The Huawei P20 Lite and the Vivo V9 have been the talk of the town lately. The Vivo V9 has already been released in the Philippines. On the other hand, the Huawei P20 Lite is expected to be released soon. Both phones seem to have some similar specs but which smartphone stands out more? We’ll find out soon enough.
Specs
| Phone | Huawei P20 Lite | Vivo V9 |
| Display | 5.84″ LTPS IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 1080 x 2280 pixels (~432 ppi density) | 6.3″ IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 1080 x 2280 pixels (~400 ppi density) |
| Dimensions | 148.6 x 71.2 x 7.4 mm | 154.8 x 75.1 x 7.9 mm |
| Chipset | HiSilicon Kirin 659 | Qualcomm MSM8953-Pro Snapdragon 626 |
| CPU/OS | Octa-core (4×2.36 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4×1.7 GHz Cortex-A53) / Android 8.0 (Oreo) | Octa-core 2.2 GHz Cortex-A53 / Android 8.1 (Oreo) |
| GPU | Mali-T830 MP2 | Adreno 506 |
| Memory | 4GB of RAM, 32/64 GB internal storage(expandable up to 256 GB) | 4GB of RAM, 64 GB internal storage(expandable up to 256 GB) |
| Connectivity | LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (LX2/LX3) or a/b/g/n/ac (LX1/LX2J), B.T. 4.2, GPS, NFC, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector | LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, B.T. 4.2, GPS, microUSB 2.0 |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 3000 mAh battery, Fast battery charging 9V/2A | Non-removable Li-Ion 3260 mAh battery |
| Features | Face Recognition, Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro (except LX2), proximity, compass | Face Recognition, Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
Table of Contents
Design
The P20 Lite opted for a modern design complete with a glass front and back, a metal frame, and curved edges. As for the Vivo V9, it has an almost edge to edge design making it similar to iPhone’s design. The V9 also has a metal body with a curved back. Both seem to sport the notch, much to some customers’ dissatisfaction. Fortunately, the P20 Lite included an option to hide the notch.
Fingerprints are a lot more noticeable on the P20 Lite compared to the Vivo V9 due to its glass back panel. However, this can be resolved by having a lighter colored version of the P20 Lite – Klein Blue and Sakura Pink.
As for its size, the Vivo V9 is larger than the P20 Lite. Surprisingly, the V9 weighs lighter than the P20 Lite.
The placements of the fingerprint scanner and the camera are also the same on both smartphones. The fingerprint scanner is positioned at the back of the phone which is honestly more favorable to me.
Display
The Vivo V9 with 6.3-inch IPS LCD screen has a larger display than the P20 Lite. When it comes to color reproduction, both phones seem to be doing well. You can view their screens at any angle and it won’t change its color. Unfortunately, the Vivo V9 lacks on display brightness. Viewing it from a different angle makes it hard to see what’s on the screen. As for the P20 Lite, the display can still be seen even if you’re outdoors.
Camera
Both phones seem to be proud of their camera capabilities. The Vivo V9’s highlight feature is its 24MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture. The two handsets also feature a dual rear camera setup with similar features including face detection, HDR, and panorama.
We took some shots with the P20 Lite and the Vivo V9 to confirm the quality of their cameras.
| Phone | Rear Camera | Front Camera |
| Huawei P20 Lite | Dual: 16 MP (f/2.2, 1.0 µm) + 2 MP, phase detection autofocus, LED flash1080p@30fps | 16 MP |
| Vivo V9 | Dual: 16 MP + 5 MP, f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED flash2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps | 24MP |
On the first sample shots, just looking at the sky makes it noticeable that the P20 Lite is brighter compared to the Vivo V9. The P20 Lite is sharp and the details are clear which is similar to the Vivo V9 shot.
The next sample shots were taken indoors. Once again, the P20 Lite is brighter than the Vivo V9’s shot. However, the details in the V9 shot is sharper as compared to the P20 Lite.
The Vivo V9 shot is dim in this one making it look a bit dull. The P20 Lite’s shot resembled real life more.
We also took pictures outdoors when it was still bright. The P20 Lite’s shot is still brighter. Looking closer, the P20 Lite is more accurate as seen in the color of the leaves. On the Vivo V9, the leaves looked darker and less vibrant than the P20 Lite’s shot.
We also took pictures outside during night time. The colors on the P20 Lite’s shot looked vibrant as compared to the Vivo V9. However, both cameras produced sharp and clear images.
The P20 Lite wins this round. As shown in the photo, the subject looks more vibrant and sharper in the P20 Lite shot. As for the Vivo V9, the subject looked a bit dull.
Photos of subjects indoors were taken as well. The colors on the first shot popped out more than it does with the second shot.
Lets move on to selfie-shots. First, we took shots outdoors. The P20 Lite shot produced a more realistic shot since it included the subject’s beauty marks. As for the Vivo V9, it made sure to put the focus on the subject and automatically smoothed out her skin going as far as removing her mole. In these shots, it would greatly depend on the person’s preference.
Once again, the Vivo V9 offers a beautified shot. In this case, the color is more accurate on the Vivo V9 shot. The P20 Lite made the subject’s skin appear a bit orange.
In this shot, you can see that the focus is purely on the subject in the V9’s shot due to the blurred out background.
When we took pictures with the main camera, the P20 Lite shots were brighter. Here, the Vivo V9 has a brighter image. The subjects looked less haggard on the V9’s shot. Although, the removal of the subjects’ beauty marks are a bit disconcerting.
Overall, based on the photos that were taken above, the P20 Lite is perfect for taking photos outdoors as it produces a brighter image. As for the selfie shots, it will depend on the user if they would either want a more realistic photo or a beautified one.
Chipset/RAM/OS
The P20 Lite is powered by a HiSilicon Kirin 659 chipset with 4GB of RAM. It runs on Android 8.0 Oreo. Meanwhile, the Vivo V9 contains the Snapdragon 626 with 4GB of RAM that runs on Android 8.1 Oreo.
Battery
The P20 Lite and the Vivo V9 both had a decent battery life. The P20 Lite is powered by a 3000mAh battery and had 16 hours standby time. The device also had Fast battery charging 9V/2A. Vivo V9 has a larger battery capacity of 3260 mAh battery and a standby time of 17 hours.
In regards to their charging state, the P20 Lite took 1 hour and 45 minutes to charge and the Vivo V9 took 1 hour and 33 minutes.
User Experience
We also tested the two devices by playing the game, PUBG. There weren’t any problems with both o the phones and the gameplay was relatively smooth. However, both of the phones seem to heat up slightly while in-game. Navigation inside the game was also easier on the P20 Lite. So, if you play a lot of games where you need to navigate a lot, you might want to choose the P20 Lite.
Both of the phones also feature Face Unlock. Upon testing it, we found out that both won’t open if the user’s eyes are closed. This is useful since it means that the phone won’t get unlocked when the user is asleep. However, the Vivo V9 Face Unlock doesn’t work in the dark, unlike Huawei P20 Lite. In regards to its Fingerprint scanner, the P20 Lite unlocks faster than the Vivo V9.
We also made sure to watch movies on both devices. The two had great quality and the color was accurate which made the movie-watching experience worth it.
Audio
Both devices produced a loud and clear sound at medium volume. Unfortunately, when the volume was maxed in the P20 Lite, the produced sound was a bit fuzzy and unclear. As for the Vivo V9, even when the volume was on max, the sound was still clear.
Price and availability
The Vivo V9 is currently available in local stores for Php 17,990. On the other hand, the price for the Huawei P20 Lite is yet to be announced.
Verdict
All in all, both of the phones seem to have great specs for mid-range phones. Although, if the decision came to us, we would choose the P20 Lite. We believe that the P20 Lite is more worth its price. But remember, each phone has its own specialty and main features. The choice will still depend on you. The question is, which of the two do you favor more?
