tech2 News StaffJan 29, 2019 19:49:13 IST
After a month of teasing, the first smartphone with an in-display camera, the Honor View 20 has finally arrived in India. The phone starts at a price of Rs 37,999 for the 6 GB RAM model with 128 GB of onboard storage and Rs 45,999 for the top variant with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage. The View 20 can be had in four interesting colour schemes- Sapphire blue, Midnight Black, Phantom Red, and Phantom Blue. However, the company has skipped the Sapphire blue variant in India. The base variant goes on sale starting tomorrow, while sale dates for the 8 GB RAM variant is yet to be announced.
The Honor View 20. Image: tech2/Omkar Patne
Based on the specifications of the phone, Honor certainly had the OnePlus 6T in its crosshairs and now that prices are out, it is quite evident that the 6T is certainly its biggest competitor. But there are other smartphones in the fray as well. The LG G7 ThinQ is a potent, feature-packed competitor and so is the Oppo R17 Pro. We even have Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 in the mix which has seen a considerable price drop over the past year but brings with it a beautiful Super AMOLED display and a capable set of cameras. Read on to find out how each of these phones fare against each other on the specs chart.
| Smartphone | Honor View20 | OnePlus 6T | Oppo R17 Pro | LG G7 ThinQ | Samsung Galaxy Note 8 |
| Display Size (inch) | 6.4 | 6.41 | 6.4 | 6.1 | 6.3 |
| Resolution (pixels) | 1080 x 2310 | 1080 x 2340 | 1080 x 2340 | 1440 x 3120 | 1440 x 2960 |
| Pixel Density (PPI) | 398 | 402 | 402 | 564 | 521 |
| Display Type | IPS LCD | Optic AMOLED | AMOLED | IPS LCD | Super AMOLED |
| Dimensions (mm) | 156.9 x 75.4 x 8.1 | 157.5 x 74.8 x 8.2 | 157.6 x 74.6 x 7.9 | 153.2 x 71.9 x 7.9 | 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6 |
| Weight (g) | 180 | 185 | 183 | 162 | 195 |
| Dual SIM | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SIM Type | Nano-SIM | Nano-SIM | Nano-SIM | Nano-SIM | Nano-SIM |
| Connectivity Types | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / LTE | GSM / WCDMA / LTE | GSM / HSPA / LTE | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / LTE | GSM / HSPA / LTE |
| Processor | HiSilicon Kirin 980 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 | Exynos 8895 |
| CPU Cores | Octa-core | Octa-core | Octa-core | Octa-core | Octa-core |
| CPU Clock Speed (GHz) | 2x 2.6 GHz Cortex-A76 & 2x 1.92 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x 1.8 GHz Cortex-A55 | 4x 2.8 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4x 1.7 GHz Kryo 385 Silver | 2x 2.2 GHz Kryo 360 Gold & 6x 1.7 GHz Kryo 360 Silver | 4x 2.8 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4x 1.7 GHz Kryo 385 Silver | 4x 2.3 GHz Mongoose M2 & 4x 1.7 GHz Cortex-A53 |
| GPU | Mali-G76 MP10 | Adreno 630 | Adreno 616 | Adreno 630 | Mali-G71 MP20 |
| RAM | 6/8 GB | 6/8 GB | 6/8 GB | 6 GB | 6 GB |
| Ruggedness | — | — | — | IP 68, MIL-STD-810G | IP 68 |
| On-Board Memory | 128/256 GB | 128/256 GB | 128 GB | 128 GB | 64/128/256 GB |
| Expandable Memory | No | No | Yes, up to 256 GB | Yes, up to 512 GB | Yes, up to 512 GB |
| Sensors | Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Fingerprint (in-display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Fingerprint (in-display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Iris scanner, fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, heart rate, SpO2 |
| Rear Camera | 48 MP, f/1.8; 3D TOF stereo |
16 MP, f/1.7 20 MP, f/1.7 |
12 MP, f/1.5-2.4 20 MP, f/2.6 3D TOF stereo |
16 MP, f/1.6 (wide) 16 MP, f/1.9 (ultrawide) |
12 MP, f/1.7 (wide) 12 MP, f/2.4 (telephoto) |
| Optical Image Stabilization | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Camera Array | Dual Camera | Dual Camera | Triple Camera | Dual Camera | Dual Camera |
| Autofocus System | Phase detection autofocus | Phase detection autofocus | Phase detection autofocus | Phase detection autofocus | Phase detection autofocus |
| Front Camera | 25 MP, f/2.0 | 16 MP, f/2.0 | 16 MP, f/2.0 | 8 MP, f/1.9 | 8 MP, f/1.7 |
| Video Capture | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps, 720p@960fps | 2160p@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@480fps | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps | 2160p@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, 720p@240fps | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@240fps |
| Flash | LED | Dual-LED | LED | LED | LED |
| OS Version | Android Pie 9.0 | Android Pie 9.0 | Android Oreo 8.1 | Android Oreo 8.1 | Android Oreo 8.0 |
| AI (Smart Assistant) | Google Assistant | Google Assistant | Google Assistant | Google Assistant | Bixby/Google Assistant |
| GPS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | v5.0, A2DP, LE, AptX HD | v5.0, A2DP, LE | v5.0, A2DP, LE | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX |
| NFC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared | No | No | No | No | No |
| Fingerprint Scanner | Yes, Rear button | Yes, Under-display | Yes, Under-display | Yes, Rear button | Yes, Rear button |
| 3.5 mm jack | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Radio | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| USB Type | Type-C | Type-C | Type-C | Type-C | Type-C |
| USB Standard | USB v3.1 | USB v2.0 | USB v3.1 | USB v3.1 | USB v3.1 |
| Battery (mAh) | 4,000 | 3,700 | 3,700 | 3,000 | 3,300 |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Colours | Sapphire Blue, Phantom Blue, Phantom Red, Midnight Black | Thunder Purple, Mirror Black, Midnight Black | Radiant Mist, Emerald Green | Platinum, Blue, Black | Midnight Black, Maple Gold, Orchid Gray, Deep Sea Blue |
| Prices in India | Rs 37,999 | Rs 37,999 | Rs 45,990 | Rs 40,000 | Rs 39,990 |
Conclusion
The Honor View20 certainly has a lot going for it. Be it the first-of-its-kind in India design, or Huawei's flagship Kirin 980 SoC inside it, Honor has nailed a good number of things to take on the OnePlus 6T or any of the other phones in this comparison. However, if you're competing against flagships, you can't get away with an average camera and that's where the competition really gets stiff. The margins in this segment are definitely fine but if you're wondering how fine the margins are, then you have to check out our in-depth review of the Honor View20.
