Three Huawei P40 Series phones unveiled with absurd camera specs
Those who have been waiting for a true alternative to Samsung’s Galaxy S20 lineup from Huawei have something to celebrate today. Huawei has officially unveiled the P40, P40 Pro and P40 Pro+.
As expected, the three phones are all powered by Huawei’s Kirin 990 SoC with 5G connectivity, but the main attraction is the imaging capabilities that have been packed in. Huawei starts things out with a triple camera setup on the P40 and adds an additional camera sensor to each device as you mode up the line. All three phones sport a 50MP 1/1.28-inch main camera sensor that’s significantly larger than what Samsung and other competitors have delivered recently.
Below is the breakdown of the main cameras on the three P40 Series smartphones:
- Huawei P40: Triple-cameras with 50 MP, f/1.9 (standard), 16 MP, 17mm (ultrawide), 8 MP, f/2.4, 80mm
- Huawei P40 Pro: Quad-cameras with 50 MP, f/1.9 (standard), 40MP f/1.8, 18mm (ultra-wide), 12 MP, f/3.4, 125mm (telephoto), 3D ToF
- Huawei P40 Pro+: Penta-cameras with 50 MP, f/1.8 (standard), f/4.0, 8MP 240mm (telephoto), 8 MP, f/2.0, 80mm (telephoto), 3D ToF
Compared to the Samsung Galaxy S20 series and the latest iPhones, Huawei’s new smartphones have the advantage in low light performance and the P40 Pro+’s zoom capabilities appear to beat out what the Galaxy S20 Ultra is capable of.
Other specs include 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage on the base model, 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage for the P40 Pro and 12GB of RAM with 512GB of storage on the P40 Pro+. The Pro models will sport 4,200 mAh batteries and 6.58-inch QHD+ displays with a 90Hz refresh rate while the regular P40 will have a 3,800 mAh cell and a 6.1-inch FHD+ display. All three devices will also 32MP front-facing cameras paired with IR depth cameras which enable secure face unlock functionality.
EMUI has a few new features as well. Multi-tasking is a bit easier wit hits unique multi-window feature which shows you all the supported apps when swiping in from the side of the screen
Huawei is also introducing Celia, the company’s new AI assistant, a feature the company was forced to introduce since its phones no longer have access to the Google Assistant. Think of it as Huawei’s take on Samsung’s Bixby, allowing users to control phone settings, check the weather, set calendar appointments and more with simple voice controls.
The company is also introduced Me Time for video calling. The service is pre-installed on the new P40 Series phones, but the app will also be available to other Android devices as well. Me Time allows for crisp 1080p video calls, screen sharing and even the capability to stream from an action camera that’s connected to a smartphone.
And since Huawei phones don’t have access to the Play Store, the Huawei App Gallery will be front and center on the phone as the main way to download apps and games. Huawei has partnered with The Sun, The Times and News UK to bring their apps to its app store and it’s also working with dozens of media partners like Universal, Paramount, Discovery, BBC Studios and more to bring their movies, shows and music to Huawei devices as well. Many of the most popular Android apps are still absent from the App Gallery, but Huawei is hoping for things to change on that front with the next few months.
Both the Huawei P40 and P40 Pro will be available in five different colors, but the Huawei P40 Pro+ will only be available in Ceramics black and Ceramix white for the Pro+. The Huawei P40 price is said to be priced at €799 ($864 USD) across Europe while the P40 Pro will be available for €999 ($1,080 USD) while the P40+ will sell for an astronomical €1,399 ($1533 USD).