Despite everything, Huawei’s Photography series is returning, along with the recognizable monochrome camera. The Huawei P50 Pro, powered by Leica, of course, features one of the most intriguing camera setups we’ve seen in a while and is now available everywhere. Today, it receives all of our focus because it is a fully-fledged flagship with excellent hardware throughout.
While the Huawei P50 will likely continue to be a China-only device, the P50 Pro and P50 Pocket are now accessible on the worldwide market. These global units use EMUI 12, and the P50 Pro’s firmware is built on the Android 11 core platform. Unsurprisingly, Huawei’s own bundle has taken the role of Google services. One of the most curved flagships available today is the P50 Pro, which is also waterproof. The device supports HDR10+ and includes a 6.6″ OLED with 1228p resolution, 120Hz dynamic refresh rate, and 300Hz touch sampling rate. As there is no Face ID or dual-selfie, there is also no pill-shaped cutout.
The Huawei P50 Pro’s rear camera is the most intriguing feature, and it shows a lot of promise. The primary camera has 50MP, a 27mm f/1.9 OIS lens, and laser AF. A 40MP true monochrome camera (no Bayer filter) is the second option for those recognizable dramatic B&W photographs. A 13MP camera with a 13mm f/2.2 lens and autofocus for wide-angle and macro shots is the third option.
Huawei P50 Pro review: Design and display
Huawei is no stranger to producing attractive and upscale-feeling mobile devices, and the P50 Pro fits comfortably in the hand and has a sleek appearance. The P50 Pro is a balanced size and weight at 158.8 x 72.8mm and 195g. The power and volume keys are situated on the right side, similar to the majority of previous Huawei flagship phones, while the SIM tray and USB Type-C connector are at the bottom.
The fingerprint sensor is hidden beneath the screen, which has curved edges that wrap into the metallic frame, and speakers are placed on the top and bottom. There are four color options for the Huawei P50 Pro: Golden Black, Pearl White, Charm Pink, and Cocoa Gold, though the color options that are accessible to you may vary depending on where you live in the world. The Cocoa Gold model, which is depicted in this article’s pictures, was the subject of our review.
The phone’s back features a polished metallic surface with a little gold tint. Although it appears sleek, it is fingerprint-friendly. Two pretty large camera ring modules, housed under a pill bump that doesn’t protrude as much as some of the more recent flagship phones we’ve seen, are also located on the back of the phone.
The “dual matrix camera,” as Huawei likes to refer to it, sticks out, though, and will inspire a range of sentiments, from frightened to intrigued. The Huawei P50 Pro’s 6.6-inch screen has a 1228 x 2700 resolution and a pixel density of 450ppi. In comparison, the iPhone 13 Pro Max measures 1284 x 2778 for 458ppi and the Samsung S21 Ultra measures 1440 x 3200 for 515ppi. But don’t get too caught up in the numbers; the screens on all of these phones are sharp and have a very high quality.
Huawei P50 Pro review: Performance
The Huawei P50 Pro I own is the “global” model. Instead of Huawei’s own Kirin 9000 CPU, it uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 operating system and runs the EMUI software. The software appears to be very similar to what it was during Huawei’s heyday. There isn’t an app drawer by default, but you can re-add one if you like. Because Android is what it really is, it looks just like Android.
The software of the Huawei P50 Pro is based on Android 11, but without Google Mobile Services. In addition to Petal Maps replacing Google Maps, Huawei’s AppGallery also includes a Huawei email client. If you’re upgrading from a vintage Huawei device like the P30 Pro, be ready for this shift.
The app library represents likely the biggest compromise. The majority of the programs I use on a daily basis are still missing from AppGallery’s own library, which is still very bad. Petal Search is Huawei’s attempt to fill in the blanks. When you search for an app in AppGallery, the results will contain links to third-party app stores like ApkPure, ApkFab, and ApkMonk as well as items from Petal Search. By clicking on those links, you put yourself at the mercy of these small, independent stores’ anti-virus and anti-malware policies, which won’t be nearly as stringent as those of the Google Play Store.
Huawei P50 Pro review: Camera
Thanks to a 4-lens back camera system and cutting-edge AI-based software, the Huawei P50 Pro really shines in photography. It has a 64MP telephoto camera, a 13MP ultra-wide-angle camera, a 40MP monochrome lens, and a 50MP primary camera. Also included is a 13MP selfie camera. Beautiful pictures at any time of day. You won’t need to worry about fiddling with the settings because AI will modify the image to the scene. Despite being a touch jolty, it actually produces some absolutely stunning images.
The camera manages to catch a ton of detail and offers a nice balance between the light and dark regions of the frame on its standard and AI-based point-and-shoot settings, boosting colors just enough to give the pictures some life without making them look fake. See some examples of photos taken with the Huawei P50 Pro in the gallery below. We should also discuss about zoom because, in addition to the telephoto lens’s 3.5x optical zoom capability, you also get a massive 100x digital zoom, which is comparable to the greatest Samsung phones.
Huawei P50 Pro review: Software
These days, it is impossible to discuss Huawei without bringing up the software crisis. Unfortunately, Huawei still doesn’t support GMS or Google apps, so you can’t enjoy the more accustomed Android experience. Despite Huawei’s investment on its HMS alternative, some of the apps, including Uber, won’t function natively due to a lack of API support. Nevertheless, if you take the time to look for them, there are some solutions for a number of apps. Using the same example, you can still utilize a highly discreet web-based app replacement to operate Uber.
Huawei P50 Pro review: Battery and charging
With a 4360mAh cell inside the P50 Pro, Huawei has managed to fit the largest capacity battery into a P series handset yet, despite the fact that it is smaller and lighter than its predecessor. Although it didn’t seem to affect daily usability, app launch times, or overall performance, EMUI is notorious for its aggressive background power management, which is probably why the phone lasts so much longer than comparably equipped handsets. A screen-on time that frequently approached 8.75 hours is also not to be dismissed.
With 66W wired charging support, up to 50W wireless charging support, and reverse wireless charging, the phone also inherits the Mate 40 series’ excellent charging configuration, which is perfect for recharging your Huawei Freebuds while you’re out and about.
An included 66W SuperCharge charger from Huawei charges the P50 Pro to 100% in about 45 minutes and can recharge the phone to over 80% in only 30 minutes. Even if this is already excellent, the phone’s charging efficiency is further enhanced by the fact that you only need between 60% and 70% of a charge to get through an entire day of normal use.
Huawei P50 Pro review: Price and availability
Huawei was ultimately able to unveil the P50 and P50 Pro to Chinese audiences on July 29, 2021, and the phones went on sale the following month after a well-documented and protracted road to market (12 August). Only the P50 Pro of the two has been released for international markets as of this writing. Around mid-January 2022, the product will first be available for pre-order in a number of markets throughout the Middle East and Asia. At the end of the month, it will arrive in Europe (December 26).
The Huawei P50 Pro may be purchased on Huawei’s website for the lowest price in most countries, with the international model costing €1,199 in Europe (available in a single 8GB RAM + 256GB storage configuration). The identical SKU is currently on sale in the UK for £1,099.99 as of March 22. The phone is available for local pickup through Huawei’s UK website or from independent merchants through platforms like Amazon.
The Vodafone UK network was utilized to test the P50 Pro for this study. While the carrier doesn’t sell the phone itself, you can choose from a variety of fantastic SIM-only plans that start at just £23 and give up to limitless 5G data.
Final Words
With the Huawei P50 Pro, a stunning phone with outstanding performance and an exceptional main camera, Huawei continues to display its skill. The P50 Pro might not be the right phone for you if you depend heavily on Google services, even if Huawei has been successful in persuading many regional developers to support its platform without Google services over the years. However, some of the biggest companies are still missing.
