Huawei P20 Lite vs Asus Zenfone 5 — Comparison Review

Huawei’s P20 series is a huge success with P20 Pro being one of the most innovative smartphones out there. What is also nice about this is that Huawei released a budget-friendly version of their flagship smartphones named Huawei P20 Lite also known as Huawei Nova 3e.

• Huawei P20 Lite (Nova 3e) Review — Mid-range beast of 2018?
• ASUS ZenFone 5 Review – Intelligent Zenfone?

It is no wonder that P20 Lite is also getting the hype same with the Asus Zenfone 5 that was just released this year but already got sold out in just 45 minutes. Asus is on fire with their flagship!

Asus claims that it is the most intelligent Zenfone they released. On the other hand, Huawei’s most innovative smartphone created an affordable version. So today we present you the comparison of these two anticipated midrange phone to help you decide which deserves to be in your pocket!

Specifications

Design

The Huawei P20 Lite and Asus Zenfone 5 both sports the notch and an all-screen display, just like almost every smartphone that was released since the iPhone X. We cannot deny that the notch and all-screen displays on mobile devices looks premium which is the reason why it’s like the social status nowadays.

The P20 Lite has a glass front and back, metal frame and curved edges while the Zenfone 5 has a glass back with their signature light patterns on the rear that shines when you move it around.

Looking at the back of these two is, of course, the dual camera setup both vertically aligned and rear-mounted fingerprint scanners. At the sides are the volume rockers, power button, and the sim tray. Found at the bottom bunk are the speaker grille, microphone, 3.5mm audio jack for Zenfone 5, and a 2.5 audio jack for the P20 Lite. Lastly, both smartphones have the Type C reversible connector.

The Zenfone 5 is indeed different from the past designs and we liked it. It is not scratchy and slippery, while the P20 Lite’s glass back panel makes subtle fingerprints and smudges upon holding. Just like the Zenfone 5, we also liked how Huawei came up with the design of the P20 Series.

Display

The Asus Zenfone 5 features a 6.2-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080×2246 pixels while Huawei P20 Lite sports a 5.84-inches HUAWEI FullView with the resolution of 2280 x 1080 FHD+. 

Most of the time, we use our phone not just for browsing the web but we also use it for watching movies and other series so I always choose which has the better and bigger display. Both handsets displays are great, however, Zenfone 5 caught my attention on this matter. Its screen is vibrant and watching videos using this phone feels really nice especially with a 6.2-inch screen display.

Asus Zenfone 5

Huawei P20 Lite

Camera

For the first set of photos, it is noticeable that these two photos produce a different color on photo processing. The Asus Zenfone 5 looks natural and has crisp details on this shot while the Huawei P20 Lite has more of a cool tone on this photo. It is also detailed but not as detailed as the Zenfone 5. Still, these two shots will definitely make it on my Instagram feed.

On this subject shot, Asus Zenfone 5 did a good job on the details. Even the parts that were shaded is visible in this photo. Unlike the Zenfone 5, P20 Lite’s shot looks nice but it seems post-processed in comparison. The Zenfone 5 shot is more on the natural side.

On a different lighting situation in portrait mode, the Huawei P20 Lite is more detailed and vibrant in this photo. As of the portrait mode, both did well on reading the edges making the subject stand out.

On HDR mode, both created a solid photo with a slight color difference. The texts on the lenses are clear as well as the body of the camera.

Taking a photo using the Zenfone 5’s camera is great creating vibrant colors in the images. Putting these two shots side by side makes the subject in P20 Lite a little paler compared to the Zenfone 5.

On taking photos of a subject, the background shouldn’t be left out. As you can see on the P20 Lite, the lights are scattered. While on the Zenfone 5, the decors are still visible making details noticeable.

On portrait mode, Zenfone 5 really made the subject stand out compared to the P20 Lite though there are parts of the subject that shouldn’t be blurry on the Zenfone. Nevertheless, Zenfone’s shot is better than the P20 lite which as you can see has a poor performance on creating a bokeh effect on the background.

For the front-facing camera, both have a good take on details and color production. The two almost has the same color except for the skin tone of the subject and Zenfone’s wide angle shot. Asus Zenfone 5 made the subject fairer compared to the P20 Lite which is the closest to the natural skin tone of the subject.

Using the beauty mode on level 5, Huawei P20 Lite still managed to look close to natural even with this mode on. While Zenfone 5 also made the subject flawless, it is a bit obvious compared to the P20 Lite. Still, I liked how both photos came out using this mode.

Lastly, on artificial lighting, Asus Zenfone 5 caught my attention here. I liked how the lights bounced on the subject making it more appealing compared to P20 Lite. But don’t get me wrong, P20 lite also took a good shot here. Even though the lights surrounded are all colored, it still managed to make the subject’s skin even and close to natural.

Audio

The Asus Zenfone 5 is louder compared to the Huawei P20 Lite, but all in all, these two produce clear and good quality sounds. It’s nice enough to listen to your favorite songs and watch movies. However, just be careful when pushing it on the maximum level because both tend to be a bit scratchy. Listen for yourselves.

Battery

As for the battery juice of the two smartphones, both can last you through a day. The Asus Zenfone 5 is packed with a bigger battery capacity having 3300mAh compared to the Huawei P20 Lite with 3000mAh.

Another impressive feature on the  Zenfone 5 is its AI intelligent charging. People kept on asking if it is safe to charge your phone overnight. The answer is yes but it is not ideal because overnight charging strains the battery by keeping it 100% for a long time. In order to solve this, Asus applied the AI that keeps it on 80% and then waits until its user wakes up and charge it until 100 percent.

User Experience

First is the smartphones’ security feature which is the first thing you do on your phone —unlocking it. As what I’ve tested on both smartphones, the Huawei P20 Lite is a bit faster when it comes to the fingerprint scanner.

I also encountered slight problems as I was using the Face ID on the Zenfone 5. I registered my face without glasses, and when I was wearing one, the Zenfone 5 couldn’t recognize me. The Huawei P20 Lite can still read my face even with or without my glasses.

The Asus Zenfone 5 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor coupled with Adreno 509 GPU and 4GB/6GB of RAM while Huawei P20 Lite is powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 659 coupled with Mali-T830 MP2 with 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage.

We tested some benchmark tools and these are the results:

Playing games on both phones might not be that outstanding but both run smoothly and no irritating lags occurred. Although, the Zenfone 5 heats up fast so it’s recommended not to play for a couple of hours. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

As what I’ve said earlier, watching videos using these phones are great because of the all screen and sharp color display. Users can ditch the notch on Zenfone 5 just by tapping the sides, however, the video will be resized by turning on this feature.

Verdict

These two offers a good quality phone with great camera capabilities and specifications. With a price of Php 19,995 for Asus Zenfone 5, we can say that it is reasonable for a good phone. However, Huawei also offers good specifications with a much lower price of Php 15, 990. 

The 4,000 is a huge gap that makes you think hard if the Zenfone 5  is worth it knowing that the P20 Lite is cheaper but still good.

As what we have tested, the Asus Zenfone 5 offers much more capabilities than Huawei P20 Lite. If you’re not that kind of user that is really intense on gaming or phone photography, then these two phones are perfect for you though it is up to you to decide which of the two is better.