First, the camera specs# Huawei P20 Pro: triple rear cameras Google Pixel 2 XL: single rear camera P20 Pro: 40MP colour (1/1.7in) with f/1.8 aperture; 20MP mono with f/1.8 aperture; 8MP ’tele’ with f/2.4 aperture Google Pixel 2 XL: 12.2MP (1/2.6in) with f/1.8 aperture Both: Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), phase-detection autofocus, LED flash Resolution and sharpness# Huawei P20 Pro: Shoots 10MP by default (8MP for 3x zoom; 40MP when instructed) Google Pixel 2 XL: Shoots 12.2MP by default Zoom# Huawei P20 Pro: Up to 3x optical zoom; 5x digital zoom (can extend to 10x) Google Pixel 2 XL: Digital zoom uses RAISR algorithm Low-light night photography# Both: f/1.8 maximum aperture, Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) HDR (high dynamic range)# Portrait mode / bokeh# Huawei P20 Pro: Portrait mode with 4D focus; Aperture mode with f/0.95-f/16 settings Google Pixel 2 XL: Portrait mode (no additional settings) Artificial Intelligence (AI)# Huawei P20 Pro: Master AI is always active, learns as you shoot, can be manually disengaged Google Pixel 2 XL: Artificial intelligence is always active behind the scenes, little fuss made about it Colour balance# Which focuses faster?# Both: Phase-detection autofocus pixels Huawei P20 Pro: Continuous autofocus Verdict: Which camera is best?# 