The King Of Photography Returns To The Throne – Huawei P50 Pro Review.

Is the Huawei P50 Pro worthy of its predecessors? I had the opportunity to see for myself because I received the latest flagship of this manufacturer for testing, which hit the Old Continent with a delay of more than six months. Was it worth the wait? I invite you to review the flagship Huawei P50 Pro.

Table of Contents

First impressions and appearance

After taking the Huawei P50 Pro out of the box, the first impression is “mirror” – I got probably the shiniest colour version (gold-silver), in which you can almost literally see yourself. Is it wrong? The smartphone looks beautiful, and if such a colour does not suit someone, they can always choose a different one or hide the phone in a suitable case. The more so that starter kit includes – which must be praised – a simple but effective transparent case. There is also a quick charger, which is not so obvious these days. Needless to say, the smartphone feels terribly without the cover. It is a pity, after all, that frosted glass was not used here. On the other hand, I must praise the design of the backpacks with their characteristic two islands. Thanks to this, it is immediately known that it is the flagship product of the Huawei brand.

The screen occupies the entire front virtually. It is bent on the sides, which gives the impression that it has smaller frames. In previous versions, Huawei also showed a missing screen on the top and bottom, and this impression was even better. And is it practical? Not completely. I myself am a supporter of completely flat smartphones, but I honestly admit that in this case, such a procedure did not bother me. This is due to both the software that prevented accidental bumps and the appropriate profiling of the phone – it fits very well in hand, and in this respect, it is a model device.

In this respect, when it comes to the “buttonology”, Huawei P50 Pro suited me. On the right side, there are switch buttons – in a convenient and accessible place. A bit higher, there is a single volume button that has a good pitch and the right size. On the left side, we have a blank surface with no buttons. At the bottom left is the speaker grille, then the USB-C connector and the microphone. The whole thing is closed with a tray for a SIM card. From the top, starting from the left, the “dot” of the microphone, the speaker grille, the infrared port, and the speaker’s ” dot “.

Overall, the Huawei P50 Pro looks and feels like it should be a flagship device. All buttons fit very well, nothing creaks or creaks, and the materials used for the production of the device are of high quality. During the tests, I did not have any scratches on my smartphone. It is also worth noting the aforementioned good profiling of the device and its weight, which in my opinion, is almost perfect.

Display

Speed and smoothness without compromise. The comfort of using a smartphone largely depends on its components and performance. One of the key elements is the screen. And here, you get a really high-end screen. But at the beginning, numbers.

Huawei P50 Pro offers a panel with a diagonal of 6.60 inches. It is made in OLED technology. Importantly, it also supports a refresh rate at a maximum level of 120 Hz. And it depends on us how we set this value. We can set up adaptive refresh, and it seems to be optimal. Thanks to this, you keep a balance between speed and energy consumption. However, I used the rigid 120Hz mode for almost the entire duration of my testing. And I didn’t complain about the battery draining too fast.

And how is the screen itself? Top for me. In the case of colour reproduction, everything is as it should. The colours are strong and natural, and the blacks are black, as in OLEDs. It is up to you how the smartphone will show you the colours because you can adjust it to your preferences. All touch responses were swift and flawless. I do not remember a smartphone having misread my intentions after accidentally tapping a bent screen. It boasts. The backlight levels were also perfectly acceptable. Both at night, the smartphone did not offend me, and on a sunny day, I could easily read all the elements displayed on the screen. The screen is one of the strongest advantages of the Huawei P50 Pro, significantly influencing the positive feelings of using a smartphone.

Components

Impeccable work and speed for years. This is how the flagship should behave in 2022. And what was the case with the Huawei P50 Pro? Has he not failed? In the beginning, the technical specification, because it just has to be.

The heart of the smartphone intended for the European market is Snapdragon 888. As we know, a newer flagship unit of this company has already appeared, but the Snap 888 should still provide a performance reserve for years. It works with 8 GB of RAM. In this version, 256 GB of disk space has been allocated for files, which can be extended with an external memory card. Just remember that this is a special standard that Huawei promotes – the NM card.

So many numbers, now practice. It is very good. You can even say that it is perfect. Both the components and the optimization of the proprietary HarmonyOS – about which in a moment – make a great impression. Everything works ultra-smoothly. Careful system animations are responsible for this. The high refresh rate I mentioned earlier is also important. Applications are also launched quickly and remain in RAM for a long time. Here, too, Huawei has made an effort, and this element has been well optimized.

Despite the fact that Snapdragon 888 likes to heat up, I did not notice such a problem. Yes, he did get warm sometimes. This happened while playing demanding games or during fast loading. However, it never exceeded the comfort level.

There is also no way I can fault the system. On the contrary, as I said before, I can praise him for his refinement and smooth operation. This is one of the coolest overlays I have dealt with. You are able to adapt many elements here to your own needs.

The main problem is, of course, the lack of access to Google services due to the US embargo. You can see that Huawei is doing what it can to cope with these difficulties. A lot of applications that work in our country have appeared in the store. If something is missing, you can always use the search engine that will allow you to install the application from the apk file. You just don’t have (or until) access to Google services. Of course, you can replace them with other applications. Huawei also proposes its own map, which works very well. However, it is up to you whether you are able to function outside of these services. The most “work” with the phone is in the beginning when you need to configure it. Then everything happens “downhill”. You must also be aware that despite a large number of banking applications in the store, not all of them are available yet.

When using the Huawei P50 Pro, I had no objection to the fingerprint reader located under the screen. He should be praised because he was lightning fast, and he was practically right.

Of course, it is also worth noting that the quality of connections has remained at a very high level. The sound was full and understandable. The volume is also appropriate. I also practically always had a full range, which is also noteworthy. The hands-free mode also did a great job, although I wish it was a bit louder.

The camera

The power is in the camera. Huawei has always tried to make this element refined. How about the Huawei P50 Pro? In the beginning, the specification was as usual. The main camera is an OmniVision OV50A unit with a 50 Mpix matrix. The brightness of the aperture is f / 1.8. It also has optical image stabilization. In addition, there is a monochrome camera with a 40 Mpix matrix. There is also an ultra-wide-angle camera with a 13 Mpix matrix. The whole thing is closed with a telephoto lens with a matrix of 64 Mpix, also with optical image stabilization. On the front, there is a single selfie camera with a 13 Mpix matrix. The quad-camera already had the “grandfather” P50 Pro.

What was the practice like? In the beginning, you have to make it clear that the smartphone’s capabilities are really big, and this is largely due to such a variety of lenses. Additionally, the software does a good job. But let’s start with the main camera. It should also be emphasized that I had few sunny days due to the season, so the conditions for the cameras were difficult.

I was very pleased with the main camera. During the day, regardless of the conditions, the photos come out detailed and natural. It is worth emphasizing that the colours fall out naturally, and there is no space anywhere. It is also worth noting a very good tonal range. The main camera captures a lot of details practically regardless of the conditions. Also indoors, compared to the competition, the tan camera looks very good. It is true that there is a slight loss of details and a slightly changed colour scheme, but these are not great deviations.

In the case of night photos, it is also very good. Especially when we are dealing with strong light sources, in an illuminated parking lot or in a lit part of the city, you will take detailed photos with appropriate colour reproduction. Only if there is very little light then the smartphone starts to lose details a bit. Of course, all night photos should be taken in the night mode because it significantly improves the quality of photography and is very well refined.

Another interesting addition is the monochrome camera. It aims to help in reproducing the colours of the main camera and increasing the dynamics of the photo, which it does. You can also take a black and white photo with it. And in this role, fulfils perfectly. However, there is a difference between a photo taken with a monochrome camera and a software-based interference with colours. This can be seen primarily in the dynamics of photography. Here, too, the detail of the photo deserves praise.

You can also count on an ultra-wide-angle camera. Importantly, it does not differ in colour reproduction compared to the basic camera. This is an important feature that is often a problem for competitors’ cameras. Even photos taken against the light look phenomenal. Although it is less detailed, it still maintains a high level. The tonal range also deserves praise here, but it performs less well with less light. Night photos are definitely better taken with the main camera.

The fourth camera is a telephoto lens. And it must be said that in good lighting conditions it takes very good photos. And it is quite practical because it uses a 3.5x optical zoom and a fully usable up to ten X hybrid zoom. The photos are detailed, and the tonal range and the colours are usually correct. Only in very difficult conditions – for example, against the light – do the colours differ significantly from what the main camera presents.

The smartphone also has a macro photo mode. In this mode, you are able to take a pretty good and clear photo, provided that you stabilize the camera properly. In addition, it is worth taking a few photos because sometimes it is difficult to “shoot” at the selected object with focus.

The entire portrait mode is also worth praising. Both the main lens and the one for selfie photos. The photos, in this case, are very vivid, and the figure is nice and naturally cut off from the surroundings. It is also one of the coolest phones for this type of photography.

The selfie camera was hassle-free for me. And he took good quality photos of this type. I must admit that they were correctly reproduced, especially when there was a lot of light. Both the detail and the tonal range were at a high level. The front camera also worked well for night shots, and the additional screen lighting mode did what it had to do. Only people with glasses – like me – have a problem with it because then the square is reflected in the glasses.

The camera application did not stand out from other similar applications. Most of the settings are close at hand, and access to them is thoughtful and correct.

In conclusion, the Huawei P50 Pro is one of the best cameras recently! Especially if someone needs different lenses to implement projects in different conditions.

Audio

Good audio – and music is playing! Huawei P50 Pro, and in this matter, it does not disappoint. Of course, you will not find a classic headphone connector here, but it sounds very good on wireless headphones or when connecting an adapter. The smartphone offers a full sound with a fairly neutral approach. Of course, you can also set additional effects according to your preferences.

The Huawei P50 Pro can also be used as a mobile player for all kinds of multimedia content. It has good quality stereo speakers. Their sound is full and full-bodied, and the bass is appropriately emphasized. Only the volume could be slightly higher.

Pairing with external audio gear was hassle-free. The connection held tight without breaking, and the volume was unqualified.

Battery

The power of energy is the power to act. There will be plenty of it here, although you may not notice it at first glance. But first, the parameters.

The smartphone uses a battery with a capacity of 4360 mAh with fast charging at 66 W. at the beginning, and I was a bit afraid that with this specification, it might be too low capacity. However, it is completely unnecessary. The phone is very well optimized in this respect. In no case did I even come close to the situation when I would have to peek anxiously in search of a dedicated charger at the end of the day. Importantly, when you had to charge the smartphone, this activity was practically imperceptible thanks to the quick charging. I understand this comfort of functioning. The battery and fast charging are other strong argument of this smartphone!

Summary

The Huawei P50 Pro is a flesh and blood flagship. It has strong (though not the newest) components and refined styling. The culture of its operation is at the highest level, just like the OLED screen. Neither the battery nor the multimedia capabilities will let you down. The culmination of this is really a lot of photographic possibilities and the quality of photos.

On the other hand, the Huawei P50 Pro still has to face the problem of the lack of access to Google services. And although the manufacturer took care of an alternative application store, everyone must ask themselves the question of whether to spend over PLN 5,000 on a phone in which you still have to “combine” with searching and installing selected applications. However, this question is left to the discretion of each potential user.

If you yourself think you do not need Google that much, the P50 Pro is becoming a serious competitor for this year’s Samsung or Xiaomi flagships.

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