T3 - UK (2020-06)

JUNE 2020 T3 67

Huawei P40 Pro

though, and further issues can arise,
with some apps, like Twitter, crashing
whenever we tried to launch them.
There are alternatives – for
example downloading apps directly
from their own sites as APK files or
using Aptoide, a third-party app
store. But the lack of security
screening makes the former a bit of a
crapshoot, while the latter route is
perhaps too technical and time-
consuming for the average user.
However, design-wise the Huawei
P40 Pro merges a mature, powerful
aesthetic with a beautiful, spacious
screen. At 209 grams it feels sturdy
and well-made, with its narrow and
thin dimensions added to in a sculpted
symphony of glass and aluminium.
The OLED screen on the P40 Pro,
which glides into the truly minimal
bezeling of the handset, is also a
stunner, and while it doesn’t quite
match the god-tier screen equipped
on the OnePlus 8 Pro, its 6.58 inches
look bright and sharp to the eye.
Huawei has been leading in terms
of camera technology over the past
few years and the P40 Pro continues
that with aplomb. A quad rear system
made by camera specialists Leica sees

the handset equipped with a 50MP

f/1,9 23mm main unit, a 12MP, f/3.4

125mm telephoto, 40MP f/1.8

ultra-wide and a ToF 3D depth sensor.

These are, naturally, partnered with

Leica optics and an LED flash.

Round the front, the P40 Pro

comes with a dual 32MP f/2,2 26mm

camera with in-built ToF sensor.

Video maxes out at 4K/60fps on the

rear and, amazingly, on the front too.

Simply put, if you want the best

camera phone on the market today

then the Huawei P40 Pro is it.

Hardware’s the party

With a HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G SoC

installed, as well as a Mali-G76 MP16

GPU, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of

UFS3.0 storage, the P40 Pro offers

impressive performance.

Indeed, only the Samsung Galaxy

S20 Ultra returned higher benchmark

scores in Sling Shot Extreme, with the

P40 Pro’s 5,660 and 5,443 comparing

slightly lower than the Ultra’s 6,765

and 6,212. And in the real-world, the

Huawei P40 crushed any application

we could throw at it.

Lastly, in terms of performance,

the P40 Pro’s brilliant 4,200mAh

battery once more delivers the goods,

with even the phone’s 5G connection

capabilities and 90Hz screen failing to

drag it below a solid day and half.

All in all, the hardware is truly top

tier. There’s 5G connectivity, a battery

that runs and runs, a beautiful and

large screen, an elegant design, a slick

operating system and a raft of

flagship-level extras. It is a phone

enthusiast’s dream in so many ways.

But that inability to access the

Google Play store, as well as Google’s

services, in the end undermines the

P40 Pro. Yes, you can get round much

of it by investing some time tinkering

and hacking, but you can’t get round

all of it, and that just isn’t good

enough for a lot of users.

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SAMSUNG

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THE ALTERNATIVES

Find more of the best phones

at: bit.ly/t3phones