The Huawei P20 and P20 Pro were announced without OIS for its main RGB cameras. Instead, it features Huawei’s own AIS (AI Image stabilisation) which is basically a more intelligent version of EIS (Electronic Image Stabilisation). According to Huawei, the P20 Pro does get OIS on its telephoto lens for steadier shots while zooming in.
Just recently, ifixit has posted a teardown of the P20 Pro and it reveals something rather interesting.
In their teardown, the triple-camera comes in a single piece module that has two connectors. On the far left is its 20MP f/1.6 monochrome shooter and next to it is its epic 40MP camera with a f/1.8 aperture lens. At the far right is the 8MP f/2.4 telephoto lens that has 3X Optical Zoom. You can learn more about the camera setup here.
When ifixit did a little poking, it appears that both 40MP RGB and 20MP monochrome cameras have movable lenses as well, which indicates that all 3 cameras have OIS capabilities. You can watch the clear video of it here.
It’s surprising that Huawei has decided to hide its optical image stabilisation capabilities. We’re not 100% sure if OIS is entirely disabled on the other two cameras of the P20 Pro or perhaps it does kick in during certain scenarios.
In terms of repair, ifixit gave the Huawei P20 Pro a repairability score of 4/10 due to its all glass construction and its difficulty in replacing the battery. That’s the same 4/10 score as the Galaxy S9+, while the iPhone X does much better at 6/10. You can view the entire step by step teardown in the source link below:
