Smart Android And Trik-Commenting on Andorid indeed never endless, because smart devices this one is often updated every certain amount of time. So that the market can always be garapnya menerinya with pleasure. And it is not denied if this device has become the lifestyle of each society. To not wonder if the 6th business information and many are turning to mobail smartphone. With Android which thoroughly dominated the mobile industry, choosing the best Android smartphone is almost identical to choose the best smartphone, period. But while Android phones have few real opponents on other platforms, internal competition is intense.
Introduction
Huawei's mainstream "P" flagship family has been experiencing a veritable growth spurt this year. First, there the P40 Lite and the P40 Lite E popped-up on the scene. Granted, these are, kind of honorary P40 devices, given that the first is basically a rebranded Huawei nova 6 SE, while the latter - a Huawei Y7p.
But, even setting rebrands aside, we have a trio of actual P40 devices this year. Judging by competitor lineups and the Galaxy S20 line, in particular, three seems to be the new magic number. And speaking of which, this is hardly and rather unsurprisingly, not the only point of comparison between Samsung's and Huawei's current mainstream flagship devices. But, more on that later.
Huawei P40 at a glance
- Body: 148.9 x 71.06 x 8.5 mm, 175g; Metal frame, glass back and front; IP53 rating.
- Screen: 6.1" AMOLED, 1080x3240px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio; 60Hz refresh rate.
- Chipset: HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (7 nm+): Octa-core CPU (2x2.86 GHz Cortex-A76 & 2x2.36 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x1.95 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G76 MP16 GPU.
- Memory: 8GB RAM, 128GB built-in storage, Nano Memory Card slot.
- OS/Software: Android 10 (no Google services), EMUI 10.1.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 50MP Ultra Vision Wide Lens, 1/1.28" RYYB sensor, 4-in-1 pixel binning, 23mm equiv. focal length, f/1.9 aperture, OIS, Octa PD Autofocus. Telephoto: 8MP, 80mm 3x telephoto lens, f/2.4, 80mm equiv. focal length, OIS, Autofocus. Ultra wide angle: 16MP Ultra Wide Angle Lens, 17mm equiv. focal length, f/2.2, Autofocus; 8 color channel multi spectrum Color Temperature Sensor.
- Front camera: 32MP, f/2.2, fixed focus; Depth sensor.
- Battery: 3,800mAh, 22.5W fast charging support.
- Misc: Single, bottom-firing speaker, Extended Sub-6 5G support, Optical under-display fingerprint reader; NFC; Wi-Fi ac + Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, Dual Nano-SIM support, NanoMemory card support.
We're sure the Huawei P40 Pro and P40 Pro+ are going to soak-up all the spotlight in the foreseeable future. Still, the vanilla P40 definitely deserves some attention. Frankly, it is a very different best, compared to its bigger brothers. Of course, it comes close in many respects. But even a quick glance at its significantly less-curvy silhouette and more traditional bezel design instantly reveal a less-flashy, yet not necessarily less premium device.
Follow along as we take a quick first look at the Huawei's least-expensive P40 flagship, what it has to offer and the big things it lacks, compared to its siblings.
Design
Before we move onto the P40 and its specifics, we should offer a few comments on the overall P40 family design language. Over the years, we have grown accustomed to seeing rather recognizable design from Huawei. Whether it comes in the form of a particular home button or camera module design, the Chinese giant has pretty-much consistently had some little twist of its own.
Honestly, when it comes to the P40, we aren't quite seeing it. Before you get your torches and head over to the comment section - we are definitely not saying that the P40 line has an bad design. That is not true, by any stretch of the imagination. It's just, arguably, not as instantly-recognizable, as some of Huawei's previous work.
And sure, there is only so much variety you can achieve with the standard "glass sandwich" design. Plus, there is the rather stand-out way in which Huawei has curled-up the edges, alongside the aggressive down-curve on the display on all four sides of the P40 Pro and Pro+ models. Still, looking at the regular Huawei P40, in particular, we can't help but get plenty of Samsung vibes. It's just an arguably more generic design, all-around.
Reading through some of Huawei's promo materials for the P40, this seem to be less of an accident and more of a deliberate strive towards simplicity. Sure, looking at the wide, in comparative terms, of course, bezels around the display of the P40 and its visible frame is a lot less-striking that admiring the "Overflow display", "Glass of water" design of the P40 Pro and Pro+. However, there are still those among us that value the ergonomic and productivity benefits of a flat panel. And some curvy glass edges aside, the P40 offers a pretty retro experience in this regard. Proportion-wise, the vanilla Huawei P40 measures 148.9 x 71.06 x 8.5 mm and tips the scale at 175 grams. Not too bad, but it is worth considering that it is packing a 3,800 mAh - on the smaller side.
As far as build quality and bill of materials go, we are still a bit short on details. We do know that where the P40 Pro and Pro+ flaunt an IP68 ingress protection rating, the regular P40 has to settle for IP53. Hardly the end of the world. Also, Huawei didn't really make any fuss about "ceramic powder" and a five day baking process for the P40, like it did for the Pro+. Still, the P40 and P40 Pro might just have it one better, in our mind, in the finish and color options department. For the P40, Huawei has promised a choice of either a glossy finish, in Ice While, Black and DeepSea Blue, or a matte finish, in Silver Frost and Blush Gold. We got to briefly handle both and we enjoyed the silky feel of the matte surface. We're sure we're not going to be alone on this one. The matt blue unit, we handled, also seems less susceptible to fingerprint and grease accumulation.
We would be remiss if we didn't mention that the P40 fits really snug in the palm, offering a solid feeling, with good ergonomics. It feels compact. Placing the phone on its back on a level surface is less of a glorious experience, due to the fairly large, in all dimensions, camera hump. A case will definitely fix that right up. On the plus side, the camera module is wide and flat enough that there is little wobble.
Controls
A more traditional design naturally goes together pretty well with a more conventional control scheme. There are no futuristic virtual volume keys and side swipes and panels on the P40. Instead, you get a set of very well-positioned and "clicky" volume rockers and a power button. Both of these, on the right-hand side of the device.
The power button even comes complete with a nice color accent and indentation, to easily feel-out. Literally no complaints in this department. Well, we were secretly hoping to get a 3.5mm audio jack, seeing how one is present on the P40 lite and P40 lite E. No luck, sadly. No IR blaster either. You only get a single, distinctly bottom-firing speaker on the P40. On the plus side, it does get very loud.
Huawei P40 top and bottom sides
Beyond that, there's nothing really unusual to note here, regarding layout. Well, perhaps it is worth noting that in typical Huawei fashion, the dual nano-SIM tray has one of its slots as a hybrid memory expansion, using a proprietary NanoMemory card standard, instead of SD.
Just because the control scheme is kind of traditional, doesn't really mean its retro. On the contrary. Huawei has included its new generation in-display fingerprint reader solution, across the trio of P40 phones. Compared to its predecessor, this new module now has a 30% bigger surface area, which, in our short experience, did seem to help with consistency. Namely, since you can be a bit more careless with your finger positioning. We aren't exactly sure whether there are other improvements to speed and reliability in the new sensor, as well.
Since we are on the subject of security, Huawei is advertising an advanced IR Depth sensor, next to the selfie camera, for advanced face unlock. It seems to clearly be doing something, since face unlock is blazing fast on the P40. On the flip side, it does take up some extra space in the punch hole.
Display
Before we move on to the internals of the P40, there are a few things to note bout its display. As we already mentioned, the 6.1-inch panel retains a pretty flat surface area. Which can be both a good or a bad thing, depending on your personal needs, preferences and views on the matter.
Size and shape, however, are not the only differences in the vanilla P40's panel, compared to that found on the P40 Pro and Pro+. Resolution is slightly lower, at 1080 x 2340 pixels and, clearly, the aspect ratio isn't quite as tall, sitting at 19.5:9, compared to 19.8:9. The most disappointing bit, however, is that even though this is still a stunning OLED panel, that looks great in person, Huawei decided to skimp-out on the high refresh rate. The vanilla P40 can only do 60Hz. Kind of a bummer, considering the ongoing and rapidly-expanding industry hype around high refresh rate. Also, not a particularly good look for Huawei, in direct comparison with Samsung's Galaxy S20. Also the proverbial "runt of the litter", but still equipped with a trendy, curvy 120Hz OLED.
Then again, that might not be a high priority for you personally. If it is, though, you definitely need to look up at an upgrade to the P40 Pro or Pro+. It should also be noted that those only go up to 90Hz, as opposed to Samsung's 120Hz.
Regardless of which P40 model you go for, the pretty sizeable punch hole in the upper left corner will still be present. All three phones get a 32MP selfie snapper, alongside a depth module. The only downgrade on the P40 is the lack of autofocus. Then there is also the IR depth tech, which takes up some extra space, making for a rather big and obtrusive cut-out. The latter can be hidden in software, but is still not ideal.
Internals
The P40's slightly downgraded display, compared to its siblings, might be a bit of a bummer, but at least Huawei doesn't seem to be skimping on internals. Especially, if you are after a futureproof 5G flagship or are in a hurry to be an early adopter of the technology. Barring some unforeseen developments, like the uncertain info that the P40 and P40 Pro will be available in an LTE-only variant in some regions, as far as we currently know, all three phones get the same in-house Kirin 990 5G chipset.
As a quick refresher, that is a 7nm+ EUV chip and the particular "5G" modification has, up until this point, denoted a specific version of the package that includes the Balong 5000 5G modem built-in. The baked-in Balong 5000, as we have seen it so far in devices like the Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G has only offered support for NSA, Sub-6 5G networks. This seems to be the case with the P40 series, as well. Meaning that there is still no mmWave support. However, based on some early material, it seems Huawei has managed to expand Sub-6 band support for the P40 generation and it now includes bands n5, n38 and n66. All of these specific details, however, might be subject to further investigation and could, very-much, be market-dependent. So, we'll just leave it at - extended Sub-6 5G support, for now.
On the computational side of things, we at least have a familiar picture to fall back to. Two Cortex-A76 units, clocked at 2.86GHz, another two at 2.36GHz and a cluster of four 1.95 GHz Cortex-A55 units is plenty of power and flexibility. The
Of course, you also get the familiar slew of connectivity options from the chipset, including Bluetooth 5.1, Wi-Fi. The latter is now, apparently, capable of speeds up to 2400 Mbps, using the Wi-Fi 6 standard. As far as we currently understand Huawei's memory and storage tiers, the vanilla P40 will always come sporting 8GB of RAM and 128GB of built-in storage. The latter, expandable via Nano Memory Card.
Just like the certain aspects of the display on the vanilla P40, the battery situation on the smallest member of the family leaves us with a mixed bad of feelings. On the one hand, 3,800 mAh really isn't all that much. Then again, in the absence of a high refresh rate mode on the display of the P40 and the presence a theoretically more-efficient built-in cellular modem solution, things might just work fine in terms of battery endurance.
The lack of wireless charging support altogether on the P40, let alone ultra-fast 40W, like its siblings get was a bit of a harder pill to swallow. So was the 22.5W fast charging cap.
Camera
There is a lot to be said about Huawei and smartphone camera prowess. The Chinese giant has been on a really steady upgrade course for quite some time now, sticking with its guns, when it comes to non-standard solutions, like RYYB sensors. This generation is no exception and we are rather happy to see that even the vanilla P40 still gets to enjoy the new main 50MP, f/1.9, 23mm unit. It has a 1/1.28" surface area and promises impressive light intake, dynamic range and low-noise.
It's definitely a huge sensor and one clearly meant to work with advanced pixel-binning technology and algorithms. Huawei has that covered as well. The company is now on its fifth generation of ISP, which it has paired, through a lot of work with the Kirin 990 5G's advanced Neural Processing Unit into something called the Huawei XD Fusion Engine. It promises advanced image stacking, plus a complex system of leveraging information from different cameras, available on the device. All to achieve the best possible shot.
This new 50MP snapper also has 100% of its pixels acting as phase detection photodiodes. All with the goal of achieving faster focus, even in low-light conditions. There is also a third generation AI Image Engine working behind the scenes, which promises to analyze and optimize shots on a per-pixel level. All pretty advanced stuff.
You also get to enjoy things like Super Night Mode and Super resolution, even on the vanilla P40.
Huawei P40 main camera samples
Even though the main 50MP camera is present in all of its impressiveness. At least on paper, that is. There are notable and understandable cuts to the rest of the P40's camera setup. Compared to its more expensive siblings, of course.
Both the ultrawide and the telephoto on the P40 are a bit downgraded. The ultrawide is a 16MP, f/2.2, 17mm unit, instead of the P40 Pro's 40MP one. And for telephoto, there is an 8MP, f/2.4 unit. It is 80mm wide, which works out to about 3x optical zoom. No fancy periscope here, but you do get OIS on this camera. Both supplementary snappers also get autofocus, which makes for a nice and versatile setup. The P40 is, naturally, smart enough to switch between its cameras automatically, as needed. For instance, the telephoto will "give up" if you move in at around 40cm from the subject and the main camera will engage. Go in as close as 4cm, or so, and the ultrawide will trigger, so you can leverage its autofocus for macro purposes.
Huawei P40 selfie camera samples
It still remains to be seen just what part of the full flagship software camera experience the vanilla P40 will get, but we are fairly certain that AI Best Moment will be part of the mix. It's a multifold system that can work with both the main cameras and the selfie ones and do things like automatically pick out the best shot out of a burst. Also leverage additional info for 4K live photos, remove reflections from certain objects in frame. Even, try its best to eliminate a passerby from your shot, using information from other shots in the same burst. It sounds pretty interesting and we will definitely be checking it out in the full review.
EMUI 10.1 with HMS
Before we wrap the hand-on up, we can't skip to mention a few things regarding software. In a post-GMS era, this is a really dynamic and important area for Huawei. A veritable battlefield, if you will. Straight off the bat, let us say that the P40 family does not have Google Play Services or access to the Play Store. There has been no magical fix or reconciliation in the ongoing situation.
If you plan on getting a P40, definitely make sure you can work around this reality and use Android without Google's additional service infrastructure. If you are really determined, you can definitely work around most limitations in one way or another. The operative word here being "work". It is definitely not a plug and play experience for many of the popular Western services and apps. You can read more about our experience with getting some of the most popular Android apps to run on Huawei's phones without GMS.
That being said, Huawei's own HMS alternative has ben growing at an impressive pace. The company's own app store, dubbed App Gallery has seen a 500x growth, all round, sine May 2019. That's in no small part thanks to Huawei's enormous financial investments and engineering efforts to lure both developers and apps. There are some important collaborations in the works and coming soon with parties like TomTom, for navigation, Qwant for a search engine, BBC for various content and the Unity game engine.
As for OS-features, the P40 family will ship with a new version of EMUI - 10.1, which will later be ceded on older Huawei devices, as well. There are some new additions to the mix, like Celia - a new voice assistant. It can be summoned by holding the power button for one second of saying "Hey Celia".
Huawei promise the new assistant will be able to handle tasks like calls, texts, reminders and pulling-up info and multimedia. Apparently, however, Celia is not ready for prime-time yet, so it won't ship on the P40 line. Users can expect it via OTA at an unspecified later point in time. Currently, it supports English, French and Spanish languages and should be made available in the UK, France, Spain, Chile, Mexico and Columbia.
Another new feature Huawei wanted to share early and is promising as an OTA is MeeTime. At its core, it is a voice and video calling app, much like FaceTime or Duo, which already has over 80 million users in China. In terms of improvements, Huawei has now made MeeTime available in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia and is looking to expand it to Germany, France, Italy and Spain soon. Also, the Chinese giant is working on a screen-sharing feature for the service and actually has ambitious plans for its future as an open platform for collaboration, complete with third-party app and service integration. Even including communication with devices like cameras, drones, smart watches and speakers. Some of these features are already a reality, but not really for any apps or services popular to a Western crowd. So, we'll see how that goes.
Multi-screen collaboration, which is something we already saw on the Mate 30, is also getting better this generation. You can now use the software to answer phone and video calls from a MateBook laptop, without the need for the actual phone. You can also share and sync files between the two devices. Plus, a one-click hotspot sharing feature for web access.
Final thoughts
Transitioning from what was a rather long list of expected software features and hopes for a better Huawei Android experience in the future, we feel that this sentiment sums up our initial thoughts of the Huawei P40 rather nicely. It is a phone that holds a lot of promise, in every sense of the word.
On paper, it looks to offer impressive specs and potentially versatile, even futureproof hardware. The camera is poised to impress, as well. And even though, arguably, the feature-parity in Huawei's current P40 line isn't quite as strong as what Samsung managed to pull-off with the Galaxy S20 line, there is plenty to love and criticize in both camps. Then there is the other, more unfortunate side of the whole "promise" argument. In its current software state, the P40 has more than a few unfortunate pitfalls, especially for a Western audience. Things aren't exactly heading towards a clean GMS-enabled resolution any time in the near future either.
That being said, Huawei's HMS efforts are nothing short of impressive and are starting to show great promise. And, despite being a far less universally applicable statement around these parts, there really is a whole vibrant world of Android beyond Google's infrastructure and services. Keeping that in mind, we are sure that the P40 will find popularity in Europe, even if with a limited and specific crowd of buyers.
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