The Huawei P20 Pro battery won't let you down
The Huawei P20 Pro packs a 4,000 mAh battery into its slim, elegant body. Expectations for battery life were high, especially considering that the Mate 10 Pro, which also has a 4,000 mAh battery capacity, has managed to survive through a whole weekend. Is the Huawei P20 Pro capable of the same feat?
Learn more about the Huawei P20 Pro in our video:
- The disappointing truth of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ battery
- Huawei P20 Pro hands-on review: the three-eyed monster
The battery is one of the P20 Pro's strong points
After seeing the Mate 10 Pro integrate a 4,000 mAh battery and be able to stay alive for almost two days, we expected the P20 Pro to perform just as well. The 3,200 mAh battery of the P10 and 3,750 mAh battery of the P10 Plus had disappointed us, but on the P20 Pro, Huawei improved this important aspect.
Performance in everyday use
With the Huawei P20 Pro, I always managed to arrive at end of the evening with about 20% battery still available. The percentage may vary depending on the day, but in a week of use, the smartphone has always behaved more or less the same way. It never faded in the afternoon, and in some cases it even lasted into the next day with a little more life left. I always left the display resolution set to FullHD+.
On days when I used my smartphone intensively, continuously launching the camera, posting on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, watching videos on YouTube and playing games, the Huawei P20 Pro was able to offer a battery life of about 15 hours before reaching 18/20% of the remaining charge.
As you can see from the screenshots below, using the smartphone intensively to call, text on WhatsApp, answer emails, scroll from time to time on Facebook and Instagram, take photos, find my way around with Google Maps and play some videos on YouTube, the P20 Pro managed to stay alive for about 1 day and 13 hours, with 20% battery life still available, with the screen on for 4 hours, 13 minutes and 34 seconds.
PCMark Battery Life benchmark results
As always, we also tested the device with the PC Mark benchmark test, where it gave a result of 9 hours and 33 minutes. During the test, the device had Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled, 50% display brightness and a SIM card inserted.
Huawei P20 Pro PCMark benchmark results
| Smartphone | Duration | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Razer Phone | 10:43 hours | 4,000 mAh |
| Huawei P20 Pro | 9:33 hours | 4,000 mAh |
| Samsung Galaxy S9 | 7:15 hours | 3,000 mAh |
Charging via SuperCharge, but not wireless
The SuperCharge charging offered by the P20 Pro allows you to charge your device quickly. In the box you will find a 4.5V/5A power supply and the Type-C USB cable that allow you to charge the device to just over 50% in about 30 minutes.
Unlike the Huawei Mate RS Porsche Design, however, the P20 Pro doesn't offer wireless charging. It's a shame given it has the glass back needed for the feature.
You won't be disappointed by the battery
In the week I've spent with the Huawei P20 Pro, the smartphone has proven to offer good battery life. Huawei has done a good job optimizing one of the weaknesses of the previous generation and, as always, the mAh capacity alone says nothing: battery life is determined by a combination of the hardware and software.
Users can also take advantage of the quick charge feature to juice up their smartphone in a jiffy, plus the P20 Pro offers both normal and Ultra power saving modes.
To reduce battery consumption, the Huawei P20 Pro also allows you to:
- Reduce the display resolution either manually or automatically (by activating Intelligent Resolution) from FHD+ (2240x1080) to HD+ (1493x720).
- Change the interface colors from white to black.
- Take advantage of the tips on Optimize Battery Usage.
Are you satisfied with the battery life of the P20 Pro? Let us know in the comments.
Same as Ondrej have had my phone for less than a week. Charged it at 8am to 100 % and around 1am the phone is empty and shuts itself off. 17 hours is long but by far not 1.5/2 days.
I bought p20 pro one week ago, and I am bit dissapointed with battery life. In all reviews Ive read lasts p20 pro 2days or 1day and xy hours if used more intensive. I cant get over one day even if I am using the phone very careful. It lasts 12-15hrs but no more. Is there any test to measure battery evt. If battery is ok ?
Boot into recovery mode and wipe the cache partition. That solved my battery issues. Also other users are pointing out that the AI will improve the battery life considerably in 2-3 weeks of use. How did that go for you?
The size of the battery, is the main reason I've switched to Huawei. Started with the Mate2, the 8 & 9. The build quality, stability of their version of OS and battery life keep me coming back.