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Huawei P50 Pro review: Fantastic cameras, but nothing more

By Liu Hongzuo - 16 Apr 2022
Launch SRP: S$1548

Benchmark Performance, Battery Life, Conclusion

Benchmark Performance

Huawei P50 Pro in Singapore uses a 4G version of Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, unlike the Kirin 9000 units made for China. The phone was announced pretty late, in August 2021 six months later than its usual P series timing. Further bottlenecks and delays saw the P50 Pro only arriving in Singapore on 22 January 2022, which partially explains our delay in getting hold of this 2021 flagship device. Hence, it’s likely comparable to other 2021 budget flagship and premium flagship competitors in performance, but whether it can keep up with 2022 alternatives remain to be seen.

  Huawei P50 Pro Samsung Galaxy S22+ Vivo X70 Pro Xiaomi 11T Pro Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G ASUS ZenFone 8 Huawei Mate 40 Pro
  Huawei P50 Pro Samsung Galaxy S22+ Vivo X70 Pro Xiaomi 11T Pro Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G ASUS ZenFone 8 Huawei Mate 40 Pro
Launch SRP
  • From S$1548
  • From S$1468
  • From S$1199
  • From S$799
  • From S$1398
  • From S$999
  • From S$1598
Network:
  • Up to 4G/LTE
  • 5G (NSA/SA), 4G, 3G
  • 5G/4G/3G/2G
Operating system
  • Android 11 with EMUI 12
  • Android 12 (One UI 4)
  • Android 11 with Funtouch 12
  • Android 11 on MIUI 12
  • Android 11 (Samsung One UI)
  • Android 11 on ZenUI
  • Android 10 with EMUI 11
Processor
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 4G
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, 4nm
  • MediaTek Dimensity 1200
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
  • HUAWEI Kirin 9000 5G octa-core (1 x 3.13GHz Cortex-A77, 3 x 2.54GHz Cortex-A77, & 4 x 2.05GHz Cortex-A55)
Built-in Memory
  • 8GB RAM
  • 8GB RAM
  • 12GB RAM, LPDDR4X
  • 8GB RAM (LPDDR5)
  • 12GB RAM (LPDDR5)
  • 8GB RAM
  • 8/16GB RAM (LPDDR5)
  • 8GB RAM
Display
  • 6.6-inches 2,700 x 1,228 pixels (~450 PPI) OLED, 120Hz refresh rate, 300Hz touch sampling rate
  • 6.6-inch, Flat QHD+, Dynamic AMOLED 2X
  • 2,340 x 1,080 pixels (390ppi)
  • 120Hz adaptive refresh rate
  • 240Hz touch sampling rate
  • Eye Comfort Shield
  • Vision Booster (1,750-nits peak brightness)
  • 6.56-inch / 2,376 x 1,080 pixels (~398 ppi) / 120Hz refresh rate / HDR10+ / AMOLED Display
  • 6.67-inch, 2,400 x 1,080 pixels, AMOLED DotDisplay, 20:9 ratio, 120Hz refresh rate, 480Hz touch sampling rate, HDR10+, DCI-P3
  • 6.7-inch Main Screen / 2,640 x 1,080 pixels (425 ppi) / Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity Flex / 120Hz adaptive refresh rate
  • 1.9-inch Cover Screen / 512 x 260 pixels (302 ppi) / Super AMOLED
  • 5.9-inches 2,400 x 1,080 pixels (445 ppi) AMOLED, 20:9 ratio, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, 1,100-nits brightness
  • 6.76-inches 2,772 x 1,344 pixels (~456 ppi) OLED, 90Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate
  • Always-On Display
Camera
  • Rear:
  • 50MP True-Chroma Camera f/1.9, OIS
  • 40MP True-Chroma Mono Camera, f/1.8
  • 12MP Ultra-Wide-Angle Camera, f/2.2
  • 64MP Telephoto Camera, f/3.5, OIS, Support AF
  • Front:
  • 13MP, f/2.4
  • Rear:
  • 50MP, f/1.8, wide-angle 1.0µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS
  • 12MP, f/2.2, ultra-wide, 1.4µm, 120° FOV, Super Steady
  • 10MP, f/2.4, telephoto, 1.0µm, Dual Pixel AF, 3x Optical Zoom
  • Front:
  • 10MP, f/2.2, portrait, 1.22µm, Dual Pixel PDAF
  • Rear:
  • 50MP main camera, f/1.75, Gimbal Camera System
  • 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2, 116° FOV
  • 12MP telephoto, f/1.98 2x optical zoom
  • 8MP periscope telephoto, f/3.4, 5x optical zoom
  • Front:
  • 32MP main, f/2.45
  • Rear:
  • 108MP main, 0.7μm pixel size, 2.1μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel, f/1.75
  • 8MP ultra-wide, 120° FOV, f/2.2
  • 5MP telemacro, f/2.4, 3-7cm AutoFocus
  • Front:
  • 16MP, f/2.45
  • Rear:
  • 12MP main, f/1.8 aperture, 1.4μm pixel size, Dual Pixel, OIS
  • 12MP ultra-wide, f/2,2 aperture, 1.12μm pixel size
  • Front:
  • 10MP, f/2.4 aperture,1.22μm pixel size
  • Rear:
  • 64MP main, 1/1.7-inch sensor size, 0.8μm pixel size, 1.6μm with Quad Bayer, f/1.8, 4-axis OIS, 2x1 OCL PDAF
  • 12MP ultra-wide, 113° FOV, f/2.2, Dual PDAF, 4cm macro shooting
  • Front:
  • 12MP, 1.22μm pixel size, Dual PDAF
  • Rear:
  • 50MP Ultra Vision Camera, f/1.9
  • 20MP Cine Camera ultra-wide angle f/1.8,
  • 12MP Telephoto Camera, f/3.4, OIS
  • Front:
  • 13MP, f/2.4
  • 3D Depth Sensing Camera
Video Support
  • Up to 4K60FPS
  • Slow motion at 1080p960FPS
  • 8K30FPS, 4K60FPS, 1080p60FPS (front)
Connectivity
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 4G FDD LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, BLE, AGPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, GALILEO, QZSS, NavIC, USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 1, NFC
  • LTE / 5G (NSA, SA, Sub6)
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth 5.2, A2DP, LE
  • GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
  • NFC, UWB
  • Up to Wi-Fi 6 (2.4GHz, 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, GPS, OTG, Type-C USB 2.0
  • Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, L1+L5 GPS, G1 GLONASS, E1+E5a GALILEO, Beidou, USB-C, NFC
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 5G (NSA, SA, Sub6, mmWave), 4G (LTE Cat 20) , Bluetooth 5.1, MIMO (2x2), GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, NFC, USB-C
  • Wi-Fi 6/6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 2x2 MIMO), Bluetooth 5.2, L1+L5 GPS, L1 GLONASS, E1+E5a GALILEO, USB-C, NFC, 3.5mm audio jack
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 5G NR (primary SIM), 4G FDD LTE, dual-band, hotspot, DLNA, Bluetooth 5.2, A2DP, LE, GPS, AGPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C, NFC
Storage Type
  • 256GB internal storage
  • Huawei Nano Memory expansion
  • 128GB or 256GB
  • No microSD card slot
  • 256GB internal storage
  • 128/256GB internal storage (UFS 3.1), no MicroSD slot
  • 128GB internal storage
  • 256GB internal storage
  • UFS 3.1
  • 256GB internal storage, UFS 3.1
  • 256GB internal storage
  • Huawei Nano Memory expansion (up to 256GB)
Battery
  • 4,360mAh
  • 66W Huawei SuperCharge
  • 50W Huawei Wireless SuperCharge
  • 4,500mAh
  • 45W Super Fast Charging
  • 15W Wireless Fast Charging
  • Wireless PowerShare
  • 4,500mAh
  • 44W FlashCharge
  • 5,000mAh
  • 120W wired fast-charging
  • 3,300mAh
  • 15W Fast Charging
  • 10W Fast Wireless Charging
  • Wireless PowerShare
  • 4,000mAh
  • 33W wired fast-charging
  • 4,400mAh
  • 66W Huawei SuperCharge
  • 50W Huawei Wireless SuperCharge
  • 15W Huawei Wireless Quick Charge (Qi wireless charging)
  • Reverse wireless charging
Dimensions
  • 158.8 x 72.8 x 8.5 mm
  • 157.4 x 75.8 x 7.6mm
  • 158.3 x 73.21 x 8mm
  • 164.1 x 76.9 x 8.8mm
  • Unfolded: 166.0 x 72.2 x 6.9mm
  • Folded: 86.4 x 72.2 x 15.9 - 17.1mm
  • 148 x 68.5 x 8.9mm
  • 162.9 x 75.5 x 9.1mm (vegan leather 9.5mm)
Weight
  • 195g
  • 195g
  • 183g
  • 204g
  • 183g
  • 169g
  • 212g

 

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.

 

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. The higher the score, the better.

 

3DMark Wild Life (Unlimited)

3DMark Wild Life is a cross-platform benchmark for Windows, Android and Apple iOS for measuring GPU performance. Its graphics test consists of multiple scenes with variations in the amount of geometry, lights and post-processing effects, mirroring mobile games that are based on short bursts of intense activity. Wild Life uses the Vulkan graphics API on Windows PCs and Android devices. On iOS devices, it uses Metal.

In Unlimited mode, the benchmark runs offscreen using a fixed time step between frames. Unlimited mode renders exactly the same frames in every run on every device, regardless of resolution scaling. The higher the score, the better.

 

PCMark for Android - Work 3.0 and Storage 2.0

PCMark for Android is a benchmark for testing the performance of Android phones and tablets. The Work 3.0 test checks how the device handles common productivity tasks such as browsing the web, editing videos, working with documents and data, and editing photos. Storage 2.0 checks write-in and read-out performance for internal storage, external storage (if applicable), and SQLite database management. Together, the benchmarks can clue us in on how capable a phone is at handling everyday use. Work 3.0 scores are above, while Storage 2.0 scores are immediately below for each device - the higher the score, the better.

Since this is a newly introduced benchmark in our reviews, we’re building up our database of PCMark scores for Android phones.

 

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

Huawei P50 Pro packs a 4,360mAh battery With the help of a 65W Huawei SuperCharge adapter, it took 30 minutes for the P50 Pro to go from 0% to 67%, and 70 minutes to charge from 0% to 100%. 

Oddly enough, the P50 Pro clocks in lower than most SD888 (with 5G chipset) alternatives. It also doesn't quite keep up with the supposedly demanding SD8G1 chipset -- we expected the Qualcomm variants of Samsung Galaxy S22+ to perform worse, but we were proven otherwise.

 

Conclusion

If it wasn’t for political instability and insufferable suit-wearing executives with egos too big to fit their tailored threads, the Huawei P50 Pro would’ve been a desirable flagship device. The phone looks and feels pleasant, it runs quite smoothly, and has an impressive imaging performance that truly exudes its P series proposition well. 

But, that’s where the phone’s positive qualities start and end.

At S$1,548, it’s not competitively priced for its feature set, despite making good on its flagship-tier promises through performance and appearance. 

One, the chipset uses a 4G modem, which doesn’t gel well with how local telcos are increasingly readying up for proper islandwide 5G network coverage in 2025. You’re basically buying outdated technology – which would’ve been fine two years ago when consumer 5G wasn't prevalent in Singapore yet, but times are different now.

Two, is the extra effort needed to get a recent Huawei phone to work almost like a full Android device and even after achieving that, your apps won't be updated unless you manually fetch new versions to install. If your work platforms use Google Workspace (Gmail, Google Docs, Google Slides, etc.), or if your favourite content sits on YouTube (as a creator or consumer), or if you use Google Maps, you’ll have to sit out of all these options, or settle for fewer features by using them through a browser. 

Of course, the HMS gap is much narrower than its initial launch, but your alternatives are workarounds and aren’t replacements or integrated tools that are just one login away. Fortunately, many of your daily apps already have an AppGallery version available, so it’s just that Google Services bit you need to figure out with time and effort.

Three, and likely not solely Huawei’s fault, is the delay in the P50 Pro coming to our shores. Given how phone refresh cycles are, it wouldn’t be right of us to recommend a phone announced in April 2021 when it only bothered to arrive in January 2022. 

At S$1,548, it’s the price we’d pay for a 2022 Huawei flagship – and not its older variant. We recognise how difficult it must have been for the P50 series to even be possible (given its international delay as well), but it’s a tough sell telling consumers to drop a grand-and-a-half for a device nearly a year late to the scene. To borrow an example, the cheaper, 5G-capable Samsung Galaxy S22+ (with a newer, better chipset) ships barely a month after P50 Pro was made available in Singapore

Finally – and this one is on Huawei even after looking past the problems beyond its control – the phone packs itself with so much unnecessary software that it actively impedes your path towards enjoying its wonderful UI. We appreciate the built-in tips that help users get the phone to work better, and we understood the need to inform users of privacy details they are giving up in exchange for using the P50 Pro. But, the clutter was uncalled for, and so was the file transfer’s software.

You’d imagine that Huawei’s challenging circumstances were enough to drive itself towards making a better phone that convinces the masses of its mobile superiority and technology. But, the company chose the darker path of riddling its amazing device with ads or recommendations, on top of packing your display so full of downloadables you don’t care for or need. Folks who play with second-rate Android emulators on PC would know how frustrating such an experience is, and it’s not something we’ve expected coming out of Huawei.

We’ve judged the P50 Pro as a 2021 flagship phone despite arriving in early 2022. Even with the leeway offered, its performance and appearance could hardly keep up with its user-friendliness, or value for money. Consumers would likely be less forgiving than we are.

To us, the Huawei P50 Pro is promising, but also too little, and too late. Even for an average user who doesn’t care for processors, specs, or network types, you’d expect the flagship phone to simply work– and likely find the opposite to be true. For all its amazing photo and video capturing capabilities, the phone's overall usability leaves much to be desired. If only the Huawei P50 Pro was an imaging add-on device to a regular phone, perhaps it could still redeem itself.

For those who would like to check out the phone personally, it’s available via all Huawei authorised stores, major telco partners (M1, Singtel, StarHub), authorised retailers, and Huawei official online storefronts like Lazada and Shopee.

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6.0
  • Design 7.5
  • Features 7
  • User-Friendliness 3
  • Performance 8
  • Value 5
The Good
Flagship design and durability
High-quality images from camera
True 2021 flagship processing
Flagship features intact (NFC, IP68 etc.)
Decent UI
The Bad
4G phone in a burgeoning 5G network landscape
App compatibility issues in and outside of AppGallery and sideloaded apps
Built-in unskippable advertising in AppGallery
Filled with bloatware (Home Screen)
Proprietary expandable memory slot
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