News

Huawei P40 series price and availability in the Philippines

‘Visionary Photography’ coming to the archipelago

Published

March 26, 2020

Rodneil Quiteles

For the first time ever, the Huawei P-series has three phones — the Huawei P40, Huawei P40 Pro, and the Huawei P40 Pro+. All three are coming to the Philippines.

The focus of the P40 series, much like the rest of the P-series phones, is photography. As such, all P40 phones are equipped with the 50MP f/1.9 RYYB Ultra Vision Wide lens — the largest sensor on a smartphone camera in the market today.

But the setup for each one is different.

Huawei P40	Huawei P40 Pro	Huawei P40 Pro+
50MP f/1.9 RYYB Ultra Vision (Wide)	50MP f/1.9 RYYB Ultra Vision (Wide)	50MP f/1.9 RYYB Ultra Vision (Wide)
8MP f/2/4 Telephoto (3x Optical)	40MP f/1.8 Cine Lens (Ultra-wide)	40MP f/1.8 Cine Lens (Ultra-wide)
16MP f.2.2 Ultra-wide	12MP f/3.4 Periscope (5x Optical)	8MP f/4.4 Super Periscope (10x Optical)
	Huawei ToF Lens	8MP f/2.4 Telephoto 3x Optical
		Huawei ToF Lens

Huawei also has a brand new focusing tech. They say the P40 series phones have eight focus points per pixel. This makes it easier for the phone to quickly focus on the subject even if it’s moving.

The optical zoom that was one of the main highlights of the P30 series is still here with optical zoom differing from each phone. The P40 has up to 3x zoom, the P40 Pro up to 5x, and the P40 Pro+ up to 10x.

Powering all phones is the company’s proprietary Kirin 990 5G processor. Other carry over features that have been improved are as follows:

In-display fingerprint sensor — Now 30 percent larger and is supposed to be faster with new unlock patterns to choose from.
40W wireless charging — The wireless charger doesn’t come with the device but this should be one of the fastest wireless charging tech available right now.
Face unlock — Again supposed to be faster and now with an IR sensor on the pro models

More apps on the AppGallery

The Huawei P40 series is still running Android 10 with EMUI 10 on top. If you’ve been following the news at all, Huawei is in a bit of a pickle against the US government, as such they are going all in on Huawei Mobile Services or HMS.

If you’re worried about the app situation, the AppGallery is slowly but surely adding apps that most of us use. The company is also working on AppSearch inside AppGallery to bring more apps to Huawei phones.

Curved with more subtle colors

Huawei has also kept its curved displays. Even doubling down on it by adding curves at the top and bottom. We’re still unsure how that helps in day-to-day use, but it’s there and hey, it looks good.

The P40 and P40 Pro are still made with glass but now with a matte finish. However, for the P40 Pro+, the company opted to go with ceramic just to mix things up. Here’s everything else that’s different.

	Huawei P40	Huawei P40 Pro	Huawei P40 Pro+
Display	6.1”	6.58”	6.58”
Battery	3800mAh	4200mAh	4200mAh

Pricing and availability

The Huawei P40 and P40 Pro will come in three colors: Silver Frost, Deep Sea Blue, and Blush Gold. The P40 will retail for PhP 36,990 while the P40 Pro will retail for PhP 50,990.

Since we’re all under enhanced community quarantine due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Huawei partnered with Lazada, Shopee, and MemoXpress for the pre-order period. And you’d really want to take advantage of this. The pre-order period is from March 27 to April 24 and these are the freebies waiting for you.

Strap in and read carefully. There’s a lot going on here.

Avail the new P40 and P40 Pro in the Lazada Flagship Store and MemoXpress and enjoy freebies worth PhP 12,285. This includes:

Huawei Freebuds at PhP 8,990
Band 4 at PhP 1,890
50GB cloud storage for 1 year at PhP 588
GCash voucher at PhP 70,
PhP 50 worth of Paymaya credits
PhP 100 discount in GMovies
Booky Prime membership for for 3 months at PhP 597.

Final payment for purchases via Lazada must be settled from April 22 to 24.

Pre-order may also be done via Shopee Flagship Store as they offer freebies with total worth of PhP 10,395. These are:

Huawei Freebuds at Php 8,990
50GB cloud storage for 1 year at PhP 588
GCash voucher at Php 70
Php 50 worth of Paymaya credits
PhP 100 discount in GMovies
Booky Prime membership for for 3 months at PhP 597.

Cashback rewards are also offered during the pre-order period. The 100th, 500th, and 1000th customer in Lazada and Shopee will receive 100 percent voucher back valid from May 1 to 31, 2020.

Customers who will leave good quality product reviews (with 5 stars review) in Shopee and Lazada will also be entitled to PhP 100 voucher valid from May 1 to 31, 2020.

Finally, all these three partner stores will offer flash pre-order activity for the first customers who will order during these exact hours: 00:00, 10:00, 14:00, 18:00, and 22:00 from March 27 to April 3. Lucky customers will enjoy a new Gentle Monster worth PhP 20,990.

Watch our Hands-On video.

News

Apple reportedly gives up on the Vision Pro

But Apple will continue to sell the current model.

Published

April 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

When they unveiled the Vision Pro in 2023, Apple touted the wearable as the next big thing after the iPhone. Now, almost three years removed from the launch, the Vision Pro hasn’t really taken over the coveted spot occupied by the iPhone. Apple, according to a report, is allegedly canning the short-lived wearable.

According to MacRumors, Apple has reportedly given up on making the Vision Pro a thing. The team handling the wearable has supposedly been subsumed by other teams within Apple.

If true, the wearable’s end is unfortunate but not surprising. Despite being out for years, the Vision Pro has sold only a little more than half a million units with numerous returns from customers. Most recently, Apple updated the wearable with the M5 chip, but the move hasn’t revitalized the device’s status in Apple’s lineup.

Most of the complaints about the device stem from its exorbitant price or its cumbersome battery pack. Besides costing a whopping US$ 3,499, the Vision Pro is also difficult to move around with, especially because of its total weight and a battery pack that can get in the way.

To be clear, Apple has not officially discontinued the Vision Pro yet. The company continues to sell the version with the M5 chip. Apple can also restart development in the future.

However, the meantime retirement on future development does coincide with the recent restructuring inside the company. Tim Cook recently decided to step down as CEO with John Ternus as his replacement. Canning the Vision Pro might be Ternus’ first step in redefining Apple according to his plans.

Apps

YouTube makes picture-in-picture mode free for everyone globally

The update is rolling out globally now.

Published

April 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Picture-in-picture (or PiP) mode is a godsend for multitaskers. The feature lets users watch videos in a tiny floating window while doing other tasks. However, the feature isn’t readily available for all users. Or wasn’t, at least. YouTube is now rolling out PiP mode for free globally.

Previously, PiP mode was exclusive to YouTube users who pay for Premium or Premium Lite. It was also exclusive to the United States.

Now, YouTube is making the feature completely free for users all over the globe. It will be available for both iOS and Android versions of the app.

There’s still a catch, though. The free version is available only for “longform, non-music content.” The same goes for Premium Lite subscribers. Music is still an exclusive feature for those who pay for the regular version of Premium. Basically, there is no change for paying users or users in the United States.

Using PiP mode is simple. All you need to do is load up a video you want to watch in the background. Then, just exit the YouTube app and go about your other tasks. The video will be inside a floating, resizable window while you look at other things.

There’s no timeline on when the update will reach your device. However, YouTube has promised that it will roll out globally within the coming months.

Enterprise

OnePlus has reportedly merged with realme

Both brands were previously rumored for restructuring early this year.

Published

April 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

OnePlus has a problem. For a while now, rumors have swirled about the company’s dissolution. For their part, the company has continued to deny the reports, citing business as usual. Likely to their dismay, the reports just keep coming. Today, sources have hinted that OnePlus has merged with realme.

Back in January, it was rumored that OnePlus would be closing up shop this year. Since the company very quickly denied the rumors, the report hardly made waves. However, a suspected merger with realme is more difficult to debunk.

For one, realme is itself in a very interesting position. Also back in January, realme was reportedly moving back into being a sub-brand of OPPO. Coupled together with the OnePlus debacle, all this internal restructuring seems par for the course.

According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, OnePlus and realme have already concluded the merger. The two brands have reportedly united their Chinese and international operations under one roof. Likewise, their marketing will be the same. Pete Lau will still be the main head for this new division.

As with anything of this nature, take this with a grain of salt. OPPO, OnePlus, and realme have not issued any official statements concerning a merger or a shutdown for any brand.