colour
ColorChecker Passport: The lower half of each area of colour displays the reference colour

We also examined how well the Mate 20’s triple camera performs under controlled lighting conditions. As the ColorChecker test chart to the right shows, our test device reproduces colours accurately, although skin tones look more saturated than they should. Additionally, the white balance looks accurate, albeit black tones tend to look a touch warm and whites are slightly paler than the reference colour.

Moreover, our test chart looks detailed, while colour gradients, fonts and object edges are reproduced sharply. Overall, the photo of our test chart looks uniformly sharp, although the lower half of the image is somewhat darker than the rest of the chart.

A photo of our test chart
A photo of our test chart
Our test chart in detail

Accessories & Warranty

The 22.5 W SuperCharge USB charger
The 22.5 W SuperCharge USB charger

The Mate 20 comes with a 22.5 W SuperCharge power supply (5V/2A, 4.5V/5A, 5V/4.5A) that carries the model number HW-050450E00. There is a matching USB Type-A to Type-C cable, a set of headphones, a SIM tool and a quick-start guide in the box too.

Huawei sells numerous accessories on its website including wireless headphones, power banks and selfie sticks among others. Unfortunately, the company does not currently sell its 40 W SuperCharge power supply that it includes with the Mate 20 Pro

The Mate 20 comes with a 24-month manufacturer’s warranty. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Input Devices & Operation

The Mate 20 has a 6.53-inch capacitive touchscreen that recognises up to 10 inputs simultaneously. The Gorilla Glass 5-protected touchscreen reproduced our inputs precisely even into the corners of the display. Huawei preinstalls SwiftKey as the Mate 20’s default keyboard, which can be replaced with any keyboard downloadable from the Google Play Store if necessary.

As mentioned in the Connectivity section, the Mate 20 lacks the IR sensors with which Huawei equipped the Mate 20 Pro, which are necessary for 3D face recognition. The Mate 20 supports 2D face unlock via the front-facing camera, although this unlock method is not as secure as the 3D equivalent or using a fingerprint sensor.

Moreover, the Mate 20 has a fingerprint sensor on its rear rather than having the in-screen sensor that Huawei used on the Mate 20 Pro. While some may consider this a backwards step, the fingerprint sensor on the Mate 20 works just as well as the one in the Mate 20 Pro. Additionally, the fingerprint sensor is easy to find when holding the device, while its central positioning is conducive to using the Mate 20 with one hand.

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

Display

Sub-pixel array
Sub-pixel array

The Mate 20 has a 6.53-inch IPS display with a 2244x1080 native resolution that yields a 353 PPI pixel density. By contrast, the Mate 20 Pro has a slightly smaller yet higher resolution OLED panel that has a 545 PPI pixel density.

Our test device has a brighter display than its more expensive sibling though. The Mate 20 achieves an average maximum brightness of 784.2 cd/m² according to X-Rite i1Pro2, which the more realistic APL50 test confirms. However, turning off the ambient light sensor reduces the maximum brightness to 496 cd/m². The latter value is still brighter than most of our comparison devices though. Our test device has a 94% evenly lit display, which is slightly more uniform than the display in the Mate 20 Pro and 1% short of our best comparison device, the OnePlus 6T.

The Mate 20 also has an excellent 0.36 cd/m² black level that results in an impressive 2,172:1 contrast ratio. The Mate 10 has a 16% higher contrast ratio though, but the Mate 20 demolishes the HTC U12 Plus, which can only manage a meagre 1,068:1 contrast ratio.

The only drawback of the Mate 20’s display is that it uses pulse-width modulation (PWM) to regulate display brightness. We record a PWM frequency of 14,880 Hz at 28% and below, which is so high that it should not both even those who are PWM-sensitive.

802
cd/m²
785
cd/m²
766
cd/m²
799
cd/m²
782
cd/m²
774
cd/m²
798
cd/m²
755
cd/m²
797
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 802 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 784.2 cd/m² Minimum: 1.65 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 94 %
Center on Battery: 782 cd/m²
Contrast: 2172:1 (Black: 0.36 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 2.3 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 2.4 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
97.4% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.22
Huawei Mate 20
TFT-LCD (IPS), 2244x1080, 6.53
HTC U12 Plus
Super LCD 6, 2880x1440, 6.00
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
OLED, 3120x1440, 6.30
Huawei Mate 10
IPS, 2560x1440, 5.90
LG V30
OLED, 2880x1440, 6.00
OnePlus 6T
Optic AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.41
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
Super AMOLED, 2248x1080, 6.20
Screen
-3%
12%
4%
-54%
-5%
-26%
Brightness middle
782
395
-49%
576
-26%
704
-10%
432
-45%
437
-44%
429
-45%
Brightness
784
402
-49%
582
-26%
692
-12%
428
-45%
442
-44%
432
-45%
Brightness Distribution
94
90
-4%
90
-4%
94
0%
87
-7%
95
1%
88
-6%
Black Level *
0.36
0.37
-3%
0.28
22%
Contrast
2172
1068
-51%
2514
16%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
2.3
1.6
30%
1.3
43%
2.4
-4%
4.18
-82%
2.21
4%
3.39
-47%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
7
3.4
51%
3.5
50%
4.2
40%
8.53
-22%
4.27
39%
5.25
25%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
2.4
1.1
54%
1.6
33%
2.8
-17%
5.3
-121%
2.1
12%
3.3
-38%
Gamma
2.22 99%
2.14 103%
2.18 101%
2.34 94%
2.33 94%
2.307 95%
2.238 98%
CCT
6839 95%
6536 99%
6561 99%
6423 101%
7487 87%
6353 102%
7135 91%

* ... 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 detected 14880 Hz ≤ 28 % brightness setting

The display backlight flickers at 14880 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 28 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.

The frequency of 14880 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

The Mate 20 has two display colour modes, which Huawei calls ‘Normal’ and ‘Vivid’. We took a closer look at our test device’s colour accuracy using a spectrophotometer and CalMAN analysis software. Both modes are colour accurate and do a better job than many other smartphones. CalMAN demonstrates that the ‘Vivid’ mode has lower DeltaE deviations and a closer to ideal colour temperature than the ‘Normal’ mode, which looks a touch too cool for our liking.

CalMAN: Colour Accuracy – Normal colour mode, sRGB target colour space
CalMAN: Colour Accuracy – Normal colour mode, sRGB target colour space
CalMAN: Colour Accuracy – Vivid colour mode, DCI-P3 target colour space
CalMAN: Colour Accuracy – Vivid colour mode, DCI-P3 target colour space
CalMAN: Colour Space – Normal colour mode, sRGB target colour space
CalMAN: Colour Space – Normal colour mode, sRGB target colour space
CalMAN: Colour Space – Vivid colour mode, DCI-P3 target colour space
CalMAN: Colour Space – Vivid colour mode, DCI-P3 target colour space
CalMAN: Greyscale – Normal colour mode, sRGB target colour space
CalMAN: Greyscale – Normal colour mode, sRGB target colour space
CalMAN: Greyscale – Vivid colour mode, DCI-P3 target colour space
CalMAN: Greyscale – Vivid colour mode, DCI-P3 target colour space
CalMAN: Colour Saturation – Normal colour mode, sRGB target colour space
CalMAN: Colour Saturation – Normal colour mode, sRGB target colour space
CalMAN: Colour Saturation – Vivid colour mode, DCI-P3 target colour space
CalMAN: Colour Saturation – Vivid colour mode, DCI-P3 target colour space

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
26 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 8.4 ms rise
↘ 17.6 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 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 57 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
59.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 26.8 ms rise
↘ 32.4 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 95 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Our test device is easy to use outside thanks to its bright display. The display remained easy to read even in direct sunlight on a sunny day, and we had no issues with using the device under bright ambient light either.

The Mate 20 has stable viewing angles too thanks to its IPS display. We did notice a minor drop in brightness at acute viewing angles, but there were no colour or image distortions.

Using the Huawei Mate 20 outdoors
Using the Huawei Mate 20 outdoors
Viewing angles
Viewing angles

Performance

The Mate 20, like its more-expensive sibling, is powered by a HiSilicon Kirin 980 SoC. The SoC is the first 7 nm chip used in Android smartphones according to Huawei and has eight processor cores that are divided into three clusters. The most powerful are two Cortex A76 cores that clock up to 2.6 GHz, followed by two Cortex A76 cores that can reach up to 1.92 GHz. These four cores are supported by four power-efficient Cortex A53 cores that clock up to 1.8 GHz. The Kirin 980 also integrates an ARM Mali-G76 MP10 GPU and is complemented by 4 GB/6 GB LPDDR4x RAM, depending on the model.

Our test device performed on par with the Mate 20 Pro in synthetic benchmarks thanks to its identical SoC. The Mate 20 outscored most of our comparison devices in AnTuTu v7, 3DMark and PCMark. By contrast, its predecessor is on par with the LG V30, while our closest comparison devices are the HTC U12 Plus and the OnePlus 6T; these generally finished well behind the Mate 20 though.

Geekbench 4.4
64 Bit Single-Core Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
3360 Points
HTC U12 Plus
2429 Points -28%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
3378 Points +1%
Huawei Mate 10
1883 Points -44%
LG V30
1900 Points -43%
OnePlus 6T
2384 Points -29%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
2441 Points -27%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (3207 - 3378, n=9)
3303 Points -2%
Average of class Smartphone (800 - 9574, n=90, last 2 years)
5063 Points +51%
64 Bit Multi-Core Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
9965 Points
HTC U12 Plus
8812 Points -12%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
10024 Points +1%
Huawei Mate 10
6613 Points -34%
LG V30
6078 Points -39%
OnePlus 6T
8995 Points -10%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
8548 Points -14%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (9547 - 10024, n=9)
9838 Points -1%
Average of class Smartphone (2630 - 26990, n=90, last 2 years)
13549 Points +36%
Compute RenderScript Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
9870 Points
HTC U12 Plus
12493 Points +27%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
8938 Points -9%
LG V30
8016 Points -19%
OnePlus 6T
13341 Points +35%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
14299 Points +45%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (5677 - 9870, n=9)
7355 Points -25%
Average of class Smartphone (2053 - 18432, n=70, last 2 years)
10590 Points +7%
PCMark for Android
Work performance score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
13531 Points
HTC U12 Plus
10264 Points -24%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
12535 Points -7%
Huawei Mate 10
8337 Points -38%
LG V30
6854 Points -49%
OnePlus 6T
10590 Points -22%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
8967 Points -34%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (9728 - 13531, n=10)
11164 Points -17%
Average of class Smartphone (10884 - 19297, n=2, last 2 years)
15091 Points +12%
Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
9326 Points
HTC U12 Plus
8601 Points -8%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
9225 Points -1%
Huawei Mate 10
6904 Points -26%
LG V30
5603 Points -40%
OnePlus 6T
8487 Points -9%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
7360 Points -21%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (7567 - 9326, n=10)
8433 Points -10%
Average of class Smartphone (9101 - 12871, n=4, last 2 years)
10872 Points +17%
3DMark
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
56722 Points
HTC U12 Plus
62152 Points +10%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
57047 Points +1%
Huawei Mate 10
31605 Points -44%
LG V30
34139 Points -40%
OnePlus 6T
64534 Points +14%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
57711 Points +2%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (34035 - 57073, n=10)
43799 Points -23%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
67956 Points
HTC U12 Plus
81726 Points +20%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
67730 Points 0%
Huawei Mate 10
36231 Points -47%
LG V30
55271 Points -19%
OnePlus 6T
84998 Points +25%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
77003 Points +13%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (42128 - 67956, n=10)
53280 Points -22%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
35932 Points
HTC U12 Plus
33810 Points -6%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
36755 Points +2%
Huawei Mate 10
21611 Points -40%
LG V30
14601 Points -59%
OnePlus 6T
35022 Points -3%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
30765 Points -14%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (19993 - 37164, n=10)
27047 Points -25%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
4975 Points
HTC U12 Plus
4585 Points -8%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
4996 Points 0%
Huawei Mate 10
3347 Points -33%
LG V30
4738 Points -5%
OnePlus 6T
6336 Points +27%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
4529 Points -9%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (2567 - 5638, n=10)
4152 Points -17%
Average of class Smartphone (712 - 7285, n=52, last 2 years)
3548 Points -29%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
5245 Points
HTC U12 Plus
5637 Points +7%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
5305 Points +1%
Huawei Mate 10
3522 Points -33%
LG V30
5895 Points +12%
OnePlus 6T
8272 Points +58%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
6554 Points +25%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (2347 - 6111, n=10)
4277 Points -18%
Average of class Smartphone (618 - 9451, n=52, last 2 years)
3905 Points -26%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
4215 Points
HTC U12 Plus
2774 Points -34%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
4150 Points -2%
Huawei Mate 10
2852 Points -32%
LG V30
2808 Points -33%
OnePlus 6T
3483 Points -17%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
2176 Points -48%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (3548 - 4436, n=10)
3942 Points -6%
Average of class Smartphone (1093 - 4525, n=52, last 2 years)
3005 Points -29%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
5511 Points
HTC U12 Plus
4882 Points -11%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
5456 Points -1%
Huawei Mate 10
3361 Points -39%
LG V30
4728 Points -14%
OnePlus 6T
6310 Points +14%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
4232 Points -23%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (2525 - 5990, n=10)
4247 Points -23%
Average of class Smartphone (704 - 23024, n=115, last 2 years)
9038 Points +64%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
5893 Points
HTC U12 Plus
6419 Points +9%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
5854 Points -1%
Huawei Mate 10
3587 Points -39%
LG V30
5819 Points -1%
OnePlus 6T
8397 Points +42%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
5922 Points 0%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (2536 - 6350, n=10)
4495 Points -24%
Average of class Smartphone (607 - 45492, n=114, last 2 years)
15757 Points +167%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
4493 Points
HTC U12 Plus
2656 Points -41%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
4407 Points -2%
Huawei Mate 10
2770 Points -38%
LG V30
2855 Points -36%
OnePlus 6T
3374 Points -25%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
2145 Points -52%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (2421 - 4997, n=10)
3580 Points -20%
Average of class Smartphone (1075 - 8749, n=114, last 2 years)
4335 Points -4%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
4228 Points
HTC U12 Plus
3419 Points -19%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
4201 Points -1%
Huawei Mate 10
2999 Points -29%
LG V30
3635 Points -14%
OnePlus 6T
4734 Points +12%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
3197 Points -24%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (2276 - 4835, n=10)
3929 Points -7%
Average of class Smartphone (286 - 7890, n=102, last 2 years)
2685 Points -36%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
4232 Points
HTC U12 Plus
3488 Points -18%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
4206 Points -1%
Huawei Mate 10
3033 Points -28%
LG V30
3903 Points -8%
OnePlus 6T
5241 Points +24%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
3742 Points -12%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (2082 - 4937, n=10)
3960 Points -6%
Average of class Smartphone (240 - 9814, n=102, last 2 years)
2675 Points -37%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
4216 Points
HTC U12 Plus
3197 Points -24%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
4183 Points -1%
Huawei Mate 10
2887 Points -32%
LG V30
2931 Points -30%
OnePlus 6T
3537 Points -16%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
2118 Points -50%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (3380 - 4509, n=10)
3889 Points -8%
Average of class Smartphone (858 - 4679, n=102, last 2 years)
3127 Points -26%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
4315 Points
HTC U12 Plus
3997 Points -7%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
4275 Points -1%
Huawei Mate 10
2964 Points -31%
LG V30
3559 Points -18%
OnePlus 6T
5189 Points +20%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
3512 Points -19%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (2611 - 5102, n=10)
3823 Points -11%
Average of class Smartphone (317 - 20131, n=174, last 2 years)
6545 Points +52%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
4319 Points
HTC U12 Plus
4450 Points +3%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
4250 Points -2%
Huawei Mate 10
2991 Points -31%
LG V30
3809 Points -12%
OnePlus 6T
5877 Points +36%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
4209 Points -3%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (2747 - 5157, n=10)
3997 Points -7%
Average of class Smartphone (267 - 33376, n=173, last 2 years)
9330 Points +116%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
4439 Points
HTC U12 Plus
2947 Points -34%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
4364 Points -2%
Huawei Mate 10
2876 Points -35%
LG V30
2893 Points -35%
OnePlus 6T
3681 Points -17%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
2227 Points -50%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (2227 - 4917, n=10)
3461 Points -22%
Average of class Smartphone (938 - 8480, n=173, last 2 years)
4158 Points -6%
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
62 fps
HTC U12 Plus
59 fps -5%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
61 fps -2%
Huawei Mate 10
60 fps -3%
LG V30
60 fps -3%
OnePlus 6T
60 fps -3%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
58 fps -6%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (55 - 62, n=10)
58.7 fps -5%
Average of class Smartphone (22 - 165, n=177, last 2 years)
83.6 fps +35%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
134 fps
HTC U12 Plus
98 fps -27%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
120 fps -10%
Huawei Mate 10
97 fps -28%
LG V30
113 fps -16%
OnePlus 6T
152 fps +13%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
102 fps -24%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (68 - 138, n=10)
109.5 fps -18%
Average of class Smartphone (19 - 791, n=177, last 2 years)
243 fps +81%
GFXBench 3.0
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
60 fps
HTC U12 Plus
35 fps -42%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
42 fps -30%
Huawei Mate 10
51 fps -15%
LG V30
35 fps -42%
OnePlus 6T
59 fps -2%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
51 fps -15%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (37 - 60, n=10)
54.8 fps -9%
Average of class Smartphone (6.8 - 165, n=178, last 2 years)
71.3 fps +19%
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
87 fps
HTC U12 Plus
72 fps -17%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
73 fps -16%
Huawei Mate 10
53 fps -39%
LG V30
59 fps -32%
OnePlus 6T
59 fps -32%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
54 fps -38%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (40 - 91, n=10)
70 fps -20%
Average of class Smartphone (9.2 - 363, n=178, last 2 years)
137.9 fps +59%
GFXBench 3.1
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
51 fps
HTC U12 Plus
31 fps -39%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
26 fps -49%
Huawei Mate 10
37 fps -27%
LG V30
19 fps -63%
OnePlus 6T
53 fps +4%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
29 fps -43%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (24 - 54, n=10)
43.4 fps -15%
Average of class Smartphone (3.7 - 158, n=178, last 2 years)
60.2 fps +18%
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
55 fps
HTC U12 Plus
39 fps -29%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
29 fps -47%
Huawei Mate 10
38 fps -31%
LG V30
40 fps -27%
OnePlus 6T
59 fps +7%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
32 fps -42%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (25 - 56, n=10)
45.2 fps -18%
Average of class Smartphone (6.2 - 279, n=178, last 2 years)
97 fps +76%
GFXBench
on screen Car Chase Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
30 fps
HTC U12 Plus
20 fps -33%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
16 fps -47%
Huawei Mate 10
21 fps -30%
LG V30
13 fps -57%
OnePlus 6T
31 fps +3%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
24 fps -20%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (15 - 30, n=10)
24 fps -20%
Average of class Smartphone (5 - 117, n=178, last 2 years)
42.9 fps +43%
1920x1080 Car Chase Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
32 fps
HTC U12 Plus
35 fps +9%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
31 fps -3%
Huawei Mate 10
21 fps -34%
LG V30
24 fps -25%
OnePlus 6T
35 fps +9%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
25 fps -22%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (17 - 33, n=10)
28.8 fps -10%
Average of class Smartphone (2.9 - 166, n=178, last 2 years)
58.6 fps +83%
on screen Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
32 fps
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
18 fps -44%
OnePlus 6T
34 fps +6%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (18 - 33, n=9)
29.8 fps -7%
Average of class Smartphone (3.6 - 123, n=218, last 2 years)
43.3 fps +35%
1920x1080 Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
34 fps
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
33 fps -3%
OnePlus 6T
37 fps +9%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (30 - 37, n=9)
33.2 fps -2%
Average of class Smartphone (2.3 - 229, n=218, last 2 years)
62.9 fps +85%
on screen Aztec Ruins High Tier Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
21 fps
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
19 fps -10%
OnePlus 6T
22 fps +5%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (19 - 21, n=9)
20.3 fps -3%
Average of class Smartphone (2.8 - 105, n=218, last 2 years)
32.2 fps +53%
2560x1440 Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
13 fps
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
13 fps 0%
OnePlus 6T
14 fps +8%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (13 - 14, n=9)
13.7 fps +5%
Average of class Smartphone (0.85 - 94, n=218, last 2 years)
25 fps +92%
AnTuTu v7 - Total Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
302465 Points
HTC U12 Plus
255739 Points -15%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
300617 Points -1%
OnePlus 6T
294488 Points -3%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
288062 Points -5%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (268359 - 322616, n=10)
295586 Points -2%
AnTuTu v6 - Total Score (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
254229 Points
HTC U12 Plus
221971 Points -13%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
250848 Points -1%
Huawei Mate 10
178234 Points -30%
LG V30
173749 Points -32%
OnePlus 6T
228939 Points -10%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
232931 Points -8%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (245662 - 254229, n=9)
250407 Points -2%
BaseMark OS II
Overall (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
4466 Points
HTC U12 Plus
4252 Points -5%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
4687 Points +5%
Huawei Mate 10
3210 Points -28%
LG V30
2702 Points -39%
OnePlus 6T
4458 Points 0%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
3923 Points -12%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (4014 - 4746, n=10)
4446 Points 0%
Average of class Smartphone (411 - 11438, n=158, last 2 years)
5704 Points +28%
System (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
8602 Points
HTC U12 Plus
7862 Points -9%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
8604 Points 0%
Huawei Mate 10
5228 Points -39%
LG V30
4238 Points -51%
OnePlus 6T
8156 Points -5%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
6556 Points -24%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (7597 - 8604, n=10)
8146 Points -5%
Average of class Smartphone (2376 - 16475, n=158, last 2 years)
9621 Points +12%
Memory (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
5929 Points
HTC U12 Plus
3641 Points -39%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
6283 Points +6%
Huawei Mate 10
4141 Points -30%
LG V30
2091 Points -65%
OnePlus 6T
4344 Points -27%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
3521 Points -41%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (5116 - 6283, n=10)
5580 Points -6%
Average of class Smartphone (670 - 12306, n=158, last 2 years)
6230 Points +5%
Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
5455 Points
HTC U12 Plus
7945 Points +46%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
6273 Points +15%
Huawei Mate 10
3928 Points -28%
LG V30
5949 Points +9%
OnePlus 6T
7969 Points +46%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
7965 Points +46%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (4963 - 7758, n=10)
6484 Points +19%
Average of class Smartphone (697 - 58651, n=158, last 2 years)
13900 Points +155%
Web (sort by value)
Huawei Mate 20
1430 Points
HTC U12 Plus
1437 Points 0%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
1424 Points 0%
Huawei Mate 10
1253 Points -12%
LG V30
1009 Points -29%
OnePlus 6T
1398 Points -2%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
1288 Points -10%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (1239 - 1462, n=10)
1343 Points -6%
Average of class Smartphone (10 - 2145, n=158, last 2 years)
1487 Points +4%

Legend

 
Huawei Mate 20 HiSilicon Kirin 980, ARM Mali-G76 MP10, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
 
HTC U12 Plus Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, Qualcomm Adreno 630, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
 
Huawei Mate 20 Pro HiSilicon Kirin 980, ARM Mali-G76 MP10, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
 
Huawei Mate 10 HiSilicon Kirin 970, ARM Mali-G72 MP12, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
 
LG V30 Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (8998), Qualcomm Adreno 540, 64 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
 
OnePlus 6T Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, Qualcomm Adreno 630, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
 
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, Qualcomm Adreno 630, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash

The Mate 20 expectedly outperformed all our comparison devices in browser benchmarks. The Mate 20 Pro outscores our test device by 2% in two of our five browser benchmarks, but the Mate 20 has a slight edge in Mozilla Kraken 1.1. Overall, there is no difference between the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro.

Our test device loaded websites quickly throughout testing too. Even complex websites like Google Interland loaded without issue and worked smoothly.

JetStream 1.1 - Total Score
Huawei Mate 20 Pro (Chrome 69)
109.2 Points +2%
Huawei Mate 20 (Chrome 70.0.3538.80)
107 Points
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (93.2 - 109.9, n=9)
102.4 Points -4%
HTC U12 Plus (Chrome 66)
87 Points -19%
OnePlus 6T (Chrome 70)
86.1 Points -20%
Average of class Smartphone (66.1 - 104.3, n=2, last 2 years)
85.2 Points -20%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition (Chrome 69)
80.9 Points -24%
Huawei Mate 10 (Chrome Version 63)
58.6 Points -45%
LG V30 (Chrome 62)
52.9 Points -51%
Octane V2 - Total Score
Average of class Smartphone (4633 - 89112, n=202, last 2 years)
33355 Points +53%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro (Chrome 69)
23285 Points +7%
Huawei Mate 20 (Chrome 70.0.3538.80)
21849 Points
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (20618 - 23285, n=10)
21733 Points -1%
OnePlus 6T (Chrome 70)
16824 Points -23%
HTC U12 Plus (Chrome 66)
16285 Points -25%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition (Chrome 69)
14617 Points -33%
Huawei Mate 10 (Chrome Version 63)
11205 Points -49%
LG V30 (Chrome 62)
10506 Points -52%
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
Huawei Mate 10 (Chrome Version 63)
3704 ms * -90%
LG V30 (Chrome 62)
3630 ms * -86%
HTC U12 Plus (Chrome 66)
2410 ms * -24%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition (Chrome 69)
2317 ms * -19%
OnePlus 6T (Chrome 70)
2282 ms * -17%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (1948 - 3098, n=10)
2176 ms * -12%
Huawei Mate 20 Pro (Chrome 69)
1952 ms * -0%
Huawei Mate 20 (Chrome 70.0.3538.80)
1948 ms *
Average of class Smartphone (388 - 9999, n=165, last 2 years)
1658 ms * +15%
WebXPRT 3 - Overall
Average of class Smartphone (37 - 304, n=118, last 2 years)
130.7 Points +5%
Huawei Mate 20 (Chrome 70.0.3538.80)
124 Points
Huawei Mate 20 Pro (Chrome 69)
124 Points 0%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (86 - 124, n=10)
105.1 Points -15%
HTC U12 Plus (Chrome 66)
101 Points -19%
WebXPRT 2015 - Overall
Huawei Mate 20 Pro (Chrome 69)
334 Points +2%
Huawei Mate 20 (Chrome 70.0.3538.80)
328 Points
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980 (228 - 334, n=5)
277 Points -16%
OnePlus 6T (Chrome 70)
260 Points -21%
HTC U12 Plus (Chrome 66)
257 Points -22%
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition (Chrome 69)
251 Points -23%
Huawei Mate 10 (Chrome Version 63)
156 Points -52%
LG V30 (Chrome 62)
138 Points -58%

* ... smaller is better

Our test device has 128 GB of UFS 2.1 flash storage, which AndroBench 3-5 demonstrates is the same module Huawei used in the Mate 20 Pro. The Mate 20 has faster internal storage overall than our other comparison devices, although the Mate 10, OnePlus 6T and Mi 8 Explorer Edition achieved slightly faster sequential write 256 KB transfer speeds.

The NM card reader is as fast as the one in the Mate 20 Pro too. However, they offer no real speed increases over microSD cards. The Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro averaged higher sequential write speeds than our comparison devices, but the HTC U12 Plus has a marginally faster sequential read speed.

Huawei Mate 20HTC U12 PlusHuawei Mate 20 ProHuawei Mate 10LG V30OnePlus 6TXiaomi Mi 8 Explorer EditionAverage 128 GB UFS 2.1 FlashAverage of class Smartphone
AndroBench 3-5
-14%
0%
-8%
-38%
-27%
-29%
-1%
161%
Sequential Read 256KB
840
709
-16%
853
2%
790
-6%
669
-20%
735
-12%
692
-18%
763 ?(427 - 1011, n=112)
-9%
1468 ?(215 - 4512, n=210, last 2 years)
75%
Sequential Write 256KB
196.7
195.8
0%
196.4
0%
201.7
3%
193.2
-2%
204.4
4%
205.2
4%
295 ?(13.6 - 719, n=112)
50%
1078 ?(57.5 - 3678, n=210, last 2 years)
448%
Random Read 4KB
157.9
118.1
-25%
157.4
0%
169.7
7%
78.2
-50%
138.5
-12%
135.2
-14%
152.4 ?(92.6 - 239, n=112)
-3%
242 ?(22.2 - 543, n=210, last 2 years)
53%
Random Write 4KB
158.1
104.2
-34%
157.8
0%
105.3
-33%
10.21
-94%
22
-86%
22.65
-86%
130.6 ?(18.2 - 290, n=112)
-17%
266 ?(13 - 709, n=210, last 2 years)
68%
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard
83.2 ?(Huawei NanoSD 128 GB)
84.3 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
1%
83.2 ?(Huawei NanoSD 128 GB)
0%
80.6 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-3%
62.8
-25%
76 ?(13.4 - 88.3, n=43)
-9%
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard
72.3 ?(Huawei NanoSD 128 GB)
63.6 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-12%
72.4 ?(Huawei NanoSD 128 GB)
0%
62.9 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-13%
47.2
-35%
59.6 ?(8.4 - 72.4, n=43)
-18%

Games

The Mate 20 is an excellent gaming smartphone thanks to its powerful hardware. Complex games like PUBG Mobile and Asphalt 9: Legends run smoothly even at high graphics, which we confirmed with GameBench. Both games are capped at 30 FPS for some reason, but our performance graphs indicate that the Mate 20 could probably achieve higher frame rates if these caps were lifted.

The positional sensor and touchscreen worked perfectly throughout our games testing. The front-firing speakers are difficult to obscure too and create a good atmosphere while gaming.

PUBG Mobile
PUBG Mobile
Asphalt 9: Legends
Asphalt 9: Legends
Asphalt 9: Legends
051015202530Tooltip
Huawei Mate 20; 1.1.4a: Ø30.8 (23-32)
PUBG Mobile
051015202530Tooltip
Huawei Mate 20; 0.9.0: Ø29.7 (18-31)

Emissions

Temperature

GFXBench Battery Test: T-Rex OpenGL ES 2.0
GFXBench Battery Test: T-Rex OpenGL ES 2.0
GFXBench Battery Test: Manhattan OpenGL ES 3.1
GFXBench Battery Test: Manhattan OpenGL ES 3.1

The Mate 20 feels pleasantly cool when it is idling. The bottom of the display can reach a rather warm 34.7 °C. Overall, surface temperatures average around 31 °C at idle, which is acceptable. Our test device manages its surfaces temperatures well under sustained load too. The device reached a maximum of 37.3 °C during a stress test even with performance mode activated, which is comparatively lukewarm. 

We also subjected the Mate 20 to a looped GFXBench Battery test to determine how well it manages its performance under sustained load. We measured average frame rates for each benchmark and changes in battery levels. Our test device handled the T-Rex benchmark with ease, but frame rates varied wildly after the 14th loop of the more complex Manhattan benchmark. Overall, the Mate 20 should not thermal throttle in daily use even if you push the device hard.

Max. Load
 36.3 °C
97 F
37.3 °C
99 F
34.7 °C
94 F
 
 35.9 °C
97 F
36.3 °C
97 F
35.6 °C
96 F
 
 34.8 °C
95 F
34.7 °C
94 F
34.7 °C
94 F
 
Maximum: 37.3 °C = 99 F
Average: 35.6 °C = 96 F
31 °C
88 F
32.7 °C
91 F
36.4 °C
98 F
31.5 °C
89 F
34 °C
93 F
34.8 °C
95 F
31.1 °C
88 F
33.2 °C
92 F
33.7 °C
93 F
Maximum: 36.4 °C = 98 F
Average: 33.2 °C = 92 F
Power Supply (max.)  30.9 °C = 88 F | Room Temperature 21.2 °C = 70 F | Voltcraft IR-260
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 35.6 °C / 96 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 37.3 °C / 99 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 36.4 °C / 98 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(±) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 32.3 °C / 90 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.
Heat map of the front of the device under load
Heat map of the front of the device under load
Heat map of the back of the device under load
Heat map of the back of the device under load

Speakers

Speaker characteristics
Speaker characteristics

The Mate 20 has stereo front-firing speakers that reached a maximum of 78.4 dB(A) in our tests. The speakers lack bass tones, which is a common failing for smartphone speakers. However, the speakers reproduce detailed-sounding audio with balanced mid tones and treble.

Huawei has included a headphone jack, which is a rarity for flagship smartphones released in 2018 and is something that the Mate 20 Pro lacks. The Mate 20 can connect to external speakers or headphones with up to Bluetooth 5.0 too and can utilise aptX, aptX HD, LDAC or SBC.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2032.635.82528.930.83125.227.94026.125.25030.235.96326.928.98028.732.210029.126.412518.429.41602142.820024.34325017.449.331516.853.840015.352.850015.656.163014.159.280015.262.1100014.161.3125014.663.2160014.667.1200014.267.2250013.868.131501468.6400014.670.4500014.469.2630014.666800014.458.81000014.854.31250014.654.11600014.742.8SPL2778.4N0.939.8median 14.6median 58.8Delta1.611.130.7362524.126.829.926.328.729.836.127.429.62128.119.527.418.835.719.247.517.645.516.947.315.8541552.31553.614.753.914.859.814.664.114.366.413.467.914.469.314.464.714.8661568.514.866.314.765.51562.914.957.215.255.815.745.326.877.70.938.7median 15median 57.20.69.3hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseHuawei Mate 20Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)
Huawei Mate 20 audio analysis

(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (78.4 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 18.1% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (12.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.5% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 7.5% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (6.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (23.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 45% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 47% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 64% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 29% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Huawei Mate 20 Pro audio analysis

(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (77.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 14.2% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (12.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 6.7% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 7.3% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (6.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (22.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 44% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 49% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 63% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 31% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Battery Life

Power Consumption

The Mate 20 is a surprisingly consumptive device. Our test device consumes an average of 4% more than the Mate 20 Pro and a maximum of 28% more under load. The Mate 20’s 0.69 W minimum consumption at idle is lower than all our comparison devices, but it consumes more on average at idle and under load except for the Mi 8 Explorer Edition. The latter comparison device is the outlier in our comparison table though. Overall, the Mate 20 finishes in the middle of our comparison table, significantly behind the LG V30 and the OnePlus 6T.

We were surprised at the efficiency of the 22.5 W charger. We had expected the Mate 20 to charge noticeably slower than the Mate 20 Pro does with its 40 W charger, but the former’s charging speed pleasantly surprised us. Our test device took around 30 minutes to reach 50% charge, which should be long enough for a full workday’s use. The 22.5 W charger took another 10 minutes to recharge our test device by a further 15/16% and finally finished charging after around 90 minutes. Please keep in mind that the Mate 20 can only be charged via its USB Type-C port. There is no support for wireless charging.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.02 / 0.26 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 0.69 / 2.28 / 2.52 Watt
Load midlight 5.21 / 8.49 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
4000 mAh
HTC U12 Plus
3500 mAh
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
4200 mAh
Huawei Mate 10
4000 mAh
LG V30
3300 mAh
OnePlus 6T
3700 mAh
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
3000 mAh
Average HiSilicon Kirin 980
 
Average of class Smartphone
 
Power Consumption
-7%
4%
-5%
24%
18%
-50%
4%
7%
Idle Minimum *
0.69
0.77
-12%
0.95
-38%
0.89
-29%
0.72
-4%
0.7
-1%
1.8
-161%
0.802 ?(0.6 - 0.97, n=10)
-16%
0.894 ?(0.42 - 2.37, n=157, last 2 years)
-30%
Idle Average *
2.28
2.18
4%
2.17
5%
2.31
-1%
1.37
40%
1.1
52%
2.9
-27%
2.07 ?(0.9 - 2.6, n=10)
9%
1.452 ?(0.69 - 4.26, n=157, last 2 years)
36%
Idle Maximum *
2.52
2.21
12%
2.25
11%
2.38
6%
1.41
44%
2.1
17%
3.5
-39%
2.38 ?(1.83 - 2.77, n=10)
6%
1.632 ?(0.79 - 4.45, n=157, last 2 years)
35%
Load Average *
5.21
6.25
-20%
4.47
14%
4.87
7%
3.46
34%
4.2
19%
4.8
8%
4.87 ?(3.74 - 6.3, n=10)
7%
5.55 ?(2.4 - 16.5, n=157, last 2 years)
-7%
Load Maximum *
8.49
10.16
-20%
6.15
28%
9.16
-8%
7.83
8%
8.3
2%
11.2
-32%
7.46 ?(6.15 - 9.85, n=10)
12%
8.23 ?(4.32 - 20.8, n=157, last 2 years)
3%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

The Mate 20 has a 4,000 mAh battery, the longevity of which exceeded our expectations. The Mate 20 Pro averaged around 10% shorter runtimes than our test device even with its 200 mAh larger battery. It should be noted that the Mate 20 Pro has a higher resolution display that presumably has a higher cost to battery life than the one in the Mate 20.

Our test device lasted an impressively long 14:45 hours in our Wi-Fi battery life test and 17:10 hours in our H.264 looped video battery life test. These runtimes exceed anything that our comparison devices can achieve. The Mate 20 is only beaten by the LG V30 and OnePlus 6T in our battery life at idle test, underlining how good the Mate 20’s battery life is. In short, our test device has longer battery life than all our comparison devices and should comfortably last most people a full workday of mixed use.

It is worth noting that we conducted all our battery life tests with our test device set to performance mode. Therefore, the Mate 20 could achieve even longer runtimes if that mode was disabled. Equally, the ‘power-saving’ and ‘ultra power-saving’ modes could help to further extend battery life too.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
31h 32min
WiFi Websurfing
14h 45min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
17h 10min
Load (maximum brightness)
4h 47min
Huawei Mate 20
4000 mAh
HTC U12 Plus
3500 mAh
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
4200 mAh
Huawei Mate 10
4000 mAh
LG V30
3300 mAh
OnePlus 6T
3700 mAh
Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition
3000 mAh
Battery Runtime
-35%
-10%
-7%
-10%
-5%
-23%
Reader / Idle
1892
1452
-23%
1747
-8%
1671
-12%
1914
1%
1936
2%
1401
-26%
H.264
1030
464
-55%
854
-17%
1003
-3%
822
-20%
903
-12%
921
-11%
WiFi v1.3
885
507
-43%
767
-13%
865
-2%
774
-13%
865
-2%
694
-22%
Load
287
230
-20%
282
-2%
259
-10%
267
-7%
261
-9%
191
-33%

Pros

+ well-built
+ accurate and fast location services
+ LTE Cat.16
+ MIMO Wi-Fi
+ 3.5 mm jack
+ Android 9.0 Pie
+ decent call quality
+ dual VoLTE
+ impressive triple rear-facing cameras
+ bright IPS display
+ flagship SoC
+ long battery life
+ quicker charger included in the box

Cons

- only IP53-certified
- no wireless charging
- no IR facial recognition
- PWM flicker
- nano-memory card instead of microSD card

Verdict

The Huawei Mate 20 smartphone review. Test device courtesy of Huawei Germany.
The Huawei Mate 20 smartphone review. Test device courtesy of Huawei Germany.

The Huawei Mate 20 is a premium flagship just like its more-expensive sibling, the Mate 20 Pro. Huawei has equipped the Mate 20 with its Kirin 980 SoC, which makes the device as powerful as the Pro model. Moreover, the former’s lower resolution display helps it achieve outstanding battery life, while the inclusion of a headphone jack is a welcome bonus. The Mate 20 lacks some of the Mate 20 Pro’s fancy features though like its 3D face scanning, in-screen fingerprint sensor or wireless charging, which may frustrate some people.

The Huawei Mate 20 is a fantastic smartphone, but one which forgoes some of the Mate 20 Pro’s premium features. The 200-Euro (~$225) saving is worth it in our opinion though. 

Moreover, the Mate 20 uses an inferior Leica triple camera array, which performs noticeably worse in low light. However, the cameras are still on par with the best of what other 2018 flagships offer. Nonetheless, it is a compromise. Likewise, Huawei has equipped the device with a flat LCD display compared to the curved OLED panel in the Mate 20 Pro. Finally, the device has an inferior IP rating, for which we can offer no explanation. IP53 is simply not good enough for an expensive flagship smartphone released in 2018, particularly when so many of its competitors are IP67/68-rated. Our concerns about the smaller power supply were unfounded though as the Mate 20 charges quickly. Overall, the Mate 20 is excellent value for money and a great alternative to the Mate 20 Pro, but the former lacks some of the latter's most talked about features.

Huawei Mate 20 - 11/27/2018 v6(old)
Manuel Masiero

Chassis
92%
Keyboard
68 / 75 → 90%
Pointing Device
96%
Connectivity
55 / 60 → 91%
Weight
89%
Battery
98%
Display
90%
Games Performance
68 / 63 → 100%
Application Performance
86 / 70 → 100%
Temperature
90%
Noise
100%
Audio
74 / 91 → 81%
Camera
82%
Average
84%
90%
Smartphone - Weighted Average

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Manuel Masiero, 2018-11-28 (Update: 2019-02-26)