Huawei was already at the peak of their popularity — not until the US vs China feud happened. Three years later, the Chinese tech giant hasn’t given up on the global smartphone market race.

The Huawei P50 and P50 Pro were teased last June 2021 and got announced in China a month after. After six more months, they finally made their latest flagship available to the rest of the world — Singapore and the Philippines included.

I’m keen on using their newest P-series smartphone as the last Huawei phone I tried was the Mate 30 Pro from 2019. But does this phone deserve the credit for being called a “legend reborn”? Did it actually get better over those years of despair and doubts? Read my honest thoughts below.

In a nutshell

This in-depth review is divided in four (4) parts. You can skip ahead and scroll down depending on what you’re curious about:

1. Topnotch cameras
2. More great stuff
3. The drawbacks
4. Is the Huawei P50 Pro your GadgetMatch?

For the spec-obsessed, here’s a rundown of the P50 Pro’s internals between the Chinese and Global version:

	P50 Pro (China)	P50 Pro (Global)
Display	6.6” 120Hz OLED	6.6” 120Hz OLED
Processor	Kirin 9000 5G 5nm chipset	Snapdragon 888 4G 5nm chipset
Memory	8/12GB	8GB
Storage	128/256/512GB	256GB
Battery	4360mAh 66W Wired SuperCharge 50W Wireless SuperCharge	4360mAh 66W Wired SuperCharge 50W Wireless SuperCharge
Operating System	HarmonyOS 2.0	EMUI 12 (Android 11)
Colors	Black, Gold, White, Pink, Blue	Golden Black, Cocoa Gold

Topnotch cameras

I’d like to talk about its cameras first since its the main highlight of this flagship.

For conscious mobile photographers, the Huawei P50 Pro consists of five cameras: four at the back and one in front.

• 50MP f/1.8 wide (PDAF, Laser AF, OIS)
• 13MP f/2.2 ultra-wide
• 64MP f/3.5 periscope telephoto (PDAF + OIS)
  • 3.5x optical zoom
  • 100x digital zoom
• 40MP f/1.6 B&W sensor
• 13MP f/2.4 front camera

If you look closely, you’ll find the lens and its sensors all along that monstrous dual-circle camera layout. Fortunately, the LEICA partnership is still here.

Consistency is key

Unlike flagship smartphones I’ve reviewed in the past, the cameras of the Huawei P50 Pro are pretty consistent across the board.

Whether you use ultra-wide, wide, or the periscope telephoto lens during day time, it will provide you great results with little to no adjustments in color and contrast.

In the example above, both the ultra-wide and wide lenses performed like it came from a single sensor with the right amount of highlights and shadows. Even the AWB (Auto White Balance) looked similar. Other phone brands aren’t consistent with how they process their images despite having great camera sensors and chipsets.

Surprisingly, all lenses performed coherently even at night. The vast camera array of the P50 Pro proved to be topnotch with that consistent look.

And yes, that bokeh effect works on closer subjects (like that cute stray cat) even when it’s already past golden hour.

There are times where zooming out gets a better overall shot. Shooting the greenery through ultra-wide night mode actually helped in emphasizing the scenery better than what the main lens produced.

Sometimes, you don’t even need to shoot with night mode on to get desirable results. For instance, this indoor shot was taken just via Auto Mode. Both the wide and telephoto shots still looked good and consistent.

The main star of the show

Using the main (wide) angle lens should be enough for most occasions. Whether it’s for food, places, or portraits, the P50 Pro delivers well.

Even when they’re not taken using Portrait mode, the amount of subject-object segmentation is clear especially with that creamylicious bokeh at the back.

For an even wider view

I prefer using the ultra-wide lens mostly in perspective and landmark (pun intended) shots.

By framing the shot first before hitting the camera shutter button, the P50 Pro will surely produce great shots that doesn’t need any adjustments prior posting on social media.

Zooming in is my very best friend

Admittedly, I’ve used the P50 Pro’s periscope telephoto lens more than the wide lens for most subjects.

In hard-to-reach areas such as buildings and structures (architecture), I prefer zooming in and see what’s the best frame before capturing one.

It’s also very useful in scenarios that require rapid movement such as flying birds, as well as trees, grasses, and flowers getting hit by the breezy wind.

Most of the food shots I took were also captured using the zoom lens more than its wider counterpart.

The more I zoom in, the more I can focus on the intricate details of the food. It’s also helpful in hiding the phone’s annoying shadow when taking a photo through the main lens.

I’m a real sucker for golden hour shots. Even with just auto mode, the P50 Pro was able to capture these scenes just like how I see them in person. Truly astonishing.

Cafés at night also looked more warm and cozy just by pinching in onto the composition and focus on the shop’s decor instead of capturing the usual full façade.

Finally, the P50 Pro truly stunned me when I was able to take a clear shot of the moon — both in 30x and 100x. Even though it was digitally zoomed and the camera preview looked messed up, its AI algorithm produced such detailed moon shots even with just using Auto mode. No need to buy a telescope just to capture the whole full moon view.

Night mode saves the day?

While we’re already on the topic of night photography, I just also want to hype up Huawei’s Night Mode feature.

That heading might sound stupid but in situations where abundant source of light is missing, the Huawei P50 Pro was still able to process and display dark shots into something beyond the naked eye.

While true-to-life shots are what we want, activating night mode especially after sunset and in pitch dark areas are recommended for better night shot output.

I actually haven’t used any tripod nor any accessory in shooting those stars. All you need is to breathe, stay calm, be firm, and let the less than a second processing of the P50 Pro do its night mode magic for you.

Et voilà! With the right amount of passion and patience, you can also take great night time photos if ever you’re planning to buy this smartphone.

Fast AF

It can either mean “auto focus” or “as f***”. Whichever came to mind, I just want to point out that its Phase-Detection Auto Focus (PDAF) system, Laser AF, and OIS work wonders!

Whenever I ride my bicycle or sit at the back of a tricycle, the P50 Pro doesn’t miss a focused frame. This also adds a motion effect while the subject in-focus is still focused.

Even your pets in motion can be captured in an instant with its quick shutter release. Mind you, it works in both wide and zoomed modes.

Too warm? Or just right?

We all have our preferences in photos. Sometimes, I just feel like the P50 Pro produces warmer shots than what I see in reality.

But sometimes, having a warmer tone in photos adds more life to them.

AI (sometimes) hate you

Or maybe I was just right all along. The P50 Pro tends to produce warmer shots whenever night mode is turned on.

The same goes when AI is turned on while trying to capture food photos.

Whether it’s the green salad or these ensaymada buns, the P50 Pro’s AI algorithm over-enhances photos compared to what I see in real life.

Night mode also brightens up photos a bit too much. When I know it’s too much, I turn off night and AI mode completely.

When in doubt, just use Black and White

If you want to add more drama to your shots, the B/W sensor of the P50 Pro can result to well-toned monochrome shots.

Two lens modes for the price of one

Unlike the past P-series flagships, the P50 Pro only has one selfie camera placed at the center instead of the usual upper left side.

Aside from the regular angle lens, you get an even wider view at 0.5x for better groufies.

This became very helpful especially during this time where we’re all required to comply with social distancing for the safety of everyone.

And even though I look empty in these selfies, it amazes me that the P50 Pro’s front camera can shoot an ultra-wide angle selfie.

More great stuff

1. Eleganza extravaganza

The Huawei P50 Pro screams elegance and sophistication. From its shiny back and metal railing, it looks and feels like any other premium flagship.

The colorway that I have is the Cocoa Gold. But when you actually see it in person, it looks more silver-y with some hints of bronze. It’s hard to explain but I feel my photos did the phone’s color some justice anyway.

The most eye-catching feature for me isn’t actually the color, rather the camera cutout itself. Looking back at the Huawei P9 with its dual-camera design, Huawei made a “legend reborn” with the P50 Pro by having what they call the “Dual-Matrix” camera design.

While most of you might not be a fan of it (some of my friends even pointed out it looks like a washing machine and dryer combo), I’m a fan of its form that goes hand-in-hand with the overall ergonomics of the phone.

Holding the phone one-handed isn’t a sore at all!

Whenever I hold it, it feels surprisingly light but with the right amount of heft. Whether I use it for calls, chats, social media, shooting photos, and even playing games, the phone is comfortable to hold.

2. Astounding audiovisual experience

Probably one of the biggest features of the P50 Pro is its 6.68-inch OLED display with a punch-hole cutout. Let us remember that the Huawei nova 4 was one of the first smartphones to introduce the display tech.

If you remember the P40 Pro from 2020, it had a dual notch at the left side. Now, Huawei has also decided to move it into the center just like Xiaomi did with their recent 11T and 12 series. Its refresh rate was also bumped up from 90Hz to a 120Hz panel for a smoother and snappier UI navigation.

K-Pop music videos are known for their bright and color-popping visuals. Thanks to the display’s 1B colors, the P50 Pro was able to show colors that my IPS monitor cannot even produce.

I was even able to watch Netflix’s 그 해 우리는 (Our Beloved Summer) in its full glory. How? I’ll explain more later.

Was even able to play a 4K HDR copy of Disney’s Encanto. The moment I played it, that’s when I realized the P50 Pro has one of the most immersive and true-to-life smartphone displays out there.

Its stereo speakers are also loud enough with a decent amount of bass and treble. TMI but it’s the perfect device companion whenever I take a shower so I can sing while the music is playing. And if you’re worried about accidental splashes and submersion, it has IP68 water and dust rating too.

3. Once an Android, still an Android

While the new HarmonyOS 2.0 is making waves in China, Huawei still decided to ship the global version with EMUI 12 based on Android 11. If you’ve grown into Huawei’s custom Android skin, this wouldn’t be a problem. I even enjoyed navigating through the phone’s UI even if I’m accustomed to Apple’s iOS.

With the presence of the Huawei AppGallery, I was able to download most apps I use in my other phones: Telegram, Viu, 9, Lazada, Shopee, GCash, and other local banking apps.

If you’re still worried about other apps that are not found in the AppGallery, there’s also APKPure integration. That’s what I used to download APK versions popular streaming apps such as Netflix, Disney+, Apple Music, Spotify, and more.

If you’re worried about missing your social media apps, don’t worry as you can also install Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Slack, Discord, among others.

I was even able to download Genshin Impact and Call of Duty: Mobile with ease. If you’re worried about updates, installing the APKPure app will notify you just like Google’s Play Store.

4. Speedy performance

After installing those graphics-intensive games, I immediately tested how the P50 Pro performs. As we all expect, Snapdragon 888 performed great. There’s even a dedicated Game Booster tab whenever you open a game so you can turn off unwanted notifications and take screenshots or screen recordings at ease.

Asphalt 9 is always the best racing game to test out in any smartphone — though it’s a different case if you own Forza Horizon 5 and are subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Although Genshin Impact was stuck with medium settings, playing it still felt smoother and more responsive. And if you wish to bump up the graphics quality, you’ll just end up overclocking the smartphone — which you don’t want to do since this is a device with a chipset that isn’t user-replaceable (unlike PC rigs that can be replaced when the overclocked chipset breaks).

For people who continuously whine about Snapdragon 888’s overheating issues, sorry to break it to you but I didn’t experience any significant heating or lagging issues when I played these games.

5. Small yet long-lasting battery

With just a 4360mAh battery, most of you wouldn’t expect a full-day of battery life with moderate usage but my experience begs to differ.

I was able to binge-watch three episodes of 모범택시 (Taxi Driver) in Netflix continuously from 35% before the phone died. If I’ll do the math for you, that was more than three (3) hours worth of video playback.

If that isn’t believable enough, I also went out with this phone to take a lot of sample photos plus some social media updating in-between. Believe it or not, it only managed to consume 15% of its overall percentage. This is also safe to say that the 4G-only Snapdragon 888 was efficient to save battery life in times where you don’t play hard on it.

The drawbacks

1. 2021 flagship with a 2019 back

Despite loving its dual-matrix camera design, I’m not a total fan of this finish. While there’s an included silicon case in its packaging, dust and smears still accumulate over time.

I haven’t even started yet but it’s difficult to clean its back when I did beauty and usage shots for this device — even when I used a soft microfiber cloth for it. I’d rather have a “boring” matte back over a shiny back that’s ultra-glossy and smudgy that made waves until 2019.

2. Not all curves are pretty

I used to love curved smartphone displays way back when Samsung announced the Galaxy S6 Edge in 2015. But after realizing it’s more of an aesthetic rather than function, it became more of a “gimmick” for me.

I don’t think having a curved display means “premium” especially when most phone brands slowly transitioned their flagship smartphones back to flat displays for durability and better display legibility.

During those instances where you’re surrounded with uncontrollable bright lights, those make the curved display more prominent. It may be immersive for some, but it’s distracting for me. It’s also just more expensive to get repaired if ever it gets knocked down on the floor and shattered.

And should I also mention that its in-display fingerprint scanner sometimes require multiple presses in order to get recognized?

3. Where’s 5G?

I know you’re wondering and it isn’t a typo. The P50 Pro is equipped with a flagship-grade Snapdragon 888 — but only with 4G.

The China-exclusive P50 units were shipped with Kirin 9000 — which is a 5nm 5G chip that made its debut through 2020’s Mate 40 Pro. If you’ve been keeping track of the Huawei saga for the past few years, Qualcomm has offered only 4G chips for Huawei, not those with 5G in it.

With the ongoing global chip shortage that also affected major players such as Apple, Sony, and Intel (and could last until 2023), it’s quite understandable for Huawei to reserve the Kirin chips in their homeland.

But admit it or not, most of us want a smartphone that could last up to three to five years. By then, 5G has drastically improved. And as someone who has experienced the instantaneous speeds of 5G and how it helped me do tasks faster such as downloading heavy files for editing or playing intensive games whenever I’m outside, the P50 Pro lacking 5G support is a dealbreaker for me.

Considering its competitive price tag in an already highly-competitive smartphone market full of 5G midrangers and flagships, this is where Huawei might able to make or break a customer’s satisfaction.

4. Super fast charging? Only with Huawei

To fully maximize Huawei’s super fast charging feature, you only need to use its bundled 66W SuperCharge adapter and USB-C to USB-A cable. I know they’re not the only one as Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi and vivo also do the same for their phones. But hey, the good thing is the chargers are still bundled!

Not that third-party chargers and cables won’t totally work, they’ll just charge the P50 Pro slower than what’s advertised. So if you have a large GaN charger and fast USB-C to USB-C cables like I do, forget it. The Huawei P50 Pro will still treat that as a normal 25W charger.

Here are the charging results using the 66W charging brick:

• 3 minutes = 4%
• 5 minutes = 10%
• 10 minutes = 25%
• 15 minutes = 38%
• 25 minutes = 55%
• 30 minutes = 67%
• 45 minutes = 92%
• 50 minutes = 98%
• 55 minutes = 100%

Whereas the third-party chargers and cables took longer as expected for about more than 65~70 minutes as Huawei limits the fast charging capabilities using other accessories.

5. Still, the lack of Google

While it may not be a problem for others, the lack of Google Mobile Services (GMS) is still a problem for most.

As someone who relies on Google apps often such as YouTube, Gmail, Meet, and Drive, it’s hard to justify buying this phone if the user wants the best of everything with Google in it. There is and will always be other Android smartphones out there with Google Mobile Services.

Luckily, there’s an app that could temporarily fix this issue. By installing GSpace from Huawei’s AppGallery, it will be able to open apps that rely on GMS. Albeit, you have to withstand another layer of pop-up ads before you can use an app — unless you pay for a premium and remove ads for life.

With it, I was able to open and play videos on YouTube, glance at emails on Gmail, upload photos to Drive, and even color-grade photos in VSCO. Just expect casual app crashes in-between.

And with GMS in mind, one more rant is that EMUI doesn’t show music controls on the lock and control center if you play from third-party apps such as Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Spotify — unless it’s played by Huawei’s native Music app.

Is the Huawei P50 Pro your GadgetMatch?

If you’re that eager to own a smartphone with a superior set of cameras, astounding display and speakers, slim and lightweight design, flagship-grade performance with an efficient battery life, the P50 Pro is no doubt the best option for you. But if the lack of GMS, 5G, and other considerable drawbacks affect your purchasing decision, owning a Huawei smartphone simply isn’t for you.

For now, the Huawei P50 Pro has one of (if not the) best cameras in a smartphone today. This might be a bold statement but the P50 Pro can even beat last year’s Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra in terms of camera prowess. But remember, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is just around the corner so we have to wait before we can tell which smartphone has the best cameras in this specific quarter.

The Huawei P50 Pro is currently available in Europe for EUR 1199 (approximately US$ 1337, SG$ 1810, PhP 68,503). Stay tuned for the official Singaporean and Philippine pricing as they will be announced soon.

UPDATE 1: Huawei P50 Pro’s SRP (Suggested Retail Pricing) in the Philippines is actually cheaper at PhP 52,999 and comes with a free Huawei Freebuds Pro (worth PhP 7,999) if you purchase from February 4 to 10, 2022.

UPDATE 2: In Singapore, the Huawei P50 Pro retails for SG$ 1548. The phone is currently being sold in several retailers like Best Denki, Challenger, Courts, Gain City, iShopChangi, Lazada, and Shopee. It’s also available in carriers such as M1, Starhub, and Singtel,