Huawei P20 Pro display review: Worthy of a flagship
Huawei company has decided to integrate a large 6.1-inch screen with OLED technology on the Huawei P20 Pro.
What kind of display is it?
The Huawei P20 Pro is equipped with a 6.1-inch display with a body-to-screen ratio of up to 81.9%. The P20 Pro features what the Chinese manufacturer calls a FullView display, which was introduced last year with the Huawei Mate 10 Pro and features an 18.7:9 format.
FullView, OLED, 6.1-inch display, 1080×2244 pixel resolution and 408 ppi
This is an OLED panel, unlike the TFT IPS panel used on the P20. The resolution, however, is the same on both models: FullHD+, or 1080×2244 pixels resulting in 408 ppi. Huawei has decided against QHD resolution, which to the naked eye isn’t so different from FullHD and would weigh more on battery consumption. 2.5D glass joins the metal frame and protects the display.

Color and brightness on the P20 Pro
To better understand the display’s color representation on the Huawei P20, we put it to the test using a tool for color calibration called Spyder 5 Elite. By adding the vectors x and y from the table, the distance between the measured color and the correct color can be calculated. Delta E values indicate the accuracy of the color representation. A low value means the color is more accurately represented.
The display of the P20 Pro offers good representation of all colors and good brightness.
Here you can see the results of the P20 Pro. The measurements were taken with automatic brightness off and set to the maximum:
Huawei P20 Pro: Our color representation test
COLOR: | RED | GREEN | BLUE | YELLOW | CYAN | MAGENTA | WHITE |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x | 0.6790 | 0.2492 | 0.1460 | 0.4249 | 0.1876 | 0.3185 | 0.2967 |
y | 0.3210 | 0.7059 | 0.0426 | 0.5498 | 0.3089 | 0.1323 | 0.3188 |
Delta E | 6.7 | 7.1 | 5.4 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 3.6 | 7.3 |
The black triangle shown in the graph below is the sRGB color space. The white triangle indicates the color space measured on the P20 Pro. As you can see, it covers the space very well, exceeding the space occupied by the black reference triangle.
What does this mean in a nutshell? The P20 Pro’s display provides a good representation of all colors, so they are true and accurate.

In the second graph you can see that blue pixels come out the most. Whites tend to slightly blue, but don’t forget that in the device settings, by going to Display>Color & eye comfort>Color mode & temperature, you can change this parameter manually to your liking.

In an OLED display, each pixel has its own lighting independent of the others. Blacks are absolute and contrasts are infinite because black has a brightness of zero. The maximum brightness we measured during our test carried out in the office was 442 nits.
In practical use, the Huawei P20 Pro’s screen is pleasantly bright and readable in direct sunlight. The viewing angles are also good.
Display functions you should know about
The Always on function is there, but it’s hidden and disabled by default! You’ll find it in the settings menu by going to Settings>Security & privacy>Screen lock & passwords>Always display information (if you search for Always On in the search menu you won’t find it).
With the Huawei P20 Pro you can watch HD content on Netflix. For our test, we used the DRM Info application that offers Level 1 support for Widevine certification and allows playback of streaming content in high resolution.
For the nine-piece test, we used the DRM Info app which shows Level 1 support for Widevine certification that allows playback of streaming content in high resolution.

In the section dedicated to the display you’ll also find the option that allows you to deactivate the notch, which can be hidden. This will result in a solid black bar at the top of the display. The implementation of the notch is still good and although it divides the screen in two, it doesn’t limit the display of information (except for Instagram Stories).
By clicking on Settings>Display>Screen resolution you can now manually change the screen resolution to either HD+ (1493×720) or FHD+ (2240×1080). The latter is active by default. If you select Smart resolution, the device will automatically reduce the screen resolution to reduce power consumption.
Do you think the Huawei P20 Pro can compete with the iPhone X? Who will prevail in this notch war?