Review | Huawei P50 Pro smartphone review: no Google services, but it takes fantastic photos and boasts new speakers; battery life could be better
- Huawei’s latest flagship phone has a new look, high-spec though not industry-leading camera hardware, and image processing software that produces magic
- The P50 series are the first to ship with Huawei’s HarmonyOS operating system, which still looks like Android yet cannot run Gmail, YouTube or Google Drive
After months of delays due to US sanction-related uncertainties, Huawei’s P50 smartphone series has seen the light of day.
While the new phones will once again have limited appeal outside mainland China because they lack Google Mobile Services, there’s a lot to like for smartphone enthusiasts interested in the latest breakthrough in digital imaging – particularly the higher-end Pro model I tested.
Hardware and design
The P50 Pro has an eye-catching design, with two giant circular camera modules placed off-centre on the phone’s back. It’s a new look for a smartphone, but opinions on whether it looks good or garish seem divided.
The top camera island houses the “main camera system”, featuring a 50-megapixel main lens, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 40-megapixel monochrome sensor. The bottom circle is home to a 64-megapixel Periscope zoom lens with a 3.5x optical zoom.
On paper, these specs don’t top the competition – or even Huawei’s last two flagship phones. But the hardware, working in concert with a new image signal processing software Huawei dubs “XD Optics”, produces photos and videos that are more than the sum of its parts.
Elsewhere, the P50 Pro has a 6.6-inch OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. It’s a great-looking panel with minimal bezels, but standard fare for flagship phones in 2021.
Powering the phone is either Huawei’s own Kirin 9000 or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor – Huawei has been forced to use the latter after no longer being able to produce its own chips because of US sanctions.