The Huawei P50 Pro is official on the French market, equipped with a dual-matrix camera system, a 120 Hz OLED screen and a Snapdragon 888 4G version.
The P50 Pro in Cocoa Gold. // Source: Huawei
We’ve been hearing about the P50 Pro since May 2021. Officialized in China in July 2021, here it is finally arriving in France after almost 6 months of waiting, alongside the P50 Pocket folding smartphone and the athlete’s watch, the Huawei Watch GT Runner. The Chinese giant presents a smartphone that is both ultra-premium in most of its aspects – the photo, the design, the screen –, but which neglects certain compulsory passages of the premium smartphone in 2022 (only 4G compatibility, absence of Google services such as the Play Store).
The firm did not want to confirm it, but we suspect that the American embargo has a lot to do with the absence of 5G on its new flagship, even though the P40 Pro benefited from it. This makes the P50 Pro one of the few smartphones on the market to offer a 4G variant of the Snapdragon 888.
Dual array cameras
Never mind, Huawei does not let down and puts all its marbles in the photo experience by sticking two photo matrices on the back of the P50 pro connected by a discreet pill-shaped photo block in the same color as the coating of the phone.
The top one accommodates three sensors, a main 50 megapixel dedicated to wide-angle color shots (f / 1.8) with optical stabilization. It is accompanied by a 40 megapixel sensor specialized in Mono shots (f / 1.6) and a 13 megapixel sensor, coupled with ultra wide-angle optics (f / 2.2).
Front: We’ve ditched the P40 Pro’s pill-shaped dual camera for a more classic setup with a single punch-hole camera in the center of the screen.
Both color and monochrome sensors are supposed to “work together” to capture 103% more light compared to the P40 Pro. The shots at night or between dog and wolf therefore promise to be very clear.
The P50 Pro in Cocoa Gold. // Source: Huawei
Let’s add that the ultra-wide-angle sensor incorporates a macro mode which captures subjects up to 2.5cm away.
The bottom matrix offers a telephoto lens coupled with a 64 megapixel sensor supporting an autofocus mode to avoid blurry photos. This allows you to take pictures ranging from a zoom of x0.5 to a zoom x100. However, Huawei has not clarified how far the optical zoom goes.
Premium photo quality
Huawei has put the package on software processing and multiplies the names of proprietary technologies supposed to improve the quality of the shots. The P50 Pro thus benefits from Huawei XD Optics, a treatment that reduces certain optical aberrations resulting from smartphone photography. The phone is also equipped with the True Chroma XD Fusion Pro image engine. This extended name hides better color fidelity of 20%, more efficient capture of ambient light and coverage of the DCI-P3 colorimetric spectrum increased by 25% (without precision on the coverage of the gamut itself).
The P50 Pro in Golden Black. // Source: Huawei
Short ! Huawei promises an ultra-equipped photo phone, capable of capturing more light and therefore details in all situations, while offering an autofocus that is very effective even on moving subjects. Moreover, speaking of movement, the video is not left out with capture in 4K HDR.
The technical sheet of the P50 Pro
As for the rest of the technical sheet, the P50 Pro has all the trappings of a premium smartphone in 2022, if we forget its 4G SoC. It should also be remembered that Huawei’s interface may be a bit confusing for some. It is EMUI 12, an interface based on Android, but which does not have Google services. For example, you will not find the Play Store on this phone.
For example, it displays a 6.6-inch curved OLED screen with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a definition of 2700 x 1228 pixels (450 ppi). There’s also no need to pay for more RAM or storage. Whatever the model, you can count on 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.
The P50 Pro in Cocoa Gold. // Source: Huawei
The rest of its design smells of impeccable finish, like its IP68 certification and its rather contained weight of 195 grams. Two speakers ensure the presence of stereo management. However, there is no trace of Dolby Atmos certification or any other sound spatialization technology.
Battery life could be a potential concern, as the P50 Pro has a 4360 mAh battery. It will be necessary to see to the use during our tests. The fast charge is 66 W wired and 50 W wireless, which promises a charge well under 45 minutes.
P50 Pro price and availability
The Huawei P50 Pro will be available from January 26 at 2 p.m. at a price of 1199 euros. Two colors are available: Cocoa Gold and Golden Black.
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