A lot has been written in regards to the tensions between Huawei (Honor’s father or mother firm) and Google, with the potential removing of future Android updates from Honor gadgets a giant speaking level. However little or no has been written about what an outstanding telephone the Honor 20 Professional is, and the way fantastically it performs with video games. Nonetheless the entire Android concern works out, I can safely say that the 20 Professional surpasses the Honor View 20 as a gaming machine, placing it firmly on the high of our listing of best gaming phones. 

It is presently obtainable within the UK, and all through most of Europe, though there is not any phrase on when it is headed over to the US. Honor is a model aimed squarely on the youth market, and this telephone is totally specced to serve that viewers.

Design

The 20 Professional is an honest dimension with out being one thing that gained’t really slot in your pocket - it sits neatly between the dimensions of the Galaxy S10 and S10+ with a 6.26-inch display. Whereas the display isn’t edgeless, the bezel may be very skinny and there’s no lack of display real-estate for the front-facing digicam, which is embedded neatly within the prime left nook. As with earlier Honor telephones, the fingerprint scanner is positioned neatly on the right-hand aspect of the handset, and is inset so that you don’t confuse it with the quantity button, additionally on the correct hand edge. The USB-C charging port is on the underside, and the connection is a cosy match with the charger, so it gained’t slip out for those who bump your telephone whereas charging. Sadly, there’s no headphone jack on this telephone, which continues to be a evident omission, significantly on gaming telephones.

The rear of the 20 Professional has what Honor refers to as ‘Triple 3D Mesh’, which principally makes the again colour a deep, mirrored inexperienced or purple. It’s enjoyable, if not fairly as attractive as Honor thinks. The star of the telephone, nonetheless, is the quad digicam set-up: a 48 MP f/1.4 important digicam; a 16 MP wide-angle lens; an 8 MP telephoto lens with a 3x optical and 30x digital zoom; and a 2 MP macro lens. Whereas this digicam set-up is unimaginable, it has a deadly flaw with regards to gaming - you'll be able to’t lie the telephone flat on its again. The digicam sit pleased with the rear floor, so the telephone wobbles whenever you contact the display, if it’s laid on a flat floor. Disgrace.

Features

In terms of options, there’s lots on supply. The Professional 20 runs on Android 9.0, and it’s as totally customisable as most different Google methods. The Professional model comes with 8GB of RAM, and has Huawei’s wonderful Kirin 980 chip as normal, which chews by way of any purposes you throw at it. You get 256GB of inner storage right here and that’s lots, negating the necessity to add a MicroSD card for further area. Even hefty video games like Fortnite Cellular solely require about 4GB (after replace), so there’s a great deal of storage for every little thing you possibly can presumably want, until you’re consistently taking pictures video.

The display screen itself is a 2340x1080 contact display screen, which is each responsive and durable. Even touches on the sting, important for some video games, register with constant accuracy. Gesture controls are easy, and there’s by no means any stuttering or lag when transitioning between apps. Whereas this isn’t a 4K and even QHD display screen (1440p), it’s shiny and clear sufficient for a telephone of this measurement, even when a few of the apps seem a bit chunkier than some higher-definition screens.

Photos taken with Honor 20 Pro

The digital camera performs fantastically, with the principle 48 MP lens producing unimaginable depth to portrait photos. The extensive angle lens is much less spectacular for landscapes, and whereas the telephoto lens does an admirable job with the 3x optical zoom, it performs much less effectively while you convey within the digital zoom. The macro lens is enjoyable, however with such a restricted capturing distance and a comparatively sluggish shutter pace, it will probably’t problem specialist DSLRs outfitted with most prime lenses. All that stated… the 20 Professional is a fraction of the value of a full digicam and lens set-up, and its snapper simply out-performs the one on the iPhone XS, and narrowly nudges the Galaxy S10. The AR mode is cute, there are professional lens management choices for extra critical photographers, and I like the sunshine portray possibility too, which brightens up a topic in darker pictures.

Performance

Right here’s the place we get into the true gaming muscle of the 20 Professional. This telephone is a gaming powerhouse, fine-tuned for the best Android games and the best way you need to play them. Fortnite runs at an unbelievably easy 60fps, and Honor has been very forthcoming about how the 20 Professional outperforms each rival handset for the sport. I can affirm that it’s an unimaginable expertise smashing by Fortnite, with the connection sturdy, the movement slick, and the sound completely introduced both by way of headphones or the inner audio system. My solely criticism is one thing of a recreation design resolution, in that it grew to become too simple to by accident press the mistaken on-screen buttons whereas enjoying. Hardly the fault of the 20 Professional, nevertheless it does spotlight the shortcomings of enjoying an more and more concerned and sophisticated recreation on a standard-size handset.

Elsewhere, I examined Cultist Simulator to see how the telephone performs with extra exact, timed inputs, and it did an admirable job. The display is nearly large enough to deal with the location of playing cards, and the organisation of your deck, with the smaller textual content legible and clear sufficient. It was simple to cowl the display in fingerprints, and the rear does are inclined to get fairly smudged up throughout longer gaming periods. One thing extra easy like The Battle of Polytopia exhibits off the display effectively in portrait mode, and the chunky objects and shiny colours look excellent on the 20 Professional’s show. Clearly, the telephone’s internals barely break a sweat enjoying both recreation, or switching between them.

What impresses most when it comes to gaming, nonetheless, is the battery. The 4000mAh battery in that is pretty normal, however as a result of the display is an LCD show, and there are some good tech options constructed into the telephone to optimise use for video games and cut back battery drain, it lasts far longer than you’d anticipate. We gave it a heavy use check of video games, movies, and social media and a single cost will final most individuals for about 36-48 hours (excess of most rivals, however barely lower than Huawei’s personal P30 Professional). After simply over an hour of Fortnite, we dropped the battery by about 9%, which is one thing of a miracle contemplating how demanding the sport could be. And since this telephone has USB-C fast-charging, you’re able to go once more in below two hours, even for those who zero the battery.

Overall - should we buy it in 2021?

Effectively, below regular circumstances, it’d be a convincing ‘sure’. Even with small annoyances, like the shortage of a headphone socket, the digicam protruding from the rear, and the comparatively low decision of the display screen, the Honor 20 Professional is an immense cellphone. It’s excellent for gaming, and has the type of options that youthful audiences - who the Honor model could be very a lot designed for - crave. It’s trendy, purposeful, and solidly constructed. The one caveat (and it’s a giant one) is round that pesky ‘way forward for Android assist’ subject. If Honor can play properly with Google, and hold the cellphone updated with the newest variations of the OS, then you need to completely take into account the 20 Professional as your subsequent gaming cellphone. Particularly because it clocks in at a really cheap worth of $650 / £550 new.