Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Huawei P40 Pro+ Hands-on

When Huawei launched the P40 series, only the P40 and P40 Pro were initially offered in the Philippines, which left some people asking when the P40 Pro+ will arrive. A few months later, we finally have an answer as the company is launching its most powerful flagship in the country. Check out our initial thoughts below.

Right off the bat, we’ll tell you that the P40 Pro and P40 Pro+ are basically twins, meaning they have the same design and dimensions. However, they’re not identical, and one of the ways to distinguish the two is from the colors. While the P40 Pro is available in Silver Frost, Blush Gold, Deep Sea Blue, Ice White, and Black, the P40 Pro+ is only available in two colors: White Ceramic and Black Ceramic.

The P40 Pro+ is also a bit heftier than the P40 Pro. The former is 226g while the latter is 209g. And it’s something you’d definitely feel upon holding the device. Most of the weight is also noticed around the top end which can be attributed to the large camera module.

Still, it looks and feels premium, thanks to the nano-tech ceramic at the back. It’s polished and smooth. Add to that the metal frame that blends well with the 3D curves of the front and back panel. It’s still a fingerprint and smudge magnet, though, so better use a case.

On the front, we have a 6.58-inch Flex OLED Quad-Curve Overflow display with Full HD+ (2640 x 1200) resolution. Under it is the in-display fingerprint scanner. It’s an immersive screen that curves towards the corners and edges.

Ports and button placements are still in the same spot as the P40 Pro. We have the volume and the power/lock buttons on the right. The latter has this metallic orange accent, which is a nice touch. The buttons are firm yet clicky. They’re also reachable but the top volume button could be quite a reach if you have small hands. You might have to readjust your grip every now and then for that.

The IR blaster and the secondary microphone are found on top, along with the antenna bands which are present on all sides.

Then down at the bottom are the SIM tray that can accommodate two nano-SIM cards, or a single SIM card and a Huawei Nano Memory card. Also found here are the primary microphone, USB Type-C port, and the loudspeaker.

Flip it on its back and you will see this large, rectangular camera module that houses the penta cameras and dual-LED flash. It’s protruding, so it wobbles if you lay it on a flat surface without a case.

The P40 Pro+ also has an IP68-rating, meaning it is dust and water-resistant, so you can worry less about accidental splashes or dropping it in a pool.

Powering the Huawei P40 Pro+ is a HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G CPU, Mali-G76 GPU, 8GB of RAM, up to 512GB of storage, 4,500mAh battery, and EMUI 10.1 based on Android 10. We’ll discuss more of this in our full review, so stay tuned for that.

Huawei P40 Pro+ specs:
6.58-inch FHD+ (2640 x 1200) Flex OLED Quad-Curve Overflow Display, 90Hz
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G 2.86GHz octa-core CPU
Mali-G76 GPU
8GB RAM
256GB, 512GB storage
NM card support, up to 256GB
Penta-rear cameras:
• 50MP Ultra Vision Camera, F1.9 (main – photo, OIS, Octa PD AF)
• 40MP SuperSensing Cine Cameram F1.8 (ultra-wide)
• 8MP SuperZoom Camera F4.4 (Periscope telephoto, 10x long-range optical zoom, 20X hybrid zoom, 100X digital zoom, OIS)
• 8MP Telephoto Camera F2.4 (telephoto, 3x mid-range optical zoom, OIS)
• ToF camera
32MP AF F2.2 front camera + IR Depth/Gesture Camera
Dual-SIM
Single-SIM + e-SIM (for select models)
5G, 4G LTE
WiFi 6 Plus
Bluetooth 5.1
NFC
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
Fingerprint scanner (in-display)
IR Face Unlock
IP68-certification
USB Type-C
IR Blaster
EMUI 10.1 (Android 10) w/ AppGallery
4,200mAh battery w/ 40W Fast Charging, 40W Wireless SuperCharge, Wireless Reverse Charge
158.2 x 72.6 x 8.95 mm
203 grams
Ceramic White, Ceramic Black