Honor 20-series launch Highlights: The Honor 20 and 20 Pro are priced at €499 and €599

tech2 News StaffMay 21, 2019 19:38:07 IST

Honor also announced a lower variant in the series called the Honor 20 Lite for €299.

Chinese smartphone maker Honor, which is a sub-brand of Huawei, is about to announce the launch its latest flagship Honor 20-series in London. As of right now, there is no announcement when the Honor 20-series will make its way to India but it shouldn't take long.

Honor 20-series launch Highlights: The Honor 20 and 20 Pro are priced at €499 and €599

Honor 20 Pro. Image: tech2/Nandini Yadav

The launch will quite likely be shadowed by the recent controversy between Huawei and Google wherein the latter has suspended business with the former due to a blacklist created by the US commerce ministry. This suspension of business has major implications as it terminated future Android updates on Huawei phone as well as forbidding the company to use any Google service on future phones. This restriction as a result of hierarchy means that Honor also will be affected by it.

Honor will be live streaming the launch event on its YouTube channel at 6.30 pm IST. You can set a reminder for the live stream, by hitting the notification bell on the video.

The Honor 20 series smartphones themselves are believed to come with Huawei's HiSilicon Kirin 980 SoC. The devices could be coming with a triple-camera system, which should include the 48 MP Sony IMX586 sensor that we saw on the Honor View 20. On the front, we could also see a 32 MP camera and it might come with a display cutout setup.

Storage configurations on the phones may include 6 GB and 8 GB RAM options, along with 64 GB to 128 GB storage options. The Honor 20 Pro will reportedly be priced around CNY 2,999 (approx Rs 30,000), which means that we'll likely see yet another direct competitor for the OnePlus 7 arriving soon.

Additionally, while the Honor 20 has been rumoured to feature an Android 9.0 Pie-based EMUI, considering the ongoing Huawei and Google battle, it's now unclear how the Honor 20 series will be configured software-wise.

Tech2 is now on WhatsApp. For all the buzz on the latest tech and science, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Tech2.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button.

highlights

19:38 (IST)
Thank you for joining us! The launch event is over and Honor has still not mentioned the Google war with Huawei. Perhaps we shall hear about it later? Anyways its good bye from our side.
19:33 (IST)
Honor 20 Series specifications Quick look at the specifications
19:31 (IST)
Honor x Fortnite Honor has collaborated with Fortnite for an exclusive skin for all Honor 20 owners.
19:28 (IST)
Honor + Fortnite A new skin made exclusively for Honor 20 called the Wonder Outfit. No collaboration with PUBG?
19:25 (IST)
Honor 20 Performance The Honor 20-series comes with the Kirin 980 chipset. It will come with up to 8 GB RAM and 256 GB of UFS 2.1 storage. Honor is touting some Graphene cooling capabilty which can give you better cooling during gaming. There is also a new GPS Turbo 3.0 technology being used to optimise graphics.
19:24 (IST)
DxOMark score of 111 The Honor 20 Pro is tied with the OnePlus 7 Pro in the DxOMark scoring.
19:21 (IST)
Here we go again with the DxOmark scores The Honor 20 Pro has scored 111 in DXO Mark. But is it really better than the Pixel 3?
19:18 (IST)
Shoot the moon with the Honor 20 Pro The Honor 20 can take great shots of the moon with the 30x optical zoom.
19:14 (IST)
Honor 20-series ultra-wide camera, telephoto The Honor 20 Pro supports a super wide angle night mode which gives the device good details in low light even when you use the ultra-wide lens. The Honor 20 Pro also supports 3X zoom which is more than the 2X than the iPhone XS Max and Galaxy S10 Plus. The 10x zoom on the device also looks to be quite crazy. There is also an overkill 30x zoom. Nearing the Huawei P30 Pro territory.
19:10 (IST)
Live test for night mode for the Honor 20 with the Galaxy S10 Plus and iPhone XS Max The photos have been taken using the normal mode in pitch black conditions which shows a clear dominance of the Honor 20 Pro in low light situations.
19:08 (IST)
Honor Night mode and Insane ISO capability The phone combines 16 different shots to get a detailed night photo. This mode is called the AIS Super Night mode. The photo demonstrated looks quite good but Huawei has a checkered record of using DSLR photos for sample images clicked by its phones. The phone also has an ISO setting of 204800 which is more than some DSLRs and gives you more detail in low lighting scenarios. The massive aperture size is also a bonus.
19:04 (IST)
Similar quad-camera system on Honor 20 The Honor 20 has a similar quad-camera system but with lower specifications.
19:02 (IST)
Honor 20-series camera The phone has a quad-camera setup which consists of a 16 MP f/2.2 aperture super wide lens + 48 MP f/1.4 aperture primary lens + 8 MP telephoto lens + 2 MP macro focus lens. The Honor 20 has all the lenses as well excpet for laser autofocus capability.
19:02 (IST)
Pro-grade quad-camera system The Honor 20 Pro comes with a quad-camera system.
18:52 (IST)
Honor 20 Pro revealed George Zhao just took the wraps off the Honor Pro 20 smartphone.

19:38 (IST)
Thank you for joining us!

The launch event is over and Honor has still not mentioned the Google war with Huawei. Perhaps we shall hear about it later? Anyways its good bye from our side.
19:35 (IST)
Honor 20 Lite also announced

Honor 20 Lite has already been announced in China and Thailand.
19:34 (IST)
Honor 20-series pricing

Honor 20 Pro - 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage = 599 Euros (around Rs 46,000)

Honor 20 - 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage = 499 Euros (around Rs 38,000)
19:33 (IST)
Honor 20 Series specifications

Quick look at the specifications
19:31 (IST)
Honor x Fortnite

Honor has collaborated with Fortnite for an exclusive skin for all Honor 20 owners.
19:30 (IST)
Honor 20 Battery and sound

The Honor 20 Pro will have a 4,000 mAh battery with a 22.5 Wh battery charging capabilities. The phone also has a virtual 9.1 surround sound technology for the immersive listening experience.
19:28 (IST)
Honor + Fortnite

A new skin made exclusively for Honor 20 called the Wonder Outfit. No collaboration with PUBG?
19:25 (IST)
Honor 20 Performance

The Honor 20-series comes with the Kirin 980 chipset. It will come with up to 8 GB RAM and 256 GB of UFS 2.1 storage. Honor is touting some Graphene cooling capabilty which can give you better cooling during gaming. There is also a new GPS Turbo 3.0 technology being used to optimise graphics.
19:24 (IST)
DxOMark score of 111

The Honor 20 Pro is tied with the OnePlus 7 Pro in the DxOMark scoring.
19:21 (IST)
Here we go again with the DxOmark scores

The Honor 20 Pro has scored 111 in DXO Mark. But is it really better than the Pixel 3?
19:20 (IST)
Honor 20 Pro video and selfie camera

The phone has OIS on the main camera which is said to be smooth and steady even in low-light conditions. The phone has a 32 MP selfie camera.
19:18 (IST)
Live test of the 10x zoom capabilities

The Honor 20 Pro's 10x zoom live demo showed that the device is better than the S10 Plus and iPhone XS Max's 10x zoom capability.
19:18 (IST)
Shoot the moon with the Honor 20 Pro

The Honor 20 can take great shots of the moon with the 30x optical zoom.
19:14 (IST)
Honor 20-series ultra-wide camera, telephoto

The Honor 20 Pro supports a super wide angle night mode which gives the device good details in low light even when you use the ultra-wide lens. The Honor 20 Pro also supports 3X zoom which is more than the 2X than the iPhone XS Max and Galaxy S10 Plus. The 10x zoom on the device also looks to be quite crazy. There is also an overkill 30x zoom. Nearing the Huawei P30 Pro territory.
19:10 (IST)
Live test for night mode for the Honor 20 with the Galaxy S10 Plus and iPhone XS Max

The photos have been taken using the normal mode in pitch black conditions which shows a clear dominance of the Honor 20 Pro in low light situations.
19:08 (IST)
Honor Night mode and Insane ISO capability

The phone combines 16 different shots to get a detailed night photo. This mode is called the AIS Super Night mode. The photo demonstrated looks quite good but Huawei has a checkered record of using DSLR photos for sample images clicked by its phones. The phone also has an ISO setting of 204800 which is more than some DSLRs and gives you more detail in low lighting scenarios. The massive aperture size is also a bonus.
19:06 (IST)
Honor 20-series main camera

The Honor 20 Pro gets the Sony IMX 586 sensor and also has the biggest aperture size in any smartphone at f/1.4. The device can take in 60 percent more light than the iPhone XS Max as per Honor.
19:04 (IST)
Similar quad-camera system on Honor 20

The Honor 20 has a similar quad-camera system but with lower specifications.
19:02 (IST)
Honor 20-series camera

The phone has a quad-camera setup which consists of a 16 MP f/2.2 aperture super wide lens + 48 MP f/1.4 aperture primary lens + 8 MP telephoto lens + 2 MP macro focus lens. The Honor 20 has all the lenses as well excpet for laser autofocus capability.
19:02 (IST)
Pro-grade quad-camera system

The Honor 20 Pro comes with a quad-camera system.
18:59 (IST)
Honor 20 colours

The Honor 20 Pro will come in Phantom Blue, Phantom Black, colours.

The Honor 20 will come in Sapphire Blue, Midnight Black and Icelandic White colours.
18:56 (IST)
Honor 20 fingerprint sensor

The fingerprint sensor is present on the side quite like the Galaxy S10e.
18:55 (IST)
Honor 20-series punch hole

The display hole in the display of the device is smallest in the world and specifically smaller than the Galaxy S10.
18:54 (IST)
George is explaining about the design of the device

It appears there are four layers involved in the back panel of the device giving it a glossy and dual-tone colour look.
18:52 (IST)
Honor 20 Pro revealed

George Zhao just took the wraps off the Honor Pro 20 smartphone.
18:52 (IST)
Punch hole and Quad-camera confirmed on Honor 20-series

It would appear both the smartphones will get the punch-hole display and quad-cameras.
18:50 (IST)
Honor 20-series announced

We are going to find out which all smartphones are going to be under the Honor 20-series umbrella. Spoiler Alert: It's the Honor 20 Pro and Honor 20. The video confirms that the Honor 20-series will have a quad-camera setup.
18:45 (IST)
Dele Ali, is now the brand ambassador for Honor

Dele Ali is a UK football player and plays in Tottenham Hotspur FC.
18:43 (IST)
George Zhao on stage

Honor President George Zhao is on stage to introduce the new Honor 20 series smartphones.
18:43 (IST)
Honor a benchmark for young people

Much like Realme, Honor is also going to be a brand that is going to be targetted to the global youth population.
18:41 (IST)
We have begun!

The launch event has started and George Zhao, President of Honor has taken the stage to introduce the device.
18:36 (IST)
Still waiting

We are being shown a glimpse of how the stage and demo zone looks like while we wait for the event to begin.
18:35 (IST)
Will Honor address its parent company's controversy with Google?

This could be perhaps the biggest talking point for future sales of Honor phones if Android support is withdrawn by Google. Let's hope we get clarity on the situation at this event.
18:30 (IST)
Honor and Fortnite?

There appears to be some sort of collaboration between Honor and Epic Games' crowned jewl Fortnite. More should be revealed during the launch.
18:28 (IST)
We are about to begin!

The event should start shortly as we enjoy the intensely calming music being played in the launch arena.
18:22 (IST)
Quad-camera on the alleged Honor 20 Pro?

Leaks have pointed to a quad-cam setup on the Honor 20-series smartphones. Will there be a 48 MP Sony IMX 586 sensor there? I guess we should find out soon enough. In any case you can read about the leaks of the device/devices in the link below.

Honor 20 series launch confirmed on 21 May in London, could come with a quad-camera setup
18:18 (IST)
Here are some shots of the Honor 20 Pro
New #Honor20Series phones with punch-hole camera are coming! @HiHonorIndia pic.twitter.com/g1rXdo1IJV
— Tech2 (@tech2eets) May 16, 2019
18:03 (IST)
In case you are interested in watching the LIVE stream of the event...

The event is being held in London and it will begin from 18:30 IST. You can watch the event using the link below.

Honor 20 series to launch today at 6:30 pm: Here's how you can watch the event live
18:02 (IST)
Huawei controversy

The launch will be in the backdrop of the recent problems between Huawei (parent company of Honor) and Google wherein the latter has said it will suspend all Android services on Huawei and Honor phones for the time being. You read about it here.

Huawei's Android license revoked: What it means for existing Huawei & Honor phone users
17:31 (IST)
Hello and Welcome to the LIVE Blog of the Honor 20-series launch

We are going to most likely see the Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro smartphones being launched today.