Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro has a square camera and 3D facial unlock

It can also wireless charge another phone on its back

Huawei

Karen Chiu

Published: 9:45pm, 16 Oct 2018

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This article originally appeared on ABACUS

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro, unveiled in London on Tuesday, might be one of the coolest smartphones you can’t buy from a US carrier store.

The first thing that stands out is the triple-camera system, arranged in a square. Just like the P20 Pro, it houses a main camera and a telephoto lens -- but the third sensor is now an ultra-wide angle sensor rather than a monochrome sensor.

On the front, the Mate 20 Pro features a 6.4-inch OLED display with an iPhone-like notch, which contains a 3D facial recognition system. For those who prefer, the screen is also embedded with a fingerprint sensor, so users can unlock the phone by pressing the screen. It’s an increasingly common feature among smartphones from Chinese companies, including Huawei’s own Porsche Design Huawei Mate RS introduced in March.

The inside of the Mate 20 Pro is equally impressive. It’s the first device to carry Huawei’s brand new in-house designed chip, the Kirin 980.

Built using an advanced 7-nanometer process just like Apple’s A12, the Kirin 980 is said to be able to recognize up to 4,500 images a minute -- a significant upgrade from the preceding Kirin 970. Huawei claims it runs faster than Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 processor, which powers a number of Android flagships like the OnePlus 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

How building their own chips is helping Huawei close in on Apple

Another much-anticipated feature on the Mate 20 Pro: Wireless charging. It not only lets you pump up the phone using a wireless charger -- you can also use the phone to charge another phone by placing their backs together.

The Mate 20 Pro inherits the P20 Pro’s strength in the battery department, shipping with a 4,200mAh battery. It also supports SuperCharge 2.0 that promises 70% battery power after 30 minutes' charging.

Huawei also unveiled the standard Mate 20, which is slightly bigger. It comes with a smaller notch shaped like a water droplet, which means it lacks the 3D facial scanner found on the Pro. The Mate 20 also has a slightly smaller 4,000mAh battery.

Both models come in five colors: Emerald Green, Midnight Blue, Black, Pink Gold and Twilight.

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