Huawei P40 Pro+ review: Five times the camera, 100 times the zoom

Note: This review was first published on 20 June 2020.

The penta-camera phone

We've all heard about the Huawei P40 Pro+ when it was first announced back in March 2020. This device is the premium variant out of its entire P40 series, where Huawei puts their best foot forward by packing all the headlining features into one device. It shares many similarities with the regular P40 Pro (review here). They share the same design language, display quality and refresh rate, IP68 dust and water resistance, battery capacity (4,200mAh), the inclusion of in-display fingerprint sensor, identical front camera configuration, and usage of the company's same HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G chipset that's ready for 5G networks.

How's it different?

What the Pro+ model offers instead are super-charged versions of the P40 Pro's existing features and even a different material finish that we'll touch upon in the design segment.

1) Camera configuration

As most fans would know, Huawei's P series focuses a lot on delivering high-end photography features through qualified hardware components and in-house software optimisations. It's no surprise when the defining feature of the P40 Pro+ (compared to other P40 variants) is the penta-camera configuration on the rear - the P40 Pro instead had quad rear cameras. In contrast, the regular P40 'only' has triple rear lenses.

While both P40 Pro+ and P40 Pro have identical primary and secondary cameras and a Time of Flight (ToF) sensor, P40 Pro+ swaps the 5x Optical Telephoto Camera (12MP) on the P40 Pro for a 10x Optical Telephoto Camera (8MP), while also adding on an another 3x Optical Telephoto Camera (8MP). These two cameras are responsible for P40 Pro+'s 100x digital zoom (the regular Pro goes up to 50x digital zoom). All five cameras work together to offer the full focusing range (18 to 240mm) with as much optical zoom at as many points of magnification possible. For the non-photography folks, optical zoom offers a level of clarity, detail, and sharpness that digital zoom can't usually match. Hence the P40 Pro+'s value comes through from its generous optical zoom capabilities.

2) Cooling system

Besides the camera, Huawei P40 Pro+ also uses a more intricate 4-in-1 cooling system for its Kirin 990 5G chip when compared to the P40 Pro's simpler cooling system. Theoretically, the P40 Pro+ should allow the same Kirin 990 5G chipset to reach its potential by suppressing high temperatures, since modern chipsets would intelligently throttle its performance to prevent overheating and shorter lifespans. A review with benchmark scores (like ours) will help to ascertain if the extra cooling helps with performance scores at all, or if the enhancements are for other purposes (e.g. longer phone lifespan because of better chip cooling).

3) Supercharged wireless charging

The last main difference between the premium P40 Pro+ and the regular Pro is wireless charging, with the latter capping out at 27W. P40 Pro+ offers up to 40W wireless charging, and Huawei was kind enough to include the compatible 40W Wireless Huawei SuperCharge docking station (sold separately) for our trials to see if it can measure up to its wired fast-charging, which is also rated at 40W.

That said, there certainly are phones at the level of P40 Pro+ available in our market, so it's not going to be an easy fight for Huawei. The Android-based Huawei P40 Pro+ (8GB RAM + 512GB storage) is asking for S$1,898 in exchange for the advanced features mentioned above (since there's also the S$1,488 Huawei P40 Pro). While this review can be referred to for P40 Pro+ traits, we'd still recommend reading the Huawei P40 Pro's review first if you want a more holistic perspective on the device beyond just the new features of the P40 Pro+ that we'll place more focus in this review.

Design and Handling

The P40 Pro+ and the P40 Pro are physically identical in every way except for one - the exterior material on the rear. The rest of the P40 series use glass-covered backs, while the P40 Pro+ uses nano-tech ceramic which Huawei claimed is more scratch-resistant and durable than its other P40 siblings. The ceramic back retains the glossy look of glass, while it keeps fingerprint smudges to a minimum. Another trait found in ceramic finish phones is how the device feels cooler to the touch, which the P40 Pro+ does as compared to other glass-back alternatives currently sitting on my desk. 

Even among flagship devices, the P40 Pro+ sits at a premium tier. It has to live up to its name by bringing all the flagship P40 Pro features to it. Like the P40 Pro, it has IP68 water- and dust-resistance certification and the premium appearance made possible with its curved corners, which Huawei dubs as Quad-curve Overflow Display. While it doesn't feel different, the P40 Pro+ is still pleasant to use with neat little tricks that remind us of its status, like the cool ceramic and the in-display fingerprint sensor.

If we had any gripes about the P40 Pro+'s aesthetics, it would be the metal frame that holds the front and back together. If you recall the Deep Sea Blue P40 Pro we had, Huawei made an effort and ensured that the rims were of the same colour as the back. On the P40 Pro+, the different material types coming together also resulted in a mixture of themes, starting with a glass front, framed by metal sides, leading to its marble-like back. It's not the most uniform appearance, but it doesn't affect the phone's handling.

What leaves more to be desired, however, is the lack of Ceramic Black finish in the Singapore market. So through official channels, interested P40 Pro+ buyers locally can only pick up the Ceramic White (pictured) finish. It is still a nice colour that blends easily into anything else you might own. We have more pictures of the P40 Pro+ here if you'd like to check out the device a little more.

As a whole, we're rather neutral towards the look of the P40 Pro+. It certainly feels premium, and it looks wonderful, but we don't feel very strongly about the phone's appearance, which is likely because we were already intimate with its doppelganger many months back.

The Pro+ variant weighs a little more (226g) than P40 Pro (209g), but the difference is virtually indistinguishable by hand. If you want a more detailed description of the design and our thoughts on the phone's handling, they can be found at P40 Pro's review. 

Display and Audio

Like the P40 Pro, the Huawei P40 Pro+ uses a sexy 6.58-inch OLED display rated at 2,600 x 1,200 pixels resolution and 90Hz refresh rate. It's equally capable of displaying the same 16.7 million colours. The panel's real estate and resolution quality also mean that the P40 Pro+ has a pixel density of roughly 411ppi, identical to the P40 Pro. If you're a number's chaser, this is where the P40 Pro+'s falls a little short, since similarly-premium alternatives like the Oppo Find X2 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra both have 1440p resolution displays. 

You would, however, be mistaken if you thought that the P40 Pro+ display doesn't match up against the competition. As demonstrated, our test image shows up very well on the device. It doesn't have the warmer colour temperatures found on Samsung smartphones, but it still has the vibrant hues and great control over detail. During regular web browsing, even the thumbnail images and category tags on our HWZ website seem to come alive, thanks to the display's awesome colour handling. 

While it doesn't have a 120Hz refresh rate like the OnePlus 8 Pro, the 90Hz display on the P40 Pro+ would still be overpowered for online consumption. For example, the built-in web browser and Google Chrome plays 60 FPS videos on YouTube at only 30 FPS (you can figure that out by clicking "Stats For Nerds" in YouTube during a playback). To truly enjoy 60 or higher FPS playback, you'll need either VLC Player or MX Player (both available on Huawei's AppGallery) and manually load such video content for your watching pleasure. Another area where the display's 90Hz refresh rate comes into play is mobile gaming, but you'll have a tough time finding those games inside AppGallery. (Though thankfully, getting any Android app loaded is a simple affair.)

These problems do not exist when I'm using Google Mobile Services (GMS)-supported devices like the Oppo Find X2 Pro. Oppo's premium device offers native support for high framerate playback via the YouTube app. Also, there are high framerate gaming titles that I'm inclined to play and are readily available via the Google Play Store (e.g. Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition, Injustice 2, and embarrassingly, Love Live! School Idol Festival All-Stars). 

Even with that said, we chalk the P40 Pro+'s video playback deficiency to its incompatibility with GMS out-of-the-box, which can be a little frustrating for the average user (assuming that they can tell apart 30 FPS cat videos from 60 FPS cat videos of course). Functionally, the phone can play high framerate content - you just gotta work for it. 

Audio-wise, the P40 Pro+ also does a decent job like its regular Pro counterpart, but again, it's nothing to write home about. Like the regular Pro variant, the loudspeakers are at the bottom rung of the phone, is less immersive than the impressive top-and-bottom stereo-like configuration on the Oppo Find X2 Pro. To be fair, the audio quality seems slightly better than the OnePlus 8 series, but we've come to expect that as well since the P40 Pro+ has a premium asking price.

User Interface

We've gone through how Android 10-based EMUI 10 works on the P40 Pro review, so we'll use this section to discuss another core part of the user experience of any phone - the apps, or rather, the replacement of Google Play Store with Huawei's very own AppGallery.

Back in March, Huawei expanded its AppGallery offerings to include a growing list of much-needed Singapore-centric apps. New additions include HERE WeGo (our coverage here), which is a viable alternative to Google Maps since it not only provides navigation by road or on foot but also local public transport prediction timings. If you want an even more localised map app, there's OneMap on Huawei's AppGallery, too.

Besides apps like LINE and FoodPanda, Huawei has been active at porting over all the core apps that cater to the average Singaporean. You have service apps for the big three telcos, popular local banks or hyperlocal cashless payment apps like Singtel Dash and PayLah!, and even apps for local discounts like Fave and Chope. There's also the Zoom app if you require hosting and participating in online meetings for work.

Huawei also has been hard at work in creating viable replacements for Google services we'd come to rely on. For instance, they've launched a new Petal Search app which curates international news and provides a web search engine (powered by Bing). It also doubles as a search tool for app installation via third-party distributors. Petal Search is somewhat similar to the Google app, even when it comes to pinning the app as a Widget on the P40 Pro+.

Still, AppGallery is not perfect. Core messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and even Signal are not in AppGallery. In the social media realm, TikTok, Bigo Live, and Twitter are available from the Huawei app store, but Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram are not there. In the consumer music listening space, there's Deezer, but no Spotify. Need food delivered but not feeling the selection on FoodPanda? You'll have to fire up the web browser for Uber Eats, GrabFood, Deliveroo, or even McDelivery. Want to view PDFs? You'll have to use an alternative to Adobe Acrobat app since it's not there too. The list goes on, and we've yet to start on replacing the other Google services we're familiar with, such as Gmail, Google Docs, YouTube, and more.

Despite the shortage of app options directly available from Huawei's AppGallery, it should be noted that many of these service-oriented apps easily have web-equivalent services and you've easy access to them via the browser. Better yet, Huawei allows to pin the URL to your phone's start screen and thus act as a web app shortcut. No YouTube app? No problem, the web equivalent looks and functions fairly similarly. Where a web edition doesn't exist, you can try searching through Petal Search to obtain the necessary app installer or try these methods to quickly obtain your required app. Most Andoid apps will work fine because HMS is based off the Android core. 

The presence of various third-party app stores and the creation of Petal Search is proof that Huawei alone cannot plug in all the gaps of the AppGallery. The road to 'app ecosystem completion' feels long, and will likely be so for some time to come. To play the devil's advocate, it must have been a difficult task to get the current app selection onto the Huawei ecosystem, and we applaud them for trying (and somewhat succeeding, even). Here's more coverage of Huawei's AppGallery momentum and Huawei Mobile Services to help make the transition smoother for the average user.

While some extra work is needed to get your preferred apps and services, we at HardwareZone also understand that we shouldn't dismiss the usability of Huawei phones simply because it doesn't have GMS. After all, we'll be exploring more of the phone's headline feature in the following page to see if the workarounds are justified to better enjoy what it offers.

On the gadget side of things, the P40 Pro+ shares the same disadvantages as its regular Pro variant. It uses Huawei's proprietary memory card format, and it lacks a 3.5mm audio port with no extra port available. Despite that, the generous 512GB internal storage should be sufficient for most users.

Camera and Imaging Performance

The imaging prowess of the Huawei P40 Pro+ is a headlining feature of the phone, so much so that Huawei is asking $400 more than the P40 Pro. We have high expectations for the Pro+’s cameras, so let’s get straight into the penta-camera configuration on the rear. For easy referencing, we’ve also included the P40 Pro’s camera output below so you know exactly what you are paying more for. 

The primary and secondary cameras (the 50MP and 40MP) on both devices are identical. We don’t expect the P40 Pro+ to differ much if you’re going to take basic shots with the primary shooter without zooming. Like the P40 Pro, the 50MP sensor has 4-in-1 pixel binning and Full Pixel Octa PD AutoFocus, both of which we’ve explained in detail here.

Huawei doesn’t merely offer more cameras with differently rated zoom lengths and megapixel count. Previously, we said that the regular P40 Pro has 50x digital zoom thanks to the telephoto camera it has. On the P40 Pro+, Huawei goes all out with 100x digital zoom (240mm), courtesy of the collective effort between their Huawei XD Fusion Engine, OIS assistance, and the heavy hardware lifting by both the 10x optical telephoto camera and 3x optical telephoto camera. 

Another ‘soft’ feature is the entire purpose of the 3x optical telephoto camera, which was designed to emulate the 80mm lens used by professional portrait photographers who want high clarity and minimal lens distortion. 

Finally, the P40 Pro+ also shares in the Huawei benefits that cut across all their P40 devices, like Skin Tone Enhancement for skin and faces, ToF-assisted Bokeh effects, and AI-assisted night-time photography. Of course, we’ve not forgotten about the Huawei Golden Snap suite of AI editing tricks, either. 

For the Huawei P40 Pro+ specifically, we’re interested to learn how the regular primary camera holds up, how smooth or pleasant the 100x digital zoom can be, and if we do feel a little more artistic when using the portrait camera.

Primary camera (no zoom)

3x optical zoom

10x optical zoom

To summarise our imaging findings, we did find the P40 Pro+ primary camera as capable as the regular P40 Pro. Also, the various zoom settings (3x optical, 10x optical, 100x digital) are all very snappy and responsive, and the software adjustments can help make mediocre photographers take decent-looking photos. You don’t have to take our word for it, just look at the images we have. Overall, the imaging quality is high - colours are vibrant, details are intact, and it has a good handle on contrasts, highlights, and shadows. Even at 3x optical and 10x optical, the phone was easy to handle for photography.

 

100x digital zoom

100x digital zoom posed a little bit of challenge, but the OIS compensation helps a lot at stabilising your shots, and the results aren’t too shabby, even if they aren’t portfolio-worthy. As a whole package, the Huawei P40 Pro+ camera system offers excellent versatility with exceptional quality at nearly every zoom level we needed, beating out phones with photography features that can’t deliver at the tier they promise, with a fantastic primary camera to boot.

Comparing 100x zoom - Huawei P40 Pro+ vs. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra

This section contains quick samples showcasing the 100x zoom feature of the competing Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra versus the Huawei P40 Pro+'s 100x zoom. We've indicated the smartphone responsible for the shot in the captions. Our initial reaction is that the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra might have met its match.

Benchmark Performance

We've gone through what the Huawei P40 Pro+'s chipset (Kirin 990 5G) is in detail over at the Huawei P40 Pro review, so we'll spare you from the ribbon-cutting introduction. The P40 Pro+ has the same chipset, so, phones that compete with the P40 series are also competing with the P40 Pro+. That said, we're definitely interested to know how the Huawei premium device holds up against other premium flagship phone models from this year, such as the Oppo Find X2 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra.

While the chipset is identical to the regular Pro's, the Huawei P40 Pro+ uses different and more intricate cooling technology. Dubbed as 4-in-1 Supercool System, it contains a "highly thermal" conductive graphene film called Graphene 2.0, an ultra-thin vapour chamber, a heat pipe, and some graphite. Huawei claims this setup is their best cooling technique available to the P40 series, and where it shines is the ability to keep the phone cool even when running high-performance apps or benchmarks. 

Finally, it's also worth reiterating that the P40 Pro+'s chipset is compatible with 5G networks, with support for both NSA and SA (non-standalone, standalone) modes and a wide range of 5G frequency bands. For 5G, the phone is well-prepared for the eventual proliferation of consumer 5G telco networks in Singapore. 

Geekbench 5

Geekbench CPU is a cross-platform processor benchmark that tests both single-core and multi-core performance with workloads that simulate real-world usage. Geekbench 5 scores are calibrated against a baseline score of 1000, which is the score of an Intel Core i3-8100. As a result, Geekbench 5 scores are not comparable against those of Geekbench 4, whose baseline score is derived from an Intel Core i7-6600 processor. The higher the score, the better.

The lighter green bar indicates single-core performance, while the darker green bar represents the respective multi-core performance.

The Geekbench results clearly indicate that the P40 Pro+ doesn't differ significantly from the P40 Pro. It's certainly flagship-tier and on-par with the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, even though it's not as powerful as phones with Qualcomm's flagship chipset, such as the OnePlus 8 series or the Oppo Find X2 Pro. In real-world use, the difference is also indistinguishable between these devices.

JetStream 2.0

JetStream 2 is a combination of a variety of JavaScript and Web Assembly benchmarks, including benchmarks that came before like SunSpider and Octane. It primarily tests for a system's and browser's ability in delivering a good web experience. It runs a total of 64 subtests, each weighted equally, with multiple iterations, and takes the geometric mean to compute the overall score. The higher the score, the better.

The Huawei P40 Pro+ leads in this benchmark among all Android-base devices. This is particularly useful, considering that the lack of GMS means that we rely on the default web browser to do most of the heavy lifting.

AnTuTu

AnTuTu is an all-in-one benchmark that tests CPU, GPU, memory, and storage. The CPU benchmark evaluates both integer and floating-point performance. The GPU tests assess 2D and 3D performance, the memory test measures available memory bandwidth and latency, and the storage tests gauge the read and write speeds of a device's flash memory. The higher the score, the better.

As an all-in-one benchmark, AnTuTu isn't partial to a specific aspect of a phone's performance. Again, it's on-par with the P40 Pro, but that's not ideal considering the improved cooling techniques and the higher sticker price for the P40 Pro+. Perhaps the cooling system is truly designed more for manageable phone use (i.e. consistent performance via reduced overheating), and not for milking every ounce of performance from their flagship chipset.

3DMark Sling Shot Extreme 

3DMark Sling Shot is an advanced 3D graphics benchmark that tests the full range of OpenGL ES 3.1 and ES 3.0 API features including multiple render targets, instanced rendering, uniform buffers and transform feedback. The test also includes impressive volumetric lighting and post-processing effects. We're running this benchmark in Unlimited mode, which ignores screen resolutions. The higher the score, the better.

Again, similar to P40 Pro, which offers flagship-tier performance while not quite measuring up to its competitors. However, we'd also imagine that P40 Pro+ owners would not prioritise mobile gaming, given that it's the cameras and photography features that P series is better known for.

Battery Life

Our standard battery test for mobile phones has the following parameters:

• Looping a 720p video with screen brightness and volume at 100%
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity turned on
• Constant data streaming through email

The Huawei P40 Pro+ has the same battery capacity as the regular Pro variant, capping out at 4,200mAh. As mentioned before, the capacity is slightly lower than most alternatives, as you can see from the chart above. The long battery uptime of the Pro+ is yet again a testament to the Kirin 990 5G chipset's ability to balance flagship-tier performance with uptime. It comes in behind the Galaxy S20 Ultra, which has an even larger screen and a whopping 5,000mAh battery pack. Ultimately, it's a combination of efficiency and max capacity that makes a phone long-lasting during the day, and the Huawei P40 Pro+ certainly is battery-efficient, if not one of the most efficient devices on this list (though the P40 Pro is better).

A key difference between the Pro+ and Pro lies in the charging department, with the P40 Pro+ supporting up to 40W wireless Huawei SuperCharge. The regular Pro supports 'only' up to 27W wirelessly. Both models can handle 40W wired charging. If you are a frequent, regular user of wireless charging, it's hard to look away from the 40W wireless option on the Pro+. 

To get fast-charging wirelessly, it helps if you get ahold of compatible fast-chargers and cables. In our case, they've kindly sent us the SuperCharge Wireless Charger Stand (40W), which is a wireless, dock charger that has a wall-plug that supports 10W, 18W, 36W, 40W, and even 65W (20V, 3.25A) charging. 

Using the 40W wireless charger, it takes about 80 minutes to go from 0% to 100%. The charging speed is regulated based on how much battery charge it holds, reaching 20% in just a short 10 minutes and 50% charge in half an hour. Charging is fastest when the phone is 7% and under, and it's at its slowest after the 85% mark. For a full charge, the P40 Pro+ takes roughly the same time as it did to charge OnePlus 8 series phones (wired) fully. It's also slightly longer than Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra's 60 minutes and Oppo Find X2 Pro's hour-or-less full charging (wired). 

For wired charging performance on the P40 Pro+, you can refer to the P40 Pro review, since both devices have an identical wired charging profile and battery capacities. In brief, it took 50 minutes for the regular P40 Pro to reach full charge. 

Conclusion

On all technical counts, the Huawei P40 Pro+ is an amazing flagship phone. It delivers flagship performance. The faster wireless charging and marble-like ceramic rear make a convincing case for its premium-flagship positioning. Its photography capabilities are certainly a cut above many. If you judge a phone solely on its camera performance, the Huawei P40 Pro+ should rank highly (if not the top few) among all other photography-oriented smartphones.

That said, no phone exists in a vacuum. The flagship smartphone space has always been infamously competitive, with manufacturers and brands competing beyond camera performance, beyond fast-charging, and definitely beyond price points. It doesn't help that the P40 Pro+ also has a starting point behind other Android phones, no thanks to the lack of GMS and workarounds needed to get a similar Android experience. Also, this is coming from someone who's comfortable with sideloading Android apps and finding workarounds - I'm not sure if others might have the same level of patience for smartphones as I do.

In that regard, we do feel a little for the P40 Pro+ given that it's a nice phone, but the market's offerings, my income, and my fraying wallet are less sympathetic. 

The Huawei P40 Pro+'s price tag at S$1,898 and premium positioning places it in direct competition against the Oppo Find X2 Pro (S$1,699) and the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (S$1,898). To recap, both Samsung and Oppo's equivalent offer displays with higher resolution, deliver better viewing and audio experiences, and are comparatively less finicky at delivering high framerate content. Both Samsung and Oppo premium devices are also more agreeable with mobile gaming (and chalk in better gaming performance as pointed by 3DMark results). Huawei's premium device definitely trumps these alternatives at photography, marginally. However, everything else - from benchmarks, to display, to battery uptime (in the case of going up against Samsung) and the user experience - all fell a little short to the competition. Sure, P40 Pro+ offers expandable memory, but it's through a proprietary card. 

Usually, it's quite challenging to decide between one premium flagship from another, but given my findings, I know I would first consider the Find X2 Pro or Galaxy S20 Ultra before the P40 Pro+. Again, it's not because the P40 Pro+ doesn't live up to its name; it just happens that the premium flagship market is simply so competitive, it's not only just the cameras I care about when choosing my next phone. So yes, usability out of the box does matter.

As said, if it's good cameras you want, go straight for the P40 Pro+, because it already exceeds other 2020 flagships in this regard. Second, if you want a phone that lasts long enough, the Pro+ would be your next option after you consider the regular Pro variant. Finally, if it's just overall flagship performance you're interested in, the P40 Pro+ doesn't match up against the OnePlus 8 series solely because it's a better benchmark and real-world performer for significantly less moolah (starts from just S$998). The P40 Pro+'s display also caps out at 1,200p resolution and 90Hz refresh, which is not the same league as the 1440p, 120Hz displays on the OnePlus 8 Pro (even the Samsung Galaxy S20 series can't run 120Hz refresh rates with 1440p quality, either).

There is one other area besides photography that the Huawei P40 Pro+ aces the competition - storage. Among the premium flagship tier, it is the only phone that offers a massive 512GB internal storage, plus offering expandable memory, albeit via its proprietary Nano Memory card. Comparatively, Oppo has no expandable memory, whereas Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra in Singapore is only offered with 128GB internal storage! That's something to think about if you're looking for reasons to lean over to the Huawei camp and give the HMS system a shot (and its great set of lenses).

With all that said, we'd also like to reiterate that the P40 Pro+ clearly meets the mark as a premium flagship device, which is further bolstered by the tremendous effort Huawei put into developing HMS and AppGallery. It's really shaping up properly with visible thoughtfulness and consideration. There truly is a plethora of local-specific apps in Huawei's app store for all your core daily living needs, and it's still growing even as we publish this review. I could also sideload my preferred Android gaming and messaging apps, and it's easier now with the inclusion of Petal Search. Pair it with the excellent camera package, strong performance and massive storage capacity, and the Huawei P40 Pro+ can still be a premium flagship winner in your eyes.