Honor 20i: A 2019 Mid-Range Camera Champ

The Honor 20i delivered a stunning gradient design and a powerful 32MP selfie camera, making it a standout mid-range contender in 2019.

Introduction

Launched in April 2019, the Honor 20i was a compelling offering in the competitive mid-range smartphone segment. It carved its niche by focusing heavily on camera capabilities, particularly selfies, while wrapping its features in a stylish and modern gradient design. Powered by Huawei's Kirin chipset and running EMUI, it offered a solid user experience at an accessible price point of around €210.

Design & Display

The Honor 20i boasted a sleek and lightweight design, weighing just 164g with a thickness of 8mm. Its standout feature was the eye-catching gradient finish, available in Gradient Blue, Gradient Red, and Magic Night Black. The front was dominated by a 6.21-inch IPS LCD display with a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. This 19.5:9 aspect ratio screen offered a sharp pixel density of 415 ppi and a respectable screen-to-body ratio of approximately 83.1%, providing an immersive viewing experience for its time.

Performance & Hardware

Under the hood, the Honor 20i was equipped with the HiSilicon Kirin 710 octa-core processor, built on a 12nm process. This chip, featuring Cortex-A73 and Cortex-A53 cores, was paired with either 4GB or 6GB of LPDDR4 RAM. Storage options were generous, ranging from 64GB to 256GB, all expandable via a microSDXC card slot. This hardware configuration was more than capable of handling everyday tasks, social media, and moderate gaming smoothly.

Camera

The camera system was the phone's main attraction. On the rear, a triple-camera setup featured a 24MP primary sensor with an f/1.8 aperture for detailed shots, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens for capturing more of the scene, and a 2MP depth sensor for portrait mode effects. The true star of the show was the massive 32MP front-facing camera, housed in a small waterdrop notch. This high-resolution sensor was designed to capture incredibly detailed selfies, a key selling point that set it apart from many rivals.

Battery & Charging

Keeping the lights on was a non-removable 3400mAh lithium-polymer battery. For its era and specs, this capacity was adequate for a full day of moderate use. It supported 10W wired charging via its Micro-USB 2.0 port, which was becoming outdated even in 2019 as more devices moved to USB-C.

Software & Features

The device launched with Android 9.0 Pie, skinned with Honor's EMUI 9.1 user interface. EMUI offered a wealth of customization options and features on top of the stock Android experience. Connectivity options included dual-band Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 4.2, and 4G LTE support. It retained a beloved feature for many: a 3.5mm headphone jack. A rear-mounted fingerprint sensor provided secure and fast unlocking.

Pros & Cons

Pros: Excellent 32MP selfie camera; Beautiful gradient design; Expandable storage; Headphone jack included.
Cons: Uses older Micro-USB port; Bluetooth 4.2 instead of newer 5.0; Now discontinued and running outdated software.

Tags: Honor 20i, Android smartphone, mid-range phone, camera phone, selfie camera, Honor, discontinued phones