Huawei has provided a welcome distraction from self-isolation in the form of a shiny new flagship smartphone.
The P40 Pro should (in theory) deliver major upgrades on last year’s model and take the fight to its biggest competitors: Samsung and Apple. And it does so, kind of.
First, some backstory. Last year Donald Trump picked a fight with China, which led to all sorts of sanctions being put in place. One of those effectively stopped Google from working with Huawei, putting a pause on the smartphone maker’s ability to use apps such as Google Play and YouTube.
Still, the world keeps on turning, and Huawei pulled the wraps off a new blower, filled it full of top-notch technology, and stuffed it full of Google replacements from its brand-new app store. But is it any good?
The Huawei P40 Pro is available now for AED3,499
You can check out some of our favourite things about the new phone below:
—
It’s a looker
Huawei spent a lot of time improving the look and feel of the P40 Pro, and it shows. The matt glass back makes it extra grippy, while the new silver model glints in the light like it’s wrapped in some sort of effervescent case.
Screen machine
The screen is a 5.58 Quad OLED number (which specs aside, mean its pin-sharp) and wraps around the corners of the device. It’s probably the closest thing we have to an all-screen phone at this point in time.
Warp factor five
Under the hood, you get a speedy Kirin 990 processor which can handle just about anything you might throw at it. Huawei has long boasted its 5G devices are faster than any other, making this one of the best ways to enjoy the region’s new faster mobile data speeds.
Make it snappy
There are five sensors stuffed into that hefty back panel. You get a 50MP primary snapper, a 5x zoom lens, an ultrawide camera and a ToF lens for giving your shots buttery soft backgrounds. There’s also a selfie camera around the front and newfangled AI technology that automatically makes your photos look better.
Appy days
It doesn’t have Google services built-in (so don’t expect Gmail, YouTube or Play). But Huawei’s own AppGallery a few hundred thousand or so. And for anything not available, the P40 Pro has a ‘phone clone’ application that will take apps from your old blower and install them on itself (no questions asked). It’s a questionable solution, but you can’t doubt its efficacy.
Esquire now has a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit ‘Like’ on our Esquire Facebook page and ‘Follow’ on our @esquiremiddleeast Instagram and Twitter account.
