Honor View 20: performance and endurance in a pretty dress

Presentation

Updated 05/20/2019 at 02:20 PM

Attention, Google having ended its collaboration with Huawei / Honor, the future software of the launch mobiles is pending. We cannot advise you to invest in this mobile for the moment, its rating could be lowered soon.

After the notch the fashion is on the screen "perforated", or "punched", or "pierced" ... And the leader of this trend is the Honor View 20, the latest high-end killer from Honor and incidentally the successor to the excellent View 10. Suffice to say that the pressure is great.

To try to find a place, the View 20 uses the recipe that made the success of its predecessor: a high-end technical sheet for a price starting at € 549 (€ 649 for the 8/256 GB version). Enough to get lice from the OnePlus 6T or Mi Mix 3. On the program: a Kirin 980 mobile chip, 6 GB of RAM and a 6.4-inch screen ... so "hole".

But beyond this ergonomic originality, what is the View 20 worth? This is what we will see ...

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Ergonomics and design

In the middle of a jungle of black rectangles without great originality, the View 20 definitely stands out. First, of course, thanks to its screen punched at the top left. If at first glance this choice can be confusing, let's face it right away, it is done as quickly with this pierced screen as with any notched screen. After a few hours, we forget the presence of this hole which in addition only occupies a very small place on the top of the screen. We did not come across an application that suffered from this unprecedented configuration, and the most allergic will be able to hide this hole anyway thanks to a software trick. The punched screen is nothing extraordinary in the end. "Hole that for that" in short.

But it's not just on the front that the View 20 stands out. The light which is reflected on the glass shell draws a clearly visible V - a "V" as "View" obviously). Associated with the typical blue color of Honor, this gives a certain cachet to the device ... as long as we succeed in limiting the inevitable fingerprints.

On the ergonomic side, the phone has nothing to blame either. The construction is impeccable, the quality of the materials at the top and the buttons fall naturally under the fingers. To avoid spoiling anything, biometric authentication systems (fingerprint sensor and facial recognition) work quickly and efficiently.

It is unfortunately from a technological point of view that the shoe pinches somewhat. If the View 20 is capable of accommodating two SIM cards, no space is provided for a potential microSD card, Honor preferring the Nano Memory Card format that Huawei had presented with its Mate 20, but which has not seen an adoption worthy of the name so far. Add to that the absence of a waterproofing certification and it becomes difficult for us to give its fifth star to the device on this part dedicated to ergonomics and design.

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Screen

Honor had warned, the choice of a pierced panel confined the View 20 to an IPS screen, the technology being “not yet ready for the Oled”. Too bad, especially since the OnePlus 6T offers an Oled screen, which is more energy efficient and more contrasted. And it is also on the side of the contrast that the View 20 sins (1200: 1). The image will therefore sometimes be duller than on the best IPS screens or Oled screens.

Otherwise, it must be recognized, Honor has taken care of its hole screen. Several profiles are also available in the display settings. The "Normal" screen profile with "Warm" color temperature offers colors very close to perfection, since the Delta E stands at 2.3 and the color temperature at 6 533 Kelvin. Those who prefer more vibrant colors will be able to opt for "bright" colors within the parameters.

Good news, the maximum brightness reaches 430 cd / m² and the minimum 0.9 cd / m². Whether outside in direct sunlight or at the bottom of the bed in the dark, the screen remains perfectly legible. The slab is also relatively insensitive to reflections.

Finally, in terms of use, the tactile delay is established at 60 ms and the remanence at 15 ms. Not really enough to detect a real lag in use therefore. And to not spoil anything, the definition of 2310 x 1080 px is more than enough on a panel of this size and allows you to surf the web and in applications with ease.

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Performances

Unsurprisingly, the Honor View 20 is a powerhouse. It must be said that with the high-end chip Kirin 980 and 6 or 8 GB of RAM, Android is at ease. No hitch is to be declared, even when juggling between the most demanding applications in the Play Store.

The View 20 also knows how to keep a cool head and never exceeds 35 ° C on the surface. Nothing to hinder the use therefore.

As for video games, it has no trouble running all the titles in the Play Store with impeccable graphics and rock-solid fluidity. The edge-to-edge screen also brings a real feeling of immersion. And no, the hole does not interfere - on the games we have tried at least.

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Audio

The headphone output of the Honor View 20 is quite good. The power delivered is generous, the soundstage is wide but unfortunately a bit messy. The distortion is however kept at a very low level. In short, it's almost flawless.

The only speaker that sits on the lower edge of the mobile produces a very clean sound and benefits from a surprisingly wide dynamic range for a smartphone. Only downside, the power is relatively limited.

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Photo

While the View 10 in its time had pleasantly surprised us and marked Honor's entry into the category of manufacturers capable of producing excellent photophones, this View 20 takes a strange step backwards. Equipped with a single photo sensor (and a 3D TOF sensor, we will come back to it) of 48 Mpx, the mobile therefore relies a lot on software processing, like Google. But Pixel 3 is not who wants to.

As long as the light is generous, the mobile is doing well, the details are legion, the contrast well pronounced and the colors correctly restored. The only criticism that can be made of the camera is a tendency to aggressively accentuate the microcontrasts to try to give more relief to the shot, sometimes until reaching an artificial result. But if not, the results are pretty good.

On the other hand, when night falls, the View 20 completely loses the pedals. The phone exaggerates the contrast and tries to unblock all the dark areas by increasing the brightness completely artificially, which gives a ... surprising result. We are close to what OnePlus does with its "night mode", a result so retouched by software that it loses all authenticity. In addition to this, the shot is populated with electronic noise and chromatic aberrations. Pity.

Even by hacking in the application options, it is impossible to obtain a more satisfactory result. By default, the mobile captures 12 MP pictures while the sensor is technically capable of photographing up to 48 MP. This technique called Pixel Binning is supposed to improve the rendering in low light. Out of curiosity, we still tried to capture in 48 Mpx but, the result is similar.

A word also on the "3D sensor" which allows to "move" virtually around an object in the photo. The functionality accessible within the photo app is not necessarily easy to use and the results are of questionable quality. An anecdotal feature that we will soon forget.

The front photo module is doing surprisingly better than its back partner. Whether day or night, the contrast is more finely managed and the exposure more natural. Only downside, the camera has trouble focusing if it is too close to the subject. Finally, portrait mode is quite successful, with a harmonious bokeh and a clean cut.

Almost nothing to report on the video side, the phone can capture files in Full HD without worry. The capture in 4K suffers on the other hand from a slight lag.

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Autonomy

The View 10 was already in its time a mobile with perfectly correct autonomy, but Honor has further improved the recipe. With 9:40 pm on our test protocol, the View 20 is simply one of the most enduring phones in our comparison, slightly behind the Huawei Mate 20. Even after two days away from a charger, the View 20 runs without problems.

To fully charge the device, it takes just under 2 hours.

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Conclusion

In the end, if it had not been for this hallmarked screen, the View 20 would not have been so much talked about. Once you've got used to this ergonomic originality, it disappears to make way for an almost impeccable mobile ... if not this regrettable slip in the photo. Weak point all the more astonishing that the View 10 - of which he could have been the worthy descendant - was impeccable on this point. This year, for the same price, we will therefore prefer the OnePlus 6T .-- /! \ Attention, the future software of this phone is uncertain given the sanctions taken by the United States against Huawei. /! \

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