Huawei unveiled the new P20 flagship phone in Paris on Tuesday to make fresh gains in Europe. The new device is will be available in two variants, P20 and P20 Pro and it is powered by AI (Artificial Intelligence) technologies and 40 MP + 20 MP + 8 MP Leica lens.

With camera-rich features and starting prices that analysts expect to be aggressive, the P20 series represent Huawei's fresh attempt to compete head-to-head with Samsung's Galaxy S9 and the iPhone X in the increasingly look-alike market for smartphones.

The P20 premium version, P20 Pro, comes with a triple camera and sensors that offer top-notch image definition among existing smartphones, in a response to camera upgrades for the Galaxy S9 unveiled in Barcelona last month.

The Huawei P20 model sports a 5.8-inch IPS LCD display offering a 1080x2240 pixels resolution and 18.7:9 ratio. It is powered by an Octa-core Hisilicon Kirin 970 chip, a Mali-G72 MP12 GPU, 4GB or 6GB RAM, and 64GB or 128GB internal storage. It has a dual rear camera system with 20MP and 12MP cameras, and a 3400mAh battery.

The Huawei P20 introduces the all new Leica Dual Camera. There's a a Leica dual camera featuring a 12MP lens with a pixel size as high as 1.55 μm, and a 20MP monochrome lens, enhancing the HUAWEI P20’s ability to capture photos in low-light settings.

The HUAWEI P20 Series devices support six-axis stabilization and 960fps super slow motion, which is 4x higher than the standard 240fps and captures details that cannot be seen with the naked eye. With Ultra Snapshot mode, the devices can capture an image in as little as 0.3 seconds by just double clicking the down volume button, even from an off screen.

The HUAWEI P20 Pro features a Leica triple camera with the highest total pixel count on a smartphone available in the market - the camera configuration is comprised of a 40MP RGB sensor, a 20MP monochrome sensor and an 8MP sensor with telephoto lens. It also features a color temperature sensor for better color reproduction. With f/1.8, f/1.6 and f/2.4 wide aperture to capture clear details, the HUAWEI P20 Pro also includes a brand new Leica 3x telephoto (VARIO-SUMMILUX-H 1:1.6-2.4/27-80ASPH) lens for long-range photography of up to 5x Hybrid Zoom. The HUAWEI P20 Pro’s highly sensitive image sensor captures low light photos with up to ISO 102400.

Both phones get a 24-megapixel selfie camera with AI beautification and 3D portrait lighting.

The sensors are complemented by four different focus techniques: laser, phase detection autofocus, as well as depth and contrast detection. This is where Huawei brings up its AI chops for further improvements, with a "predictive focus" that detects movement in a frame and matches focus with more precision. And like Sony's latest phones and the Galaxy S9, there's 960fps super-slow motion inside the P20 too. It is, like its rivals, limited to 720p resolution.

The AI capabilities of the Huawei P20 bring image stabilization that lets customers capture incredible photos in low-light conditions using the incorporated Night Mode, which balances high-contrast scenes for light-balanced, blur-free, handheld shots in any setting. The camera also features a 960fps Super Slow Motion mode.

The more powerful Huawei P20 Pro model is sporting an Octa-core Hisilicon Kirin 970 chip and a Mali-G72 MP12 GPU, a bigger 6.1-inch AMOLED display with 1080x2240 pixels resolution, 6GB of RAM, 128GB internal storage, and the triple rear camera system we mentioned earlier with 40 MP + 20 MP + 8 MP Leica lens.

The P series is gently curved at the edges, with a glass design that softens the sides of both the P20 and the bigger P20 Pro. The P20 is 7.65mm thick (with a 3,400mAh battery) while the P20 Pro measures up at 7.8mm, with a larger 4,000mAh battery.

In addition, the P20 Pro benefits from an upgraded IP67 rating for water and dust, while the P20 has IP53 like last year's Huawei phones.

Unlike older phones by Huawei, the fingerprint reader returns to the front.

All models come with Google's latest Android 8.1 Oreo operating system and EMUI 8.1, and will be available in stores around the globe starting this April. Huawei has been able to sell phones in the U.S. only through direct sales channels such as Amazon. However, Best Buy Co., the largest electronics chain in the U.S., has severed ties with the company and plans to stop selling all of its products in the coming weeks. Huawei doesn?t currently plan to sell the new model via its remaining U.S. channels either.

PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate RS

Huawei also unveiled the PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate RS (Race Sport). Continuing its collaboration with the exclusive luxury brand, the PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate RS features Porsche Design's signature functional design language and Huawei's technology.

The PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate RS features a Leica triple camera - the camera configuration is comprised of a 40MP RGB sensor, a 20MP monochrome sensor and an 8MP sensor with telephoto lens. This is the first smartphone equipped with microcapsule PCM - an aerospace cooling technology for maintaining a safe temperature. In addition, the PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate RS features an in-screen fingerprint sensor which allows consumers to wake up the device by floating their finger above the display, while touching the sensor to unlock the device is very fast. The back fingerprint sensor can also be used to unlock the device or to access a second, secure space. The 6-inch OLED 2K curved screen PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate RS is available in Black, and for the first time, in Red.