Huawei knows that its smartphone business is not going to thrive in 2020, and the upcoming Huawei P40 Pro smartphone will face the same fate given its ban from using Google Mobile Services (GMS). The company is has recently announced that it will have a 20% hit on its mobile division. We’ve already seen leaks of how the phone will look like (see featured diagram above) and has been confirmed by several sources.
The Huawei P40 Pro will indeed have a large rear camera housing on the back of the phone, not unlike the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. Unsurprisingly, photography is a key feature of the upcoming handset, which we’ll get to in a minute. There’s plenty of room in the large housing for at least three cameras.
The Huawei P40 also features a new curved display concept that’s similar to the P30 series. It’s certainly not as drastic as the Huawei Mate 30 Pro’s wrap around edges. The power button and small volume rocker will remain on the upper right side, so you won’t have to contend with software controls. Finally, there is no headphone jack as user will have to go with the latest trend of using USB-C based headphones.
When it comes to the processor of the P40 Pro, it will come with the Kirin 990 SoC, just as the Mate 30 Pro. Though, it would be more surprising if the phone used a different chip. The handset will include fast UFS 3.0 storage, LPDDR4X memory, and 4K HDR video capabilities. Based on the slides, the Huawei P30 series will use the higher-end 5G version of the chip, but also expect another 4G version of the phone.
Photography is king on the Huawei P40 Pro
Photography prowess has defined the past several generations of Huawei’s P series and the P40 is no different. The company promises a second generation periscope zoom camera. It might not aim for the furthest zoom distance (we know zoom claims are often dubious anyway) but the company hopes to provide best in class quality. We’re likely looking at a much higher resolution sensor than typical zoom cameras.
According to Android Authority, there will be improvements aimed at night photography, specifically noting that the P30 Pro has the same focal length for day and night shots. Presumably, this will change with the P40 Pro. We hope to see something like a Samsung-esque variable aperture or a dedicated low-light camera with a unique sensor and lens setup.
The company is promising a new “Super-Visual” image system, which suggests a rather broad overhaul to the cameras. AI and imaging algorithm enhancements are also a core part of Huawei’s recent camera setups and there’s good reason to expect further improvements. AI improvements are expected to impact everything from hybrid zoom quality to scene-based color grading and bokeh blur.
There is no doubt that the Huawei P40 is set to sport a complex camera setup but is striving for simplicity of use. Its reported that the company is going to use the “Easy to Use with Intelligence” motto.
ALSO READ: A new method on how to install Google Apps (GMS) on Huawei phones
Zero Google Play Store support
We already know that the Huawei P40 Pro won’t ship with Google apps and services (GMS) this means Google Play Store due to the infamous US trade ban. Instead, the handset will rely on HMS and Huawei’s AppGallery.
The company’s AppGallery is in a bit of a state at the moment, but Huawei has some 3,000 engineers working on HMS Core and is even planning to open up offices in London to be closer to Western app developers. It still remains to be seen how HMS will affect Huawei’s deployment strategy with the P40 and whether or not it will be more readily available than the Mate 30.
Finally, the Huawei P40 Pro is expected to come in some new materials. Sadly, again, we don’t have specifics, the Huawei P40 launches in just a few weeks time on March 20th in a video broadcast. The company has canceled its launch event in Paris.
