Honor 20 Pro review

Honor’s going all-in on the smartphone camera game

Honor 20 Pro
Image Credit: TechRadar

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Verdict

The Honor 20 Pro is a high-end phone masquerading as a ‘premium’ mid-range handset, just like the OnePlus 7 Pro – except without quite as high a price tag.

For sure, the Honor 20 Pro isn’t a high-end powerhouse – it’s got a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and weaker screen specs for example – but it blurs the lines between high-end phones and mid-range devices in terms of the features and performance we expect.

The fingerprint sensor is the most easily-accessible we’ve seen on a smartphone, we found it far more preferable than the in-screen ID most phones have; the screen specs are far from a deal-breaker, as you’ll barely notice the difference without placing this phone side-by-side with a competitor; also we’re still not convinced a screen needs to be bezel- or camera-less, as it’s easy to ignore these intrusions.

Add in the competitive camera array, perfect screen size and what we expect to be a low price tag, you’ve got a phone that can give flagships from the likes of Apple and Samsung a run for their money.

Competition

Don't think the Honor 20 Pro is for you? Try these instead...

Google Pixel 3a 

For about the same price as the Honor 20 Pro you could get the Google Pixel 3a, which also offers a powerful camera and impressive image processing – it doesn’t have as good a chipset or battery life though, so if photography isn’t your thing you may find it lacking.

Read our full Google Pixel 3a review 

Honor View 20 

The Honor View 20 looks rather similar to the Honor 20 Pro, with a ‘punch-hole’ camera in its screen, but it’s nowhere near as powerful in terms of camera specs as the Honor 20 Pro, and it’ll set you back a similar amount. The Honor 20 Pro pretty much replaces the Honor View 20, although you may soon be able to pick the latter phone up for a lot less money.

Read our full Honor View 20 review

Huawei P30

The Huawei P30 has one of the best camera setups we’ve seen in a smartphone, and while the Honor 20 Pro’s cameras could top it, it’s very close. While the P30 does have a better screen, and arguably a more ergonomic design than the new Honor phone, you’d be paying extra for a phone that might not actually give you that extra back.

Read our full Huawei P30 review 

Image Credit: TechRadar 

Tom Bedford
Contributor

Tom Bedford was deputy phones editor on TechRadar until late 2022, having worked his way up from staff writer. Though he specialized in phones and tablets, he also took on other tech like electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness, mobile gaming and more. He is based in London, UK and now works for the entertainment site What To Watch.


He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working on TechRadar, he freelanced in tech, gaming and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist. He also currently works in film as a screenwriter, director and producer.