Huawei's Mate 20 Pro was announced in October 2018, while the P30 Pro was revealed a few months later in March 2019. Traditionally, the Huawei Mate series has been larger than the P series but the P30 Pro changes this.

With similar screen sizes, premium designs and the same processor powering the two devices, how do the Huawei P30 Pro and the Huawei Mate 20 Pro compare and what are the differences?

What's the same between the Huawei P30 Pro and Mate 20 Pro?

There are multiple similarities between the Huawei P30 Pro and the Mate 20 Pro. This is what is the same between the P30 Pro and Mate 20 Pro: 

Huawei P30 Pro

What's the difference between the Huawei P30 Pro and Mate 20 Pro?

As you would expect, there are also a few differences between the Huawei P30 Pro and the Mate 20 Pro however.

Display size

  • P30 Pro: 6.47-inches
  • Mate 20 Pro: 6.39-inches

The Huawei P30 Pro offers almost an extra inch in terms of display size compared to the Mate 20 Pro. It also has a much smaller notch than the Mate 20 Pro, offering a water drop notch with just a front camera lens, using the display as a speaker meaning there is no need for an ear piece.

Display resolution

  • P30 Pro: Full HD+, 398ppi
  • Mate 20 Pro: Quad HD+, 538ppi

The display size isn't the only element of the display that is different between the Huawei P30 Pro and the Mate 20 Pro. The P30 Pro also has a lower resolution, opting for Full HD+, while the Mate 20 Pro has a Quad HD+ resolution resulting in a sharper pixel density.

Colour variants

  • P30 Pro: Breathing Crystal, Amber Sunrise, Aurora, Pearl White, Black
  • Mate 20 Pro: Emerald Green, Twilight, Black

The Huawei P30 Pro comes in five colour variants, while the Mate 20 Pro comes in three. Both are offered in black, but aside from that, there is no crossover colour between these two handsets.

Physical size

  • P30 Pro: 158 x 73.4 x 8.41mm, 192g
  • Mate 20 Pro: 157.8 x 72.3 x 8.6mm, 189g

Huawei's P30 Pro is slightly larger than the Mate 20 Pro, and a little wider, allowing it to accommodate that larger display. It is also fractionally heavier, though it does shave a little off the thickness.

Camera specifications

  • P30 Pro: 40MP+20MP+8MP+ToF
  • Mate 20 Pro: 40MP+20MP+8MP

Both the Huawei P30 Pro and the Mate 20 Pro offer Leica hardware, but while the camera resolutions are the same for the triple camera system, there are some differences. 

First of all, the P30 Pro has an additional Time of Flight sensor for depth. Secondly, the camera systems are arranged in completely different designs - the P30 Pro has the rear camera lenses positioned horizontally in the top left while the Mate 20 Pro sees them positioned in a square in the centre.

Thirdly, the P30 Pro has changed the sensor structure. The Mate 20 Pro has an RGB array, while the P30 Pro has an RYB array, capturing yellow light to allow for more red light to be absorbed. Lastly, the P30 Pro offers 5x optical zoom and 50x digital zoom.

RAM and storage

  • P30 Pro: 8GB+128GB / 8GB+256GB / 8GB+512GB, NM card
  • Mate 20 Pro: 6GB+128GB / 8GB+256GB, NM card 

Huawei hadn't specified the specific RAM and storage models for the P30 Pro at the time of writing, though we are expecting there to be several options. It will offer Huawei Nano Memory card for storage expansion though, like the Mate 20 Pro does.

The Mate 20 Pro meanwhile, comes in two variants - a 6GB RAM model with 128GB of storage and an 8GB of RAM model with 256GB of storage. Rumours did suggest the P30 Pro would come in an 512GB model, but it is currently unconfirmed.

Huawei Mate 20 Pro SIM free

Amazon

Conclusion

The Huawei P30 Pro and the Huawei Mate 20 Pro are similar in many ways. They both offer premium and striking glass and metal designs, both are water resistant, both have huge batteries, the same flagship processor and both will offer an almost identical software experience.

The P30 Pro comes in a couple more exciting colours, along with a slightly larger display and new camera hardware. The Mate 20 Pro meanwhile, has a higher resolution display and it will probably be the smaller of the two devices.

Both the Huawei Mate 20 Pro and the P30 Pro start at £899, though you can find the Mate 20 Pro a little cheaper in some places so if you're really torn between the two, the Mate 20 Pro will save you a few pennies.

Watch our hands-on with the Huawei P30 Pro: