PARIS - Huawei CEO for consumer business Richard Yu is so confident that the P20 and P20 Pro are better than the iPhone X and the Galaxy S9, he showcased a photo he took with the phone during its international launch here.

The night shot of a Shenzhen riverside, where Huawei is headquartered, showed a patch of red flowers against a backdrop of brightly-lit skyscrapers.

Yu said the blossoms were hardly visible in the dark showing how the P20 Pro shooter sees what the human eye can't.

The Leica-engineered lenses can also take clear night shots without a tripod as the artificial intelligence built into the phone's Kirin 970 processor removes the blur that comes from shaky hands, Yu said.

Huawei is making the case for its P20 line as an imaging powerhouse based on hardware and initial reviews that trump the competition from Apple and Samsung. The phones also come in a color-shifting glass shell that evokes the Northern Lights.

• Huawei unveils triple camera P20 Pro, P20 to take on Apple, Samsung

Huawei P20 Pro

Huawei P20 Pro

Huawei P20 Pro

Huawei P20 Pro

Huawei P20 Pro

Huawei P20 Pro

The P20 Pro, which has three Leica-engineered lenses, got an overall score of 109 while the P20 got 102 from camera review website DxOMark.

The Samsung Galaxy S9+ scored 99, followed by the Google Pixel 2 with 98 and Huawei's own Mate 10 Pro and the iPhone X with 97.

• Samsung Galaxy S9+ camera beats Pixel 2, iPhone X: review
• FIRST LOOK: Samsung's Galaxy S9 and S9+

Based on total megapixel count, the P20 Pro has a 40-megapixel RGB sensor, a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor and an 8-megapixel telephoto sensor. On the front, there's a 20-megapixel selfie camera. The P20 has a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor and a 20-megapixel main sensor.

The 40 megapixel count, the telephoto lens and the built-in AI combine to allow the phone to zoom up to 5 times without sacrifing image quality, Huawei said.

We tested these claims on the sidelines of the Paris launch.

Under overcast skies, the Petit Palais appeared bright. The grass was bright green while the details on the castle windows and the tree branches were visible.

The details on the old Paris stock exchange were also visible at night, even without a tripod.

At 3 times zoom, a vase of flowers appeared bright purple with details on the petals still visible.

The 3 photos below show a church in downtown Paris without zoom, with 3 times zoom and 5 times zoom.

• 'Super moon' camera shootout: Mate 10 Pro, Pixel 2, iPhone X

Design-wise, the P20 range goes head to head with the iPhone X and the Galaxy S9 line, with glass on the front and back, surrounded by a metal frame.

The design cues are more similar to the iPhone X: cameras stacked vertically at the top left corner, rounded corners and a notch at the front.

The P20's notch, which is smaller than the iPhone's, houses the front-facing camera and a circular speaker. Unlike Apple, however, users can hide the P20's notch in the settings.

Aside from black and blue, Huawei offers "gradient" color options. The twilight variant shifts between blue and purple depending on the light and the viewing angle. The other combines pink and a very soft gold, looking almost like jewelry.

The glass back is as prone to fingerprints as it is reflective. Huawei said it would sell woven leather, soft silicone and flip cases.

The P20 Pro's 4,000 mAh battery got through an entire day of messaging, picture-taking and internet browsing in our initial tests.