Honor View 20 vs. OnePlus 6T: Which should you buy?

Honor View 20

The View 20 packs top-end specs into gorgeous hardware with a nearly edge-to-edge display. It's not available in the U.S., but for other markets it's a strong consideration against the 6T with a considerably better camera.

OnePlus 6T

The OnePlus 6T has extremely fast, customizable software and a utilitarian design. Its in-display fingerprint sensor isn't perfect, but the 6T is an excellent phone that works in the States — even on Verizon.

The OnePlus 6T is widely considered to be the best value flagship around, but the Honor View 20 has been positioned as its direct competitor — a similarly affordable, high-spec phone with slim bezels and speedy performance. Without availability in the U.S., the View 20 isn't a viable option for American shoppers, but for all else, it's a worthwhile consideration.

Cleaner software vs. better cameras

From a hardware standpoint, there's not much to complaint about on either phone. Each has a glass and metal design with a rounded back and multiple color options, but the Honor View 20 has a more eye-catching chevron finish that reflects light differently depending on how you hold it. The biggest hardware difference is the location of the fingerprint sensor; the OnePlus 6T hides it underneath the display, while the View 20 has a more traditional placement along the back.

The 6T has a few hardware advantages over the View 20, though. It has a physical slider that allows you to quickly switch your phone to vibrate-only or Do Not Disturb modes, a convenience typically only found on the iPhone. It's also compatible with Verizon in the U.S. — even if you were to import the View 20 into the States, it will only work with GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile.

Camera quality is one of the most important features in a phone these days, and this is an area where the Honor View 20 takes a big win. The 6T takes better photos than its predecessors with its 16MP primary sensor, but the View 20's 48MP camera captures more detail, has wider dynamic range, and performs better in low light. Honor's NPU built into the Kirin 980 chipset certainly gives the View 20 an advantage over the 6T here.

That may not be worth it if you're a stickler for software, though. The View 20 runs Honor's Magic UI (essentially a rebrand of EMUI 9), a heavily customized version of Android that's long been criticized by stock purists. The OnePlus 6T, by contrast, runs OxygenOS, an incredibly trim and customizable build of what's essentially pure Android. Both phones run smoothly with their respective UIs, though, so this mostly comes down to personal preference.

For shoppers outside of the States, this is a tough choice. The OnePlus 6T has cleaner software, but the View 20 has better camera performance. Both offer great battery life, top-end specs, and nearly edge-to-edge displays (though the 6T has a small teardrop notch while the View 20 has a hole-punch cutout). For U.S. customers, however, the OnePlus 6T is the easy winner; the View 20 is expensive to import, and won't work on Verizon.