After the review of the entry level P40 Lite and the exclusive Mate Xs The time has come to talk about the P40 Pro. This is the flagship product of the Chinese house for this first part of the year, obviously excluding Mate Xs, which however competes in another category, that of luxury products. Despite the absence of Google applications and services, Huawei has decided not to devalue its high-end proposal, placing it at a price of € 1049.
More than a bet is a declaration of intent that of Huawei, which does not intend to take steps back, positioning itself on the market with a price in line with the best Android phones. The quality is all there, as always when it comes to the P range, and there is no lack of cameras and high level autonomy, for a product that, at least on the hardware front, is one of the most interesting released in the last period.
A completely new design
To give a touch of personality to this P40 Pro Huawei has decided to focus on a curved design for the display. This element is complex to diversify compared to other smartphones but the Chinese house has succeeded, even at the cost of making the P40 Pro divisive in this respect. All four edges, very thin, are curved, the screen almost seems to wrap around the front. The effect is very pleasant and certainly different from that of other smartphones. Another element that stands out is the notch, which resembles that used by Samsung's S10 +, but here with slightly larger dimensions. On the back, however, the large photographic sensor is the only element that characterizes the glass body, at least in our black test variant.
Making an objective judgment on design is impossible, personal tastes matter a lot, but there is no lack of discussion elements, starting from the color. Huawei has accustomed us in recent years to amaze with bold and lively colors, such as the Breathing Crystal seen on the P30 Pro, associated with others that are more sober. To miss, in the P40 Pro, it is just a little daring, in fact only the black, Blush Golf and Silver Frost variants are available.
A choice similar to that of Samsung with the Galaxy S20 Ultra, perfect for those looking for an inconspicuous phone, a little less for those who prefer more vibrant shades. As for the notch there are no problems during use, but if you are looking for a phone with an inconspicuous notch then the P40 Pro may not be for you.
Obviously these are subjective considerations, the build quality of this smartphone is excellent, metal and glass abound and there is also the IP68 certification for resistance to dust and liquids. The sensation of solidity is palpable, also due to the weight, which is certainly not contained, of 203 grams. Weight that remains lower than that of other top of the range, such as S20 Ultra or iPhone 11 Pro Max.
On the body there are the power button and the volume rocker on the right side, on the top edge there is a microphone and the IR sensor for the control of compatible devices, such as televisions and air conditioners. At the bottom is the system speaker, the USB Type-C port and the slot for two SIM cards, or alternatively a SIM and an NM card for memory expansion.
The phone is also compatible with eSIM, which are slowly spreading in Italy. The second speaker for the stereo effect is absent because the audio is not reproduced by an ear capsule, but directly from the glass of the phone.
A high level hardware and excellent autonomy
The data sheet of the P40 Pro leaves little room for doubt: we are faced with one of the best phones that you can buy. Inside we find a SoC Kirin 990 5G, made at 7 nm. Although this processor has a slightly lower power than its competitors, as we have verified in our special dedicated to the benchmarks, in practice the difference is not known and is probably one of the reasons behind the high autonomy that characterizes this smartphone. The OLED screen is 6.58 inches with a resolution of 2640×1200 pixels and a refresh rate of 90 Hz, then we find 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal memory. The 90 Hz give the EMUI 10.1 interface an exceptional fluidity, the software customization of the Chinese house was already well-established in terms of performance and this addition is certainly welcome and functional.
The unlocking of the smartphone is possible both by fingerprint, with sensor positioned under the screen, and through face recognition. We are not faced with a 3D recognition system, but the front notch also houses a infrared sensor and one depth sensor to speed up unlocking and to allow it even in poor lighting conditions.
Our preference between the two systems goes to facial unlocking, but the fingerprint sensor also works well, thanks to a larger detection area than in the past. Complete connectivity, with 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5, Wi-FI 6, NFC and all the GPS standards available today.
Huawei has always been a guarantee on the autonomy front and this P40 Pro also confirms itself on levels of excellence, with its 4200 mAh battery. With an average use you can do even two days without too many problems, if used with more intensity you always arrive at the end of the day. Compared to other recently released smartphones, which use a display with a refresh higher than 60 Hz, this is a very high autonomy, which also explains the reason for the non-introduction of 120 Hz.
The refresh rate has a significant impact on autonomy and the 90 Hz seem to be the best possible compromise between fluidity of use and battery life, notice the difference with 120 Hz is difficult in the context of daily use.
No Google, but you can adapt
Huawei P40 Pro is equipped with Android 10, store for the proprietary applications Huawei AppGallery and Huawei Mobile Service, so no Google services and applications. We have dealt with the issue of using a smartphone without Play Store several times, both with a user approach with basic skills, as in the case of the P40 Lite, and with a more expert user, as for the Mate Xs. In the first case, the simplest methods to download applications remain AppGallery, which is being enriched with new apps every month but is still far from the Play Store, Amazon AppStore and the developer sites, where you can, for example, download WhatsApp in complete peace of mind . This way you can find many commonly used applications, we managed to use Facebook and Instagram, or Telegram, Amazon, Amazon Video, Infinity, TikToc, Spotify, Amazon Music, Telegram and Office.
Obviously there are not all Google services and applications, from Chrome to Gmail, via Chromecast and YouTube, which only works via browser. There are also several banking apps missing, although Huawei is adding them with good continuity on its platform.
On the gaming front, the offer is limited, not so much in quantity as in quality, many of the most popular games are missing. In short, for calls, internet browsing, email and social networks, even a user with basic skills will have no problems, but if you install dozens of apps and games on your smartphone, then the absence of the Play Store is felt.
Different is the matter for expert users, who they can rely on APK repositories, like APK Pure, to have access to tons of applications. As we saw in the Mate Xs review, by spending a little more time in the initial configuration phase and drawing on AppGallery, Amazon AppStore and the F-Droid and APKPure repositories, you are able to create a configuration that allows use at all round of the phone. Once Microsoft Edge is installed as a browser (capable of synchronizing with Chrome from a PC), an email client such as BlueMail, with more functions than Huawei's stock, and Office together with DropBox, you already start to have a good base from which leave. To make up for the absence of YouTube instead we recommend NewPipe, a more practical Open Source client than the web browser to watch videos.
Using an old version of the app Netflix also works again, albeit in SD. An expert user, however, can not do anything against apps that require Google Mobile Services to work, so if you use particular applications they may not work even if downloaded from Pure APK.
We can adapt well to live without Google, we have done it for more than a month with Mate Xs and now with P40 Pro, but sooner or later some insurmountable obstacles can be found. However, we strongly advise against installing the Play Store using alternative methods, the security of your data must be paramount: do not provide your Google account to any service that promises the installation of Google Mobile Services, your privacy will be affected.
Top cameras
The highlight of the P40 Pro are its photographic sensors. The main one is a 23 mm UltraVision 50 Megapixel, with F / 1.9 aperture and optical stabilization, flanked by an 18 mm and 40 Megapixel (f / 1.8) wide angle lens. For zooming, instead, a 125 mm and 12 Megapixel (f / 3.4) periscope lens is used, which provides zoom without loss of quality up to 5x. Finally we find the ToF sensor for measuring depth of field.
The main 50 Megapixel sensor is the largest (1 / 1.28 ") installed today on a smartphone. Dimensions aside, this year Huawei has implemented omnidirectional focus, which we have seen, even if on a different sensor , also on Oppo Find X2 Pro.
Translated into practice, the focus is quick and precise, because each pixel of the sensor can be used to focus on subjects. The shots generated by the main cam can be at full resolution, but by default the pixel binning that generates a 12.5 Megapixel photo is used. In low light conditions, however, it is not possible to shoot at full resolution, because pixel binning also serves to improve the sensor's sensitivity to light.
The shots that can be obtained with this cam are exceptional, as they were also those of the Mate 30 Pro: during the day you can appreciate a slightly higher dynamic range, but it now seems very difficult to continue to propose significant improvements year by year. At night, Huawei's Night Mode, always one of the best, manages to bring out excellent shots even in bad lighting conditions. Excellent feedback also from the 40 Megapixel Ultra Wide, managed by pixel binning, for which it generates a final 10 Megapixel image. Details and dynamic range are amazing, the color balance is slightly different compared to the main cam and the telephoto lens.
Speaking of zoom, Huawei is confirmed at the highest levels in this area, up to 5x the quality is very high, the photos can also be used at 10x, going further instead the digital zoom intervenes and the yield degrades quickly.
Main camera
10X zoom
Even in this case, however, Huawei's algorithms still work well, just look at the images below, where we photographed the Moon with the P40 Pro and with a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra.
P40 Pro
Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung's software tends to mix all the details, while Huawei manages to give the Moon its real appearance. The shot is incredible when you consider the zoom level and the fact that it was done freehand. Finally there is the 32 Megapixel front camera, which does its job, there are no substantial improvements compared to previous models.
On the video front the P40 Pro can shoot up to 4K at 60 fps and excellent results are obtained especially with the wide angle lens, not at all renamed "Cinelens", which manages to record excellent videos for detail and stabilization. We are still below the quality achieved by the iPhone, but the P40 Pro remains one of the best Android smartphones with which to make movies.
