Specs comparison: HONOR View 20 vs HONOR View 10

In 2018, the affordable flagship category is where the action really was and we don’t see this trend abating in 2019 either. When we reviewed the HONOR View 10 earlier last year, we found it to be a perfectly good package that delivered a high-end experience at a mid-range price. One year later, the all-new HONOR View 20 has its sights set on everything from the Pocophone F1 to the OnePlus 6T.

But how big a difference has one year made? We find out in our HONOR View 10 vs HONOR View 20 comparison.

HONOR View 10 vs View 20: Design

HONOR went back to the design board for the View 20 and completely did away with the humdrum design of the View 10. Where the older model opted for a simple aluminium body, the View 20 is a glass-and-aluminium beauty. A laser-etched “V” pattern on the back adds much-needed flair to the design and makes the phone utterly unique. Like the View 10, the View 20 sports dual cameras at the back alongside an LED flash. We’ll talk more about this in a bit.

While the View 10 included a fingerprint scanner under the screen area, the View 20 moves this over to the back. We had no issues reaching out to the fingerprint scanner despite the taller dimensions of the phone. The use of glass and rounded edges have made the View 20 just a bit more comfortable to hold as well.

HONOR View 10 vs View 20: Display

Changes on the front are a bit more dramatic and they really bring to light the technological leap a single year can make. Forget having a notch, the View 20 is amongst the first phones on the market to use a punch-hole display. The hole in the screen approach is the latest in a series of design variations in a bid to reduce bezel size and the area occupied by the front camera. Meanwhile, the View 10’s design predates teardrops and notches and consequently, has rather large bezels.

The View 20 opts for a slightly larger resolution at 2310 x 1080 pixels, compared to the 2160 x 1080 pixel resolution of the View 10. For the consumer, this means a slightly taller phone. Indeed, the View 20 is about a millimetre taller than the View 10, which has allowed HONOR to cram in a larger 6.4-inch display compared to the 5.99-inch screen on the older model. The larger display and minimal bezels, coupled with the punch-hole camera make the View 20 stand out as one of the nicest looking smartphones in the mid-range segment.

HONOR View 10 vs View 20: Performance

Predictably, the View 20 outperforms last year’s model. The Kirin 980 chipset used here is the same as on the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro and delivers blazing fast performance. Performance is as good as it gets and you’re unlikely to run into issues with gaming, multitasking or even general day to day use.

Complete with dual NPUs, HONOR touts a lot of AI-related enhancements but the most visible will be the ones made in the imaging department. The View 20 also builds on the View 10’s GPU Turbo feature and enhances it further for popular games. Expect smoother frame rates all the way through.

RAM too has seen an upgrade and, depending on the SKU, you’ll get between 6 and 8GB onboard compared to the 4 or 6GB on the View 10. While 6GB is enough to get the job done for most users, the extra RAM on the View 20 is good to have for future proofing. You might want to spring for the higher end model if you plan to do a lot of multitasking and gaming on your phone.

HONOR View 10 vs View 20: Imaging

The View 20 has jumped on to the high-resolution camera sensor bandwagon and opts for a 48-megapixel primary camera. Outdoors in bright daylight, the camera should let you capture incredibly detailed images. In not-so-great lighting conditions, you can switch over to a lower 12-megapixel resolution that will use pixel binning to increase camera sensitivity. By combining adjoining pixels, the camera should be able to produce brighter shots with lower noise. Compared to the 16-megapixel primary camera on the View 10, it would be fair to expect more flexibility and better image quality.

The secondary sensor on the View 20 takes a completely different approach this time around. While the View 10 sported a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor, HONOR believes that pixel binning on the primary sensor will be sufficient to improve low-light imaging. Instead, the View 20 opts for a time of flight (TOF) sensor that can be used to generate 3D portraits. Is this something that’ll really catch on? Only time will tell.

Over at the front, the 25-megapixel camera sits within the punch-hole display. Technically an upgrade over the 13MP sensor on the View 10, HONOR’s overzealous approach towards beautification features means that fine details get lost.

Unlike the View 10, the View 20 does not have support for microSD expansion but with an option for 256GB of storage, this is not something that users will miss much. The base variant of the phone now ships with 128GB of storage instead of the 64GB default on the View 10. Other changes include a slightly larger 4,000 mAh battery compared to the 3,750 mAh battery on the former.

The HONOR View 20 represents a massive upgrade over the View 10.  Between the updated internals and the eye-catching design, HONOR appears has done enough here to make the View 20 an appealing upgrade for most. What do you think? Is the HONOR View 20 a credible update over the View 10 and does it have what it takes to compete with devices like POCOphone F1 and OnePlus 6T? Let us know in the comments.