Introduction
Huawei P20 Lite is, as the name suggests, a device on a diet from the flagship P20 series of devices announced of Huawei’s event in Paris last month.
What is it that’s left of the P20 or the P20 Pro once all the bells and whistles are taken from them? Stay with us to find out.
The factory box of the P20 Lite consists of the very essential things. We have a charging adapter, Type-C charging and data transfer cable, headphones, user manuals and a SIM tray tool. There is also a sticker that serves to reassure us that this is indeed a genuine device, but we don’t think that’s necessary since we doubt someone would make Lite version copies.
Video review
Unboxing
Display
For better or for worse, the P20 Lite, just as the P20 and the P20 Pro has a notch! This is something you either welcome or criticize depending on how you like the trend, but we must mention that Huawei has made it possible to hide the notch if you don’t like it.
Even then, when it’s hidden, it is still somewhat visible due to the LCD display, since LCD displays don’t reproduce black colors the same way AMOLED do.
When it comes to the content, we have nothing bad to say. This is a 1080 x 2280 display with pixel density of 432 PPI – everything is crystal clear!
Hardware and OS
Unlike its big brothers who use the Kirin 970 chipset, the P20 Lite comes with a somewhat weaker chipset, the Kirin 659 which is within the range of the Snapdragon 625. Navigating through the menu, screen transitions and the general speed during use is completely satisfactory, but it is noticeable that the device sometimes takes more time to run applications than the Mate 10 or the P10 Plus for example. This is still a Lite device, it belongs in the middle class and it can’t be compared to the flagships.
4GB of RAM is enough to store most of the applications when multitasking, while 64GB of internal storage memory is perfectly fine as well. If you, however, find yourself lacking storage memory, there is an option to expand the storage via a microSD card up to 256GB employing the hybrid SIM card slot.
On the AnTuTu benchmark, this device scored 88516 points which is a better result then other devices using the same chipset.
Through the front facing camera, the device is equipped with the face unlock system, and on the back, there is a trustworthy fingerprint scanner which fits seamlessly on the polished glass back of the device.
This device’s speaker doesn’t really provide the best of results – it doesn’t produce neither very good nor loud sound.
This device runs on Android 8.0 Oreo, and atop of it you can find the Huawei signature Emotion UI version 8.0 through which you have a lot of options to customize how your device looks and feels.
Camera
Unlike other devices from the P20 family, this device doesn’t have Leica signed optics. On the back there is a double camera setup with a 16 and a 2 megapixel sensor. The second sensor, just as in the Mate 10 Lite, is used solely in order to gather background information while taking portrait photos.
Photos made by the front facing camera through the auto shooting mode are of pretty good quality, with vivid colors and high level of details. Photos made in low light conditions are, however, not as good – there is a lot of digital noise in darker scenes, and the temperature is not that well captured either. We have compared this devices camera with the device of the Huawei 10 series, and these results you can see in other videos on our YouTube channel.
Videos taken by the main camera are excellent with an emphasis on the quality in low light conditions. Videos are captured in maximum 1080p resolution, but this can’t be taken as a downside exactly because of the quality of the videos.
On the front side of the device there is a selfie sensor with the resolution of 16 MP. The front facing camera is capable of producing decent pictures, but only when there is plenty of light. The software produced flash won’t help you too much in low light conditions. Once again, pretty good results when the light is plenty. This camera also records videos in 1080p resolution, and they are of the same quality as on the back.
Connectivity
The P20 lite is equipped with many connection options like WiFi, NFC, WiFi Direct, GPS, and Bluetooth 4.2 with aptX HD support that you can turn on in order to boost the sound quality when listening to music through your Bluetooth speakers or headphones.
As we’ve already mentioned, this device supports NFC, but only the version LX1. On the bottom of the device there is a reversible Type–C connector used for charging and data transfer.
Supported frequencies are:
- 2G: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
- 3G: 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz
- 4G: 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2600 MHz
Battery
Speaking of charging, we must say that, at the time being, the P20 Lite has some charging issues – it takes about 2 hours for a full charge even though the device supports 9V/2A fast charging.
It takes a long time to charge up the 3000 mAh battery, but once it’s full, it is well capable of lasting the whole day.
With a full charge we managed to pull out about 5 hours of screen-on time with WiFi networks enabled and the brightness set around 50%.
Final words
Huawei P20 Lite is a desirable device primarily because of its looks, because it irresistibly resembles a flagship device, both with the notch and the glass surface on the back.
Decent performances as well as good cameras with the face unlock option are only some of the features of this device that leave a sweet taste in our mouth. The P20 Lite will also not cost you too much. Even though this is a middle-class device, we think that this device is well worth the money.
Huawei P20 Lite Full Specifications
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