Characteristic | Meaning |
Frame | Glass, aluminum frame |
Screen | 5.84" IPS LCD with 1080 x 2280 pixels (432 PPI) resolution |
Camera | Dual camera 16 MP + 2 MP with phase detection autofocus |
Shooting video | 1080p 30 FPS |
CPU | Kirin 659 |
Memory | 4 GB RAM, 32 GB / 64 GB storage; hybrid microSD slot |
OS | Android 8.0 Oreo with Huawei EMUI 8.0 |
Battery | Li-Po 3000 mAh (sealed) |
Connectivity | Dual-SIM; LTE-A; microUSB; Wi-Fi; GPS/GLONASS; Bluetooth 4.2; FM radio; NFC (varies by region) |
Miscellaneous | Rear-mounted fingerprint scanner |
Year of issue | 2019 |
Appearance and build quality
Despite the name, the Huawei P20 Lite is not very similar to the previous Huawei P20 and P20 Pro models.
The P20 Lite has a large 5.84-inch display with a resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels. It has thin bezels, like most premium phones these days, and they're just big enough to accommodate the notch at the top and the Huawei logo below the screen. The phone comes with a responsive facial recognition sensor, which is a smart choice for a low-cost device, but keep in mind that face unlock is convenient but not secure. This sensor cannot be used to confirm mobile transactions, unlike the fingerprint reader on the back.
Huawei P20 Lite is a neat phone with a glass body housed in an aluminum frame. The screen-to-body ratio is almost 80%. It's compact and easy to use, and the curved edges make it very comfortable. You won't see any antenna lines at the back, and even the front is almost frameless.
The glass back panel gives the P20 Lite a premium appearance, but it will pick up fingerprints very well. The rear panel has a vertical dual camera setup and a fingerprint sensor that works absolutely fine.
On the left side of the smartphone there is a hybrid tray for two SIM cards, and on the right side there are power and volume buttons. The back panel of the phone is nice to look at and with the glossy reflective back panel, the device looks like a premium Honor phone. Hidden antenna lines and a metal fingerprint scanner also complete the design.
In terms of design, the P20 Lite really manages to stand out from the crowd, thanks in large part to its glass body. Simply put, this phone looks more expensive than it actually is.
What I didn't like
Before I point out the negative details, in my opinion, I will give a short list of characteristics of the Huawei P20 Lite:
- dimensions 14.8 x 7.1 x 0.75 centimeters;
- android 8.0 oreo;
- display resolution 2280 x 1080 (19:9);
- cameras – main 16+2, front 16 MP;
- 8-core processor, 4 gigabytes of RAM;
- physical memory 65 GB;
- 3000 mAh battery (with fast charging function).
At first glance there is nothing to complain about, but over time I found several shortcomings of the manufacturer. In reviews, smartphone owners are perplexed as to why there is no autofocus and normal backlighting for shooting in the dark. For me this is not critical, I’m not a big fan of photography. I noticed that the media player has no sound settings, the case is dirty (fingerprints remain) and you have to choose between two SIM cards and installing additional memory. Otherwise, Huawei P20 Lite is really good.
Some people wrote in the reviews that the store offers richer equipment. Nothing like this. In fact, the manufacturer packages its products in the same way. They brought me a smartphone directly in branded packaging, a charger, a cable for connecting to a PC and excellent stereo headphones. In any case, you will have to buy the cover separately.
In the end, I am completely satisfied with the purchase. For that kind of money I would not be able to purchase a gadget with such rich equipment. I recommend it as an alternative to super expensive iPhones and Samsungs.
Cameras Huawei P20 Lite
The main element in the P20 family is the camera. The camera is good, in some places very good for the price, but still it is inferior to other phones in the line
The P20 Lite has a dual rear camera setup that has a 16MP primary sensor with f/2.2 aperture and a 2MP depth sensor. At the back, the two cameras are accompanied by a single LED flash. The camera app on your smartphone supports standard modes such as Panorama, Pro, Night Shot and Time-Lapse.
We recommend reading → Good budget Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
The images captured during the day are quite impressive. There is a lot of detail and good clarity. The depth of field effect stands out quite well in the images. As is the case with the camera of most Huawei/Honor smartphones, low-light images are not that good. But the P20 Lite has significantly improved low-light photography. There is less noise, detail is good, but nothing spectacular.
At night the phone performs well - not perfect, but far from terrible. As for the selfie camera, the 16-megapixel front camera performs well, but it would be unfair to expect more from it for the money.
The front camera provides fairly good images in daylight. Surprisingly, the front camera does not have a flash.
Huawei phones have recently introduced AI cameras that detect what you're trying to photograph and optimize settings accordingly, but the P20 Lite doesn't have that. Not a big disappointment, but it would have been nice.
The P20 Lite has portrait mode, a depth-of-field feature found on many mid-range and budget phones. The mode isn't perfect because you'll notice that it struggles to distinguish between what's foreground and background, but for the price it does more than well.
Battery and autonomy
The smartphone is equipped with a 3000 mAh battery, which copes with its task acceptable. The smartphone will last about 10-12 hours under medium to heavy use, which puts the battery performance in the acceptable category. However, there is a serious drawback: the phone does not support fast charging and it takes a fair amount of time to fully charge the device.
Battery life is the weak point of the P20 Lite. You'll get a full day of use from the 3,000mAh battery, but that's about it. It lasted just under 11 hours in battery tests, which is fine. The Moto X4, which costs about the same, lasted 12 and a half hours.
Conclusion
Based on the material described above, we will conclude that the Huawei P20 Lite 2021 is ideal for most of the user’s goals, so we will recommend it for a detailed and intimate acquaintance. It is especially worth highlighting the appearance of the device, as well as the build quality;
Pros:
- Tempting price;
- Good performance;
- Triple rear camera;
- Frontal in the “hole”;
- Thoughtful shell;
- Fits perfectly in one hand;
- Realistic color rendering matrix;
- There are no bangs;
Software
The P20 Lite comes with Android 8.0 and Huawei's EMUI (also version 8.0) out of the box. P20 Lite cannot be connected to an external monitor in desktop mode.
Huawei limits itself to pre-installed apps, providing only a few third-party programs that can be easily uninstalled. The external SD card cannot be formatted with internal storage, but it can be used as the main directory for apps, images, and videos. If the P20 Lite is used by multiple users, this can be configured in the menu.
Characteristics
To make a full comparison of Huawei P20 vs Huawei P20 Lite, you should first consider the characteristics of the devices. Quite often it happens that modifications differ in memory capacity or display size. In this case, the difference will not be only this. Devices differ in processors and some other parameters. Full specifications are shown in the table.
Huawei P20 smartphone
Characteristics | Huawei P20 | Huawei P20 Lite |
OS | Android 8.1 | Android 8.0 |
Display | 5.8 inches, 2240*1080, IPS, Gorilla Glass 5 | 5.84 inches, 2280*1080, IPS, Gorilla Glass 5 |
CPU | Kirin 970 | Kirin 659 |
Memory | 4/128 GB | 4/64 GB |
Main camera | 12+20 MP, laser focus tracking, 2x optical zoom | 16+2 MP |
Front-camera | 24 MP | 16 MP |
battery | 3400 mAh, fast charging | 3000 mAh |
Interfaces | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Type-C, NFC, GPS, Glonass, LTE | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Type-C, NFC, GPS, Glonass, LTE |
Protection | IP - 53 | |
Size and weight | 149.1*70.8*7.65 mm, 165 grams | 148*71*7.4 mm, 145 grams |
Huawei P20 Lite smartphone
If you look at the characteristics listed above, you will notice that the Huawei P20 differs from the P20 Lite in its hardware rather than its design or dimensions . The older model, with a slightly smaller screen size, turned out to be heavier, longer and thicker. In addition, the device is protected from water and dust; the younger version did not receive it.
Huawei P20
From what is not indicated in the table, the following should be noted.
- P20 has stereo speakers, faster memory.
- The younger device benefits from the fact that memory can be added to it. The older gadget has a main memory limited to 128 gigabytes. However, this volume is enough for most tasks.
- Another difference is that the older version comes with a case and a headset, while the Lite only received a headset.
Conclusion. In terms of security, sound, and equipment, the P20 earns one point and opens the score 1:0 in favor of the older model.
Phone performance
Huawei phones are reliable and boast specifications that, in most cases, provide more than satisfactory performance for the money. P20 Lite is no exception. It, like other Huawei and Honor smartphones, runs on Huawei's own HiSilicon Kirin 659 processor. There is 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage (expandable via SD card).
The P20 Lite is a stunning but still budget phone. This means compromises are required, and the Kirin 659 processor is the first feature where you'll feel that. The device is not slow, but there are slowdowns and lags.
Going from reading a news app to searching Google to checking a message on Messenger to, say, going to a news app is a sequence of commands that can stump a phone for at least a couple of milliseconds. There are still times when the application is already closed, but the sound continues to play.
There's enough power here for most 3D games. A game like Asphalt 8 runs fine, although more demanding games that require more RAM won't run smoothly here. For example, PUBG will have to be played on minimum graphics settings.
We recommend reading → TOP best launchers for Android on your phone
Huawei P20 Lite provides fairly good performance. There are no problems with overheating, and most everyday tasks are solved quite efficiently. The Kirin 659 processor does its job well.
The filling of a Chinese smartphone
It’s impossible to quickly describe the Huawei P20 Lite. You need to pay attention to many nuances that make such a purchase really profitable and interesting. I’ll try to describe all the advantages and disadvantages point by point.
Appearance
I'll start with the design. In our country, we are accustomed to seeing things “by their clothes,” and only then looking inside. Customer reviews of this Huawei model have been mixed. I liked the appearance of the smartphone. Everything is laconic and discreet, but some buyers rightly noted that it is very similar to its cheaper brother from Honor. I won’t argue, because such similarities don’t scare me.
Smartphone display
It's hard to find fault with the screen. When I opened the package, at first I thought that the size of the smartphone was too big, but after turning it on I realized that it was intended! The display is 5.84 inches in size. Picture resolution FHD+. The image is bright and perfectly readable from any angle. I liked that when the battery charge is low, the phone goes into economy mode, reducing the pixelation (to HD+). The difference is not particularly noticeable, but additional operating time is provided.
Camera
The quality of pictures can be added to the advantages of a smartphone. Judging by reviews from professionals, Huawei P20 Lite allows you to subsequently process the resulting images and “pull out” colors. I’m not very familiar with such terms, so I can only note the presence of dual optics on the back and a wonderful 16 megapixel front camera.
Battery capacity
The battery in the smartphone was installed according to the size of the screen. 3000 mAh is certainly not the best parameter among middle-class smartphones, but still... From personal experience, when the smartphone is fully loaded (calls, Internet, auto navigation), the charge is enough for a day. On weekends I may not recharge my phone for 2 days.
Brains of Huawei P20 Lite
This point was very important. I have to process a large array of different information, so I’m used to using “smart” office programs, memory-heavy photo editors and video editors. In this regard, the phone doesn’t disappoint either – 8 processor cores and 4 gigs of memory easily cope with most tasks.
Sound quality
The P20 Lite has a single speaker at the bottom. The volume is kept high. Sound quality is also very good, but not as impressive as on the more expensive P20 models. The sound is shallow, but for a phone in this price segment this is a very good result.
When connecting headphones to the phone's 3.5mm audio jack, the Huawei P20 Lite performed quite well as an active external amplifier in the sound quality test. Stereo interference remained impressively low.
Why I chose a smartphone from Huawei
For the last year I have been working at a company that supplies various goods from the Middle Kingdom. I’ll probably say something seditious, but many Chinese phones, tablets and laptops are no different from their more famous colleagues from Korea, the USA or Germany. Moreover, given the difference in price, buying a smartphone like the Huawei P20 Lite becomes really profitable in all respects. Huawei is the most popular and promoted of the Asian digital technology manufacturing companies. I think you have heard about Honor phones. So, this gadget is also produced at the company’s facilities. Moreover, Huawei built China's first telecommunications network, and small firms certainly do not receive such an honor.
Display Huawei P20 Lite
The P20 Lite features a large 5.84-inch Full HD display for such a compact device. It has an aspect ratio of 19:9 and a pixel density of 432ppi. While it's not a display that delivers amazing results, the P20 Lite does quite well in many aspects.
Thanks to the 19:9 aspect ratio, viewing angles are excellent. The colors are vibrant and bright, and there are no complaints when used in direct sunlight. You can watch videos or play games, the display is very responsive. The screen is one of the main trump cards of this smartphone.
However, there is little practical application for this aspect ratio. Many apps remain unoptimized for this type of display, and Android is understandably slower to adapt software to notched displays than iOS. YouTube by default offers a regular rectangular image with wide black bars on the sides.
Games are also not always fully optimized for this type of display. One of the biggest releases in recent memory, Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition, exhibited strange visual artifacts when entering full-screen mode.
However, the display itself is impressive and attractive. It's an LTPS TFT, which means it's sharp and accurate, even if it lacks the contrast and brightness of AMOLED.
A more noticeable downside to the lack of an AMOLED display comes if you don't like the screen's distinctive eyebrow and decide to hide it in the options menu. With the AMOLED display in the Huawei P20 Pro, the problem will almost disappear. Here (as with the P20) you can clearly see that these are just "black" areas of the screen to the left and right of the notch.
Another distinguishing feature of the P20 Lite and P20 display is resolution. While flagship Android phones often use QHD resolution, the Huawei P20 and P20 Lite use 1080 x 2240 resolution.
Huawei P20 Lite 2021: Specifications and price
Thin chin at the bottom
OS | Android; |
Screen | 6.4 inches; 19:9 |
Permission | 1080 x 2280, IPS LCD; |
Camera | 16/8/2/2 MP; |
Frontal | 16 MP; |
CPU | Kirin 710, 8 cores; |
Built-in memory | 64.128 GB; |
RAM | 4 GB |
battery | 4000 mAh; |
Price | From 20,000 rubles |
Huawei P20 Lite 2021: Pros and cons
Thin bezels around the screen
- Features. Front camera in the cutout on the left of the screen, value for money. The review is preliminary;
— The screen size is 6.4 inches with an aspect ratio of 19 to 9, which allows the user to comfortably watch videos or read. The device is also suitable for gaming and surfing the Internet;
— The matrix is an IPS LCD type with pleasant color rendering and large viewing angles. The resolution is 1080 x 2280 with a pixel density per inch of 432ppi, which is classified as high;
— The performance of the Huawei P20 Lite 2021 is driven by the Kirin 710 processor with 8 cores and 4 GB of RAM, which in total runs most applications, as well as not the most power-hungry games. Regarding the chipset, it is manufactured using 12 nm technology with support for artificial intelligence systems to improve photos. Graphics are handled by the Mali-G51 chip;
— Built-in memory 64 or 128 GB with support for SD cards;
— The rear camera is a block of four 16/8/2/2 MP cameras, where each sensor is responsible for a separate task. The main photo is taken by a 16 megapixel sensor, an 8 megapixel wide-angle photo, a 2 megapixel sensor determines the distance to the object, and a second two-megapixel sensor is needed for optical zoom. Thanks to the support of artificial intelligence systems, photo quality becomes highly detailed. The front camera is located in the cutout on the left side of the screen at 16 megapixels;
— The battery capacity is 4000 mAh and this is enough to operate the smartphone for 24 hours. Supports 18W fast charging;
- Colors. Black, blue, red;
additional characteristics
Rear fingerprint scanner
Shell | EMUI |
NFC support | Yes |
Fingerprint's scanner | On the back; |
Charging and data port | USB Type-C |
Jack 3.5 | Yes |
GPS+GLONASS | Stable |
Bluetooth | 5.0 |
WiFi | Dual band |
FAQ answers to frequently asked questions
All phones will have problems, no matter how well built it is. The main factor is how you take care of your phone and keep it in optimal condition.
This list contains a number of the most common questions about phone problems and their solutions.
We recommend reading → Good budget Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
1. Battery drain Problem: Battery drains quickly
Solution: Charge your phone only to 80%. Overcharging your phone is one of the main reasons why your battery drains faster than usual. So whenever you charge your phone, don't charge it to 100%.
Also:
- Disable features you don't use.
- Reduce your phone's screen resolution from FHD to HD.
- Turn off features you don't use, such as Wi-Fi, GPS, location services.
2. Phone randomly reboots Problem : random reboots
Solutions:
- Try installing an anti-malware program and checking your phone for viruses. After that, wipe the cache partition. Restart your phone and check if the problem is still there.
- If your phone still restarts on its own, reset your phone to factory settings.
3. SD card stopped working Problem : SD card does not work
Solutions:
- Make sure the SD card is still readable. Connect the SD card to your computer or SD card reader and check if it works. If so, the problem may be with your phone's built-in SD card reader.
- Buy only decent quality SD cards that are compatible with the devices you have. Saving on your SD card can give you a bad experience and you may even lose all your cherished memories.
4. Problems with the microphone Problem: the microphone does not work
Solution: Try uninstalling any apps that you have shared your microphone with. If you still experience the problem after doing this, back up your files and perform a factory reset. If it works, then you installed the app with a bug and it has negatively affected your microphone.
5. Overheating Problem: Phone overheating
Solution: Close unnecessary background apps and disable some features you don't use on your device. Sometimes, many users don't notice that the apps they download are always running in the background. This increases the power your phone uses and makes the device warm even when you're not using it.
6. Slow phone response time. Problem: the phone is slow to respond to touches
Solutions:
- Check which background apps are running: There may be apps you don't use that are constantly running in the background.
- Also check for fraudulent apps. Your device may be running malware that is causing your device to slow down.
7. Slow charging
Problem: Phone is charging slowly
Solutions:
- Try using a different charger!
- If it takes more than a few hours for your phone to fully charge, your phone may have battery problems.
- Check your cables and adapter. Perhaps they got wet.
Comparisons with competitors
Huawei P20 Lite | Motorola Moto G6 | Motorola Moto X4 | Nokia 6.1 | |
Screen resolution | 2280×1080 | 2,160×1,080 | 1,920×1,080 | 1,920×1,080 |
Pixel Density | 432 ppi | 424 ppi | 424 ppi | 403 ppi |
Dimensions | 148.6×71.2×7.4 mm | 153.8×72.3×8.3 mm | 148.4×73.4×8 mm | 148.8×75.8×8.2 mm |
Weight | 145 grams | 167 grams | 163 grams | 172 grams |
operating system | Android 8.0 Oreo | Android 8.0 Oreo | Android 7.1.1 Nougat | Android 8.1 Orea |
Front-camera | 16 megapixels | 12 megapixels | 16 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
Video recording | 1080p | 1080p | 4K | 2160p |
CPU | Octa-core Kirin 659 | 1.8GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 | 2.2GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 | 2.2GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 |
Memory | 32GB, 64GB | 32GB, 64GB | 32GB, 64GB | 32GB, 64GB |
RAM | 4GB | 3GB, 4GB | 3GB or 4GB | 4GB |
Battery | 3,000mAh | 3,000mAh | 3,000mAh | 3,000mAh |
Connector | USB-C | USB-C | USB-C | USB-C |
Headphone jack | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Price | 15990 rubles | 11990 rubles | 27990 rubles | 5690 rubles |
Technical specifications Huawei P20 Lite
General characteristics | |
Model | Huawei P20 Lite, Huawei Nova 3e |
Date of announcement and start of sales | March 2021 / March 2018 |
Dimensions (LxWxH) | 148.6 x 71.2 x 7.4 mm. |
Weight | 145 g. |
Available colors | midnight black, Klein blue, sakura pink |
operating system | Android 8.0 (Oreo) + EMUI 8 |
Connection | |
Number and type of SIM cards | one, Nano-SIM / two hybrid, Nano-SIM, dual stand-by |
Communication standard in 2G networks | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 (for dual-SIM models) |
Communication standard in 3G networks | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 |
Communication standard in 4G networks | LTE |
Carrier Compatibility | MTS, Beeline, Megafon, Tele2, Yota |
Data transfer | |
WiFi | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Direct, hotspot |
Bluetooth | 4.2, A2DP, LE, EDR, aptX |
GPS | yes, A-GPS, GLONASS |
NFC | There is |
Infrared port | No |
Platform | |
CPU | eight-core HiSilicon Kirin 659 Octa-core (4×2.36 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4×1.7 GHz Cortex-A53) |
GPU | Mali-T830 MP2 |
Inner memory | 64 GB |
RAM | 4 GB |
Ports and connectors | |
USB | 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector |
3.5mm jack | There is |
Memory card slot | microSD, up to 256 GB (combined with SIM 2 slot) |
Display | |
Display type | LTPS IPS LCD capacitive, 16M colors |
Screen size | 5.84 inches (~80.5% of the front surface of the device) |
Display protection | 2.5D glass |
Camera | |
Main camera | dual 16 MP + 2 MP, f/2.2, phase detection autofocus, LED flash |
Functionality of the main camera | Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama |
Video recording | [email protected] |
Front-camera | 16 MP, 1080p |
Sensors | |
Illuminance | There is |
Approximations | There is |
Gyroscope | There is |
Compass | There is |
Hall | No |
Accelerometer | There is |
Barometer | No |
Fingerprint scanner | There is |
Battery | |
Battery type and capacity | Li-Po 3000 mAh |
Battery mount | non-removable |
Equipment | |
Standard kit | P20 Lite: 1 USB cable: 1 User manual: 1 Warranty card: 1 Headphones: 1 SIM tray eject tool: 1 Charger: 1 |
Bottom line
For 16,000 rubles, the Huawei P20 Lite is a smartphone that will arouse curiosity, but may not make much of an impression. This is partly due to its appearance and display, as the camera doesn't produce impressive results. There are practically no shortcomings in its operation, but for some reason the smartphone does not live up to the “best offer”.
This is also partly because there are slightly cheaper phones with similar or better features. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro is a good example of a cheaper phone that will match the P20 Lite. The P20 Lite is a good smartphone, but check out competitors' models before you buy because you'll find a better deal.
Reviews from Huawei P20 Lite owners
I would like to note right away that the smartphone model I chose is already a little outdated. I always try to buy proven gadgets that have a strong reputation and a time-tested quality guarantee. I first asked my colleagues about the proposed purchase. It turned out that such smartphones are not uncommon at our company.
“I've been using this phone for a year now. During this time there was not a single serious malfunction. A couple of times I had to reboot the gadget by removing the battery, but this is most likely a consequence of attempts to download pirated software..."
The idea that I needed to buy the Huawei P20 Lite came after I studied reviews from smartphone owners online. I went to the forum of fans of this brand and inquired about the quality of the model.
“I chose this particular caller because of its good camera. The pictures come out just great. They are very pleasant to view on the big screen. For me, the manufacturer offers few colors, but there is plenty to choose from. I bought Huawei P20 Lite in a blue case - it looks very stylish..."
It is clear that I did not experiment with colors and chose the classics. Black always goes with everything!