Weekly poll: the Huawei P40 phones are so good, but can you love them with no GMS on board?

29 March 2020
Huawei has already replaced much of the Google ecosystem and is offering camera hardware that is (currently) unrivaled. Is that enough?

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  • Bobi7x7
  • B}L
  • 29 Mar 2020

Anonymous, 29 Mar 2020Even with gms onboard its doa. The Kirin 990 is just too fa... moreLOL the kirin processor is far more what you need in a Smartphone .......

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    • Shui8
    • KZK
    • 29 Mar 2020

    Anonymous, 29 Mar 2020Downscale to 12MP, you'll see huawei loses. I do not kn... moreNot exactly. You can see the oversharpening ringing in every edges on XZ2 details, more prominent on low lights. While the texture is indeed strong, that color noise it producing destroy too much details for me. I'll take the Xperia 1 over XZ2 base on details anyday. Still, Mate 30 Pro & P40 Pro are more natural, well balance between sharpness & well controlled noise quality are superior. (Mate 30 Pro are the best in quality, as P40 cropped its 12mp res)

    And when compared to overall aspects quality, Xperia lacks computational photography in almost every aspects, which just using its limited hardware. Theres nothing right or wrong there, its just I prefer the computational tech puts to a good use.

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      • Bobi7x7
      • B}L
      • 29 Mar 2020

      Anonymous, 29 Mar 2020how do i watch netflix? app wont work using 3rd parry Just watch on TV :)

        • B
        • Bobi7x7
        • B}L
        • 29 Mar 2020

        Jimbob, 29 Mar 2020When did the mate 30 even release? its like non existent...... moreMate 30 Pro was a test if it sells in EU and because of that they shipped not much phones to EU

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • LQw
          • 29 Mar 2020

          Shui8, 29 Mar 2020Do you realize in good light there, P40 gave natural detail... moreDownscale to 12MP, you'll see huawei loses.

          I do not know how is possible, but after 2 years none phone in studio test has the high texture level of XZ2/XZ2c.

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            • Jake
            • nkb
            • 29 Mar 2020

            Of course NO!i have my own apps running on android world so i will say NO if there is no gms

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              • Phone man
              • pLV
              • 29 Mar 2020

              Not good enough. What they put on the table to replace Google Services is just not good enough. For a camera, I could buy a very very nice mirrorless for £600. No thanks.

                • S
                • Shui8
                • KZK
                • 29 Mar 2020

                mooox, 29 Mar 2020Did anyone actually saw the photos from the Huawei P40 Pro?... moreDo you realize in good light there, P40 gave natural details on that sample? Both 12mp & 50mp res. S20 comes close. The more 'details' that u saw in K20, K30 is actually oversharpening lol. Lots of noise & halo rings on every edges (older Xperia got a lot of color noise, yuck).

                In low light samples, P40 remains natural, with well controlled noise there. Again, S20 comes close, but this time with a bit oversharpening (can see halo rings). Rest are overprocessed. What u called 'more detail' is actually artificial & will cause those 'oil-panting looks'.

                If u put an actual Full Frame camera in those comparison, then u'll know P40 got the most natural details without looking overprocessed (thanks to the big sensor). Thats how a real camera works.

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                  • Anonymous
                  • ntJ
                  • 29 Mar 2020

                  Emeline Shaw, 29 Mar 2020I'm not even an Apple user so your fancy speech is useless ... moreTrue that.

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                    • Anon
                    • iAE
                    • 29 Mar 2020

                    Anders, 29 Mar 20201,000 euros for a phone that doesn't even support Google Pa... moreAre you serious? Iphone has similar resolution. Why don't you complain to Apple? Or do you thing you'll spot any difference on a 6.5" screen? I remember when people called the 2K resolution of Samsung useless but now they find full HD+ is not enough.

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                      • Anonymous
                      • 3SL
                      • 29 Mar 2020

                      Anonymous, 29 Mar 2020Yes, dxo will give more than 130 pts overall. Yes, but look at the same pictures in low light condition.

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                        • Anonymous
                        • LQw
                        • 29 Mar 2020

                        mooox, 29 Mar 2020Did anyone actually saw the photos from the Huawei P40 Pro?... moreYes, dxo will give more than 130 pts overall.

                          1,000 euros for a phone that doesn't even support Google Pay for contactless payments and only a 1080p display? Hard pass. This is why the smartphone sales are in decline. They are all massively overpriced

                          Same with Nokia 8.3 and Mi10 series. No one is going to pay that

                            Mexx, 29 Mar 2020In less then a minute you can have all google services on p... moreSeen several reviews online with people trying the workarounds, none that I saw had a very positive view of it. All sorts of app issues.

                              BigDisplay, 29 Mar 2020Nope, u can clone it or get a APK file. My friend did that... moreSounds horrendous. I applaud your ingenuity, but that isn't for me, and I'm somewhat tech savvy. Not a single person I know would entertain that. These devices will bomb hard in Europe. I'm actually amazed UK shops will stock them.

                                • y
                                • ypcx
                                • 0V7
                                • 29 Mar 2020

                                No Google, no problem. But please Huawei, put back the right-side vertical zoom bar in landscape camera mode. Otherwise your phones are straight unusable to me.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • 0cL
                                  • 29 Mar 2020

                                  Emeline Shaw, 29 Mar 2020I think there are not any alternatives right now but in 1-2... moreDo you really not see a difference between legitimate private companies which collect data to sell you toilet paper, and a Chinese government controlled company which collects personal data?

                                  Huawei was banned from sensitive projects in the West for valid reasons. No amount of disinformation will change this fact.

                                    Emeline Shaw, 29 Mar 2020I think there are not any alternatives right now but in 1-2... moreI mostly agree with this. Google and other corporations warned the entity list could backfire and it will.

                                      Emeline Shaw, 29 Mar 2020I'm not even an Apple user so your fancy speech is useless ... moreThis is just factually untrue. The chipsets and cameras in these are top notch.

                                        With an unlocked bootloader and good open source practices any great hardware like this is tempting. Unfortunately Huawei doesn't allow unlocked bootloaders anymore. I may pick up an Honor 30S but I've been having trouble justifying purchasing a Huawei phone, but it's less because of the Google Suite.