Huawei has just presented its new mobile phone, the Huawei Mate 40. The new generation of the Mate series, which we hope is not the last, since the Chinese brand is having it more and more difficult with its situation of blockade from the United States. First it was Android and Google Play, now the components with which it makes its chips. We are facing one of Huawei’s flagships next to the P40. The Mate series is usually focused on a more professional user, who needs extra security and a little more screen, something that we can clearly see in the Pro version, the most advanced in the range.
Regarding the design, the first thing that catches the eye is its back, the circle with the four camera lenses stands out even more than in its predecessor, the Mate 30. A design that does not go unnoticed, and clearly differentiates itself from the rest phones that place their targets in line or in a square. Indeed Huawei has widely separated the four Leica lenses that make up the rear camera, rather than grouping them together.
The symmetrical design, called by Huawei space ring, works, which is why the Mate 40 is one of the most beautiful phones of the brand. It may or may not be intentional, but if we flip it over, the rear of the Mate 40 It is the same as that of the first Apple iPods. The entire camera set sticks out a bit more than usual from the set than on the rest of Huawei’s phones, and it shows. But, using the silicone sleeve included in the box, the effect is disguised and helps to hold, since the glass finish on the back can be treacherous.
Big screen
The second thing that will attract attention is the curved screen horizon of 6.76-inch OLED and 2,772 x 1,733 pixel resolution. The range of colors that it is capable of displaying is DCI-P3 HDR 88, a substantial improvement over the P40. Huawei this time gets on the bandwagon of hertz on the screen like the rest of the manufacturers, reaching a cautious 90 Hz that can be enabled and disabled for battery saving. Also the “notch” – the tab at the top – has disappeared and has been replaced by two holes in the screen, for the selfie camera and the screen unlock sensor. The space occupied by the front cameras is large, but not annoying.
Data sheet
Display 6.76 inches Resolution 2,772 x 1,344 p. (FullHD +) Dimensions162.9 x 75.5 x 9.1 mmWeight212 gramsChipKirin 9000RAM8 GBMemory256 GBRear camera: SOAndroid 10 with EMUI 11Battery4,400 mAh
The screens curved towards the corners are not exactly the most useful thing in the world, but they can give that extra screen space that can only be achieved with a wider phone. The edges seen from the front, especially when the background of the screen is blank, give a kind of greenish tones, which do not favor the experience with the screen. It is only when turning the mobile that this effect disappears.
Another success of Huawei has been to return the physical buttons that they eliminated in the previous generation. The controls on the Mate 30’s curved screen were confusing, and difficult to use, not to mention how imprecise they were in video games. On the Mate 40 Pro the power and volume are a little further back on the edge of the screen but are perfectly accessible.
Like the Pixel, Mate 40 Pro has an always-on display feature that can display items such as the time or the latest notifications. If we choose the option to always show the smart screen, what the phone will do is turn on when we are looking at it thanks to facial recognition, thus saving battery.
The processor is the highlight of the Mate 40 Pro, the Kirin 9000, Huawei’s most powerful processor. A 5 nanometer processor, eight cores, Mali G78 GPU, dual-core NPU and 5G processor. Its direct competition is the Snapdragon 865 which it surpasses in the first analyzes, although to be fair, it is a 2019 processor that will be renewed in the coming weeks. During the tests in our hands, the mobile flies, and testing a demanding game, the experience is as smooth as one could expect. As for the RAM that it equips, it is 8 gigabytes, more than enough.
Huawei is the leader in fast charging, and the team does not disappoint with a 66W load capable of being fully charged in 45 minutes, and 60% in 20 minutes. Although the consumption of the Mate 40 Pro, even with the 90Hz of active screen refreshment is highly optimized, and the 4,400 mAh capacity it is enough for the whole day, fast charging helps you forget about leaving your phone charging overnight. As for the sound, it has stereo speakers, which give a correct and clear sound, especially if we do not squeeze them to the fullest. As for the headphone connection, it is via the USB-C port, the headphone jack is long gone from Huawei’s P and Mate series.
Four cameras
Let’s go with the most interesting, the four main cameras of the Mate 40 Pro. A 50 megapixel ultra vision lens and F1.9 aperture, which would be the main one, a 20 megapixel ultra wide angle and F1.8 aperture, a 12 telephoto lens megapixels, F3.4 aperture and a 5x optical zoom, 10x hybrid and 50x digital. The fourth lens is the focusing laser, which calculates the time of flight for blurring the background.
Huawei has one of the best cameras on the market, that is indisputable, in the case of the Mate 40 Pro there is a clear attempt to improve the HDR. The P40 already did a great job in this regard, compared to previous generations of Huawei phones that displayed less realistic contrasts and colors. Now we will find that the result of the images is very close to what the eye sees.
As for the wide angle, it has lost some field vision compared to the Mate 30, as happened to the P40 compared to the P30, but it is almost negligible. The stabilized telephoto lens works optimally up to 5x magnification, at 10x the quality drop is a little noticeable, from there it descends, although not as much as one would expect, achieving an acceptable result even with all the digital zoom. The most important thing is that despite using different magnifications, even when moving, the stabilization of the telephoto lens is fabulous.
We will obtain the best result in night photography when we use the main lens. The results are excellent, among the best on the market, although on some occasions the AI makes the image too light, with a somewhat artificial result, but it is a matter of taste.
We can not forget about the “selfie” camera that changes to a 13 megapixel wide angle and aperture of F2.4. The wide angle that can be selected manually or automatically when it detects more people in the photo. This new lens gives the selfie a wider field aperture and is therefore capable of capturing more information without using a stick. The result of the images is simply good, it does not stand out, but neither can striking flaws be blamed on it.
Moving picture
The video, where Huawei has put a greater effort of improvement, gains some new functionalities such as «steady shot», or stabilized image still in motion, «tracking shot», or image with tracking. Video resolution can be up to 4K quality and it has improved HDR in video with XD Fusion HDR, improving dynamic range and colors remarkably. The stabilized video has excellent results, in exchange for sacrificing the resolution that goes down to a decent 1,080 pixels.
As for the software, it must be remembered that the Huawei does not carry Google servicesTherefore, there is no access to Google Play and the most typical applications such as WhatsApp, Instagram or Google Maps. Which is inevitable that it will clearly ballast the terminal. Using the Huawei cloning application we can install almost all the applications from another mobile phone, although not all of them will work 100%, everything that has to do with Google such as Google Drive, photos or YouTube, cannot be installed. Cloning is a momentary fix, since we will not be able to update the applications except by installing APKs.
To make up for the lack of Google Play in the terminal, Huawei has created Petal Search, a search engine that replaces Google’s and that works reasonably well, but also allows you to search for applications on the internet. For example, if we want to install WhatsApp, we search for it and the first result will be the official website where we can download the APK. Petal is a good solution to the lack of access to Google Play, and it is capable of finding the vast majority of the most used applications, although not all, and, most importantly, keeping them updated as well.
The Huawei Mate 40 Pro is a great phone, it has impeccable hardware, a great design, and a camera that ranks among the best on the market. Your only problem is not having access to Google Play and its services. Petal search solves part of the problem, and together with the phone cloner, you may forget about it, but it will always require more effort, and there will be applications that will not work, nor will they have APKs to install and there will be no choice but to use the browser to open them.
899 euros
