▷Honor 20 review: ok, is the price right? 🥇

Say that Honor 20 is paying for the unfavorable historical period is perhaps an understatement. Yes, it's true, probably if the US had not announced the ban - now withdrawn - of Huawei just the day before the European launch of the smartphone, things would have been different: the enthusiasm derived from the presentation would have pushed the sales of the device and ensured to Honor a decidedly more crackling arrival on the market.

Honestly, however, I do not know how long all this would have lasted: Honor 20 is not worth the 499 euros requested by the Asian manufacturer and does not fascinate like the Pro variant which, for only 100 euros more, offers a more captivating look and a better photographic sector. Don't get me wrong, Honor 20 is still a good device, but perhaps offered at a wrong price. What does it mean? I'll explain it to you in this review.

Honor 20: the technical sheet

Let's start, as usual, with the excellent technical characteristics of this smartphone.

Dimensions: 154.25 x 73.97 x 7.87 mm
Weight: 174 g
Display: 6,26″ IPS LCD – 1080 x 2340 pixel
CPU: Kirin HiSilicon 980
GPU: Mali-G76 MP10
RAM: 6 GB
Memory: 128 GB
Network: 4G LTE – Dual SIM
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C, GPS
Battery: 3750 mAh
Rear camera:48 + 8 + 2 + 2 MP
Front Camera: 32 MP
Videos: 4K @ 30 fps
Operating system: Android 9.0 Pie with Magic UI 2.1.0

Youthful and well built but ...

The first impact is the same as always: Honor 20 is a well-built smartphone, characterized by a colorful and pleasantly modern glass back cover and a solid metal frame.

It is then impossible not to appreciate the fingerprint reader located right along the right profile, a solution that is little used but which is extremely valid, making it more comfortable than a rear sensor and faster than the sensor below the display. I would like to point out that the reader also acts as an on / off button, which is why in addition to the latter you will find only one other physical button, the one dedicated to the volume.

The other sides are traditional: on the upper part we have the IRDA, on the left the SIM slot, while the lower side is dedicated to the speaker and the USB Type-C connector. The 3,5 mm jack is instead absent.

Really good the 6,26-inch display, an IPS with FullHD + resolution that is very bright, capable of returning lively tones and customizable thanks to the dedicated settings that help you define the color temperature. The choice to opt for the side hole rather than the notch was very much appreciated.

The only real aesthetic flaw is represented by the camera module located on the back: in addition to being very long it is in fact very protruding, which unbalances the device a little.

Ah, I forgot: Unfortunately, Honor 20 does not boast IP68 certification, so watch out for swimming pools, beach baths, bath tubs and sinks.

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Autonomy and top performance

The hardware is truly top of the range. In fact, on board we have the HiSilicon Kirin 980 processor, 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory which yes, it is not expandable, but relying on the Google cloud for photos and videos are really more than enough.

Good connectivity with dual band WiFi, NFC for digital payments, Bluetooth 5.0 and the aforementioned infrared port. But be careful: pre-installed you will not find the classic Remote Control app that allows you to take advantage of this feature. Yes, that's right, you can download some from the Play Store but the search will take some time. I, after having installed 5/6 without obtaining results, I threw in the towel.

Really excellent autonomy: the 3750 mAh, combined with the excellent software optimization work, allow you to get to the end of the day without difficulty.

What about the operating system? We have on board Android 9.0 Pie with Magic UI 2.1. A new name that actually hides the usual Huawei EMUI and which, consequently, brings with it the usual pros and cons. So expect a lot of fluidity, many features, the inevitable gestures and, unfortunately, the usual slightly equipped graphics.

48 megapixels are back

The photographic sector of Honor 20 is unnecessarily abundant. In fact, we have 4 sensors available, but only 2 are really useful ones.

The main camera is from 48 megapixels, with the usual Sony IMX586 sensor which by default gives 12 megapixel shots by interpolating 4 pixels in 1. Don't worry, if you want to take advantage of all those megapixels, just go to the settings. How does it behave? Really very good: the quality of the shots is excellent with rather natural colors, provided, however, that you do not activate the AI which tends to saturate any photograph a lot. The images captured in low light conditions are also not bad: not surprising but still convincing.

The second camera is wide angle, 16 megapixel and with f / 2.2 aperture. The shots are really good with the lateral distortion really reduced to a minimum.

Finally we have two other - useless - sensors, both 2 megapixel: the first is dedicated to 4 cm macros (and it is not an indicative distance but almost mandatory) and is really disappointing, while the second is designed for the bokeh effect.

Finally, the 32 megapixel front camera is good, as well as the videos, in 4K at 30 fps, which however pay for the absence of optical stabilization.

Honor 20: buy it or not?

Honor 20 is undoubtedly a convincing smartphone but not at 499 euros. At the moment the competition on this range is super-fierce and there is nothing that makes it shine compared to other devices. And then, let's face it, for only 100 euros more you can take home the Honor 20 Pro which, at least on paper, convinces more.