Honor’s 20 Pro has a 48MP camera with the widest aperture available on any smartphone

Honor’s new 20 Pro is a photography beast, if its spec sheet is anything to go by. The Honor 20 Pro may have the same 48MP main camera with a Sony IMX586 sensor as the Honor View 20, but it’s seemingly been reworked from scratch to produce even better results – especially in low light. And, it’s paired with three more cameras, that offer the most versatility on any smartphone at its price point. 

Prior to the Honor 20 Pro launch, many had speculated that it will come with quad camera setup similar, or close to, what you get in the Huawei P30 Pro. While that’s not happening, the Honor 20 Pro’s quad camera setup is unique in its own way. For one, Honor’s 20 Pro has a rejigged 48MP main camera with the widest aperture available on any smartphone – that's f/1.4 for your reference. For some perspective, the OnePlus 7 Pro, that also has the same main sensor, maxes out at f/1.6. 

For the layman, wider the aperture, brighter will be your photos – something that will be particularly useful in low and exceptionally low light. We’ve already seen the Honor View 20’s 48MP camera in action – the Honor View 20 was the first smartphone in the world to use the Sony IMX586 sensor. And we’ve already been impressed by everything that it offers. The Honor 20 Pro should be better – and Honor has some tall numbers backing those claims. 

Photo by Saurabh Singh

The Samsung Galaxy S10+ and the iPhone XS Max were talked about a lot on stage during the Honor 20 Pro’s keynote launch event in London today – more specifically how Honor feels the Honor 20 Pro’s quad cameras trump (no pun intended) those flagships that cost more. The Honor 20 Pro quad cameras apparently trump even the Canon 5D Mark IV when it comes to shooting at higher ISOs – the Honor 20 Pro can shoot at ISO 204800, according to Honor. 

Now I am not saying that the Honor 20 Pro can take better photos than a DSLR but Honor’s claims that it can offer DSLR-grade ISO sensitivity may not be entirely far from the fact. 

There’s of course more to a smartphone camera than ISO sensitivity, but if the Honor View 20 is a benchmark (which it should be), the Honor 20 Pro may spring a surprise or two. Also, it is coming after the Huawei P30 Pro, and even though both have different cameras, Honor has been free to use the tech (particularly its AI chops) – the Honor 20 Pro includes Huawei’s infamous handheld moon mode, for instance. 

Here’s a quick rain-check on the Honor 20 Pro quad camera setup: 

-48MP main Sony IMX586 with f/1.4 aperture and OIS 

-16MP super wide angle with f/2.2 aperture and 117-degree FOV 

-8MP telephoto with f/2.4 aperture and OIS for 3X optical zoom 

-2MP macro with f/2.4 aperture 

As is customary, Honor also has a vanilla Honor 20 that tries to offer much of the same camera experience at an even more affordable price. Here’s a quick look at the Honor 20 quad cameras as well: 

-48MP main Sony IMX586 with f/1.8 aperture (no OIS) 

-16MP super wide angle with f/2.2 aperture and 117-degree FOV 

-2MP depth with f/2.4 aperture 

-2MP macro with f/2.4 aperture 

Photo by Saurabh Singh

Elsewhere, both the Honor 20 Pro and Honor 20 have the same 6.26-inch 1080p+ LCD display with a punch-hole notch that houses a 32MP front camera. Both the phones are powered by Huawei’s top-of-the-line Kirin 980 processor – while the Pro has 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, the regular Honor 20 has 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. Both the phones have the same all-glass gradient design with a side-mounted fingerprint scanner – while the Honor 20 Pro will be available in Phantom Blue and Phantom Black, the Honor 20 will be available in Sapphire Blue, Midnight Black and Icelandic White options. While the Honor 20 Pro comes with a 4,000mAh battery, the Honor 20 packs a smaller 3,750mAh battery – both the phones support Huawei’s 22.5 SuperCharge fast charging tech. 

While the Honor 20 Pro has been launched for Euros 599 (roughly Rs 46,500), the Honor 20 has been launched for Euros 499 (roughly Rs 38,700). Honor will launch the Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro in India on June 11 – which is when we will get to know about their India pricing. 

Also Read:  Huawei P30 Pro First Look: Best Camera Smartphone Ever?