Huawei P40 review | TechRadar

The Huawei P40's hardware is as great as the last few generations of the company's flagship phones, but there are limitations. You don't get ... Skiptomaincontent TechRadar TechRadar TechRadarThesourceforTechBuyingAdvice Search Subscribe RSS AsiaIndiaSingaporeMiddleEastAfricaSouthAfricaEuropeDanmarkSuomiNorgeSverigeUKItaliaNederlandBelgië(Nederlands)FranceDeutschlandEspañaNorthAmericaUS(English)CanadaUS(Español)AustralasiaAustraliaNewZealand TechnologyMagazinesWhysubscribe?Thebesttechtutorialsandin-depthreviewsTryasingleissueorsaveonasubscriptionIssuesdeliveredstraighttoyourdoorordeviceFrom$12.99View News Best Reviews HowTo Phones TVs More Laptops Wearables Computing Audiovisual Cameras SmartHome Appliances CarTech Fitness Entertainment Tablets Downloads Deals AboutUs TrendingiPhoneSE3AppleMacStudioGalaxyS22WordleiPhone14 TechRadarissupportedbyitsaudience.Whenyoupurchasethroughlinksonoursite,wemayearnanaffiliatecommission.Learnmore Home Reviews MobilePhones (Image:©TechRadar) OurVerdict TheHuaweiP40'shardwareisasgreatasthelastfewgenerationsofthecompany'sflagshipphones,buttherearelimitations.Youdon'tgetwirelesschargingorahighrefreshratescreenbyoptingfortheP40,whichalotofotherphonesaroundthispriceoffer.ThebiggestrestrictioncontinuestobethelackofGoogleMobileServicesthathampersthisdeviceasyoudon'thaveaccesstosomeofthemostpopularAndroidapplicationsandservices. For Fantasticbatterylife Greatcamera Powerfulchipset Against Severelylimitedsoftware Nowirelesscharging Notwaterresistantenough TechRadarVerdict TheHuaweiP40'shardwareisasgreatasthelastfewgenerationsofthecompany'sflagshipphones,buttherearelimitations.Youdon'tgetwirelesschargingorahighrefreshratescreenbyoptingfortheP40,whichalotofotherphonesaroundthispriceoffer.ThebiggestrestrictioncontinuestobethelackofGoogleMobileServicesthathampersthisdeviceasyoudon'thaveaccesstosomeofthemostpopularAndroidapplicationsandservices. Pros +Fantasticbatterylife+Greatcamera+Powerfulchipset Cons -Severelylimitedsoftware-Nowirelesscharging-Notwaterresistantenough Two-minutereviewTheHuaweiP40isatopphonewithsomefantastichardwarecombinedtomakeastunningexperiencewhenitcomestocamera,batterylife,andavarietyofothertop-endfeaturesyou’llwantfromamodernsmartphone.MuchlikeeveryrecentHuaweiphone,theP40ishamperedbyitssoftware.TheHuaweibanintheUShasrestrictedtheChinesecompany’suseoftheGoogleMobileServicesapps,soyou’renowleftwithamuchmorelimitedexperience.Jumpto...Releasedateandprice Design Display Camera Specsandperformance Software Batterylife ShouldIbuyit?That’smostlyowingtothelackofGooglePlayStorefunctionality,andwhiletheHuaweiAppGallery-thecompany’salternativeappstore-doesofferanumberofapps,it’shardforHuaweitocompetewiththeGooglebehemoththatmanydevelopershaveflockedtoforyears.Huawei'sAppGalleryisimprovinginleapsandboundsallthetimethough,withnewappsaddedallthetime-theintroductionofPetalSearchistherealgame-changerthough.ThissearchconsoleletsyoufindAPKsofpopularapps-thisbasicallyletsyouinstallthemviatheinternet,ratherthananappstore,andisahandywayoffillingupyourapplibrary.TheP40isn’tashigh-endaseithertheHuaweiP40ProortheHuaweiP40ProPlusthatwereannouncedalongsideit,butit’sstillanimpressivepieceofhardwareifyoucanovercomethesoftwareissues.Huawei’srearcameratechnologyhereisgenuinelybrilliant-especiallyconsideringthelowerpriceofthisdevicewhencomparedtotheP40Pro-andthephoneoffersstrongperformance,asitusesatop-endchipsetdevelopedbythecompany.It’scapableof5Gconnectivityifyou’reonacompatibleplan,anditincludesalotofthefeaturesyou’llbelookingforfromahigh-endphone.Sotheglaringissueissimplytherestrictioninsoftware,whichmakestheHuaweiP40adifficultproducttorecommendinmarketssuchastheUKorAustralia.Tofindoutwhetheryoucanovercomeoroverlookthisissue,you’llprobablywanttoreadonforourfullHuaweiP40review.(Imagecredit:TechRadar)HuaweiP40releasedateandpriceOutnowintheUKandAustraliaNosignofitcomingtotheUSLaunchpricewas£699/AU$1,099TheHuaweiP40wasunveiledinMarch2020,andthenitwasreleasedinavarietyofcountriesaroundtheworldinApril.ThephoneiscurrentlyavailableintheUK,otherpartsofEurope,Australia,andtheMiddleEast.IntheUK,itslaunchpricewas£699whileinAustraliaitcostsAU$1,099(around$900).That’smoreaffordablethanboththeHuaweiP40ProandHuaweiP40ProPlusthatwereannouncedatthesametime,aswellastheMate40Prolaunchedlaterin2020.Therearehigherstoragevariantsinsomeregions,butthatpriceaboveisforthe8GBofRAMand128GBofstoragevariant,whichisthemostcommoninboththeUKandAustralia.HuaweismartphonesarecurrentlynotavailablethroughUScarriersormajorretailersthere,thoughit'sstillpossibletobuythem.Thisusuallymeansahighercostorrelyingonunverifiedonlineretailers,andthesoftwaremaynotbeoptimizedforUSnetworks.HuaweismartphonesarecurrentlynotavailablethroughUScarriersormajorretailers,thoughit'sstillpossibletobuythem.Thisusuallymeansahighercostorrelyingonunverifiedonlineretailers,andsoftwaremaynotbeoptimizedforUSnetworks.DesignDoesn'tsportP40ProcurveddisplaydesignHasaceramicfeelontherear,butisglassComesinfivedifferentcolorsTheHuaweiP40missesoutonthe'Quad-curveOverflowDisplay'displayfoundontheP40Pro,soitlooksmuchmoretraditionalwithitsflatsheetofglassonthefront.It’sstillanattractivelookingdevice,though.Thephonepacksapre-fittedscreenprotector,aheftydual-cameracut-outinthetopleftofthedisplay,andbuffed,curvedmetalaroundthesides,topandbottom.It’sagood-lookingphonethatfeelspremium,evenifitisn’tasstand-outasitsbiggerbrother.Therearofthephoneismadeofglasswithaceramiceffect.Itfeelscomfortableonyourpalm,andgivesthephoneauniquefeelcomparedtootherhigh-endhandsetsthatdon’toptfortheceramicdesign.ThephoneisavailableinBlushGoldandDeepSeaBlue,whicharebothpicturedthisreview,aswellasBlack,IceWhiteandSilverFrost.WeparticularlylikedtheBlushGoldcolorasitgavethedeviceauniquelook,buttheothershadesmaysuityouifyou’relookingforsomethingatouchsubtler.(Imagecredit:TechRadar)At148.9x71.1x8.5mmtheHuaweiP40isatouchshorterthantheGalaxyS20,whichmeasures151.7mmtall.Thatsaid,it’sthicker,owingtoapronouncedcamerabump,housingthathuge50MPsensor.There’salsoa3xzoomtelephotomodule,givingitthesamezoomastheHuaweiMate30Pro.Thatcamerabumpissuretocauseyouissuesifyouplantousethedevicelyingdownonatable,butit’sasimilarstyletowhatwe’veseeninalotofothermodernsmartphonesrecently.Thepowerbuttonandvolumekeysareontherightsideofthephone,whilethebottomhousestheUSBType-Cportandthesingledownward-firingspeaker.ThedualnanoSIMtrayisalsolocatedhere,andcanalsobeusedtoexpandstoragewithHuawei’sproprietaryNanoMemorycards.It’salsoimportanttonotethatthisdevicedoesn’thavetheIPratingyoumayexpect.It’sIP53dustandwaterresistant,whichmeansit’snotrecommendedyousubmergethisdeviceinwater,asthatlevelofresistanceismostlydesignedjustforsplashprotection.Overall,theHuaweiP40iseasiertouseinthehandthanitstwosiblingdevices,butitdoesn’tfeelorlookaspremiumaseitherofthosedevices.Thatsaid,itstilllooksalotbetterthanmanyotherhigh-endphones.DisplayAlarge6.1-inchdisplaythatiseasytouseinonehandIt'saFullHDdisplaybutstilllooksgreatDoesn'timpresslikesomeotherflagshipscreensThe6.1-inchdisplayontheHuaweiP40hasaresolutionof1080x2340,makingitWideFullHD.Thisisn’tclass-leadingfortheprice,fallingbehindthescreenoftheOnePlus7TProbysomemargin,forexample.Thatsaid,it’sstillbetterthantheiPhone11fromaclaritypointofview.Itcomesinat422pixelsperinch,whichisadecentamount.Manymaybeupsettolearnitisn’taQHDdisplay,butwedidn’tfindthatanissueduringourtimewiththephone.(Imagecredit:TechRadar)Thescreensizeisimpressive,butifyou’relookingforalargerdisplayyou’llwanttooptfortheP40ProorProPlus.TheP40isa60Hzrefreshrate,soifyou'relookingforadisplaythatloadssuperquicklywhenyou'rescrollingthroughsocialmediaorplayinggamesyou'llwanttooptforanotherdevice.Huaweihasincludedtheselfiecamerainacut-outatthetopleftedgeofthescreen.That’sinapillshape,andit’sanunusuallookthatsomemaynotlike.Ittakesupalotmoreofthescreen’sspacethanmanyotherhigh-endphones-thoughofcourse,you’realsogettingmorelensesthansomerivals.CamerasMainwidecameraisa50MPshooter8MPtelephotoshooterisoneofthebestonthemarket32MPselfieshooteronthefrontofthephone(Imagecredit:TechRadar)TheHuaweiP40’sLeica-brandedcamerasetupconsistsofa50MPf/1.9primarycamera,a16MPf/2.2ultra-widecamera,andan8MPf/2.4telephotocamerathat’scapableof3xopticalzoom,justliketheGalaxyS20andGalaxyS20Plus.UnliketheP40Pro,there’snotime-of-flight(ToF)sensorhere.HuaweicontinuestouseanRYYBsensoronitslatestflagshipline,andthistimeit’sahuge1/1.28-inchsize,whichisthelargestsensorHuaweihaseverused,andbiggerthantheonefoundontheGalaxyS20Ultra.Usingpixelbinning(wherebyfourofthesensor'spixelsarecombinedintoone‘superpixel’),thephone'smainsensorcantake12MPshotsthatdeliverimprovedlowlightperformanceovertraditional12MPcameraphones.OurtimewiththeHuaweiP40allowedustocreatesometop-endshotsthatrivalthelikesofmostflagshipphones.Infact,wewereabletogetsomeofthebestsmartphonephotographywe’veseenonadeviceofthistype(thatistosay,onahighbutnottop-enddevice).TheHuaweiP40ProandP40ProPlusarebothdesignedtogiveyouabetterphotographyexperience,butalotofwhatmakesthosephonesgreatisalsoavailableherebutjustnotasfantastic.(Imagecredit:TechRadar)Thatsaid,thisisaparticularlygoodphonecameraforadeviceofthispriceandit’sabletokeepupwiththebestiPhonesandtheSamsungGalaxyS20range.Thetelephotoshooter,inparticular,remainsasgreatasitwasontheP30rangeandotherP40devices.Image1of5Ultrawidecamera(Imagecredit:TechRadar)Image2of5Widecamera(Imagecredit:TechRadar)Image3of53xtelephotozoom(Imagecredit:TechRadar)Image4of510xtelephotozoom(Imagecredit:TechRadar)Image5of530xtelephotozoom(Imagecredit:TechRadar)Anoblongcut-outonthefronthousesa32MPcamerasensorandadepthsensor.Packingautofocus,unlikemostselfiecameras,thewholeP40-seriesisbuiltforself-portraits,andwecanconfirm-it’sincrediblyflattering.Addtothemix4Kvideocapturedatupto60fpsacrossthefrontandrearcameras,andfortheprice,theP40isacamerachamp.CamerasamplesImage1of4(Imagecredit:TechRadar)Image2of4(Imagecredit:TechRadar)Image3of4(Imagecredit:TechRadar)Image4of4(Imagecredit:TechRadar)SpecsandperformanceIncludesHuawei'stopprocessor,whichperformswellMultipleRAMandstoragevariants5Gconnectivitysoit'sfutureprooftoo(Imagecredit:TechRadar)TheHuaweiP40ispoweredbythesameKirin9905Gchipsetthatwe’veseenintheMate30ProandHuawei’sfoldingphone,theMateXs.Thisisbasedon7nm+manufacturingtechnologyandisplentyfastenoughtokeepupwiththelatestflagshipphonesfromrivalbrands.Theprocessoriscurrentlytheonlyhigh-endchipsetwithintegrated5G,meaningitwillworkwellwiththededicated5Gnetworksofthefuture,aswellaswiththecurrenthybridLTE/5Gnetworks.Themodelwetriedhad8GBofRAM,butthere’salsoavariantthatyoucanbuywith6GBofRAM.Wefoundourmodelworkedverywell,anditwascapableofplayingtop-endmobilegameslikeCallofDuty:Mobilewithminimumloadtimes.Wefoundthephonescored2994inGeekbench5software,whichishigherthantheSamsungGalaxyS20(thatgot2699)andalsoexactlythesameastheHuaweiP40Pro.You’llget128GBor256GBofstoragedependingonwhatvariantofthephoneyoubuy,andthere’salsoNanoMemorycardsupportifyou’relookingtoupgradeontopofthat.SoftwareHamperedbythelackofGoogleMobileServicesThatmeansyouwon'thaveaccesstoPlayStoreandmoreTheHuaweiP40runsAndroid10,withEMUI10.1overthetop.Giventhepowerinside,there’snonoticeablelagwhenscrollingthroughappsorsettings,orswitchingbetweenthem,however,withouta90Hzrefreshratescreen,theP40justdoesn’tfeelasnippyassomeotherdevicesliketheOnePlus7T,eventhough,technically,it’smorepowerful.It'scurrentlyunclearwhenthecompanywillbeupdatingthishandsettoAndroid11software.TheelephantintheroomisthatHuawei’smostrecentdevicesaren’tallowedtouseavarietyofGoogleMobileServices.ThoseincludeappssuchasYouTubeandGmail,aswellastheGooglePlayStore.SoalotofcoreAndroidappsandservicesareabsent.Huawei’sAppGalleryisthebrand’salternativetoGoogle’sPlayStore(whichisabsent),andyoucanalsogetappsonboardwithPhoneCloneortheAPKPurestore.Infact,forthemostpartgettingappsonitwasn’ttheproblem-itwasguaranteeingtheywouldworkperfectly.Uber,forexample,doesn’t,asitreliesonGoogle’slocationAPIsthatrequireGoogleMobileServices(whicharealsoabsent).Huaweiknowsthis,andit’stryingitsbesttoaddresstheconcerns,withamappingsolutionsettoarriveimminently.Asitstandsthough,forcertaincoreappsyouwon’thaveanalternativeservice.BatterylifeEasilylastafulldaywithmoreleftoverinthetankNowirelesscharging,butdoeshavefast-chargingBatterylifeontheHuaweiP40isremarkablystrong,andifyou’reusingyourphoneanaverageamountyoumaybeabletogetoveraday’sworthofusefromasinglecharge.Infact,atonepointinourtestingwegotafulltwodaysoutofit.Itfeaturesareasonablylarge3,800mAhbatteryinside,andfast-chargingtechallowsyoutopumpthatbackupinashortamountoftime.(Imagecredit:TechRadar)WefoundtheHuaweiP40wouldoftenlastthefulldaywithstillaround30to40%leftinthetankwhenweheadedtobedonanevening.Ondayswithheavieruse,itwasnearerto20%,butwenevermanagedtoblitzthroughthebatteryinasingleday.Soifyou’reaheavydutyuser,youshouldstillfindtheHuaweiP40willlastforafulldayofusage.UnlikeotherhandsetsintheHuaweiP40range,thisbasemodeldoesn’tcomewithwirelesscharging,soyou’llbeusingtheUSB-Cportatthebottomofthephoneinsteadtorechargethedevice.That’sabitofashameasit’safeaturethat’snowcommonlyavailableoncheaperhandsetsfromothermanufacturers,suchasOnePlus.ShouldyoubuytheHuaweiP40?(Imagecredit:Huawei)Buyitif...Youneedlongbatterylife ThebatterylifeoftheHuaweiP40isimpressive,andifyou’rerelativelylightwithyouruseyou’llfindthephonewilleasilybeabletolastforoverafullday.Ifyou’reusingthephonealot,you’restillsettogetafulldayofusagefromthis.Youneedasturdycamera TheHuaweiP40’scameraisn’tthebestonthemarketrightnow,butit’sremarkablyimpressiveforthispriceofdeviceanditwillbeabletodosomephenomenalworkthatwillimproveyourInstagram.Youwantalotofpower WefoundtheHuaweiP40hadalotofpower,soifyouneedaphonethathassomeimpressiveinternalspecsthenyoumightwanttoconsiderthishandset.Itdidn’tstutter,andwefounditwasabletoplaygameswell. Don’tbuyitif... YouwantaccesstoGoogleapps TheHuaweiP40doesn’thaveaccesstotheGooglePlayStoreandavarietyofcoreGoogleapps,andthatlimitsitalot.Youshouldseriouslyconsiderwhetherthiswillaffectyourexperiencewiththephone.YouwantthebestHuaweicamera TheP40ProandP40ProPlushavesomeevenbettercameratechincludedcomparedtotheHuaweiP40.Ifyou’redesperateforaHuaweiphoneandyouwantthebestpossiblecamera,you’llhavetospendmoreononeofthem.Youneedwirelesscharging Huaweihasdecidedwirelesschargingisn’tanecessityfortheHuaweiP40,soyouwon’tbeabletogetitonthisdevice.Ifyouwanttobeabletochargeupyourdevicewithoutwires,you’llwanttooptfortheP40ProoranotherAndroidphone.Firstreviewed:July2020 JamesPeckham SeniorPhonesEditor JamesisSeniorPhonesEditorforTechRadar,andhehascoveredsmartphonesandthemobilespaceforthebestpartofadecadebringingyounewsonallthebigannouncementsfromtopmanufacturersmakingmobilephonesandotherportablegadgets.Jamesisoftentestingoutandreviewingthelatestandgreatestmobilephones,smartwatches,tablets,virtualrealityheadsets,fitnesstrackersandmore.He'scurrentlymostexcitedabouttheSamsungGalaxyS22,GodofWar:RagnarokandtherumoredfoldableiPhone. 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