Huawei is one of the companies releasing the highest amount of flagships in a year. Only in the second half of 2018, the company unveiled the Huawei Mate 20 series, the innovative Honor Magic 2 and its first phone with an in-display camera Huawei Nova 4. If we exclude the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, the other flagship released come with a very nice price tag and they can be more or less considered affordable flagships. But which is the perfect one for you? Here is a comparison between Mate 20, Nova 4, and Honor Magic 2.
Huawei Nova 4 vs Huawei Honor Magic 2 vs Huawei Mate 20
| Huawei Nova 4 | Huawei Honor Magic 2 | Huawei Mate 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT | 157 x 75.1 x 7.8 mm, 172 g | 157.3 x 75.1 x 8.3 mm, 206 g | 158.2 x 77.2 x 8.3 mm, 188 g |
| DISPLAY | 6.4 inches, 1080 x 2310p (Full HD+), IPS LCD | 6.39 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), AMOLED | 6.53 inches, 1080 x 2244p (Full HD+), IPS LCD |
| PROCESSOR | Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 970, octa-core 2.4 GHz | Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 980, octa-core 2.6 GHz | Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 980, octa-core 2.6 GHz |
| MEMORY | 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – micro SD slot | 6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB – micro SD slot | 4 GB RAM, 128 GB – 6 GB RAM, 128 GB – nano memory card slot |
| SOFTWARE | Android 9 Pie, EMUI | Android 9 Pie, EMUI | Android 9 Pie, EMUI |
| CONNECTIVITY | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS |
| CAMERA | Triple 48 + 16 + 2 MP, f/1.8 and f/2.2 and f/2.4 25 MP f/2.0 front camera |
Triple 16 + 16 + 24 MP, f/1.8, f/2.2 and f/1.8 Triple 16 + 16 + 24 MP f/2.0, f/2.4 and f/2.4 front camera |
Triple 12 + 16 + 8 MP, f/1.8 + f/2.2 + f/2.4 24 MP f/2.0 front camera |
| BATTERY | 3750 mAh, fast charging 18W | 3500 mAh, fast charging with Magic Charge | 4000 mAh, fast charging 4.5V / 5A |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES | Hybrid Dual SIM slot | Dual SIM slot, slider design | Dual SIM slot, splashproof (IP53) |
Design
If you want the most impressive design, you should make a choice between Huawei Nova 4 and Honor Magic 2 by basing on your tastes. Alongside the Galaxy A8s by Samsung, the former is the first phone with an in-display camera hole, while the second is a phone with a slider design which reaches almost 100 percent of screen-to-body ratio without a notch, neither a hole. Huawei Mate 20 is the classic device with a waterdrop notch already seen several times, but it is the only splash resistant and dust resistant phone of the trio.
Display
Besides having an innovative design, Honor Magic 2 is also equipped with the most interesting display. It has no bezels, notches or holes, the Super AMOLED technology, full DCI-P3 coverage, and an in-display fingerprint reader. Huawei Mate 20 is almost at the same level, it even adds the HDR10 technology for better color reproduction, but it has just an IPS panel. However, it should be the most resistant one with its Gorilla Glass protection. Huawei Nova 4 has an inferior IPS panel.
Hardware/Software
If you need the fastest device and the most suitable for multi-tasking, Honor Magic 2 comes with the best hardware configuration. It has the most powerful processor by Huawei and 8 GB of RAM in the most powerful variant. Further, you can get up to 256 GB of internal storage, but unlike Huawei Mate 20 and Huawei Nova 4, it is not expandable. Huawei Mate 20 has a Kirin 980 as well, but it comes with just 6 GB of RAM in the costlier variant. Huawei Nova 4 is the worst one as it comes with the Kirin 970 chipset.
Camera
Currently, Huawei Nova 4 is equipped with the best camera department ever, at least on the paper. It sports the latest Sony sensor with a 48 MP resolution embedded in triple camera setup. It should provide the highest level of detail, a low loss of detail with zoom and good performances in low light conditions. At the second place there is Honor Magic 2 with six cameras in total: three on the front and three on the back, but Huawei Mate 20 is not far away with its rear triple camera and a pretty nice 24 MP selfie snapper.
Battery
When it comes to battery life, Honor Magic 2 and Huawei Nova 4 can not do anything against Huawei Mate 20 and its huge 4000 mAh unit. It can last for a full day on a single charge without any problem. On the other hand, thanks to the Magic Charge technology, Honor Magic 2 is one of the phones with the fastest charging. But Huawei Nova 4 should last more than Magic 2 with its slightly bigger unit.
Price
If you want Huawei Mate 20, you are willing to pay about €640 on the global market, Honor Magic 2 costs €550 in China and Huawei Nova 4 is available for €500 in China. There is not a definitive winner in this comparison. I would personally go for the Huawei Mate 20 because of its more balanced specs, great performance, bigger battery, better build quality, stereo speakers, and expandable storage, but you might like Huawei Nova 4 if you want an amazing camera or Honor Magic 2 if you like futuristic designs and innovative features.
Huawei Nova 4 vs Honor Magic 2 vs Huawei Mate 20: PRO and CONS
Huawei Nova 4
PROS
- High screen-to-body ratio
- Big battery
- Good price
- Amazing cameras
CONS
- Worse hardware side
Honor Magic 2
PROS
- Slider design
- In-display fingerprint reader
- Outstanding hardware
- Six good cameras
CONS
- Smaller battery
Huawei Mate 20
PROS
- Bigger screen
- Bigger battery
- Awesome hardware
- Stereo speakers
CONS
- Expensive
