The perfection of a smartphone, can it be without Google services?
After analyzing the Huawei P40 Pro for more than a month, one of the definitive smartphones that can easily accommodate a gamer, a content generator and especially photography lovers, we have reached a verdict. Could all its features be able to compensate for the lack of Google Play Services? Next, we will develop our Reviews that, unlike the Huawei Mate 30 Pro, was carried out without forcing the installation of the Play Store, to understand what will already be a fact within the terminals of the Chinese giant.
Rear camera
Like the latest version of the Mate line, it integrates an arrangement developed in conjunction with Leica that offers a 40-megapixel ultra-angular cinema camera with f / 1.8 aperture and a 1./1.54-inch sensor, a 3D depth sensor , 12 mp telephoto lens with 125 mm f / 3.4 aperture and a 50 mp lens with 23 mm f / 1.9 aperture with 1 / 1,128 sensor, RYYB color filters with 4-pixel-in-1 grouping and autofocus that work perfectly with your artificial intelligence. Without further ado, all of these arrangements can be exemplified by the following samples.
Photography in automatic mode
In low light conditions, the team takes incredible pictures, even the most spectacular is using the maximum zoom to have a portrait of the moon. This test amply shows that the team, at least in this section, is far above even Samsung’s Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G.
The precision of the colors is such that even in automatic mode it perfectly respects what we see in reality.
Photo in automatic mode under normal light conditions
What it is capable of doing without flash in auto mode is impressive, since, from the darkest shot, you can take amazing pictures.
Photography without light
The handling it has in backlit exposures, achieves photos worthy of a professional photographer.
Frontal camera
It has 32 MP with f / 2.2 aperture and 3D depth sensor, the results with this are even better than those of the Mate 30 Pro. The facial unlock supports this lens well, making it agile even in low light conditions.
Photography with the front camera
The video for its part with the rear camera can record 4K at 60 frames per second with the possibility of selecting aspect ratio of 4: 3, 1: 1 and full screen, as well as different types of filters. The fast camera goes up to 1800x and the slow one up to 7680 FPS at 720. On the front side it records in 4K at 60 FPS and 4k at 30 FPS in fast motion.
Camera Rating: 10
screen
With 6.58 ”OLED and a resolution of 2640 x 1200 HDR10 and 90 Hz screen refresh with 441 ppi, it is important to note that the high dynamic range can only be exploited with Amazon Prime, since both YouTube and Netflix can only be seen through of the explorer. Above 90 Hz makes videos and video games like Fortnite look more fluid, but as such we did not find a game or video service that would exploit it prophetically.
This is how #Fortnite runs in the # P40Pro of @HuaweiMobileMx pic.twitter.com/0EEcaLdG2t
– Vladimir Arteaga (@byvek) June 10, 2020
Screen Rating: 10
Performance
Like the latest version of Mate, the team is fast in its operation with all the apps that have managed to migrate by default, but suffers from the same point with key applications such as WhatsApp and Facebook, which more than once were locked to the degree of having to restart the computer, this when using another with sensitive information can be somewhat annoying.
Without problem we connect it to Android and Roku TVs by duplicating the screen or sending content. What is superb is the function of Huawei Share, which we tested directly with the Huawei MateBook 13, the only drawback is that it is only compatible with the line of notebooks of the brand of 2019 to date.
Works with high-resolution headphones such as the Sony WH-1000XM2, SRS-X33 speaker, audio bar, home theaters, Fitbit Versa 2 smartwatch, and even FreeBuds 3, Huawei Body Fat Scale, and the new Watch GT 2e from the same company synchronize without problem.
Internally, the Huawei Kirin 990 5G processor with its 8 GB of Ram from the hand of the EMUI 10.1 based on Android 10, manages its 256 GB of internal storage well. At the end of this review we use 138.23 GB of the total and I only present the areas of opportunity mentioned above.
Performance rating: 8
Audio
Supports reading of high resolution tracks of up to 32 bits / 384kHz with the possibility of transmission via LDAC, we also tested 360 Reality Audio evaluating it with Deezer. One point to keep in mind is that it does not include the 3.5mm hole, nor an adapter for wired headphones, but it does include a pair of headphones with direct input to USB-C.
The external speaker is good for listening to music indoors, although it has a noticeable loss of bass.
It also allows you to customize the sound through Huawei Histen in automatic, 3D Audio, Natural and Standard.
Audio Rating: 9
Drums
4,200 mAh that provides up to a full day of demanding use, under more relaxed conditions can last up to two days. The charging times are still in full control of Huawei even wirelessly and transfer between devices, since the P40 Pro empowers the supply to other equipment through this route.
Battery Rating: 10
Peripherals and memory
The internal storage, as well as the Ram memory are enough for a demanding user, although you can also expand it by means of a Nano card up to another 256 GB. As we mentioned earlier, add a few USB C headphones, as well as a charger and a soft protector. If you want to connect your own wired headphones, you will have to consider an adapter.
Peripherals and memory rating: 8
Design
It is a mirror type metallic finishing equipment that bases its concept on two colors: deep blue and glacial silver. The interesting thing about the concept is that it has a matte touch that does not affect the feeling of being a premium product. The camera stands out on the back surface but with the included protector it is in relief. It is IP68 certified that makes it resistant to splashes, dust and accidental maximum immersions of 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes.
Design Rating: 9
Operating system
The EMUI 10.1 works amazing and its gesture control is the best of the high range. Unlike the Mate 30 Pro, it does have a volume control with buttons. The screenshots remain without touching the computer and the scroll in the air. Syncs well with Alexa, Google Assistant, and even Philips Hue lights.
Not having the Play Store is its main Achilles heel, in fact there are numerous absences of sensitive apps, which in some cases you can substitute for the desktop version, but some are flat and there is no way to use them, especially the that do not have desktop versions. There are some exceptions such as Google Maps that, if they migrated, but not having synchronization with our Alphabeth services account, the histories and as such the charm are lost. Another difference vs its brother Mate, is that the process to integrate the Google Play Store has processes that can compromise security.
Operating system rating: 6
CONCLUSION
It is a fact that at a functional hardware level, the P40 Pro is the best smartphone in many aspects and although the camera is unmatched, the lack of Google services is one of the points to consider.
THE BEST
- The camera is the best
- Interconnectivity and Huawei Share
- Gesture control
- Ideal screen for video games
WORST
- It does not have the Google Play Store
- It gets to get stuck with some apps
- Various absences of applications
