Huawei Mate 20 Pro vs. Honor View 20: Which should you buy?

Huawei Mate 20 Pro

The Mate 20 Pro delivers one of the most versatile camera arrays around, and packs excellent battery life to boot. It has futuristic features like reverse wireless charging and an in-display fingerprint sensor, and its AMOLED display is top-notch — pun intended.

Huawei Mate 20 Pro

Top of the line

Exemplary battery life
Excellent cameras
3D face unlock
Large notch obfuscates notifications
In-display fingerprint sensor is slow

Honor View 20

The View 20 carries over most of the Mate 20 Pro's best traits for a bit less money. It isn't water resistant, nor does it have wireless charging, but its camera is still excellent, and some may prefer its rear fingerprint sensor and hole-punch display.

Honor View 20

Hole-punch flagship

Hole-punch display means no notch
Same terrific build quality for cheaper
Rear fingerprint sensor
Headphone jack
No water resistance
Fewer camera options
No wireless charging

Honor is a sub-brand of Huawei, meaning both phones share similar DNA, but some key differences in hardware may make one a better option than the other, depending on your preferences and budget.

Same, but different

The Honor View 20 costs less than the Mate 20 Pro, but you wouldn't know it based on the hardware. Both phones feel outstandingly well-built, with similar glass-and-metal designs and curved backings that make them comfortable to hold. Both come in eye-catching colors and feature similar control layouts, with the volume and power buttons resting along the righthand side of the frames.

Where the hardware starts to differ is in the displays. Both phones measure in at about 6.4 inches, but the Mate 20 Pro has a wide notch occupying the notification tray. The View 20 takes a more 2019 approach with a "hole punch" cutout in the upper left corner; while I'm personally not a fan of the hole punch design in general, it's considerably less obtrusive in this instance, and your tastes may differ.

The Mate 20 Pro also has an in-display fingerprint sensor, which feels futuristic compared to the View 20's more traditional rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, but it's a bit slower, and you lose the convenient swipe-down gesture to access your notifications.

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Header Cell - Column 0 Huawei Mate 20 ProHonor View 20
PlatformAndroid 9 PieEMUI 9Android 9 PieMagic UI
Display6.39-inch AMOLED3120 x 1440, 538ppi6.4-inch IPS LCD2310 x 1080, 398ppi
ChipsetOcta-core HiSilicon Kirin 980Octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 980
GPUMali-G76 MP10Mali-G76 MP10
RAM6GB/8GB6GB/8GB
Storage128GB/256GB128GB/256GB
ExpandableYes (Nano Memory)No
Battery4200mAh4000mAh
Water resistanceIP68None
Rear camera40MP f/1.8 wide + 20MP f/2.2 ultra-wide + 8MP f/2.4 telephoto48MP f/1.8 + TOF 3D stereo camera
Front camera24MP f/2.025MP f/1.8
Wireless chargingYes (bidirectional)No
Security3D face unlock + in-display fingerprint sensorRear fingerprint sensor
Dimensions157.8 x 72.3 x 8.6mm156.9 x 75.4 x 8.1mm
Weight189g180g

From a specs standpoint, there's not much to gripe about with either phone. Both feature Huawei's top-end Kirin 980 chipset, though the Mate 20 Pro edges out a bit with IP68 water/dust resistance, along with a slightly larger battery, wireless charging, and even reverse wireless charging. Both run on Android 9 Pie with nearly identical software — Honor's Magic UI is more or less just EMUI 9 with a different theme.

The View 20's 48MP camera takes outstanding photos, aided by the TOF sensor and AI software, rivaling the main sensor on the Mate 20 Pro, but the latter pulls ahead in versatility with its three rear cameras — one wide, one ultra-wide, and one telephoto. This allows you to pull off shots on the Mate 20 Pro that simply wouldn't be possible on the View 20.

Ultimately, either phone is a great option for most prospective buyers, but the Mate 20 Pro is the better choice if photography is a top priority for you. You'll also benefit from things like faster charging speeds and outstanding battery life. If the Mate is beyond your budget, the View 20 is hardly a bad purchase, and some may still prefer "legacy" features like its rear fingerprint sensor and headphone jack.

Hayato Huseman

Hayato was a product reviewer and video editor for Android Central.