Having no Google app support will not stop phone maker Huawei from launching its latest P40 Pro series. The company has just announced its new flagship 2020 series of phones in its latest attempt out do its self when it comes to smartphone photography. Will this help them lure its market out of China who can’t leave without Google’s ecosystem? The Huawei P40, P40 Pro, and P40 Pro Plus are filled with flagship features, including Huawei’s 5G Kirin 990 processors, up to four rear cameras, and up to 90Hz displays.
The Huawei P40 Pro series will be much compared to Samsung’s recent S20 lineup, the biggest differentiating features between Huawei’s three devices is their cameras. The standard P40 has a triple rear-camera setup consisting of a primary 50-megapixel f/1.9 camera, a 16-megapixel f/2.2 17mm ultra-wide-angle camera, and an 8-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto camera with a 3x optical zoom. Like last year’s P30 Pro, which takes some of the best low-light photographs around, Huawei is once again using a RYYB sensor, which it says absorbs more light, resulting in better low-light performance. The sensor is also massive at 1/1.28 inches, which is even bigger than the 1/1.33-inch 108-megapixel sensor found in the Galaxy S20 Ultra. That should help even more with low-light performance. It produces 12.5-megapixel photos by default by combining four pixels into one.
Kicking things up a notch reveals that the P40 Pro gets you a ToF sensor and increases the resolution of two out of the three cameras. The main camera is still 50 megapixels, but on the P40 Pro, the wide-angle camera has a resolution of 40 megapixels, and the telephoto lens is 12 megapixels. The zoom on the telephoto lens is also increased to 5x rather than 3x.
At the top of the line up the P40 Pro Plus, has two telephoto lenses: a periscope lens with a zoom of 10x and one with a zoom of 3x. Huawei claims this means you’ll get better photos at both medium and far distances. Alongside the two telephoto cameras, which both have a resolution of 8 megapixels, there’s a 50-megapixel primary camera and a 40-megapixel ultrawide. Naturally, the ToF sensor on the P40 Pro is also present on the Plus.
Modern. Minimal. Elegant.
— Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) March 26, 2020
With nature as inspiration, the #HUAWEIP40 Series brings a new twist to classic hues. Which colour will you choose? #VisionaryPhotography
Watch us LIVE now https://t.co/QdwooYadDM pic.twitter.com/uth2HkfO0z
The P40 Pro’s curved display
Huawei is still tinkering with different curved displays which were prominent on the Mate 30 Pro and now on the P40 Pro and P40 Pro Plus, which it proudly boasts wraps around not only the left and right sides of the device but also the top and bottom. In reality, while the screen’s glass does curve around the four edges, the actual display underneath it doesn’t stretch nearly as far. If you look at the P40 Pro from the front, there’s still a visible bezel. That said, the phone’s bezel is just a couple of millimeters thick, and the P40 Pro is still a striking-looking device.
The display is a 6.58-inch OLED screen and like Samsung, Huawei has gone beyond the standard 60Hz refresh rate for its flagship devices, although the P40 Pro and Pro Plus only go up to 90Hz, not 120Hz, but animations will feel very smooth as you swip around the P40 Pro’s interface. The resolution of the two phones tops out at 2640 x 1200, and each has a small oval hole-punch selfie cutout on the top left for their 32-megapixel selfie cameras, which feature a ToF sensor of their own as well as infrared face unlock for low light.
Unlike last year’s P30 Pro, the P40 Pro comes with secure biometric face unlock and the three phones also include in-display fingerprint sensors, which Huawei says are 30 percent bigger this time around and unlock 30 percent faster.
More on the internals
All three phones are powered by the same 5G Kirin 990 processor found in last year’s Mate 30, and Huawei has confirmed that there will be no 4G-only versions of the devices. The Pro and the Pro Plus include 4,200mAh batteries that can be charged at up to 40W, and the Pro Plus even supports this charging speed wirelessly using one of Huawei’s charging pads. The regular P40 has a 3,800mAh battery and a maximum charging speed of 22.5W using a cable. The water resistance also differs between the three phones, with the Pro and Pro Plus rated at IP68, while the P40 is IP53 (essentially meaning that the Pro and Pro Plus should survive being completely immersed in water, while the regular P40 is only designed to withstand light rain). The whole range will be available in a glossy white, black, and blue and matte silver and gold finishes, and the P40 Pro Plus is also available with a ceramic finish in either black or white.
Same old no Google Apps situation
There are no Google’s apps or services, including the Google Play Store on the P40 Pro. I have a Mate 30 Pro, and I had to use other means to get GMS services installed. I am a living testimony that Huawei devices really need Google, but I am not Trump. So here is the deal, Huawei recently launched App search on top of its own AppGallery all these will help you get all the apps you need including some Google apps like Google Maps.
Huawei is making investments to try to improve the situation. It says that it’s adding more and more apps to its own AppGallery store, that it’s working with developers to build more apps that use Huawei Mobile Services rather than Google’s Mobile Services, and it’s also got its own first-party apps to compete with Google’s.
A “Hey Google” for Huawei phones
The company is also introducing its own voice assistant called Celia, which it’s clearly hoping can provide a replacement for Google Assistant. I can’t wait to try it out when it finally roll-out to other Huawei phones. There is no doubt that Huawei P40 Pro series boasts incredibly impressive specs, but will Huawei’s software ecosystem survive out of China?
