Huawei P30 Pro review: Pushing the boundaries of the camera [Video]



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The Huawei P30 Pro has the impression that Huawei is making a bold statement to the rest of the smartphone industry: "try to take us". In short, the handset is one of the best in the market and probably has the most versatile camera systems on the market.

You might be forgiven for thinking that this handset would simply be a makeweight for the Mate 30 Pro line. Huawei clearly did not receive this rating and decided that a high-end premium high-end product was the best way to stabilize the industry in advance.

Clearly, the "P" in P30 Pro means "photography". It's here that the Huawei P30 Pro excels and stands out, far ahead of all other handsets on the market – the included Pixel 3. It is obvious that the camera results and the images produced are intrinsically subjective, but what this camera does is sometimes breathtaking.

But as we know, having a good camera does not necessarily make a good camera.


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Design and material

As we reach a near-no-frills, notch-like state, we see smartphone designs converging in some sort of style. This is not necessarily a bad thing in many ways, although Huawei has done everything possible to make an attractive device – and I personally feel that they have succeeded.

The design reminds me a bit of the S9 with curved glass on each side of the device. The tapered design really helps the handset to fit into your palm – which is good because the glass back can be particularly slippery. Make no mistake, it's a very slim handset, but it looks reassuring, solid in the hand.

On the front, the phone is tall and slender, the actual absence of telescope helps the P30 Pro in this regard. The same goes for the slightly curved edges of the screen. I will say that from a sustainability point of view, I often worry about curved edges, but they make the camera much more comfortable to use. More on the display a little later however.

Huawei P30 Pro Hardware and Design

By turning the handset to the back, you can see the fantastic colors in all their splendor. As I said, the manufacturers may be moving towards a quasi-static design at the front, so that's where we see the difference. Huawei has really adopted the two-tone colors and I'm lucky enough to have the Breathing Crystal design, which is probably the color of my favorite smartphone in recent years.

We have moved away from black slates and this is much better for consumer choice. It almost makes me laugh to see a red or blue device come out several months after the main device launch, but only to see it available for a limited time. That said, the Sunrise Amber option, seen up close, is another great red device.

The way the handset flickers and flows color in color is nothing short of magnificent. If you like a black solid option though, you do not do it here. In addition, you can say that simpler handsets age better. Here again, everything is subjective.

At the top of the P30 Pro, you'll notice flat bases, giving you a more restful feeling. I fight this with a case, but it is not an ideal solution. I have the impression that Huawei has opted for these flat and upper edges to give the illusion of small dials – but that's a presentiment. I quite like the flat bases on both sides, if only from the point of view of shooting videos.

The clicky volume rocker and the color sleep-wake button are a pleasure to use. Although they are the only external buttons, they are exceptionally done. However, I am disappointed by the sound provided by the lonely speaker facing the floor. It gets strong and manages to stay clear, but is easily smothered when watching videos in landscape mode.

Huawei P30 Pro design and material

Some USB-C earphones are provided in the box. This alleviates some of the problems associated with the purchase of Type C earpieces. However, they are not particularly interesting and your options for a good quality USB-C headset are really slim. I would recommend the Moshi Mythro-C but as a bridge pair.

On the audio side, it should be noted that the P30 Pro does not include a standard earphone at the top of the screen. Instead, it has a vibrating element in the upper part of the OLED. I found that the quality of the calls was absolutely perfect – however, I have ears big enough for what it's worth.

Internally, there is a certain sense of familiarity with the P30 Pro. This is because the handset contains all the same main components as the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. So you get the Kirin 980, 6 or 8 GB of RAM, 128 GB or 256 GB of expandable storage and a gigantic battery of 4,200 mAh. The display however takes a bump on this model. It is a FHD + AMOLED panel very clear and pleasant to use. I apologize for ever criticizing the FHD + screens, but at $ 1,000 +, you really should get a QHD + panel, in my opinion.

The fact that the notch is massively reduced by being converted into a tear also makes the appearance and usability easier. It houses a lonely camera facing the front, so no 3D face scanning technology is included.

The infrared blaster is a last part of the material that seems to have disappeared from almost all devices. For fans, the P30 Pro comes with an IR blaster that lets you activate Troll Mode in your bar, restaurant or local Best Buy.

Software and performance

EMUI is just not my bag. I have just appreciated some aspects after intensive use, but the overall look, feel and cohesion do not feel totally 'there'. Example: My phone often asks me when opening a message link which application I would like to set as the default messaging solution. He will then forget and ask the same question a few moments later.

Huawei P30 Pro software and performance

I will say that EMUI 9.1 is much better than it has been for some time. One always seems to be trying to be iOS lite, but Nova Launcher (shock) quickly solves the problem. I am intrigued to see if we will have Android Q in a reasonable time after the public release or if we will see the Mate 30 Pro get the first EMUI 10 with Q at the top.

That said, there are some interesting tips like the AI ​​video editor. This type of imitation matches what you see on Google Home Hub devices, the software creating small video montages of people photographed regularly (and pets!).

A trend of smartphones that I can not say I'm a big fan of is that of fingerprint scanners on screen. The Mate 20 Pro was the first device I could test with this feature and everything worked fine. Huawei has improved the speed of the P30 Pro, but it is not always perfect. Do you have a slightly wet thumb? It will not work. A little potato fat on your index? Nada.

Huawei P30 Pro fingerprint reader

Unexpectedly, it does not slow down much when you paste a screen protector, as I recently discovered. There are sometimes missing fingerprint presses from time to time, but it's a minor price to pay for screen protection.

I understand that this is a limitation of the integrated optical drive, but even despite a recent security alert, I would much prefer an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner like the Galaxy S10 +. Otherwise, stick a side-mounted fingerprint reader instead.

Additional software additions to the camera, such as the ability to digitally scan QR codes without additional application, are one of the essential additions to EMUI that I like very much. As well as the ability to use buttons on the screen rather than gestures, and to be honest, I'm not yet 100% sold on Android. Android Q can solve this problem, but for now, gestures are not as easy to use consistently as I think.

The performance was excellent overall. The Kirin 980 processor is very powerful and I have not noticed any problem or slowdown since this device stores 8 GB of RAM.

Camera

The main event of the P30 Pro, the camera introduces a brand new network of sensors for the entire photography industry. Huawei has developed a RYYB sensor that breaks the normal convention of the RGB sensor. In marketing documents, it is claimed that this allows the P30 Pro to capture 40% more light than an RGB sensor.

I have no reason to doubt this claim, because the one-shot automatic mode is able to handle results comparable to those of the legendary Pixel Night Sight and, in 90% of the cases, better. In my tests, I noticed that I was simply skipping the Huawei night mode in favor of one shot. Whatever the Leica and Huawei engineers do, they continue to do so.

The three main rear cameras located at the rear of the P30 Pro offer you a wealth of shooting options for almost any scenario. The wide-angle lens is ideal when you want to get an almost fisheye-like field of view. It also serves as a macro lens, getting closer to the action and revealing another layer of hidden detail.

This is the 5x telephoto zoom lens that fails. This lens is optically stabilized for even better performance and offers a whole new field of smartphone photography. For the passionate traveler, I can not see a phone that directly competes with the proposed selection.

There are many video modes, but that's where the P30 Pro camera stutters a bit. The colors can sometimes become a little saturated or strangely portrayed. The wide-angle lens actually allows for better color correction work – a strange aspect of the P30 Pro AI without a doubt.

There are a multitude of video modes to choose from, but no 4K 60FPS, which is a shame. Even at UHD, the quality stutters and seems grainy compared to other camera systems.

This is an area with which many handsets seem to have difficulty expressing themselves. Having an excellent lens configuration does not guarantee strong video recording performance. It would be great to see additional work being put here. Although a software update can solve a ton of common problems.

Drums

The battery of Huawei Mate 20 Pro was undoubtedly the king of the battery in 2018. The Huawei P30 Pro was already the king of the battery in 2019. With a cell of 4,200 mAh can easily resist the abuse of smartphone users. more assiduous, the P30 Pro a really crazy longevity.

As I say each time, the screen at the time is not the best measure of the actual battery life. I say this because it does not take into account the type of use when the screen is on. But even so, it's one of the best we have to give you an indication of what to expect.

P30 Pro Battery

To this end, every day with the P30 Pro, I spend about an hour or so on using a Bluetooth headset during the long hours of service, many social media parses, unusual video views, intensive use of the camera and the extended obligation. use of email. This normally restores the battery to about 70% with only 3 hours of screen time taken into account.

I am by no means an experienced user on a normal weekday, but on a weekend, I will regularly extend the screen to the top mark at 6 o'clock before seeing the benchmark below 40%. I only saw a battery close to this one with the previous Mate handset.

If you want to further extend the life of your battery, the excellent range of battery saving modes allows you to refine your energy consumption.

Then, if your battery lowers, the 40W fast charger delivered in the box is so fast that you will go from 40% to 100% in less than 40 minutes. Looking at the animation on the screen, you will find that the battery increases by 1% every few seconds, which is a real delight.

Regardless of Huawei's secret sauce for battery excellence, perhaps they should start offering it to other manufacturers, because it's really superb.

I almost forgot to mention that the Huawei P30 Pro reintroduces the gadget massively gadget, but still welcomes the reverse wireless charging for the P series for the first time. I can not say that I even enabled the feature except to test it. I can imagine, however, that it will be a useful feature if I want to charge my Galaxy Buds along with my phone and have only one cable.

Verdict

Let me tell you this in simple terms: I love this phone despite the software flaws, sometimes weird notification settings and sometimes even the strange performance of the camera. The camera is really special. This new sensor is a testament to Huawei's dedication and willingness to push the boundaries of smartphone photography.

Huawei P30 Pro Review

There are some disadvantages, the display is not as good as that of the Mate 20 Pro. The fingerprint reader is still a bit 'meh' and the software is still a bit incoherent. It's almost as if, with just a little more attention to the details that matter, Huawei could really create a truly legendary smartphone with its next release.

Unlike Apple and Samsung, it seems that Chinese brands are ready to experiment with their flagship devices like never before. If it works, so be it. If that fails, put something else inside and see what happens. For Huawei at least, it is this willingness to throw sticks on the wall and see what helps them to consistently exceed Samsung at the top of the global ranking of smartphone shipments.

We can discuss the tensions between the United States and Huawei all day, but the fact is that this is the best phone that is not on sale in the United States. And in fact, it's pretty disappointing, because I'm sure it would be a surefire winner in the United States.

You can import the unlocked handset from online stores in Canada and the UK if you really want to get your hands on the Huawei P30 Pro. This means, however, that all material and support is very limited and is not particularly recommended.

Where to buy Huawei P30 Pro

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