HUAWEI designs and makes some of our most favourite smartphones, and it is no secret that we are big fans of their designs and camera functionality and the P50 Pro is no different.
It sports a really enticing metallic package that draws the eyeballs and requests to hold and behold the smartphone. Yet it comes in at a size that even non-Bulls rugby players can easily manage (158.8 x 72.8 x 8.5 mm), with the weight thanks to that snazzy metal look tipping the flagship smartphone scales at around 195 g (including the battery).
You get a beautiful 6.6″ OLED that delivers buttery smooth content at up to 120 Hz refresh rate and supremely detailed content too thanks to its resolution of 2700 x 1228 Pixels (450 ppi).
Keeping things buttery smooth during operating, mobile gaming sessions and multitasking is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 4G (Octa-core CPU, 1 x Cortex-X1@2.84 GHz + 3 x Cortex-A78@2.42 GHz + 4 x Cortex-A55@1.8 GHz), with the Adreno 660 GPU handling graphics acceleration duties. Unfortunately, the 4G variant of this processor means 5G is not available, meaning the device is not the most future proof, but it will still be a while before 5G is at most areas around South Africa and consistently delivers greater speeds compared to 4G LTE. Backing up that mobile processor is 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB ROM (internal storage).
You may want to subscribe to HUAWEI Mobile Cloud or Google cloud storage as you may (depending on the amount of photos and videos you take and apps you download) quickly fill that sizeable internal storage. This is because like all the P series devices before it, the P50 Pro packs a mighty snapper package consisting of a 50 MP True-Chroma Camera (Color, f/1.8 aperture, OIS), 40 MP True-Chroma Camera (MONO, f/1.6 aperture), 13 MP Ultra-Wide Angle Camera (f/2.2 aperture), and 64 MP Telephoto Camera (f/3.5 aperture, OIS), support AF that make for some mightily impressive shots and really good videos, even for those purely making use of the auto mode. It has produced the best looking images in most situations out of all the 2021 and to date 2022 smartphones we’ve tested thus far and is our favourite pocket cameraphone to log to any outdoor activities. Also complementing the rear camera setup is a 13 MP Selfie Camera (Wide Angle, f/2.4, autofocus) that makes taking shelfie shots (even group ones) a treat.
Also onboard is a 4,360 mAh that will last you through the working day, but if you max it out thanks to extended gaming sessions or video shooting sessions, there is also HUAWEI SuperCharge (Max 66 W) to get it back to 100% in no time (though OPPO’s fast charging is still the fastest we’ve come across). The phone is also IP68 splash, water and dust resistant for those who care about that stuff or the clumsy amongst us.
The elephant in the room remains the lack of Google support for this device, and we must say that the HUAWEI AppGallery is certainly beefing up its app tally, while using the clone feature really got most of our setup on the P50 Pro including Instagram and Facebook. About the only things missing were the Google apps (search, Maps, YouTube, Gmail). We got around this by using Petal Maps from HUAWEI which is deceptively good and getting our Gmail emails via Microsoft’s Outlook for Android application, and using YouTube through Mozilla’s Firefox browser (though that is not ideal admittedly).
All of the eye-catching design, fantastic camera functionality, superb specs and display, does come at a cost though, but with the caveat that this price is still some ways below the competing flagships from Apple and Samsung, thanks to a recommended retail price of R19,999. For fans of the HUAWEI brand and cameraphone lovers, it will be well worth it!
