News
Huawei P40 Series with ‘visionary photography’ now official
A visionary set of phones?
Huawei is on a mission to give regular users the power to take professional-level photos with just a smartphone. The latest attempt in this undertaking is the Huawei P40 series consisting of three phones — the Huawei P40, Huawei P40 Pro, and Huawei P40 Pro+.
Notably, this is the first time for Huawei to launch three phones for the P-series. But what makes each one different? Let’s start with the primary talking point — the camera setup.
Visionary Photography
Here’s what each P40 series phone has.
| 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 |
There’s a lot to digest here but what Huawei did is equip all three phones with their latest and greatest — the 50MP f/1.9 RYYB Ultra Vision Wide lens which is the main camera. It’s the largest sensor on a smartphone camera in the market today.
In the simplest terms, the larger sensor will allow more light to come into the lens promising better photos at night and in low light situations.
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.
There’s an interesting inclusion of another telephoto lens on the P40 Pro+, which Huawei says should take the zoom capabilities even further. The AI image stabilization equipped on all three phones will come in handy for the usual shake you get when zooming in.
Visionary Performance
Naturally, Huawei put the best of what it can offer inside the P40 series. Powering each phone is the Kirin 990 5G processor. The company claims it has 460 percent better neural processing power. If previous flagships are any indication, this practically means it can handle literally any task you throw at it.
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
Speaking of face unlock, the P40 Pro phones have a 32MP dual front-facing camera setup with autofocus. More than taking better and wider selfies, the front-facing cameras can record 4K video at 60 FPS. Handy for when you want to record yourself.
Visionary Experience
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.
For the rest, Huawei has suggested using the PhoneClone app where you can copy most of the apps from your old phone over to your new Huawei phone.
Huawei’s newest flagship will now also come with its own voice assistant named Celia. Much like how you talk to any other voice assistant, you can just say “Hey Celia,” and follow it up with a command to execute a task.
The catch? At launch, it’s only currently available in the UK, France, Spain, Chile, Mexico, and Colombia.
The P40 series is also introducing MeeTime — a video calling app much like FaceTime and Google Duo. Other than being able to make 1080p video calls, the tech behind it should also be applicable in other functions that other developers may adapt for its apps.
Like Celia, the feature’s availability is only limited to a few countries: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
A few other specs are different for each phone. Here’s a quick look.
| Huawei P40 | Huawei P40 Pro | Huawei P40 Pro+ | |
| Display | 6.1” | 6.58” | 6.58” |
| Battery | 3800mAh | 4200mAh | 4200mAh |
| Colors | Ice White, Black, DeepSea Blue | Ice White, Black, DeepSea Blue | Black, White
(Material is Ceramic) |
Compared to the P20 series and P30 series, the colors are more subdued. The glass back on both the P40 and P40 Pro will also come in two matte finishes that they say will be more resistant to fingerprint smudges — Silver Frost and Brush Gold.
Visionary Design
Now that we’re at it, the colors bring us to the P40 series’ design.
Let’s go back a little bit to the camera module. Huawei says the P-series had always been designed with the thought that people will be holding it horizontally when taking photos, thus the module — which looks a lot like the ones on Samsung’s latest phones — had always been aligned left when facing the back of the phone.
Speaking of which, 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.
In terms of IP rating, the P40 is at IP53 while the P40 Pro and P40+ are both IP68.
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.
Speaking of a display, the P40 series will have a 90Hz screen refresh rate. A happy middle ground between the 60Hz of yesteryears and the 120Hz on Samsung’s S20 series and the ROG Phone 2.
Pricing and availability
The Huawei P40 wit 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage is priced at EUR 799 while the Huawei P40 Pro with 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage will retail for EUR 999. Both phones will be available starting April 7, 2020.
Meanwhile, the Huawei P40 Pro+ with 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage will retail for EUR 1399. We’ll have to wait a while as it will only be available starting June 2020.
Visionary Phone?
With a lot of uncertainty in the present given everything that’s happening, there’s a lot of focus on the P40 series’ being about the future.
It’s been months now since the company’s biggest software hurdle. They are now slowly gaining momentum with unmistakably top-of-the-line hardware and Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) at its core.
Is there enough on the P40 series to carry Huawei through? We’ll need to test the phones for it for sure. While you wait for that, first check out our Hands-On video.
News
Is the Pixel 11 copying a feature from Nothing?
A new ad is hinting at something like the Glyph interface.
August 12 cannot come soon enough. On that date, Google is set to launch the upcoming Pixel 11 series. There isn’t much to indicate that the brand is changing the formula this year. Now, a rampant rumor, now seemingly confirmed by Google’s own ad, is hinting that a popular feature from Nothing is making its way to the Pixel.
Besides the transparent rear, Nothing prides itself with numerous iterations of the Glyph interface, a lighting system that serves as customized notifications for your phone. It’s mostly a novelty, but the feature is a unique take in a smartphone market plagued with too much sameness. It looks like Google wants to take a page from that same notebook.
For a while now, it’s been rumored that Google is adopting a version of the feature for the Pixel 11 series. The so-called Pixel Glow will reportedly add a light-based notification feature. Now, Google itself has seemingly confirmed the rumors.
In a new ad, titled “The Obvious Next Move,” Google is teasing a new feature coming to the flagship series. Though the ad leaves the feature untitled and without a description, it’s clear that it’s a circular glowing thing similar to Nothing’s take. The glowing thing is right on the Pixel’s iconic camera bar, just like Nothing.
But again, Google didn’t name the feature. However, if it helps, the ad says that we already use the Pixel for Gmail, Maps, Search, Calendar, and Docs, so the next evolution is whatever is depicted in this ad. August 12 really cannot come soon enough.
News
HONOR debuts refreshed brand identity ahead of Robot Phone launch
New imaging engine announced; HONOR, ARRI team up to bring cinematic workflow to mobile creation
Ahead of the launch of its Robot Phone, HONOR has revealed a refreshed brand identity, including a new logo and the slogan “Dare to Be.”
The brand new logo represents breaking through an endless circle, as mentioned on the description in HONOR’s posts.
It’s about forging a path unlike any other, and continuously innovating instead of settling. This way, it also represents HONOR’s long-term vision for the AI era and its ambition to build an intelligent ecosystem that extends beyond smartphones.
The HONOR Robot Phone is set to launch in China on August 12. It will officially bring an entirely new form factor for smartphones, designed to redefine the relationship between AI and mobile devices.
More recently in Hengdian, China, HONOR hosted the HONOR Imaging Technology Launch where the company introduced its latest mobile imaging technologies.
During the event, HONOR introduced the Optics-Intelligence Evolution principle behind its imaging strategy.
It also showcased its HONOR AiMAGE chip-device-cloud imaging engine, and announced a joint imaging technology lab with ARRI.
New AiMAGE imaging engine
Instead of only focusing on camera specifications, HONOR is building a more complete mobile imaging technology system across professional image capture, AI-powered processing, cinematic color science, and creator-focused workflows.
To support such workflows, HONOR has built a chip-device-cloud AiMAGE imaging engine. This connects the full imaging chain from physical capture to intelligent creation.
HONOR is developing a self-developed Transformer-based native AI ISP to reconstruct the image processing pipeline from the ground up.
This works alongside a next-generation pixel array and EVS sensor technology, designed to improve original image capture.
On the device side, HONOR is combining physical imaging hardware with real-time algorithms. As with the upcoming HONOR Robot Phone, there’s a titanium alloy three-axis gimbal, precision sensing hardware optical technologies, and real-time image processing algorithms.
Lastly, on the cloud side, HONOR is expanding imaging capabilities through RAW-domain image enhancement, spatial imaging technologies, and Imaging Agent tools.
ARRI image science, professional workflows for mobile creation
Furthermore, the partnership with ARRI enables HONOR to integrate selected elements of professional cinema workflow into mobile imaging.
This includes ARRI LogC3, ARRI Wide Gamut 3, and ARRI Looks. These bring a more professional color and workflow foundation to the Robot Phone.
Unlike simple filters, LogC3 and Looks are part of a professional imaging workflow. The former is designed to preserve more brightness and color information for post-production.
Meanwhile, Wide Gamut 3 provides broader color space. ARRI Looks, on the other hand, helps creators apply controlled cinematic styles.
Together, these add-ons support a workflow that gives creators greater flexibility from capture to editing, while helping mobile footage retain more creative information.
To deepen the connection, HONOR and ARRI have also announced a joint imaging technology lab.
This will focus on three key areas:
- sensor-level optics and dynamic range;
- end-to-end cinema industry workflow from capture to post-production; and
- imaging realism and aesthetic standards in the AI era
Entertainment
UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony hits Makati in October
Determination arrives in October.
For so small of a game, UNDERTALE quickly made it into the gaming world’s hall of fame. Despite being only a decade old, the small title has had a major influence for modern-day gamers because of its unique gameplay, its lo-fi art, and, of course, its catchy soundtrack. If you’re a fan of UNDERTALE’s soundtrack, a unique concert experience is headed your way.
On October 17, Film Concerts PH, in partnership with SOHO Live, is hosting UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony at the Proscenium Theater in Rockwell, Makati.
The concert will be performed by the Filharmonika Orchestra and conducted by Thanapol Setabrahmana. Personally curated by creator Toby Fox and developed by Lambert Jackson with Materia Music, the concert experience showcases the game’s most recognizable tunes laid over gameplay footage playing simultaneously. Plus, for the world tour, the experience will have expanded scoring.
In the game, you play as a small child stuck in the mysterious Underground filled with interesting characters and monsters. Unlike traditional RPGs, UNDERTALE asks players to choose between building relationships and chasing after wins. It’s a unique experience that’s defined by whether you chose to make friends or fought your way to the top. It teaches players to value different ways to solve problems, all while showering them with its one-of-a-kind humor.
Pre-sales for the concert, exclusively for members of the Film Concerts PH community, start on August 4. Public sales, however, will start on August 11 via Ticketmelon.
SEE ALSO: The hunt begins: The Witcher in Concert hits Manila with surprises in tow
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