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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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • sxs
  • 05 May 2019

Dominique, 04 May 2019I own a not so expensive flagship camera centric phone and ... moreWhat camera centric flagship phone do you have, and how do you use it?

1. Have you ever used your phone's camera in manual mode under low lighting or under difficult lighting and difficult photographic situations?

2. Have you ever used other camera apps (Ex. 'Open Camera' app) that give you better manual control of photography settings (if your phone's camera app doesn't provide one) and better manual HDR options that your phone's built in camera app can ever provide you?

3. Have you ever used third party post processing apps (Ex. 'AfterFocus' app) that give you so much better fake bokehs/blurred backgrounds than your phone's built in camera app in auto or 'A.I.' mode can ever provide you?

4. Have you ever used third party HDR processing apps (Ex. 'Vibrance HDR' app) that give you better control over how multiple images/frames are merged together into one glorious HDR photo that your phone's built in camera/photoediting app can't quite give you?

5. Have you ever sideloaded Google's night sight camera app in your phone (if it is not a Pixel phone) for much better 'full auto' low light photos than your phone's 'night mode' in full auto can ever give you?

If you answered 'NO' to many (or ALL) of the questions above, then a 'midrange' (in your own terms) Pocophone F1 used in manual mode by an experienced user who has a good grasp of photography basics and has sufficient experience using external camera apps / external postprocessing software, is going to get way better pictures with the $300 Pocophone F1 than you will ever get with your expensive, $1,000++ (or near $1,000) flagship phone used in auto mode all the time.

So the question that begs to be answered:
Are camera-centric smartphones priced at $1,000++ truly worth it?

For the very few who don't care about money, who aren't bothered at all spending so much for a new phone (that costs more than a powerful Windows 10 touchscreen HP laptop, or more than a 65" 4K UHD Samsung smart tv), but which rapidly becomes passé/outdated in a year or so, for the very few who will never ever want to learn photography basics or bother learning about manual modes or learning to use third party camera/postprocessing apps outside their phone's built in apps, then YES, these $1,000++ phones MAY be worth it for them.

But for the majority, NO. Certainly not by a long stretch of the imagination--- most especially if that person(s) is/are willing go out of their comfort zone, to learn photography basics, and willing to explore and learn what third party camera apps and third party postprocessing apps can do or provide, which their phone's built in apps can't.

    • Z
    • Zbbsjam
    • JFx
    • 05 May 2019

    Fringen, 24 Apr 2019As a video professional this phone intrigued me at first. C... moreDark mode is present in Huawei amoled screen phones for past 3 years atleast, under battery settings.

      Anonymous, 03 May 2019Yes, I know the difference. And yes, they're all hype and c... moreI own a not so expensive flagship camera centric phone and I also know how to use it that I can tell its difference with Pocophone and the mid range ones.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • sxr
        • 03 May 2019

        Dominique, 08 Apr 2019Use those "hyped" camera centric overpriced smartphones the... moreYes, I know the difference. And yes, they're all hype and certainly not worth $1,000++ unless you don't know anything outside full auto and the phone's built in photo and camera app.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • 0%R
          • 01 May 2019

          bratha, 28 Mar 2019bro who uses 3.5 now a days. majority doesn't anymore. this... moreWhy? Cause it sounds worse with an adapter. Or at least not as loud. It also makes using a portable DAC pretty annoying. Not to mention that there isn't a single good reason for not putting in an 3,5mm headphone jack.

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            • Ana
            • KgV
            • 29 Apr 2019

            Guru, 23 Apr 2019I purchased Huawei p30 pro 10 days before at DNS in russia.... moreActually, based from my own experience at first I thought it could capture to a completely dark room/area but it can't. But when I tried to take a photo in a small amount of light, hola! It really works that way.
            There should be light.

              Please refer between galaxy s10 or p30 pro or lg g8 thinq. Which is good among all in each section software,camera,battery,build quality.

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                • Fringen
                • 0wY
                • 24 Apr 2019

                As a video professional this phone intrigued me at first. Coming from the galaxy s8+, where Samsung finally released it's One UI and dark mode makes the phone look beautiful. Huawei still doesn't have any of that, as far I can tell. The video playback is also horrendous. I like to go through a footage and find a single frame, to show something I caught. But It's so unresponsive that it's pretty much impossible and there's no good skimming feature either. It only shows the time that it would skip, kinda like in the vlc player app. It can only zoom about 200% or 250% during playback, so if you want to highlight something like that you again have to use another app. I also tried taking pictures with it, and there were many exposure issues, compared to a lot of other phones. When many reviewers take pictures you can often tell that they were taken in optimal conditions.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • sxs
                  • 24 Apr 2019

                  Anonymous, 14 Apr 2019First, you should look at the Verge's comparison between th... moreWould never use a mobile phone for travel photography especially for rare, memorable travel opportunities that are not likely to become routine, repeatable travels. But then again, even if you do have a dSLR and only use it with the 18-55mm kit lens it came with and only in auto mode because you never bothered to learn how to use manual modes or specialty lenses, then yes, bringing a dSLR in your travels won't make much of a difference. You might as well sell your dSLR if all you use is the kit lens and all you do is auto mode.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • fv3
                    • 23 Apr 2019

                    Asim, 23 Apr 2019Display Resolution is not good and up to the mark at a such... moreSuggest a phone with more resolution at this price

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                      • Asim
                      • v0k
                      • 23 Apr 2019

                      Display Resolution is not good and up to the mark at a such high price

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                        • Guru
                        • iAM
                        • 23 Apr 2019

                        I purchased Huawei p30 pro 10 days before at DNS in russia. I am facing issue like taking photos in super dark. The picture really black many reviews says picture can be taken through super dark. But i couldn't. Also many feature like AI life not working in my phone. Kindly help me to solve the problem

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • sfG
                          • 14 Apr 2019

                          Anonymous, 01 Apr 2019I'd like to add, Google's night sight feature has been port... moreFirst, you should look at the Verge's comparison between the P30 Pro and the Pixel 3, which has Night Sight. Night Sight is utter trash compared to Night Mode from Huawei. Night SIght can't even compare to AUTO MODE on the P30 Pro. Second, I HAVE a DSLR and a P20 Pro (P20 not P30) and I wouldn't hesitate to use the P20 Pro for all my travel photography. Some people just don't understand few want to lug a big camera with them everywhere.

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                            • fan OF HUAWEI
                            • mIg
                            • 14 Apr 2019

                            thanx huawei but,
                            all what we are asking is some one who listen
                            we love ir blaster
                            we love 3.5 audio jack
                            we love fm radio
                            flage ship phones must have them all
                            heloo any body listing?

                              Eagle, 08 Apr 2019That what I am searching. It's seems no one have any idea. I contacted Gorilla glass company on why P30pro has no label, here their answer :

                              Corning® Gorilla® Glass has been designed into more than 6 billion electronic devices.

                              Because of non-disclosure clauses in some of our customer contracts, we cannot identify all the devices that feature Corning® Gorilla® Glass, so we encourage you to contact the manufacturer of your device. If you would like to know which devices do use Gorilla Glass or to learn more, you can visit our website at www.CorningGorillaGlass.com.

                              Regards,
                              The Gorilla Glass Team?

                                • E
                                • Eagle
                                • HCa
                                • 08 Apr 2019

                                Anonymous, 06 Apr 2019Something even better than gorilla. It is secret and that i... moreThat what I am searching. It's seems no one have any idea.

                                  • M
                                  • Msr
                                  • YQ8
                                  • 08 Apr 2019

                                  stefan, 01 Apr 2019I have bought P30 pro with Huawei Watch GT promotion. And... moreWait really.. Even my huawei watch 2 has g maps.. U should download it from the playsyore in your watch if it is not preinstalled.

                                    Anonymous, 01 Apr 2019It's your choice if you think a $1,000++ photo specialist ... moreUse those "hyped" camera centric overpriced smartphones then compare with your phone and you'll know their differences.

                                      "By the way, the selfie shooter appears to be centered but it isn't, and you can tell if you look closer. The camera is about 1 or 2 mm to the left side, so if imbalances bother you, consider yourself warned."

                                      Mine is 1 mm to the right side !
                                      Building quality is not as perfect as peers on the market...
                                      I don't think on other flagships their is such " default "

                                      By the way, for owners, do you also have such ultra-mega processing pictures when you shoot ? When i use the X5 zoom, the pictures sound so processed !

                                        Gert, 26 Mar 2019Is it a better deal then the mate 20 pro? No it's not a better deal than mate 20 pro now that it's much cheaper .....P series is their second best flagship after the mate .....it's very easy to understand how Huawei catagorize their product line ...... For same CPU the earlier the product the better