Phone

Impressive photos with P40 Pro+

This is the flagship model of the Huawei P40 series. The P40 Pro+, which will launch here on Saturday, joins the P40 and P40 Pro, both of which were released here in April this year.

In many ways, the P40 Pro+ is similar to the P40 Pro, which I have reviewed before. They share almost the same technical specifications and physical dimensions.

Like the P40 Pro, the P40 Pro+ uses Huawei's Kirin 990 5G chip and offers 8GB of system memory for a great overall performance.

It has the same 6.58-inch display with 90Hz refresh rate, 4,200mAh battery and IP68-rated water resistance (it can withstand being submerged in 1.5m-deep water for 30 minutes). It supports 5G and Wi-Fi 6.

However, the P40 Pro+ is 0.05mm thicker and 17g heavier. At 226g, it feels a tad heavy.

And, while the P40 Pro comes in blue, silver and gold with 256GB internal storage, the P40 Pro+ is available only in ceramic white with 512GB internal storage.

This ceramic finish on the rear of the P40 Pro+ is said to take five days of kilning, as well as custom polishing, to make. The result is a smooth white finish that is nice to touch and feel without being slippery. Furthermore, it does not attract as many fingerprints or smudges as the P40 Pro's rear.

The biggest differentiator in the P40 Pro+ is its rear camera module. Unlike the P40 Pro, which has a maximum 5x optical zoom, the P40 Pro+ has a maximum 10x optical zoom.

This camera module is said to integrate every component into a cohesive package, a first in the Huawei P series. Note that a P40 Pro casing will not fit the P40 Pro+, as its rear camera module is sited differently.

The rear camera module consists of five cameras: a 50-megapixel (MP) wide-angle camera, a 40MP ultra-wide-angle camera, an 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom (f2.4), an 8MP camera with 10x optical zoom and a 3D depth-sensing camera. These work like members of a relay team to support a versatile, convenient focal length range of 18mm to 240mm (in 35mm equivalent). The camera unit can go up to 100x digital zoom.

The wide-angle camera has a high-resolution mode that fully utilises its 50MP image sensor. By default, it produces 12MP still images with pixel binning, which combines four pixels into one. This saves storage space without compromising on the image quality.

  • FOR

    • Great design and performance

    • Versatile 10x optical zoom

    • High-quality day and night photography

    AGAINST

    • No Google Mobile Services

    • Images a bit soft at maximum focal length

    • A tad heavy

    TECH SPECS

    PRICE: $1,898 (available on Saturday)

    PROCESSOR: Kirin 990 5G (dual-core 2.86GHz, dual-core 2.36GHz, quad-core 1.95GHz)

    DISPLAY: 6.58-inch, Oled, 2,640 x 1,200 pixels, 441 ppi pixel density

    OPERATING SYSTEM: Emui 10.1 (Android 10.0)

    MEMORY: 512GB (Nano memory card expandable to 256GB); 8GB RAM

    REAR CAMERAS: 50MP wide-angle (f/1.9), 40MP ultra-wide-angle (f/1.8), 8MP telephoto 3x optical zoom (f2.4), 8MP 10x optical zoom (f/4.4); 3D depth-sensing camera

    FRONT CAMERAS: 32MP (f/2.2); Depth-sensing camera

    BATTERY: Non-removable 4,200mAh battery

    WEIGHT: 226g

    RATING

    FEATURES: 4/5

    DESIGN: 4.5/5

    PERFORMANCE: 5/5

    BATTERY LIFE: 4.5/5

    VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5

    OVERALL: 4.5/5

Comparing normal and high-resolution shots of the same scene, I found the latter to be sharper and more detailed. But in default mode, photos still look sharp, detailed and have great dynamic range.

The shots I took with the 3x optical zoom camera have almost the same image quality as normal shots taken with the wide-angle camera. I have no hesitation in using it.

The 10x optical zoom camera is convenient and easy to use, especially when you want to capture a pretty stray cat in the distance, though the images look a tad soft.

Still, the 10x optical zoom images are probably good enough for your social media posts. They certainly look much sharper than images I shot using other smartphones at this focal length.

The 100x digital zoom, though, is not recommended if you want quality shots. It probably functions only as a telescope to help you make out the words on a faraway restaurant menu or noticeboard.

As with the P40 Pro, I was very impressed with the night photography mode of the P40 Pro+. I took handheld shots with up to nine seconds of exposure using the wide-angle camera and the results were terrific - phenomenal, rich details in dark areas, with the bright areas not overexposed.

Unlike Apple's Night mode, the P40 Pro's night mode works with ultra-wide-angle and telephoto cameras as well. However, the night mode does not work as well with the two telephoto cameras, with visible chromatic noise and detail loss.

Battery life does not differ much from that of the P40 Pro. In a video-loop battery test, the P40 Pro+ lasted around 15 hours and 45 minutes, around 10 minutes less than the P40 Pro.

However, the P40 Pro+ supports 40W wireless charging. Using the Huawei SuperCharge Wireless Charging Stand ($148), it went from 75 per cent battery life to full in around 10 minutes.

I feel like a broken record, but I have to mention that the P40 Pro+ lacks Google Mobile Services due to the ban on Huawei arising from the United States-China trade war. As such, the phone does not have Google Play Store or its library of apps such as Google Maps and Gmail.

Instead, it comes with Huawei's own app store: AppGallery. And last week, Huawei introduced Petal Search, a search widget for apps available in AppGallery, as well as other third-party app stores such as APKPure.

You can search for the app you want in Petal Search, then follow the link in the search results to download and install the app. It manages your updates and works almost like an app store.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 24, 2020, with the headline Impressive photos with P40 Pro+. Subscribe