Review: Huawei P40 Pro Specs and Price

[Yakub Oloyede]

The Huawei P40 Pro sheds more light on Huawei’s ability to manufacture smartphones with exceptionally great cameras, well-designed chassis, and top-notch hardware performance. However, the absence of Google services is going to make purchase decisions a big NO for many.

Huawei P40 Pro Key Specs & Features

⇒ 6.58-inch OLED Display, 1200 x 2640 Pixels (441 PPI)
⇒ Android 10.0 (AOSP + HMS); EMUI 10.1
⇒ HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (7 nm+) Processor
⇒ 8GB RAM
⇒ 128GB / 256GB / 512GB Built-in Storage, Micro-SD Support Up to 256GB
⇒ 50MP + 12MP + 40MP + TOF Quad Rear Camera
⇒ 32MP + TOF Dual Front Camera
⇒ Fingerprint Reader (Under Display)
⇒ 40W Fast Charge
⇒ Non-Removable Li-Po 4200 mAh Battery

Design and Display

The Huawei P40 Pro features a new chassis design, a bit far off from what we saw on the Huawei P30 Pro. This design is geared towards giving enthusiasts a new feel aesthetically.

Its build comprises of materials that place it in the flagship spot. You have got glass on the rear, glass upfront and an aluminum frame. It also has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. Huawei claims it can be dunked in 1.5m of water up to 30 mins.

On the rear, it sports a squared camera bump that houses four cameras and a camera flash. Below this camera bump is the Huawei moniker, which indicates its a Huawei smartphone.

Upfront we have a 6.58-inch OLED display showcasing Huawei efforts to eliminate the side bezels. It leaves with a curved display giving you an infinity pool vibe.

This display is home to appears to be one of the biggest camera cut-outs on any smartphone. This camera cut-out is home to dual front-facing cameras.

The Cameras

Year in year out, the cameras on Huawei flagship devices has remained one of their biggest and most discussed features. The reason behind this fact isn’t far fetched.

Huawei has continuously shown the world that its a top player in the smartphone photography game. They have so far created one of the best cameras on a mobile phone.

The Huawei P40 Pro continues the trend, offering camera hardware that is an upgrade over its predecessor. It features a quad-camera system on the rear and a dual-camera system for selfies.

Its rear camera system comprises a 50MP primary camera, a 12MP telephoto camera, a 40MP ultrawide camera and a time of flight sensor which helps in getting depth information.

The rear camera system may not completely match that of the Samsung Galaxy S20 ultra, but it’s a worthy contender. With this camera setup, you can shoot photos with 50x zoom, photos in Panorama and HDR photos.

For video record, it has support for 4k video up to 60fps, 1080p video up to 960fps and 720p video up to 7680fps, which means you are up for some super slow-mo video recording.

For selfies, the Huawei P40 Pro makes use of a dual-camera setup housing a 32MP primary camera and an IR TOF 3D camera for depth information and biometrics.

Hardware and Software

The Huawei P40 Pro and last year’s Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G share spec sheet that appears to be a bit similar. The highlight is the fact that both smartphones run the  Hi-Silicon 990 Processor.

Bear in mind that the Hi-Silicon Kirin 990 5G processor is more of a Snapdragon 855 contender, you would have to wait for the Mate 40 Pro to get a processor that matches the 2020 Snapdragon 865 Processor.

Other features powering the performance of this smartphone are 8GB of RAM, storage options beginning from 128GB and maxing at 512GB. It supports Micro-SD storage expansion up to 256GB, which in my opinion is mediocre and less befitting for a flagship device.

You also get a non-removable 4200 mAh Li-Po battery. To ensure fast charge, this Android phone supports 40W wired fast charge, 27W wireless fast charge, and 27W fast reverse wireless charge.

On the software side, the Huawei P40 Pro runs EMUI 10.1 on top of the Android 10.0 operating system. Please bear in mind that despite running an Android operating system, you won’t be having Google service. Google Play Store, Google Play services and others are absent here.

Connectivity

The Huawei P40 Pro features a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB Type C port (3.1), dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1 and NFC.

Internet connectivity on the Huawei P40 Pro is capped at sub-6GHz 5G. This means you will be able to stream and download with 5G speeds when you are in an area with 5G reception.

Huawei P40 Pro Price and Availability

The price of the Huawei P40 Pro is around $1,080, which is about 396,360 Naira, 114,312 Kenyan shillings, and 6,291 Ghana Cedi.

The Huawei P40 Pro was announced on March 26 and is expected to go on sale April 7.

General Features
Platform: Android 10.0 (AOSP + HMS); EMUI 10
Processor: Octa-core 2×2.86 GHz Cortex-A76 & 2×2.36 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4×1.95 GHz Cortex-A55 ( HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G)
GPU: Mali-G76 MP16
Memory: 8GB RAM
Colours: Silver Frost, Blush Gold, Deep Sea Blue, Ice White, Black
Dimension: 158.2 x 72.6 x 9 mm
Weight: 209 g
SIM Type: Single SIM (Nano-SIM/eSIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
SIM Count: Dual

Display
Display: 6.58-inch OLED Display, 1200 x 2640 Pixels, 441 PPI
Screen Protection: Yes
Foldable Display: No

Camera
Rear Camera: 50MP (wide) f/1.9 + 12MP (Telephoto) f/3.4 + 40MP (Ultrawide) f/1.8 + TOF 3D, (Depth)
Rear Camera Features: Leica optics, LED flash, panorama, HDR, 2160p@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, 720@7680fps, 1080p@960fps, HDR; gyro-EIS
Front Camera: 32MP (wide) f/2.2 + IR TOF 3D (Depth/Biometrics Sensor) HDR, 2160p@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps

Storage
Built-in Storage: 128GB / 256GB / 512GB (UFS 3.0)
Memory Card Support: Yes, up to 256GB
Bundled Cloud Storage: Yes

Network Support
2G GSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
2G CDMA 1X: –
3G WCDMA: 800 / 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
3G CDMA EVDO: Yes
4G LTE: 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 6(900), 7(2600), 8(900), 9(1800), 12(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 26(850), 28(700), 34(2000), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500), 66(1700/2100) – ELS-N04
5G: 5G band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 28(700), 38(2600), 41(2500), 66(1700), 77(3700), 78(3500), 79(4700); SA/NSA – ELS-N04

Internet & Connectivity
GPRS: Yes
EDGE: Yes
3G/WCDMA/HSPA: Yes
HSPA+: –
CDMA EVDO: –
4G LTE: Yes
5G: Yes
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, Dual-Band, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
Wi-Fi Hotspot: Yes
Bluetooth: Yes, 5.1, A2DP, LE
NFC: Yes
Infrared Blaster: No
USB Port: Yes, Type-C (USB 3.1)

Sensors & Control
Digital Compass: Yes
Accelerometer: Yes
Proximity Sensor: Yes
Light Sensor: –
Barometer: No
SpO2: No
Pedometer: No
Heart Rate Monitor: No
Gyroscope: –
Fingerprint Scanner: Yes, (Under Display)
Iris Scanner: No
Face Unlock: Yes
Stylus Pen: No
Intelligent Digital Assistant: Yes
Motion Sensing / Gesture Control: Yes
Voice Control: Yes

Other Features
Video Streaming: Yes
Active Noise Cancellation: –
Wireless Charging: Yes, 27W
Built-in Mobile Payment: –
Water Resistant: Yes, IP68
Dust Resistant: Yes
Image Editor: Yes
Video Editor: Yes
Document Viewer: Yes
Document Editor: Yes

Battery
Battery: Non-Removable Li-Po 4200 mAh battery
Talktime: –
Standby Time: –
Fast Charging: 40W Fast Charge Mechanism