New Honor View20 smartphone will help brand step out of Huawei’s shadow, says expert

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Honor’s newest smartphone, the View20, should help the brand step out of the shadow of its parent brand, Huawei, according to an industry expert.

On Tuesday evening, Honor announced the global launch of its latest handset, the View20, which features a so-called “hole-punch” design, where a front facing camera sits alone surrounded entirely by the display providing more screen space, as well as a massive 48-megapixel camera on the back.

“The infamously prolific Honor has spent a lot of time in the shadow of its parent brand Huawei, but the arrival of its latest handset could do much to shine a light on the manufacturer in its own right,” said Ru Bhikha, mobiles expert at uSwitch.com.

“The View20 is a sleek and stylish handset with one practically unique string to its bow – it is one of the first smartphones to come to market with a ‘punch-hole’ style camera embedded in the screen.

“While Honor was beaten to the punch by Samsung, which featured a similar pinhole camera in its A8s just before Christmas, this shouldn’t diminish from the achievement of the View20.”

The punch-hole approach is seen as the next step from the iPhone X’s trend-setting notch design, as smartphone makers look to increase display space without making handsets physically bigger.

Honor has already explored other ways of hiding the front facing camera in a sliding configuration, but the punch-hole idea looks to be the big trend for 2019, with Samsung already showing a handset with one and more expected to follow.

“The advantages of this style of front-facing camera are obvious – by doing away with the in-vogue notch, Honor has created an even more expansive screen experience for on-the-go Netflix bingers,” Mr Bhikha continued.

“It’s also interesting that this design move acknowledges both selfie enthusiasts and everyday smartphone users. By cutting out the notch, Honor is essentially creating a more all-round experience and giving a nod to mobile owners who value screen space and snapability.

“As with any smartphone manufacturer that makes the decision to help popularise new design trends, Honor should receive plaudits for its bold push towards the sought-after ‘infinity’ smartphone screen.”

Chris Price
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