The curtains that hid the Huawei P20 Pro were finally opened last month. The smartphone is the latest jewel announced by the Chinese Behemoth as part of its move to reach other giants like Samsung and Apple. The P20 Pro carries on its package a unique setup of three cameras – A 40MP RGB Camera, 20MP Monochrome camera, and an 8MP Telephoto unit.
Officially, Huawei announced that OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) is only embedded in the 8MP sensor while the other sensors have some kind of NPU (Neural Processing Unit) that works to deliver what the company calls “AI Image Stabilization”. However, the folks at iFixit beg to differ. After dissecting the P20 Pro, the group reported the presence of hardware indicating OIS in all the three cameras. Even if the AI NPU isn’t really responsible for image stabilization, it handles a number of different filters as well as bokeh effects and predictive focus.
In what concerns to the rest of iFixit tear-down process, the group gave a score of 4/10 repairability for the Huawei P20 Pro. According to the group, replacing the display can be something really tricky since it goes through two layers of adhesive, resulting in a nearly impossible work, at least not without damaging the whole panel. The group also lists the glass front and back as a big problem for those who will need to replace the battery in the coming years. On a side note, the group mentions that one of the good sides is the modularity of some components that can be easily replaced.
So, in the end, the AI image stabilization could be just a different marketing name for advertising the AI capabilities of the P20 Pro, and beneath the cameras, we have just the old hardware-based stabilization? What your opinion about this kind of strategy? Let us know in the comments section below.
probably the first time(I’ve heard) any phone brand down playing their camera capabilities..