Huawei P20 Lite - review of the lightweight version of the flagship

Specifications of Huawei P20 Lite:

Display: 5.84″, IPS, 2280×1080 pixels, aspect ratio 19:9 Processor: Huawei Kirin 659, 8-core (4 cores at 2.36 GHz and 4 cores at 1.7 GHz, Cortex-A53) Graphics accelerator: Mali-T830 MP2 RAM: 4 GB Permanent file memory: 64 GB MicroSD memory card support: up to 256 GB Wireless networks: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC Main camera: dual 16+2 MP, f/2.2 (f/2.4 in an additional module), PDAF Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.0, Battery: 3000 mAh Dimensions of the gadget: 148.6 × 71.2 × 7.4 mm Weight: 145 G

Official recommended price of Huawei P20 Lite (approximately $456).

Specifications

• Dimensions and weight: 148.6 x 71.2 x 7.4 mm, 145 g
• Materials: glass, aluminum frame
• Biometrics: facial recognition, fingerprint scanner
• Colors: black, gold, pink, blue
• OS: Android 8.0, EMUI
• Screen: 5.8 inches IPS LCD, 1080 x 2280, 432 ppi, 80.55%
• Cameras: rear 16 MP f/2.2, LED flash, second camera 2 MP f/2.4, phase detection autofocus, 1080p video. Front 16 MP
• Processor: HiSilicon Kirin 659 8-core 64 bit, ARM Cortex-A53 2360 MHz, 16 nm, Mali-T830 MP2
• Memory: 4 GB, storage 64 GB, microSD up to 256 GB
• Battery: 3000 mAh, average call time 20 hours

Design, materials and assembly

Huawei P20 Lite has 3 possible colors: black, blue and pink. We ended up with a model in blue, and we think it looks the best. Why? Because the blue back of the gadget shimmers very beautifully in the light and it looks really cool.

Other colors cannot boast of such an exact effect. In addition, fingerprints will not be as noticeable as, for example, on the same black color.

As for the design of the mobile gadget, it uses glass slightly rounded at the edges on the front and back, and along the perimeter there is a metal frame in the color of the body. Glass on both sides with a good oleophobic coating. The device is assembled perfectly, but the power/unlock and volume keys are a little loose.

Speaking of design, we cannot fail to mention the cutout in the screen at the front and the vertically positioned dual camera module at the back.

We all understand perfectly well where this “legs grow” comes from. Of course, this is not an outright copy of the ubiquitous iPhone X, but it would also be stupid to deny that the cutout in the screen and the location of the cameras were not spied on by Apple. At the same time, we cannot say that this somehow spoiled the design of the P20 Lite or the P20 line as a whole - the gadgets look great, but on the other hand, the very fact of such copying is a little upsetting.

The frames on the sides of the screen are not very narrow, but thanks to this, false touches are eliminated. But the one under the screen at the bottom is noticeably thicker than the side ones and the manufacturer’s logo fits here. It seems to us that without the inscription the device would look more attractive.

Layout of elements

In the front cutout there was a place for a window with light and proximity sensors, a speaker and a front camera. There is also an LED event indicator here, but it is located a little higher and to the right of the camera - not in the cutout, but in the frame itself.

Under the screen, as we have already noted, is the Huawei inscription.

On the right side there is a compact power/unlock button, a volume key and a plastic divider for the antennas.

On the left side there is a combined slot for two nano-format SIM cards or one SIM card and a MicroSD memory card, and a similar plastic insert for antennas.

On the bottom edge, exactly in the center, there is a USB Type-C port, to the right of it there is a separate hole for the main microphone and 5 holes behind which the main speaker flaunts. On the left is a 3.5 mm audio jack, for the presence of which we can only thank the manufacturer. On the sides of all elements there are plastic antenna dividers.

On the top edge there is nothing but an additional microphone for the necessary noise reduction.

On the back of the case in the upper left corner there is a platform protruding from the case with two camera modules, in a metal frame, and under it there is a flash and optical characteristics.

In the middle there is a round pad for the fingerprint scanner.

See also: Huawei Mate 9 review. Phablet with a large screen

Almost at the very bottom left is the vertical inscription Huаwei and a bit of official information.

Buy Huawei P20 Lite Global Version black (black)

Inexpensive smartphone with good characteristics.

Before the presentation of the flagship smartphones P20 and P20 Pro, the Chinese company Huawei presented a simplified version of this line. This is Huawei P20 Lite, an inexpensive option with some of the features of older models. During today's review, we will find out all the strengths and weaknesses of this gadget.

Equipment and appearance

In addition to the smartphone itself, the package includes a charger unit, a USB cable, a key for removing the SIM card tray, a headset and instructions. Unfortunately, the cover was not included. All of the above is contained in a compact white box.

Attention!!! The equipment may vary depending on the delivery; be sure to check this question with the contact center operators when purchasing .

The back panel of the smartphone, like the front panel, is covered with tempered glass with a 2.5D effect. A metal frame runs along the perimeter between the panels. There is a good oleophobic coating that ensures easy removal of fingerprints and dirt. To prevent scratches and chips on the case, it is better to immediately purchase a protective case.

On the front side at the top we see a small “notch”, which contains light and proximity sensors, an earpiece, a front camera and an event indicator. The control buttons are virtual and are located at the bottom of the screen.

If we turn the smartphone over, we will see two main camera lenses on the back side. Below them is an LED flash peephole, and the fingerprint scanner pad is located closer to the center.

On the right side there are volume and lock buttons. The SIM card slot is on the opposite side.

The bottom end is occupied by a speakerphone, a USB connector, a main microphone and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. On the top edge, except for an additional microphone, nothing is provided.

Screen and sound

The Huawei P20 Lite uses a 5.84-inch IPS display with a resolution of 2280×1080 pixels (FullHD+). The dot density is 432 ppi and the aspect ratio is 19:9. The screen supports up to ten simultaneous touches.

You can adjust the screen brightness manually or use automatic settings. The ambient light sensor works adequately and the auto-brightness adjustment works well. Anti-glare properties and good maximum screen brightness ensure picture readability in direct sunlight.

The screen is perfectly calibrated and has good saturation and contrast. Thanks to the maximum viewing angles, when shifted, the picture practically does not lose its color properties. In the settings you can adjust the color temperature and apply a blue light filter.

The speakerphone produces clear and loud sound with a good frequency balance. The sound in headphones is also good and for better sound quality you can use the equalizer settings.

OS, performance and memory

The device runs Android OS version 8.0 with the proprietary EMUI 8.0 shell. The shell works quickly and has a large number of applications and settings.

The Huawei P20 Lite uses a self-produced Kirin 659 processor. It includes four cores with a frequency of 2.53 GHz and four cores with a frequency of 1.7 GHz. The Mali-T830 video accelerator is responsible for graphics processing.

The performance of the smartphone, of course, is not flagship, but still not bad for a mid-class device. The smartphone will complete all assigned tasks at high speed. In most cases, there are no problems with games either. The only thing is, if the game is hard, then you don’t need to use maximum graphics.

The device has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal memory. There is support for a memory card, but for this you will have to give up one of the SIM cards.

Cameras

The main camera of the smartphone has two modules. The first module includes a 16-megapixel sensor and a lens with an f/2.2 aperture, and the second module is additional and consists of a 2-megapixel sensor and a lens with an f/2.4 aperture. Autofocus works quickly and accurately, and the camera release occurs without delay.

The resulting images, of course, cannot be compared with photographs taken with flagship models, but they are still at a high level. I would like to note the good detail and good color rendition. At night, the quality of photos naturally drops.

Video shooting is allowed in the maximum FullHD resolution at a frequency of 30 frames per second. Unfortunately, 4K resolution and optical stabilization are not provided. Here you can guess that the resulting videos cannot boast of high quality. But I still want the video quality to be quite acceptable. There is a slow motion mode, but with low resolution.

Well, selfie lovers can take advantage of the 16-megapixel front camera. The camera copes with shooting quite well, but still not above average.

Autonomy

Huawei P20 Lite has a built-in lithium-polymer battery with a capacity of 3000 mAh. As you can see, the battery capacity is small and therefore the device cannot boast of battery life. When the smartphone is actively used, a full battery charge may only last until the evening. There is support for fast charging, thanks to which the gadget will be back in operation in about an hour and a half.

Bottom line

The review has reached its final stage, and it’s time to rate our guest. I would like to note, first of all, the stylish appearance and ease of use. In addition, there are good cameras, an excellent display and good performance. In a word, in its price category the device looks worthy among its competitors.

Ergonomics

Huawei P20 Lite is very convenient and pleasant to use. First of all, of course, due to the trendy aspect ratio of the screen and due to the small width of the case. Plus, it’s also thin and lightweight. All these factors together create only the most positive feelings from a mobile gadget.

After several days of using the P20 Lite, other gadgets with the “outdated” 16:9 ratio and 5.5” screens seem somehow inconvenient or something. But, of course, this is all a matter of habit - you quickly get used to good things.

But we shouldn’t forget that the glass on both sides made the device slippery, so you need to hold it a little tighter in your hand and make sure that the gadget doesn’t “crawl” from any even slightly inclined surface.

Face and fingerprint scanner

A face scanner for unlocking is starting to be found more and more often in smartphones. This is a natural process, which becomes clear using the example of the iPhone X. The top ten simply does not have other unlocking methods due to its design, including internal ones. And Apple proves that it is safer thanks to their True Depth technology. Apparently that's why Apple decided to radically switch to Face ID. But other manufacturers do it smoothly and accurately. The Huawei P20 Lite's face scanner is fast, but it also has the usual fingerprint scanner. There is no point in talking about its speed, because at some point the Huawei fingerprint scanner began to be considered a reference due to its speed. Huawei P20 Lite is no exception.

Screen

So, to begin with, the technical parameters of the display: diagonal - 5.84 ", uses an IPS matrix, resolution is 2280 × 1080 pixels with a density of 433 ppi, and the aspect ratio is somewhat unusual - 19:9.

The display quality is excellent, as expected from a good quality IPS matrix. It's bright, with rich colors and excellent contrast. Viewing angles are maximum. There are no blockages in warm or cold shades either, the display is perfectly calibrated.

In other words, the screen will definitely not disappoint you, but on the contrary - using the gadget and using various content from it is very pleasant.

We liked the work of auto-brightness; in some devices we turn it off, because we are not satisfied with how it works, but in the case of the P20 Lite, we never had to adjust the brightness slider ourselves.

In the screen settings, you can adjust the color temperature if the default settings do not suit you in any way. Naturally, there is also a night vision protection mode, that is, a reduction in the intensity of blue light, and if this is necessary, you can reduce the screen resolution from FHD+ to HD+, which in theory can only save the battery, but on the other hand reduces the clarity of the screen.

It would seem like a standard set, what else could be so interesting here? But there is something else quite interesting. The fact is that the manufacturer provided the function of so-called hiding that very cutout. True, with the Russian interface language, it is somehow strangely called “controller”.

The principle of its operation is very simple and clear - in fact, the upper area, or rather, to the left and right of the cutout, is filled with black. And it looks like this (pictured).

The fact that such an option is present is undoubtedly only good, but whether to enable it is something everyone will decide for themselves. For example, we did not disguise this ill-fated cutout.

Probably, here it is necessary to mention that many applications have learned to “work” with these... ears on the sides of the cutout and they are painted either in the main color of the application, or close to it. In rare cases, everything is filled with black.

When watching a video on YouTube, the notch does not hide part of the image, as in the iPhone X - the picture is simply scaled in such a way as if there was no notch there at all.

Performance

Huawei P20 Lite is equipped with a proprietary HiSilicon Kirin 659 processor. This processor is already familiar from such mobile gadgets of the company as: Huawei P Smart, Mate 10 Lite and Nova 2.

It is created using a 16nm process technology and consists of 4 Cortex A53 cores with a clock frequency of 2.36 GHz and 4 cores with a frequency of 1.7 GHz. The graphics accelerator used is Mali-T830 MP2.

See also: Huawei Honor Play came with 128 GB of file memory

We present the results of testing Huawei P20 Lite in synthetic tests AnTuTu and Geekbench 4 below.

The device works generally stable and fast, but sometimes microfreezes are noticeable when launching applications. That is, the animation of opening programs is not as smooth as we would like, although the applications themselves work very quickly, without the slightest slowdown. It seems that this issue will be corrected with a subsequent firmware update (most likely, already patched ones will be sold). But otherwise we didn't notice any problems.

In principle, the P20 Lite copes well with games. There will definitely be no problems with casual games and time killers, but as for heavy ones, you will have to rely mainly on medium graphics settings. In World of Tanks Вlitz, at medium graphics settings with shadows turned off, it ranges from 35 to 45 FPS. RUBG Mobile, which is gaining popularity these days, can be played on medium settings. But the well-known racing game Asphalt 8 runs great on high graphics settings. In general, as usual, everything depends on the optimization of the game itself.

Huawei P20 Lite is equipped with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of permanent file memory. The RAM does its job well, holding many programs and not unloading them. Switching between running applications is also fast. Of the 64 GB of permanent file memory, 50.5 GB is available to the user. The memory can be increased using a MicroSD card up to 256 GB.

Performance of Huawei P20 Lite

The Huawei P20 Lite smartphone technical specifications are based on the average performance Kirin 659 processor, made on a 16-nm process technology. It includes 8 cores with a maximum frequency of 2.36 GHz. The Mali-T830MP2 video chip is responsible for the graphics. The RAM is 4 GB, but it is not made according to the newest LPDDR3 standard, which works a little slower than LPDDR4. User memory is 64 GB, which is already enough, but if necessary, you can add a microSD card. A full review and testing of the Huawei P20 Lite shows that we have already seen similar characteristics in the Nova 2, as well as the Mate 10 Lite.

Huawei P20 Lite test in Antutu

Thanks to this stuffing, the interface works quickly and stably, but in games everything is not so rosy. The fact is that Kirin processors and the Mali video accelerator are still noticeably inferior to smartphones built on Qualcomm processors in conjunction with the Adreno video chip. Despite this, most games run decently. Lags were encountered only in XCOM: Enemy Within, but in PUBG and NFS: No Limits the flight was excellent. There is face unlock and it works correctly.

Even more interesting: Top 7 Huawei smartphones of 2018-2019

Cameras

The main camera in Huawei P20 Lite is dual. The main module has a resolution of 16 megapixels and an f/2.2 aperture, and the additional module has a resolution of 2 megapixels and an aperture of f/2.4. The second module is needed to create pictures with the effect of a wide aperture, but everyone probably already knows this.

The result is excellent photos with good detail and cool color rendition. Autofocus is fast and accurate and works as expected. The camera releases in the blink of an eye.

All photo examples can be viewed.

The gadget shoots video in FullHD resolution at 30 fps. The final quality is quite mediocre, and there is no electronic stabilization, much less optical. You can also shoot slow-motion video, although we wouldn’t do this, since the resolution of such a video was only 640x480, and this, you know, is very frivolous. But timelapse is already filmed at 1280x720.

But the front camera here is definitely very good. Resolution 16 MP, aperture f/2.0. It takes good quality pictures, and it can also blur the background, just like the main one. In principle, portrait mode works quite well on both the main camera and the front one.

The interface of the camera application is familiar, like for Huawei - simple, convenient and with a wide range of capabilities. There is a manual shooting mode, both for photos and videos. And if we are talking about professional photo mode, then photos can also be saved in RAW format. There is a separate mode for night photography. In the tab with modes you can change their location.

Cameras P20 Lite

The device is equipped with two rear modules and one front module. On the back of the smartphone there are two cameras - one with a resolution of 16 MP, an f2.2 aperture, and the ability to shoot videos in Full HD quality, 60 frames per second. An additional module is needed to create the “Bokeh” effect in the photo; its resolution is only 2 MP.

The front camera of Huawei P20 Lite is a godsend for those who like to do things themselves. Selfies are colorful, and the built-in software corrects faces, eliminating imperfections. At the same time, it does not seem that the photo has undergone serious processing - everything looks very natural.

The resolution of the front module is the same as that of the main camera – 16 MP, albeit with an f2.0 aperture. Such modules are rarely found even in flagship devices of such giants as Apple and Samsung.

Smartphone owners and technical experts note the ability to take photos with a smartphone in the “bought - opened - photographed” mode. That is, to get good pictures, the user does not have to familiarize himself with the in-depth camera settings. However, lovers of particularly colorful photos will not miss the opportunity to configure the Huawei P20 Lite camera themselves and download additional applications to the phone.

Unlock methods

The smartphone received two ways to unlock the screen: the already familiar way using a fingerprint scanner and, of course, the newfangled facial recognition.

First, let's talk about the scanner. It works traditionally for the company’s devices, that is, lightning fast, and to be even more specific, gorgeous. The number of errors is minimal.

In addition to completing its task, using the scanner you can scroll through photos in the gallery, control the camera shutter, open or hide the notification panel, answer a call and turn off the alarm.

Now let's talk about face unlocking. There is no way to add several faces here, just one. By the way, the process of adding a face itself happens very quickly.

You can choose how the unlocking process will be carried out: the same as in the same iPhone X - activate the screen and, after identifying the face, swipe across the screen, or exclude swipe and after identification immediately go to the desktop (or if some application was opened , then into it).

See also: Pre-order for the folding smartphone Huawei Mate Xs is open for 199,999 rubles

There is a smart notifications feature in the unlock settings. This means that by default the contents of the notification on the lock screen will be hidden, and if the device has identified the owner, the notification will be displayed in full.

Also, in a separate menu, you can enable the option to activate the device when you pick it up, and, therefore, get an even cooler experience of interacting with the facial recognition function.

In general, the face recognition function works well, recognizes quickly, in sufficient lighting. It does not recognize in the dark, since the front camera is used for scanning, no additional sensors are used.

How to install Play Market on P40 Lite phone, Mediapad m6 tablet and other Huawei

Fortunately, the old models of the company and its sub-brand continue to work as before, without causing any trouble to their owners. But all owners of new Huawei products will have to either switch to quickly developed proprietary services HMS (Huawei Mobile Service), or look for all sorts of loopholes to get the advantages that all Google products have (fortunately, they exist).

Access to the Play Store via Aurora

It turns out that in order to use branded Google applications, it is not at all necessary to have an in-app purchase store on your device. Instead, you can use an application aggregator, using them to obtain Google services without downloading the Play Market and launching proprietary services for tracking user activity.

The Aurora Store client will cope with this task perfectly, the main feature of which is a high degree of anonymity (more on its importance a little later).

To use this aggregator, just follow these steps:

1. Download the corresponding APK file to your own device.
2. Go to “Files” and select the folder you are looking for.
3. Install on your smartphone or tablet.
4. Select the “Anonymous” mode from the two offered, otherwise Google may block your account if you try to log in from an unregistered device, which today includes all new Huawei and Honor models.

That's all - download Google applications to your device, automatically gaining access to them after performing the manipulations described above - everything will work, even if we are talking about software such as Google.Maps with mandatory binding to user geodata and Instagram.

Unfortunately, there will be some unpleasant surprises, because you won’t be able to run YouTube or Yula on your Huawei, since the program will refer to the lack of support for Google services, and Aurora, unfortunately, will not help here.

Today it is quite possible to bypass almost any ban. The story of access to Google services for Huawei is no exception. The main thing is to remain anonymous so as not to risk your account, which may be blocked

Aurora Pros:

• Free access;
• ease of download and installation;
• high degree of anonymity and the ability to gain access to Google services without registration or account;
• a good selection of applications and their correct operation on the device after downloading.

Main disadvantages:

• inability to download paid applications;
• YouTube, Yula and other services do not work.

How to install Huawei Play Market on Chat Partner

An alternative to Aurora is the equally easy-to-use Chat Partner tool, which takes just a few seconds to download.

The further algorithm of actions is also not anything super complicated:

1. After downloading the APK file, launch it.
2. On the application's main screen, select the Detect Device command.
3. Click on the Repair Now virtual button, after which the installation of Google services will start.
4. Wait for the installation process to complete using the activation button.
5. Complete the required authorization process by entering your Google account information.
6. Open the company's in-app purchase store and begin selecting and downloading the necessary applications.

As you can see, everything is simple and clear.

Another thing is that the downside of using this client is not limited to the lack of support for any applications. And the most important drawback comes down to the blocking of the auxiliary service, which is carried out by Google itself, as a result of which many users began to complain about Chat Partner not working correctly.

Pros of Chat Partner:

• client availability;
• easy download and installation on a mobile device;
• Direct download of applications from Google Play.

Disadvantages of the service:

• the need for authorization with the introduction of an account login and password and all the ensuing risks;
• the ability to block a Google account when entering its data;
• system malfunctions due to the actions of Google developers.

Autonomy

The gadget is equipped with a 3000 mAh battery. The figure is average, and the device does not stand out for its autonomy. However, the screen operating time during active use with Wi-Fi is just over 5 hours, which seems good, but in the case of 3G you can expect an average of just over 4 hours.

It is clear that he will survive daylight hours, but nothing more. Naturally, if we are not talking about battery saving modes and fine-tuning background application restrictions.

We cannot say how long it will take to charge the gadget from the included charger, because it was not included with my test sample.

Sound

The sound of the speaker is loud and noise-free, the interlocutor can be heard perfectly.

The main speaker sounds good, loud and balanced, but at maximum volume the bass is slightly lacking. But it will be enough for any task.

The sound in the headphones is normal, nothing special, but in the sound settings we found the “Huawei Histen Audio Effects” tab. In this tab, you can select the type of headphones, enable “3D audio” or adjust the equalizer, which is what we did. After carefully adjusting the equalizer, the situation with listening to music became much better.

Software and Firmware

The gadget is controlled by the Android 8.0 operating system with proprietary firmware EMUI 8.

The shell, of course, contains a lot of its own features and settings. There is the possibility of customization with third-party themes, which will definitely not be superfluous.

You can change the desktop layout, create clones of applications to use two different accounts, there are also various gestures and one-handed control. And the features of pure Android Oreo are also preserved, such as round markers on application icons with notifications.

In general, the shell is literally “stuffed” with various functions and, for the most part, they really bring benefits and make interaction with the device more convenient.

Final Conclusions

Huawei has created a good, balanced mid-budget mobile gadget. In blue, the device stands out due to the iridescent “back”, and despite copying the “trend” cutout and location of the camera block, which not everyone likes, the gadget looks quite stylish. In addition to all this, the advantages include well-thought-out ergonomics, an excellent screen and high-quality cameras.

And the weaknesses include relatively low autonomy and average performance, but again, quite sufficient for comfortable work.

In the end, we can say with confidence that the Huawei P20 Lite turned out to be exactly the lightweight version of the flagship that it should have been in the end, there is nothing superfluous.

EMUI system

Perhaps the weakest point of this smartphone is its EMUI shell. It does look quite outdated or let's say overly "Asian". But as it turns out, this launcher has its fans, which may be due to its wide customization options. In addition, it is stupid to list the shape and style of icons and other design as shortcomings, because the good thing about Android is that you can change everything and do it the way you like in just a few minutes. At the same time, the smartphone is not overloaded with proprietary applications and other tinsel.