Review | Huawei P30 Pro full review: breakthrough zoom and extreme low light photography

When I first reported on Huawei’s P30 Pro after a brief demo at its launch in March, I took a measured, wait-and-see approach regarding some of the bold claims made by the Chinese company about the phone’s imaging capabilities. I wrote that the device appears to be an iterative update and merely a “refinement” of previous releases. After testing the P30 Pro more thoroughly, I realise I did not give the device enough credit. The P30 Pro is no iteration, it is a reinvention of mobile photography, and has made a digital imaging breakthrough not seen in years. The handset’s camera system is head and shoulders above anything else in the smartphone space, including the best offerings from Apple, Samsung and Google. Design and hardware The P30 Pro’s main camera system is a quad-lens array comprising a 40-megapixel main camera, 20-megapixel wide-angle lens, 8-megapixel telephoto lens and a TOF (time-of-flight) sensor. Two of those lenses are complete reinventions of digital imaging hardware: the main 40-megapixel lens ditches the conventional RGB sensor that is used in virtually all digital cameras in favour of a RYYB sensor built in-house by Huawei, while the telephoto lens features a “periscope” design involving an L-shaped lens that pulls and sends light sideways inside the phone to an image sensor placed perpendicular to the body of the phone. That RYYB sensor swaps out green pixels in favour of yellow pixels, which Huawei explains are superior because yellow light pulls in more red light – crucial for low-light imaging – without sacrificing too much green. That periscope telephoto lens also works as advertised, allowing the P30 Pro to capture 5x and 10x zoom shots with far more clarity than any other mobile phone. Other than the cameras, the rest of the P30 Pro’s hardware is top notch, but nothing we haven’t seen before. There’s a large, 6.5-inch, curved OLED display that gets plenty bright and vibrant; a gradient-coloured glass back that shimmers under light; sturdy aluminium sides; and a small notch that houses a 32-megapixel selfie camera. The phone feels very sturdy and premium in the hand, albeit a tad heavy and unwieldy compared to other handsets on the market. I also prefer the hole-punch cut-out design of the Samsung Galaxy S10 series to the P30’s notch, which feels stuck in 2018. Software and features Powering the phone is the Kirin 980 chip set that made its debut last autumn. It’s still a super fast chip set that excels in neural AI tasks, though its graphics and video capturing performance lags the Snapdragon 855 slightly. The P30 Pro runs on Android 9 with Huawei’s heavy EMUI skin on top. EMUI has been widely criticised by reviewers, especially in the West (we find the software garish, with one too many interfaces that resemble iOS more than Android), and while it has still got some way to go before I’d call it a great Android skin, Huawei has made subtle improvements that are worth applauding. For example, the P30 Pro’s Always-On Display now shows third party notifications, and Huawei’s swipe navigation is better than that on Samsung or Google handsets. The ability to implement a system-wide dark theme is much welcomed too. Huawei’s photos will usually appear ‘sharper’ in that slightly processed manner. But it is in challenging shooting situations in which Huawei’s cameras dominate Performance and battery life Despite its speed and power, the Kirin 980 chip set falls a bit short of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855. You’ll only notice this when playing graphically intensive games, as the P30 Pro’s frame rate will stutter more than in the same game running on the Galaxy S10. On the endurance front, the P30 Pro continues Huawei’s reign as battery champ. The phone’s industry-largest 4,200 mAh cell, along with smart optimisation, results in simply epic battery life. Unplug the phone fully charged in the morning, go about your day, and you’ll still have anywhere from 30 to 40 per cent when you go to bed. Last but not least: camera performance. General daytime shots captured by the P30 Pro will turn out very nice, but that can be said for every new release these days. The differences between an outdoor daytime shot taken with a Huawei, Samsung or Apple device come down to personal preference: the iPhone’s images tend to have the most natural-looking skin tone and accurate colours, while Samsung’s shots dial up the contrast for bolder colours; Huawei’s photos will usually appear “sharper” in that slightly processed manner. But it is in challenging shooting situations in which Huawei’s cameras dominate. The first is low-light shots: in general, the P30 Pro’s images will appear better balanced (better lit all around, with less exposure problems) than anything the iPhone XS or Samsung Galaxy S10 is capable of as soon as the sun sets. That RYYB sensor really works its magic when we go into extremely dark scenes, like a near pitch black alley; or a plane cabin during the middle of a red-eye flight. This is when the P30 Pro can pull light out of nowhere, producing an image that is far more illuminated than the human eye – or rival phones – can see. Take a look at the examples above and below. The first set of images was captured in an unlit alley after midnight. Notice the iPhone XS’s image is almost entirely dark – that was what my eyes saw at the time too. The Galaxy S10 generates some light, but Huawei’s RYYB sensor produces an image that is unbelievably bright. This second set was taken inside a plane during the middle of a red-eye flight when most lights have been turned off to help passengers sleep. Again, the Samsung did an admirable job, but it’s no match for the P30 Pro’s image. The other digital imaging breakthrough – that periscope-like telephoto lens – is equally impressive: the P30 Pro can capture superior zoom shots from 5x all the way up to 50x. At 5x and 10x, the P30 Pro’s zoom shots are cleaner and sharper than those taken with the Samsung and Apple phones. At 50x zoom, the image suffers a significant drop in quality, but the fact that a device this thin can produce a credible 50x zoom image is a technological marvel. Conclusion Some may argue that the two areas in which the P30 Pro stand far above the competition – zoom and extreme low light shots – are niche features that do not matter much to the average smartphone user. But even if that were so, the fact that Huawei, which as recently as three years ago was a nobody in the smartphone space, has successfully engineered an innovative camera system that handily beats those offered by Apple, Samsung, and anyone else for that matter, cannot be understated. The P30 Pro is the start of a new era of mobile photography. Key specifications: Dimensions: 158mm x 73.4mm x 8.4mm Weight: 192g Display: 6.5-inch 1,080 x 2,340 OLED panel Battery: 4,000mAh OS version reviewed: Android 9 with EMUI 9.1 on top Processor: Kirin 980 Main cameras: 40-megapixel f/1.6 RYYB sensor + 20-megapixel f/2.2 wide-angle lens + 8-megapixel f/3.4 “Periscope” telephoto lens + TOF sensor Front cameras: 32-megapixel standard lens Memory: 8GB RAM, 256GB/512GB ROM Price: starting at HK$7,400 (US$944)

Review | Huawei P30 Pro full review: breakthrough zoom and extreme low light photography

The Chinese-made handset’s amazing 40-megapixel main camera lens and 8-megapixel telephoto lens dramatically raise the bar for digital imaging ‘Periscope’ telephoto lens captures 5x and 10x zoom shots with far greater clarity than any other mobile phone

The Chinese-made handset’s amazing 40-megapixel main camera lens and 8-megapixel telephoto lens dramatically raise the bar for digital imaging

‘Periscope’ telephoto lens captures 5x and 10x zoom shots with far greater clarity than any other mobile phone