Mate time is an exciting time.

 

For the last two years at least, Huawei has managed to surprise and delight with the Spring launch of its "power user" device, the Mate. Most of that surprise is usually centred around the impressive speed gains offered by Huawei's latest Kirin processor technology, coupled with breakthroughs in camera configuration.

 

This year, there's more than ever to talk about...

 

 

Let's start with the expected; it's called the Mate 20 Pro. Yes, it has the latest, most powerful Kirin processor and yes that means it's very fast.

 

Yes, like the Huawei P20 Pro from earlier in the year, it sports a Leica triple-lens configuration. The way this looks on the Mate 20 Pro is less predictable - arranged into a square in the same position as previous Mates instead of a single line of lenses in one corner. Of course, the real surprise about this is how few of Huawei's competitors have come out with a three-lens camera this year, even though many hinted at it along the way.

 

In New Zealand, the Mate 20 Pro is available in black and a unique Emerald Green, coupled with a slightly corrugated surface which not only reflects the light in an unusual way, but also keeps the glass back more fingerprint-free and less slippery.

 

Then, as we start to use the Mate 20 Pro, the surprises really start to flow. It's one of the first handsets in this market to feature an in-screen fingerprint sensor. Not only does this mean an improvement to the aesthetics, but it's also in a much more practical position, towards the middle of the screen which makes a lot more sense for one-handed operation than a sensor in the home button like other phones. It takes a little bit of muscle-memory training to get used to this new unlocking method - and I simply don't believe Huawei's claims the in-screen sensor is as fast as the previous external ones. It worked very well - but not as lighting quick or as consistently as the old way.

 

This is all kind of irrelevant though because the Mate 20 Pro's 3D face unlock is so incredible, I hardly have to use the fingerprint sensor at all. In almost any light and from almost any angle - even in sunglasses, the device unlocks straight to the home screen in an instant. It's brilliant.

 

This is all part of the industry-leading tech Huawei has packed in under the hood. Without getting too nerdy, the processor is divided into eight cores of three different sizes. This means not only can different parts of the Mate 20 Pro's brain work on different tasks at the same time - if it's only a little task, like displaying an email, it'll only use a little core. That means less heat and less power too.

 

Not that there isn't plenty of power to burn. At 4,200mAh, The Mate 20 Pro is pretty much all battery. In fact, I've never seen battery life like it. Not only can an average user crank out two full days usage out of this thing, it charges extremely quickly as well. I've found even when I'm not using the 40watt SuperCharger included in the box, the Mate 20 Pro seems to charge amazingly quickly for such a big battery. And the best news of all; wireless. Yes, at long last Huawei has joined the wireless charging club - what's more, they've turned it on it's head. You can reverse charge other wireless charging devices from the Mate 20 Pro itself. You have to activate the reverse charging in the settings menu, then the the back of the phone works just like any other wireless charger. I put another phone back to back in my pocket and it went from 75% to 100% in about an hour. Bear in mind, this is one thing that will chew through your battery more than anything else. Handy trick though.

 

Unfortunately, Huawei seems so obsessed with preserving battery life, the Mate 20 Pro is super-aggressive when it comes to shutting down apps running in the background. This is something I've always struggled with on Huawei devices and the Mate 20 Pro is still no exception. Don't worry - basic, essential apps like email and messaging are still super reliable. It's just certain lesser-known apps that get forgotten about after a while - things like smart watch interfaces, podcast players and security camera notifications. They'd all work well for a while then I'd have to restart the app itself to get the notifications running again. Just a little niggle that's definitely worth the pay-off of near-infinite battery life.

 

Another club Huawei has finally joined is the IP68 club. That's right, this phone is now toilet-proof too. Just one more little bonus to give you that extra piece of mind now that beachside photo opportunities are coming up fast.

 

In terms of photo features, it'd be hard to ask for much more. The P20 Pro was already about the best camera phone out there, so it's not like they've made this one worse. Not only has the A.I. functionality been stepped up several more notches, but there are some new gimmicks to try as well. There's now a library of live lighting effects you can apply to your portraits as you shoot them, from either forward or rear-facing cameras. My favourite is the venetian blind shadow that makes me look like a cool private eye in every location. Thanks to the the Mate 20 Pro's high-powered 3D functionality, you can even scan in your kid's favourite toy and turn it into a virtual pet. Crazy.

 

As you would expect from a Huawei flagship, zooming, low-light and even macro options are quite simply first-rate.

 

To be honest, I'm struggling to come up with something another phone does that this one doesn't. From wireless charging to unbelievable battery life to the in-screen fingerprint sensor, it really does have every feature going and here's the clincher; in the cut-throat battle for market share, Huawei has priced the Mate 20 Pro lower in New Zealand than just about anywhere in the world. At under $1500 (including bundled accessories from most retailers) it's such a good buy, it's almost an international tourist attraction.

 

 

Click here for more information and pricing on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro.