P20 Pro gets a budget rival as new cut-price Huawei smartphone goes on sale TODAY

The P20 Pro may have been crowned one of the best smartphones of 2018 but it’s now got some competition from a budget rival.

Huawei announced late last year that it was launching a new device in the UK called the P Smart 2019 and this lower-priced smartphone has now officially gone on sale.

This £199 call maker from the Chinese technology firm comes with plenty of features you’d usually expect on a flagship including an almost bezel-free, 6.21-inch edge-to-edge display which Huawei is boasting not only brings an enhanced viewing experience but also features technology to reduce eye strain.

This screen stretches across almost the entire front of the device with just a small teardrop-style notch at the top of the phone containing the front-facing camera.

And, if it’s good photography you are looking for the P Smart should hold up well against the competition.

Tucked on the rear case of the P Smart is a dual-lens AI camera comprised of a 13MP main lens and 2MP secondary snapper.

The high-resolution primary camera is equipped with a 5p f/1.8 wide-aperture lens with a virtual aperture range of f/0.95-16, while the secondary camera collects depth information for accurate depth segmentation and creating authentic bokeh effects.

As with all of Huawei’s latest cameras, using AI the P Smart will be able to detect what you are taking a picture of and adjust the camera settings accordingly.

If it’s selfies you are after then the phone’s 8-megapixel snapper can add a range of effects to your images including a portrait mode plus photos can be snapped via simple gesture controls.

The front camera also recognises and optimises eight categories of common selfie backgrounds for improved image quality.

Powering the P Smart is a Kirin 710 processor and there’s a decent 3,400mAh battery which Huawei is promising offers all-day performance.

For added security, there’s also a rear fingerprint scanner and the P Smart’s screen can be accessed via Face Unlock.

Speaking about the phone, Costello, Head of Marketing, Huawei UK & Ireland said: “Huawei’s devices truly disrupted the smartphone arena in 2018, making us the fastest growing smartphone brand in the UK and the second biggest globally.

“With its outstanding AI, photography and performance capabilities, the Huawei P Smart 2019 delivers a superior smartphone experience at an accessible price point.

“We look forward to launching the device in the UK next month, in what is set to be the start of an even more ambitious year for our brand.”

The P Smart 2018 is available in three colours including Midnight Black, Aurora Blue and Turquoise Blue.

This new phone costs £199 and is available to buy in the UK from today at retailers including Carphone Warehouse, Vodafone, Amazon, Argos, Fonehouse, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile and Virgin Mobile; from EE on 11 January; and O2 and Three mid-January.

At the time of writing, only Vodafone has confirmed pricing for the P Smart.

The mobile network says the Huawei P Smart 2019 can be picked up for £25 a month (no upfront cost) on a Vodafone Red Extra Plan, including unlimited texts, unlimited minutes and 1GB of data.

Alternatively, customers can purchase the Huawei P Smart 2019 on a Vodafone Red Entertainment plan from £38 per month (no upfront cost).

This includes unlimited texts, unlimited minutes, 8GB of data and a choice of Prime Video, Sky Sports Mobile TV, Spotify Premium or a NOW TV Entertainment Pass.

We’ll update this article when we receive pricing from other retailers.