Tech Review: Honor 20 Lite

Once again I have put aside my regular phone, in order to test a new phone. This time its the Honor 20 Lite. 

First of all, let's talk about the design of the phone; it's stunning. The colour I received was Phantom Blue which is a stunning blue to purple gradient finish. There is also Phantom Red and Midnight Black. However, because the backing is glass making it susceptible to fingerprints and scratches. It would have been nice for Honor to include a basic case out the box.

Image Credit: George Simister

Design

Let's start with a few design negatives. The 20 Lite features a 3.5mm audio jack which could become extinct in smartphones in the near future. Another thing I did not like about the design of the phone is the micro USB port: it's 2019, everything else is USB type C. The inside of the speaker, charging port and headphone port look a bit cheap compared to the rest of the phone’s design.

Nonetheless, I am impressed to see how small the camera notch is on the front of the device considering the phone’s £264.98 price. As well as the thin bezel of the device, 128GB storage and 4GB of RAM.

Image Credit: George Simister

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Honor's EMUI Android skin and OS

This was my first time using Honor’s EMUI Android skin and, upon the first installation, I was a bit overwhelmed with the number of additions to the OS. However, I found some additions very useful such as the option to also open up the notepad or calendar when on a phone call.

An app launcher would be a good addition to get rid of unnecessary clutter off your home screen. By default, the phone comes with SwiftKey, to which I prefer Google Keyboard.

Image Credit: George Simister

Battery performance

Battery life is a strong plus of the 20 Lite, much better than my regular phone the Google Pixel 3 XL. I would often end the day with around 20 - 30% battery life remaining, which is impressive considering my heavy usage. The face unlocks on the phone was good but found myself using the very responsive fingerprint reader. I liked how the fingerprint pad can also be used for gestures within different apps. 

Image Credit: George Simister

Camera performance

Let's talk camera performance, all three of them. There is a normal, wide-angle and an AI camera. Having a wide-angle for taking photos and videos is a good inclusion. Have a look below for some photos I took on the device. My only complaint with the video recording is that it could have some kind of stabilisation as the videos tended to be shaky.

'Portrait Mode' // Image Credit: George Simister

Image Credit: George Simister

'Wide-angle camera' // Image Credit: George Simister

'Normal camera' // Image Credit: George Simister

In summary, for what you are paying (£264.98) your getting value for your money. The design of the device resembles a more premium device, has decent specifications and could do with a slightly better camera. If you are interested in picking up the Honor 20 Lite you can do so here.