Huawei launches P20 and P20 Pro smartphones

Huawei's latest smartphone, boasting a three lens, AI-powered camera has been officially launched in France.

The new P20 Pro device follows in the footsteps of competitors Apple and Samsung's latest releases by focusing on the camera's capabilities.

At a smart launch event in Paris, Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's Consumer Business Group takes the stage to present their new latest smartphones: the P20 and P20 Pro.

He describes it as: "Master photography powered by AI".

The Chinese communications giant is hoping its upgraded camera will sway shoppers into choosing them over rivals Apple and Samsung.

The device's main camera boasts AI (artificial intelligence) and three lenses.

Huawei Consumer Business Group's CEO, Richard Yu, attends the launch of the new Huawei P20 smartphone, the new generation smartphones of the Chinese brand Huawei at Le Grand Palais on March 27, 2018 in Paris, France. The world's third-largest smartphone maker Huawei launches two new high-end models, the Huawei P20 and Huawei P20 pro to compete with Samsung Galaxy S9 and Apple's iPhone 8. [Photo: VCG]

Yu describes it as: "A breakthrough in mobile photography. This is the solution. The revolutionary 14 mega pixel Leica triple camera on the Huawei P20 Pro."

The new P20 Pro has a 6.1-inch OLED display with 2,240x1080 pixels.

The slim device is also just 7.8 mm thick, but it's the three lens Leica camera that Huawei's shouting loudest about.

It has a 20-megapixel monochrome lens, an RGB colour lens and a telephoto lens.

With a wide aperture of F1.6, the camera functions well in low light conditions.

It has a larger sensor in comparison to its closest market competitors, the camera can also turn on and start shooting in just 0.3 seconds.

"Also on the P20 and the P20 Pro we are introducing the industry's best in class, best front camera, selfie camera. 24 mega pixel front camera. You can catch up all the details," says Yu.

The Huawei P20 Pro is set for launch in April. The company is yet to announce a price.

According to tech research firm Gartner, Huawei took a 9.8 percent share of the smartphone market last year.

That left the Chinese communications giant in third place behind Samsung (20.9 percent) in first place, and Apple (14 percent) in second place.