It is also arguably the most important flagship in Huawei’s history as it could define how the company moves forward without Google. Last year, the U.S. government banned US-based companies from dealing with Huawei. The trade ban meant Google pulled support for Android from the company. This means the P40 series drops without Google Maps, Gmail, and more importantly there are no apps form the Google Play Store. Still, Huawei has not abandoned Android entirely. Instead, the company is using an open-source version of the platform. Instead of the Google Play Store, the P40, P40 Pro, and P40 Pro+ tap into Huawei’s own app store. It is worth noting that in the company’s native China, Google’s apps are blocked either way. Huawei does most of its business in China.
P40 Flagship Series
Starting with aesthetics, the Huawei P40 Pro and P40 Pro+ displays that curve around all edges of the device. Think Samsung’s Galaxy S20 flagships and you have a good comparison. However, with the camera hold punch on the front, the P40 Pro devices look more like the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus from a year ago. Either way, it seems Samsung served as an inspiration for the design of the Pro versions of the P40. In terms of screen size, the based model P40 has a 6.1-inch screen, while the Huawei P40 Pro and Pro+ have 6.58-inch panels with a 90 Hz refresh rate. The company’s own Kirin 990 chipset powers the device. Back in September, Huawei boasted the 990 was the world’s most powerful 5G CPU and 23% faster than its predecessor. In recent years, Huawei’s P flagships have been at the forefront of mobile camera technology. While calling them the best smartphone cameras is debatable, they have undoubtedly been crammed with the most tech. That seems to be the ongoing theme with the Huawei P40, especially the Pro versions.
Starting with the daddy of the range, the P40 Pro+. It has four separate lenses in the camera module, alongside a time-of-flight sensor for better movement shots. Those lenses are an ultra-wide lens (18mm), a normal lens (23mm), a 3x lens (80mm) and a super periscope lens with a 10x optical zoom. Huawei says the P40 will arrive in Europe on April 7 with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage starting at 799 euros. The P40 Pro will also drop on that date with a price tag of 999 euros and 256GB of storage. Lastly, the P40 Pro will get 512GB of storage on the same RAM and will cost 1,399 euros. It will arrive in June. It is unclear if this launch schedule will eventually be hampered by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
