Huawei P40 Pro review

Wrap-up

If someone thought Huawei was done after Google cut them off - they were wrong. The Mate 30 and the P40 series are here to prove that there is a life after Google, and it's not as bad as you might think initially.

Google's absence is still obvious and while we are pretty sure the Play Services will find their way on to the P40 phones, one way or another, the third-party stores are getting better and stronger, and you are never left without options. The Amazon AppStore and APKPure are perfectly capable to keep most of your apps up to date.

The hardware package is mightily impressive though, and this is where everyone should be focused, not on the Google stuff. The P40 Pro has an excellent screen with top-notch resolution and high refresh rate. The new Kirin 990 5G is one of the best on the market, with solid thermal properties.

But the new Leica camera on both ends are the attention grabbers. Huawei has kept the same arrangement on the back as on the P30 Pro, but has improved the sensors, lenses, and the processing algorithms. New video options are available, too. Meanwhile, at the front, the selfie shooter has finally gotten an autofocus, while with the help of the ToF camera you will get some amazing portrait shots.

With the right price position, stimuli (the pre-orders get FreeBuds 3), and most important - marketing push - the Huawei P40 Pro has every chance of not only surviving but beating the odds.

The competition

Well, we can't start this chapter without mentioning one great alternative sold at nearly half the P40 Pro price. Huawei P30 Pro figure was slashed numerous times post the USA vs. Huawei war, and it is currently a hot deal pretty much everywhere. The previous generation flagship offers a similar experience in terms of performance and camera (read great). Sure, you will lose the 90Hz refresh rate and the top-notch ultrawide camera, but the P30 Pro almost €500 cheaper! Oh, and it has all Google services on board and already runs on Android 10 + EMUI 10.

The Galaxy S20+ is your next option. Its price is a close match to the P40 Pro, but it's Dynamic AMOLED is larger and of higher resolution. The screen also supports HDR10+, and you can enjoy high-definition content from all popular streaming services thanks to the entirety of Google's package. The camera experience and quality are similar even if the optical zoom has a shorter range. The Galaxy also offers stereo speakers, 120Hz refresh rate instead of 90Hz, 8K video capturing, and a bit faster performance.

Oppo Find X2 is an interesting alternative to consider if available in your region. It's a great flagship ran by the Snapdragon 865 and uses a 6.7" 120Hz Quad HD AMOLED screen. It has high-res wide and ultrawide snappers and a 13MP cam witha periscope lens for 5x optical zoom. Stereo speakers, Android 10, and 65W fast charging complete the flagship bundle.

Finally, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro will be launching soon, and it will cost as much as the Huawei. We know it will have a 6.67" 90Hz AMOLED of 1080p resolution and the newest Snapdragon 865 chip. The quad-camera at the back is quite peculiar - a 108MP primary, a 20MP ultrawide, an 8MP telephoto for 10x hybrid zoom, and a 12MP portrait camera with 2x optical zoom. 8K capturing is available on its main camera, stereo speaker setup is present, Android 10 as well, and the Mi 10 supports 50W fast charging.

Huawei P30 Pro • Samsung Galaxy S20+ • Oppo Find X2 Pro • Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G

The verdict

The Huawei P40 Pro is the right kind of a flagship - it offers cutting-edge tech across the board. The OLED screen is both high-resolution and with a high refresh rate, the performance is brilliant and yet won't suffer from throttling from heating, and then the battery is relatively large and very fast to recharge.

Photography is what the P40 Pro is all about, and the phone excels in that even if there were some hiccups along the way. We are sure Huawei will fix the minor issues we observed with an update, and we already like its plans for EMUI's expansion.

The fate of the brand lies in its supporters, but we are seeing no reason why you should stay away from it. The P40 Pro is an excellent flagship specimen worth experiencing, be it with Google functions or not.

Pros

• Eye-catchy curved design, water-proof body.
• Excellent high-res 90Hz OLED screen.
• Flagship-grade sustained performance.
• Dependable battery life, blazing-fast charging.
• Excellent photo quality day and night across all cameras.
• Top-notch selfies.
• Great video quality at 30fps across the board, excellent stabilization.
• All-round connectivity, though no 3.5mm jack

Cons

• Only takes NV cards for memory expansion.
• No Google Mobile Services means some apps and games will never work no matter what.
• The photo Night Mode is not a big leap forward.
• 4K60 videos are disappointing.