Huawei P20 and P20 Plus: all the rumors in one place

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In this post, which will be updated regularly, we take a closer look at the latest rumors surrounding Huawei’s upcoming P20 and P20 Plus smartphones.
Although the Huawei P10 and P10 Plus are great smartphones, they didn’t grab as much attention as flagships like the Galaxy S8 and LG G6. That’s something Huawei wants to change with the P20 series.
Let’s take a look at the latest rumors surrounding the upcoming devices to find out.
Huawei P20 series: Name and release date
The nitty-gritty
  • It’s possible these phones will be called the P20 and P20 Plus instead of P11 and P11 Plus.
  • They’ll most likely be announced at MWC in February.
There’s some confusion around what the P10 successors will be called. It was initially thought they’ll go by the names of P11 and P11 Plus, as that makes the most sense considering the P10’s predecessors were the P9 and P9 Plus. But at a recent event held in Israel, the CEO of a Huawei device importer said the smartphones will actually be called the P20 and P20 Plus.
Huawei trademarked the P20 name back in July. Even so, nothing has been confirmed yet, so things can still go either way — but we’ll refer to the two devices as P20 and P20 Plus in this post.
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When will the smartphones be announced? The P10 series saw the light of day at MWC 2017 in February, and it looks like the story could be the same this year. Speaking with Android Central, Bruce Lee, Huawei’s Vice President of Handsets Product Line, said the next P-generation phones will probably launch at MWC in Barcelona, which kicks off February 26.
But the conversation between Bruce Lee (the VP, not the kung fu guy) and Android Central took place in March, so things might have changed since then. The P20 series could potentially be revealed at a later date, possibly in March or even in April like the P9 handsets. It should hit the market a month or so after its announcement.

Huawei P20 series: Specs and feature The nitty-gritty

  • Both the P20 and P20 Plus should be powered by the Kirin 970 chipset, just like the Mate 10 series.
  • Huawei might include facial recognition that’s safer than Apple’s Face ID.
  • The handsets could house a triple-lens 40 MP rear camera setup with 5x hybrid zoom.
We expect the P20 smartphones to come with larger displays than their predecessors — over 5.1 and 5.5 inches. However, rumors on this topic are scarce at the moment.
XDA Developers obtained firmware files of one of the P20 smartphones, likely to be the Plus model. It revealed that the handset could sport a 6.01-inch LCD display with Full HD+ resolution, which also means it should have an aspect ratio of 18:9. But take this one with a grain of salt; the P10 Plus has QHD resolution, and it doesn’t make sense for its successor to offer anything less than that.
There’s no word on what screen size the smaller of the two devices may offer. But if the firmware files are legit, our best guess is that it may come in somewhere between 5.5 and 5.7 inches.
The P20 and P20 Plus are expected to be powered by the latest Kirin 970 chipset.
What’s almost certain is that the devices will be powered by the latest Kirin 970 chipset, the same chipset found in the Mate 10 series. This means they should have AI-related features on board including photo-based translations and a few smart tips like suggesting to enable Eye Comfort mode when reading in a dark environment.
What might set the P20 smartphones apart from the competition are their camera setups. According to Evan Blass, they could house a triple lens 40 MP rear camera setup with 5x hybrid zoom. It’s also expected that the setup will be co-developed with Leica, like in previous years. The devices may also have a 24 MP selfie snapper on board.
The handsets are also rumored to support facial recognition that is said to be more accurate and safer than Apple’s Face ID. The company talked about the technology during the reveal of the Honor 7X and Honor View 10 in London, saying that it’s secure enough to be used for payments and can unlock a smartphone in just 0.4 seconds.
Other things we expect to see include 6 or 8 GB of RAM, a microSD card slot, and Android Oreo with Huawei’s EMUI user interface on top. Keeping the headphone jack and adding water resistance would also be a fantastic idea, although nothing has been confirmed yet.
 Huawei P20 specs (rumored)Huawei P20 Plus specs (rumored)
Display5.5 to 5.7 inches
Full HD+ resolution		6.01-inch
Full HD+ resolution
18:9 aspect ratio
ProcessorHuawei Kirin 970
Octa-core CPU (4 Cortex A73 2.36 GHz + 4 Cortex A53 1.8 GHz) + i7 co-processor + NPU		Kirin 970
RAM6 or 8 GB6 or 8 GB
CameraPrimary: Triple-lens 40 MP setup with 5x hybrid zoom (Leica-branded)

Secondary: 24 MP		Primary: Triple-lens 40 MP setup with 5x hybrid zoom (Leica-branded)

Secondary: 24 MP
MicroSDYes, up to 256 GBYes, up to 256 GB
SoftwareAndroid Oreo with EMUI on topAndroid Oreo with EMUI on top
Facial recognitionYesYes

Huawei P20 and P20 Plus: Design

The nitty-gritty
  • The phones are rumored to sport a near bezel-less design and an iPhone-like notch.
  • The fingerprint scanner on both devices might be moved to the back.
The Huawei P10 and P10 Plus look dated when compared to devices like the Galaxy S8 and HTC U11 Plus. Both Huawei devices feature large bezels on the top and bottom, which might not make a return if Huawei is adopting 18:9 screens this time around.
This time, however, they might also feature an iPhone X-like notch to house things like the front-facing camera. The rumor is based on firmware examined by XDA Developers.
iPhone X notch
Unfortunately, there aren’t any other rumors surrounding the design of the P20 series. We haven’t come across any leaked images yet, so all we can do is speculate.
We expect the fingerprint scanner to be moved to the back, as there won’t be enough room up front below the display. There’s also a chance Huawei will ditch metal for a glass design, like it did with the Mate 10 series. This can either be a good or a bad thing depending on your preference. A glass back allows for wireless charging but is also a fingerprint magnet and less durable than metal.
We would also like to see the P20 series launch in as many as eight colors, just like the P10 handsets.

Huawei P20 and P20 Plus: Price

The nitty-gritty
  • The P20 smartphones could be more expensive than their predecessors.
  • The Huawei P20 could cost anywhere between €649 ($779 USD) and €699 ($839 USD).
  • The Huawei P20 Plus could cost between €699 ($839 USD) and €749 ($899 USD).
Huawei has to get the pricing right to spark consumers’ interest. The P10 retailed for €649 at launch, while the Plus model went for €699 (4 GB/64 GB) and €799 (6 GB/128 GB). The smartphones weren’t released in the US.
There’s no word on how much the P20 handsets will cost, but it’s safe to say they won’t be any cheaper. The best case scenario would be for the P20 and P20 Plus to cost the same as their predecessors. However, there’s also a chance Huawei may increase prices. For how much? We don’t expect the price to go up for more than €50.
Going down that road is a big no-no. One of the main reasons for Huawei’s rapid success in Europe is that their smartphones have always been cheaper than those from Samsung, Sony, and other brands. If that changes with the P20 series, the manufacturer’s sales just might drop in 2018
These are all the rumors about the P20 and P20 Plus we have come across so far. We’ll update this page as soon as we hear more.
Meanwhile, do let us know your thoughts on Huawei’s upcoming smartphones. Do you think they will give the Samsung Galaxy S9 a run for its money? Let us know in the comments.
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