Huawei P30 Pro review

26 March 2019
Huawei has completely blurred the lines between its signature Mate and P series by raising the bar higher and higher every six months. And it has done it yet again with the Huawei P30 Pro - now with an even larger AMOLED screen and a brand-new quad-camera setup that aims to become the new benchmark for the whole industry.

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uk7866, 27 Mar 2019AgreedThe screen is HDR-capable, HDR10 to be specific.

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    • Anonymous
    • nyh
    • 27 Mar 2019

    Hi, I hope all the GPS Activity Tracker Issues when using apps like Strava, Trace were solved as on my current P20 Pro are still there (even using internet). I had to go for skiing with two mobile phones on me, Samsung J6 successfully recorded complete and accurate TRACE activity.

      Ark1985, 27 Mar 2019Curved Display is bad No HDR 10 No gorrila glass BOE = ... moreAgreed

        Anonymous, 27 Mar 2019Without monochrome sensor, any photo from cellphones are us... moreThere is site picturing 100.000 iso performance, definitely not ghosts and usable. Loss of detail there is, but it's not without detail, there 8s plenty, even if a little compared to iso50.

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          • Robert EO Speedwagon
          • SXy
          • 27 Mar 2019

          In short:

          Upsides:

          The battery life is great due to the large capacity.
          The camera is amazing, probably the best overall but point and shoot crown still goes to Pixel 3. Personally I'd take the versatility of the P30 Pro.
          All other flagship stuff is present

          Downsides:

          Huawei is still behind in performance. Kirin 980 is slower in every aspect than the Snapdragon 855, both in real life and benchmarks. Although it also benches worse than the new Exynos, it is overall better due to being a smaller more power efficient chip that doesn't suffer from awful scheduler.

          The software is still awful compared to even Samsung and Xiaomi's customizations. Not even close to OxygenOS overall feature & bloat ratio but still better than barebones Pixels with Googlefied AOSP. All are behind iOS in polish. Also Huawei spying is pretty bad even among Chinese OEMs, I'd advise to look into it if it doesn't bother you before buying.

          I know I wrote a lot more in downsides but overall the P30 Pro is a great flagship. For an average user who only cares about social media and nice photos and is not bothered by being spied on Chinese government, it is a very good choice.
          Good phone, personally I'd not get it but objectively pretty good.

            Hildr, 27 Mar 2019Well, audiophile will never like the sound from a 8mm thick... moreWhile I agree at some places, I can't disagree more at some points.

            Firstly, USB Audio is just an excuse to not fit in a DAC to save costs and make profit. Am I clear? Internal space could be one reason, which can be managed too, as Galaxy S10e shows us.

            Secondly, you say, for an Audiophile, no 3.5mm jack is better? Well, really?

            Are you not aware that even if you're having 3.5mm jack (for example in S9), you can insert and use your own DAC, isn't choice between the 2 options a good thing for consumer?

            I know no one represents all of us, but isn't it pure logic that 3.5mm is an additional choice and not a drawback in any matter (for users)?

              Anonymous, 27 Mar 2019P30 Pro is IP68, P30 is IP53 which is a joke. I'd prefer P... moreMy bad, indeed p30 pro is IP68, while P30 = IP53.

              Still splash resistant though. But IMO, just get Samsung s10 or 10e. All IP68. I am loving my S10e now!

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                • Anonymous
                • HxY
                • 27 Mar 2019

                indlvarn, 27 Mar 2019This phone is bad for audiophiles, no 3.5 mm jack, no stere... moreYou can get good wireless earphones which are meant for audiophiles for smartphones

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                  • Anonymous
                  • fjR
                  • 27 Mar 2019

                  Lightning mcqueen, 27 Mar 2019Nokia 9 pureview vs Huawei P30pro vs Samsung Galaxy S10+ vs... moreLumia 1020?? Dude let it go. Stop living in the past.

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                    • Anonymous
                    • JEe
                    • 27 Mar 2019

                    Ark1985, 27 Mar 2019Curved Display is bad No HDR 10 No gorrila glass BOE = ... moreP30 Pro is IP68, P30 is IP53 which is a joke.
                    I'd prefer P30 but without water protection it can't even be considered seriously.

                      Curved Display is bad
                      No HDR 10
                      No gorrila glass
                      BOE = lower quality than samsung AMOLED
                      No 3.5mm jack
                      No top physical speaker
                      Nano SD is bad
                      Only ip53
                      Camera is good, but gimmicky, video not as good as other flagships
                      Shitty EMUI

                      And they sell from 999 euros. In my country, i rather get s10+ for less price (in fact my current phone is s10e and i love it)

                      If you really want to get huawei, p30 is better choice. Flat screen and Samsung panel.

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                        • gnu
                        • svt
                        • 27 Mar 2019

                        Well, image quality is quite good, however nothing special. Please rescale photos from S10 to 10mpx, or even from xperia xz1 and you wil get good quality pics. Ok night photos are quite nice, but overall, P30pro is a massive overhype. Huawei, thanks but no thanks, go spy somewhere else :).

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                          • Anonymous
                          • DL}
                          • 27 Mar 2019

                          Anonymous, 27 Mar 2019No 3.5mm audio port is this a joke huawei ????!!Is that your only argument? Only samsung pander to people stuck in the past, sorry

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                            • Hildr
                            • 0FD
                            • 27 Mar 2019

                            Makimaki, 27 Mar 2019So suddenly everyone is up for p30 pro and nokia forgottenAt least it means people are smart enought to know what matter is what the device is capable of, and not what brand it is. Manufacturers will just get lesson from that. Only fanatics will stuck to a brand because "it's the best" without even considering the competition.
                            And that's why fans/haters are just a big joke because they would like to have only one brand doing stuff and kill all the freedom the consumer could have had with a good competition.

                            Never get loyal to a brand, they will never do anything for you if not calling you cash cow.

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                              • Liron
                              • pqG
                              • 27 Mar 2019

                              So buttom line. if i have mate 20 pro should i upgrade?
                              Or wait for the 5g phone like the s10 plus?!

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                                • Jack
                                • 33G
                                • 27 Mar 2019

                                Anonymous, 27 Mar 2019Gsmarena don’t believe that P30 Pro has better OLED panel t... moreWell it does't. Samsung has at the moment the best panels, hence why Apple is also buying the X ones from them. If you check the Huawei Oled lacks HDR , so by definition it's worse already. The camera though , that`s another story. I own a S10 and I am mighty jelly at the Huawei's dedicated night mode and zooms.

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                                  • Anonymous
                                  • Tui
                                  • 27 Mar 2019

                                  No 3.5mm audio port

                                  is this a joke huawei ????!!

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                                    • Hildr
                                    • 0FD
                                    • 27 Mar 2019

                                    indlvarn, 27 Mar 2019This phone is bad for audiophiles, no 3.5 mm jack, no stere... moreWell, audiophile will never like the sound from a 8mm thick device, be it mono, stereo, 7.1. Because sound from this kind of device can't physically be good to restitute all the range of sound without mixing them.
                                    But for your average joe that like to play game and look at some video with friend, stereo speaker is a plus. Even if it would be good if it could prevent itself to use the speaker in public for the sake of others.

                                    Audiophile will use a headphone. And since all the music is now digital, the use of DAC is mandatory. USB-C allow to plug our own DAC that can come with different quality, rather than being stuck with a built-in DAC choosen by the manufacturer to put before its 3.5mm jack. So in fact, the lack of jack is not bad for audiophile, it can even be a better choice since it allow to choose its own hardware.
                                    But for your average Joe, it's "ugly" to have a dac plugged to its headphone. So a 3.5mm jack is noice cause he can't adapt and choose to use its own DAC or Bluetooth headphone. In the same time, Apple guys never minded to have half a dozen adapters/dongles to plug their devices to anything using standard port.
                                    The lack of IR blaster for exemple, or the lack of FM, are a far bigger issues than the lack of 3.5mm since the function is still there and your 3.5mm is only a dongle away from your device. Dongle that can stay on your headphone jack to transform it into a usb-C headphone, yep, it's magic.
                                    Please, refrain from talking like you represent a group of people. Just say you don't like the lack of jack port and stereo speaker, it's a good argument enought to say you will not buy it.

                                      So suddenly everyone is up for p30 pro and nokia forgotten

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                                        • regs
                                        • DL{
                                        • 27 Mar 2019

                                        LG Superfan, 26 Mar 201950x ZOOM!!! Holy F thats impressive Huawei raised the bar t... moreThat's digital. Optical is 125/17=7,3x.