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Both HONOR and OnePlus introduced their flagship offerings quite recently, and both companies introduced two smartphones as part of their flagship series. The HONOR 20 Pro and OnePlus 7 Pro are the most powerful devices the two companies have to offer now, and they are kind of direct competitors in the market, at least in some regions.
Some of you are probably trying to decide which of the two phones to get, as both are quite compelling in their own right. Well, we’re here to compare the two phones, and hopefully help you with your decision. We will compare the two phones across a number of categories, starting with their specifications.
Specifications
Design
Both of these phones are made out of metal and glass, and both are quite slippery. The OnePlus 7 Pro is a considerably larger phone, and due to its curved display and sheer size, it seems more difficult to handle, especially with one hand. On the flip side, the OnePlus 7 Pro does look more appealing overall.
The HONOR 20 Pro has a really thin “chin” below the display, a hair thicker than the OnePlus 7 Pro, or so it seems, while it also includes a display camera hole in the top-left corner of its display. The OnePlus 7 Pro does not have a display camera hole, nor a display notch, as it utilizes a pop-up camera, so you’re getting plenty of display real estate to work with here.
The OnePlus 7 Pro does seem to be a bit more curved on the back, while camera placement is different on the two devices. OnePlus opted to center its triple camera setup, while HONOR moved its rear-facing cameras to the side. When all things are considered, the OnePlus 7 Pro wins this round, as it simply looks more premium, and is one of the best-looking devices out there, but it’s definitely not for everyone, primarily due to its size.
Winner: OnePlus 7 Pro
Display
These two phones are quite different in the display department. They do offer displays with the same display aspect ratio (19.5:9), but panels themselves are considerably different, and they’re also different in size.
The HONOR 20 Pro includes a 6.26-inch fullHD+ (2340 x 1080) IPS LCD display, while the OnePlus 7 Pro features a 6.67-inch QHD+ (3120 x 1440) Fluid AMOLED display. As if that’s not enough of a difference for you, HONOR’s display is flat, while OnePlus’ is curved.
On top of everything, it is also worth saying that the OnePlus 7 Pro’s display offers 90Hz refresh rate, which does eat up more battery, but it offers that extra layer of smoothness when using the phone.
Having all that in mind, it’s safe to say that OnePlus’ panel wins this round, not only is it higher in resolution, and an OLED panel, but it also has that high refresh rate, and HDR10+ certification. Colors are extremely punchy (though you can alter that in the settings), and you’re also getting those deep blacks that you’re used to. The display also gets plenty bright.
On the flip side, the HONOR 20 Pro’s display is really good, especially for an LCD panel. This is one of the best IPS LCD displays that we’ve seen to date, and if you want a solid, flat display, and don’t really care that it’s not a QHD+ panel, you’ll be perfectly happy with it.
Winner: OnePlus 7 Pro
Performance
Both the HONOR 20 Pro and OnePlus 7 Pro are flagship-grade smartphones, so you’re probably expecting great performance in both cases… and that’s exactly what you’ll get with both of these phones.
In terms of hardware, they both include flagship processors, the Kirin 980 in HONOR’s case, and the Snapdragon 855 in the OnePlus 7 Pro. On top of that, both devices are equipped with a ton of RAM, and well-optimized software that is based on Android 9 Pie. It is worth noting that the OnePlus 7 Pro has an upper hand in terms of storage, as it utilizes UFS 3.0 flash storage.
OnePlus’ smartphones are well-known for well-optimized software, and OxygenOS does not disappoint here. On the flip side, Magic UI 2.1 that comes pre-installed on the HONOR 20 Pro also blazes through anything you throw at it, even though it comes with considerably more pre-installed apps than OxygenOS. It does not have any considerable bloat, though, on a system level. Magic UI is more aggressive when it comes to killing apps in the background, for battery’s sake, and the two implementations do look considerably different.
In day-to-day usage, both of these phones are capable of handling anything you throw at them, ranging from regular app-opening, multitasking, and browsing, all the way to watching movies and playing games. The OnePlus 7 Pro does have a bit more oomph in the performance department, though, and does feel a little bit smoother.
Winner: OnePlus 7 Pro
Battery Life
These two phones pack in identical batteries on the inside, both include a 4,000mAh battery pack, and both devices do offer really solid battery life. In terms of sheer endurance, though, the HONOR 20 Pro does have more to offer.
Let’s presume that you will use both devices on default settings, which means that a 90Hz display will be enabled on the OnePlus 7 Pro, along with a dynamic display resolution. That will eat up your battery faster than usual, while on the other hand, Magic UI is optimized to save up battery by being a bit more aggressive on background apps, and in some other areas, not to mention that the HONOR 20 Pro has a fullHD+ display.
Considering all that, it’s not exactly that surprising that the HONOR 20 Pro’s battery pack can last longer, though we’re used to solid battery life when it comes to both HONOR and OnePlus smartphones in general.
The OnePlus 7 Pro has more to offer in the charging department, though. The device offers 30W Warp Charge fast charging, which is noticeably faster than HONOR’s 22.5W fast battery charging. The difference is not mind-blowing, though, as HONOR’s fast charging will get you up to 50-percent in only 30 minutes. Neither of the two phones offer wireless charging, unfortunately.
Winner: HONOR 20 Pro
Cameras
You will be able to get really great pictures from both camera setups, but there are some differences here. The HONOR 20 Pro includes four cameras on the back, while the OnePlus 7 Pro packs in three. Both devices use the same main camera sensor, Sony’s IMX586, though different lenses are included on top. The HONOR 20 Pro sports an f/1.4 aperture lens, while the OnePlus 7 Pro includes an f/1.6 aperture lens.
That doesn’t mean much on its own, but when it comes to low light, the HONOR 20 Pro is able to capture more light, especially if you shoot in its dedicated night mode. HONOR’s night mode does take longer to capture and process images than OnePlus’ dedicated night mode, though, so keep that in mind. In auto mode, both devices are quite compelling in pretty much any scenario, and both include telephoto and wide-angle cameras on the back.
The HONOR 20 Pro is not on the level of the Huawei P30 Pro as far as photography goes, and the same can be said for the OnePlus 7 Pro. Both devices are not far behind, though, and the vast majority of consumers will be happy with both of these camera setups. If you do take a lot of selfies, however, do note that the OnePlus 7 Pro includes a pop-up selfie camera, while the HONOR 20 Pro features a display camera hole. All in all, we’ll give the HONOR 20 Pro a slight advantage in this category for its low light prowess.
Winner: HONOR 20 Pro
Conclusion
On top of everything we’ve said, do note that neither of these two phones offers a proper IP rating for water and dust resistance, while you won’t find a 3.5mm headphone jack here either. The OnePlus 7 Pro does offer stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos sound, while you’re getting Virtual 9.1 Surround Sound with the HONOR 20 Pro which works with all earphones and headphones.
Considering everything we’ve mentioned in this comparison, the OnePlus 7 Pro does come out on top, though the HONOR 20 Pro is a great choice nonetheless. The HONOR 20 Pro is considerably more affordable than the OnePlus 7 Pro, and if you don’t need all the bells and whistles OnePlus’ flagship offers, the HONOR 20 Pro may be the way to go.
Winner: OnePlus 7 Pro