Quick review of Huawei P40 Pro: a flagship without Youtube – a new reality

Main characteristics of the huawei p40 pro

• SoC HiSilicon Kirin 990, (2×2.86 GHz Cortex-A76 & 2×2.36 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4×1.95 GHz Cortex-A55)
• GPU Mali-G76 MP16
  Operating System Android 10.0 (AOSP HMS); EMUI 10
• OLED Display 6,58″, 2640×1200, 20:9, 441 ppi
• RAM (RAM) 8 GB, internal memory 128/256 GB
• MicroSD support – No
  Support for Nano Memory – up to 256 GB
• Nano-SIM Support (2 pcs.)
• HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A, 5G (2 Gbps DL)
• GPS/A-GPS, Glonass, BDS, Galileo
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz)
• Bluetooth 5.1, A2DP, LE
• NFC
• IR port
• USB 3.1, Type-C 1.0, USB OTG
• 3.5mm Audio Output – No
• Camera 50 MP, f/1.9 12 MP, f/3.4 40 MP, f/1.8 TOF 3D, Video 2160p@30/60fps
  Front camera 32 MP, f/2.2 TOF 3D
  – Proximity and lighting sensors, magnetic field, accelerometer, gyroscope
• Fingerprint scanner – under the screen
• Battery 4200 mAh, 40W fast charging, wireless/reverse charging
• Dimensions 158.2×72.6×9 mm
• Weight 203 g

Positioning

Huawei began to take the flagship market by storm a few years ago; until then, the brand’s strength had not been enough to widely sell devices with prices over $1,000/euro. Everything would have gone well if the U.S. had not imposed sanctions on the company and they were not deprived of the ability to use Android with services from Google.

Following the Mate30 Pro, Huawei’s new flagship lineup comes without Google. This gives a strange impression, because when we say Android, we mean Google, and so far it is difficult to imagine such smartphones without these services. Over the years, users have been tied to the Google ecosystem, and they are not ready to change their habits.

Those who fundamentally do not use Google on Android smartphones are few, they do not make up the majority. But even they have certain problems, because you can not remove the entire GMS, you can only disable applications. A lot of third-party programs use components provided by Google, and without them they do not work well.

For example, in WhatsApp, you have no possibility to save your correspondence and files anywhere except the cloud from Google, which Huawei does not have by default now. This is all difficult for the average buyer, but when buying an expensive smartphone, such difficulties should not arise in principle. And today it is the absence of services from Google that determines the fate of the P40 Pro.

The price is receding into the background, although it remains an extremely important component of this device. Considering that Google is actively fighting with Huawei, removing loopholes that allow its services to be used on these smartphones, the situation becomes completely uncertain for the user. And here the choice largely depends on personal preferences, on courage, if I may say so.

The sales of Huawei’s flagships have never set records, it is a fairly new niche for the company, in which it has no noticeable sales. The direction of development is also clear – the emphasis on photography and video shooting is what Huawei knows how to do. And the P40 Pro maintains this tradition, the device should be of interest first and foremost to those who love photography.

Secondly, it is a flagship with plus or minus the characteristics corresponding to the current situation. The device turned out to be interesting, although in many aspects it either stands out for the better, or, on the contrary, gives less than the competitors. Let’s understand together the strengths and weaknesses of this model.

Technical Data

DISPLE

6,26’’, IPS, 2340×1080, 19.5:9

CHIPSET

Kirin 980, GPU Mali-G76 MP10

WORKING MEMORY
AND THE NAKOPIATEL.

8 GB.
128GB

ACCOUNT

3,750mAh

THE CAMERA

48MP (f/1.8) main camera, 16MP (f/2.2) super-wide-angle, 2MP (f/2.4) macro, 2MP (f/2.4) auxiliary (depth sensor), 32MP (f/2.0) frontal.

FEATURES

fingerprint scanner in the power key, NFC, AI in the camera

Result

The smartphones go on sale in several design variants: three colors of “usual” – silver, blue and black, as well as two variants with a matte back, as we have in the photos – “frosty white and powdery pink”. The price is about a thousand euros.

The Pro version, by the way, got a ceramic back panel, made with nanotechnology, whatever that means. This model is available in two shades: white ceramic and black ceramic. It costs 1,400 euros.

Prices and availability in Russia are also already known. In Russia, you can pre-order the Huawei P40 Pro and Huawei P40 Pro from April 2, 2020 (with the pre-order a gift of wireless headphones FreeBuds 3), and from April 10 smartphones will appear in public sales in branded stores Huawei.

The recommended retail price is 69,999 rubles for the Huawei P40 Pro and 49,999 rubles for the Huawei P40. However, there is good news “without the fish”: contactless payment Huawei Pay will work on the new flagships, deprived of Google services. In this regard, the company reassures that in Russia, Huawei Pay is supported by Gazprombank and Rosselkhozbank. It is available with the Union Pay payment system.

The results

The HUAWEI nova 5T seems like a great deal for those who want top-of-the-line hardware and cool night photography, but are not ready to pay a lot of money. True, for such savings, you will have to put up with the unsightly sound of a single speaker, the lack of moisture protection, and the 128GB limitation. There is no slot for a memory card, so USB-OTG to help. In fact, this is a mid-range smartphone, but one of the best in its category.