Engadget Logo Engadget Japanese version HUAWEI P40 Pro Overseas version Review: 50x zoom camera is no longer a condigi killer

We are pleased to present a review of the new flagship smartphone "P40 Pro" announced by Huawei for the global market in March. Like most high-end smartphones of the last few years, the P40 Pro's main feature is the "camera." It has a zoom function with a maximum magnification of 50x for still images, and is equipped with a "movie-class" ultra-wide-angle camera that the company calls "movie shooting." This time, we focused on the still image shooting function.

Related: HUAWEI P40 series 3 models announced overseas. The top P40 Pro + is a "camera monster" with five dual optical zoom eyes.

* In this review, we are trying the overseas version borrowed from Huawei Japan. Since there is no description such as the technical suitability mark, we have notified the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of the "special system for experiments using equipment that has not acquired technical suitability" and are using the Wi-Fi / Bluetooth function in compliance with the system. ..

■ Ambitious 50x zoom camera

The rear camera of the P40 Pro has a four-lens configuration, and various functions such as zoom and portrait are realized depending on the combination of cameras. The P40 Pro is equipped with a lens structure called "periscope lens," which has become a trend in recent smartphone cameras. It has a zoom function that allows you to take a large picture of a distant object. The rear camera is a wide-angle camera (50 million pixels) that operates mainly, a telephoto camera with a periscope lens (12 million pixels), and a super-telephoto 40 million pixels. A quad camera configuration with a plus ToF camera (sensor for distance measurement). It also has a sensor to measure the color temperature.

The angle of view of the main camera is 23mm. On the other hand, the periscope lens is 125mm (35mm format equivalent). In other words, it is an "optical 5x step zoom". In addition, a "hybrid zoom" that does not degrade the image quality up to 10x (equivalent to 250mm) is realized. After that, it corresponds to the zoom of 50 times (equivalent to 1250 mm) with the digital zoom. This "zooming up to 250mm without degrading the image quality" is quite shocking, and I am impressed with "Is it possible to shoot things so far with a smartphone?" As Huawei sings, if it is up to 10 times, the image quality deterioration is not so noticeable.

▲ Super wide angle (35mm equivalent 18mm)

▲ Wide angle (35mm equivalent 27mm)

▲ Approximately 5x zoom (135mm equivalent in 35mm format)

▲ Approximately 44.4x zoom (35mm equivalent 1199mm) In addition, Huawei's specialty "AI" utilization approach is included abundantly. "AI" here is a machine learning algorithm that recognizes an object in an image. For example, it recognizes a subject and applies a filter suitable for it, or recognizes an outline and adds a pseudo blur. increase. Also, with high-magnification zoom, it seems that AI is used to clearly display the outline of characters such as signboards. I've been using AI for a few years now, so I don't feel any discomfort with artificial blur. If you take a picture of vegetation, it will look like an Instagram with a lot of greenery, but it's not cheesy and it's going into a zone that seems to be exquisitely accepted.

▲ Macros are clearly visible with a 2x to 5x zoom.

For those who are familiar with digital cameras, the approach of using AI with a smartphone camera may seem strange. However, there is a possibility that the latter approach can more accurately realize photographs that you want to "remember" or "share" rather than actually recording the scenery you saw. The P40 Pro's camera can be said to be a smartphone camera that achieves a high level of balance between "photos that actually appear" and "photos that you want to keep in your memory." If that happens, there is a possibility that we will continue to break into the market for compact digital cameras that can easily take pictures. I couldn't try it this time, but Huawei has an "adapter for underwater photography" as an option for this smartphone, so it can be seen that Huawei is taking an approach to pursue its appeal as a camera. ..

* For convenience of publication, the examples have been reduced.

■ Hardware is highly complete, but not enough for a "smartphone"

You can see that the P40 Pro has excellent hardware as a smartphone. The 6.58-inch display covers almost the entire front area and gently curves to the left and right edges of the screen. The arc is also drawn up and down, and you can feel the good touch of the curved glass when you perform the gesture operation derived from Android 10 (slide up from the screen and return to the home). In addition to face recognition, it also has an in-screen fingerprint sensor. The ultrasonic type is adopted, and the time required for authentication is as good as 0.5 seconds.

The chipset is equipped with Kirin 990 5G, which has already been proven in Mate 30 Pro, and has enough memory of 8GB. It also has waterproof performance. In short, there is no shortage of hardware. However, when trying to find practicality as a "smartphone", it can be said that it is clearly insufficient at least at this point. Huawei has been unable to install Google's services and tools, including the Google Play store, since last year due to the US-China trade war. Therefore, we are currently in a hurry to expand our unique service group called HUAWEI Mobile Service. In Japan, we released the Mate 30 Pro, which is not compatible with Google Play, in March. Like the domestic version of Mate 30 Pro, the P40 Pro I tried in the review cannot use Google Play. Instead, you will install the app from your own app store, HUAWEI AppGallery, but this store has few major apps used in Japan.

▲ The apps used in Japan are also lined up in the store ... For example, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LINE, Netflix, etc. are not in the lineup (TikTok can be installed). On the other hand, the number of apps distributed by AppGallery, such as Microsoft Office and Navitime, a map app, is increasing. Also, like the flea market apps Mercari, "QuickApp", which looks like a web shortcut, is now available in the store. Still, if you want to get full service as a "smartphone", you have to say that the HUAWEI AppGallery is still unsatisfactory (although the P40 Pro has not yet been announced for release in Japan, so in Japan. It would be premature to make the final decision on the practicality of the.

In conclusion, the HUAWEI P40 Pro is highly functional as a camera, but not as good as a smartphone. However, the price tag is a challenging price of 999 euros (about 120,000 yen) in the European version. As the hardware is good, how we can expand our own app store in the next 1-2 years will be a watershed for whether Huawei smartphones will continue to be accepted outside China.