Huawei is receiving rave reviews for its latest handset, the P20 Pro. Even in the United States, where the phone isn't on sale, reviewers are importing the device to declare it the phone of the year (so far).

The praise is understandable. The P20 Pro adds a little flair to post-iPhone X devices; there's the familiar giant OLED screen, thin bezels and a notch, available in glossy black or rose gold as well as and a stunning gradient variant called "Twilight", which may be the prettiest phone ever built.

The P20 Pro pushes the camera past its nearest competitors, the iPhone X and the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus. Instead of pulling in data through two lenses and using smarts to create portrait mode, the P20 has three rear-facing cameras to work with.

This is not just a gimmick, nor a copycat move. Huawei has long been an early innovator in smartphone photography, starting the modern trend of dual lens cameras. Beneath the main camera bump are Leica-designed 40MP colour and 20MP monochrome lenses. Both take impressive shots in their own right, but combined they create stunning portrait images that best the current flagship cameras. A third lens steps in to enable incredibly sharp, noise free images in low light. And because all three lenses use the same optical image stabilisation, images are always clear without a tripod needed.

Like the iPhone and others since, the Huawei P20 Pro has ditched the headphone jack, so you'll need to use the included headphones in the box, or a USB-C dongle.