Huawei P30 Pro review: the smartphone with an ace up its sleeve
A TEST REPORT from David Wurm 
on July 29, 2019, 9:30 am | 🔥 popular | 2 comments
A few weeks ago we got up here TechnikNews already ours First impression to the Huawei P30 Pro released. I was able to test the device for you for a few weeks. Now it's time for our detailed test report.
In March of this year you got the Huawei P30 Pro officially presented. What is striking: With this smartphone, one does not really talk about its functions, but one hears the camera again and again. Exaggeratedly said, almost a hype has arisen about it. But why? Has the Huawei P30 Pro really have an ace up your sleeve when it comes to cameras? We take a closer look at this in the following review.
Jump to section
- 1 Unboxing: as always
- 2 Workmanship and design: well done
- 3 Display: with integrated loudspeaker
- 4 Performance: unchanged good
- 5 Camera: the ace up your sleeve
- 6 Battery: charge others easily throughout the day
- 7 The icing on the cake: waterproof and a fingerprint sensor in the display
- 8 Conclusion: too much hype about too much camera?
Unboxing: as always
As is typical for a Huawei smartphone, you will also find a small box here. As usual, the content consists of the smartphone itself, a USB-C charger, USB headphones and some pieces of paper. Unfortunately, there is no longer a USB-to-jack adapter. So you either have to get USB-C headphones or you use Bluetooth headphones. Also means that there is a jack on the Huawei P30 Pro also does not exist. But that's the case with most smartphones these days.
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- Lid open ... (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
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- … here comes the Huawei P30 Pro to appear. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
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- The packaging: yes, as always. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
Workmanship and design: well done
In my test report on the Huawei P20 Pro I already said it a year ago: The processing is top. I can't say the same thing about the successor a year later. Nevertheless, the design has changed quite a bit compared to the P20. The biggest innovation is probably the back, which now consists of a color gradient instead of a colored glass. What has remained the same, however, is that the glass reflects quite a bit. So if you hold it in the sun, you can see the fingerprints clearly - and you can see yourself. As a mirror, the Huawei P30 is Pro so also suitable – why not?
The color of the Huawei P30 Pro is very beautiful. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
One "Problem" hasn't changed: the point that it's extremely slippery. If it is on the table, it can happen that it becomes independent and tries to find its way onto the floor. I complained about that last year. But with the glass back, which by the way now looks very nice, that will not change either. Otherwise, the buttons are well integrated into the case and do not wobble around. The edges are also perfectly round - no defects at all in terms of workmanship.
Display: with integrated loudspeaker
The display of the Huawei P30 Pro has a special feature compared to other smartphones: It has an integrated loudspeaker. So you only find the teardrop notch, which is necessary for the selfie camera. The earpiece above is therefore completely eliminated - the sound is transmitted by means of special vibrations. However, this also means that it is fairly quiet when making calls, even at maximum volume.
The "droplet notch" saves space. And quite inconspicuous: there is still a loudspeaker under the time. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
In addition, you have to hold your ear directly to the marked area when making a phone call so that you can understand the person you are talking to as best as possible. Nevertheless, everything is very quiet, as mentioned above. Oh yes: briefly on the display data. Overall, the OLED panel has a full HD + resolution and measures 6,47 inches diagonally. If that's too hot for you or if you're afraid of a short battery life, you can switch back to HD + in the settings. After that, everything looks clearly out of focus. The standard setting "Smart Resolution" even regulates this on its own and is, in my opinion, the best option.
Performance: unchanged good
In terms of performance, there is nothing to complain about with the successor either. Inside is a Kirin 980 Processor with an AI chip (more of a marketing argument than really noticeable). This is supported by 8 GB of RAM and 128 or 256 GB of internal memory. For all tasks that can be done on the smartphone, the performs Prozessor his work very well. I only noticed a slight heat development when using the mobile phone while charging. Of course, for all the benchmark fans among you, there are also our typical test points here:
- Antutu: 290.184 points
Otherwise, the whole smartphone is responsive, multitasking and fast switching between apps proeasily possible.
Camera: the ace up your sleeve
The Huawei P30 is highly advertised Pro because of his camera. One could almost say that this is a bit "overhyped". But there is a reason for that. Overall, the Huawei P30 offers Pro three camera lenses on the back, one for color, the other for wide-angle and the third for zoom. This also allows a maximum zoom of 50x. If you jump over the 10x range when zooming, you even notice that the "zoom lens" is now activated. The downside, however, is that it's almost impossible to capture close-up objects with this lens. Then you have to go back below the 10x range to get the image sharp again.
The camera zooms without Problem up to 50x. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
These are the resolutions of the three lenses: 40 MP Huawei SuperSpectrum (f / 1.6), 20 MP wide-angle sensor (f / 2.4) and an 8 MP telephoto sensor (f / 3.4). There is also a fourth ToF camera, which is supposed to recognize objects and adjust the depth of field. The front camera has a resolution of 32 MP. Videos are possible in 4K at 30 fps.
The following pictures are completely unedited. Due to the sometimes very large file size and the resulting long loading times, it is somewhat compressed - losslessly.
Camera: the test images
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- Zoom to 1x. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
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- A little closer to the crane ... 10x zoom. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
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- Would you like a little insight? 50x zoom active. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
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- The pictures during the day are flawless. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
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- ... direct sunlight, on the other hand, has never been good for a camera. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
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- First ice cream 2019 - very colorful pictures. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
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- Without night mode. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
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- Night mode deactivated ... (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
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- ... immediately brighter with activated night mode. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
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- This is what the coming picture looks like with the naked eye ... (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
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- ... so with night mode - more than you can see for yourself. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
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- Oh yes, the colors with activated AI are too strong. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
In general, one can say that the photos are sensational even at night. Night mode can make pictures brighter than you can see them for yourself. This is very astonishing and I don't know of any other smartphone. I expected a lot from the camera - it met my expectations. However, you should deactivate the AI mode, as this often causes the images to get too much color. But if you want some “unnatural” pictures, you can leave it like that - then the colors will be even stronger.
Battery: charge others easily throughout the day
Key point battery: In the P30 Pro A 4200 mAh battery with fast charging function is installed. This is full in just under 1 hour thanks to Huawei's Quick-Charge and can charge the smartphone in 30 minutes to 60 Procharge cent. During my test, I achieved an SOT (Screen On Time - the time the display was switched on) of 8 to 9 hours on several days. In addition, the smartphone lasted almost 1 1/2 days review. Means: No later than on the second day at noon you have to send the P30 Pro recharge unless you are a really frugal user.
Then there is the exciting "reverse charge" feature, with which you can charge other smartphones. You can share the battery with your date, provided the other person's smartphone supports wireless charging. And yes, you can also use supported iPhones with the Huawei P30 Pro load! So in the future you can save yourself the sentence "Do you want my number?" and replace it with "Do you want something from my battery?". Oh dear, it was really bad – better continue straight away.
The icing on the cake: waterproof and a fingerprint sensor in the display
Before we round off this test report with a conclusion, Huawei also has the Huawei P30 with two features Pro made into a good complete package. On top of that, there is an IP68 certification and a fingerprint sensor under the display. This seemed to me to be a lot faster than with comparable models. Unfortunately, there is no longer a 3,5mm jack connection, but unfortunately that is now the fashion for smartphones from 2019. The jack-to-USB-C adapter is also no longer included. Too bad.
The best position for a fingerprint sensor is and remains for me on the front. (Image: © 2019 TechnikNews)
However, the speaker is not the icing on the cake. In the past, stereo sound was also possible with two loudspeakers (one is now under the display). Now the whole thing sounds more like a boring can. Sorry Huawei, but the Huawei P30 Pro is a real bore when it comes to music. You need a Bluetooth box to deliver properly at a party.
Conclusion: too much hype about too much camera?
Let's put it this way - yes, to the Huawei P30 Pro there was a little too much hype. Even if you consider that it is the first smartphone with a 50x zoom, this is quickly forgotten after a while. Rather, the good performance, good camera quality and good battery are very positive. Whether the camera now zooms up to 50x … okay. Functions such as reverse charging or the loudspeaker in the display are more nice-to-have than absolutely necessary.
Image: © 2019 TechnikNews
In general, you do with the Huawei P30 Pro good jumps into the future, but makes these jumps a little too small. Except for the camera, we have the same test results here as with the Huawei P20 Pro last year. Nevertheless, for the price of 999 euros (RRP), absolutely top-quality hardware is installed. Except for the rickety loudspeaker, I honestly can't find any other points of criticism here.
The price has fallen significantly, not least because of the trade dispute with the USA. The smartphone is currently available for a price of 695 euros on Amazon.
Thank you for providing the Huawei P30 Pro.
With dawn, red cheeks and the like, the camera has a rough one Proproblem with white balance. Sometimes I manually set it to very warm and it's still not as red as in real life.
The normal camera has one Proproblem with focusing on close objects. Now you could say, then take the macro camera. But unfortunately the app I want to use to scan the mini QR code on the fitness device doesn't know anything about the macro camera.
Otherwise the camera is great. And superior to any other smartphone... if we talk about photos.
I don't know why but apparently not many editors came up with the idea of filming. If the lighting is not perfect, the zoom has Probleme, the picture is gritty like with analogue ISO400 films, one has the impression that the optical zoom is not used at all because everything looks blurred and clumsy. On the poorly lit stage, which was far away, I understood that - the laws of physics can also overturn the Huaweibjicht. In the well-lit church just a few meters from the object, however, I lacked understanding. Although the camera has already filmed superbly in very similar conditions.
It is also difficult not to cover a microphone while filming and then to zoom ;-).
It's also easy to unintentionally change them Programs. If the camera doesn't do what you expect - just check to make sure nothing is wrong. Because with a portrait setting it looks bad if you actually wanted to take a panorama photo.
My P30 Pro does not charge to 100% with all Quickcharge chargers. As long as I don't have my USB C measuring device yet, I can't say anything specific about it.
Hello Chilli,
First of all, thank you for your detailed comment, which I would like to briefly address. 🙂
Of course, we try to test as objectively and precisely as possible, but I didn't actually notice the white balance and that's why I didn't mention it review. In addition, I last had the device in my hand during my test in the summer and the camera may have been "improved" in some points through updates - such as the white balance.
I am also so familiar with focusing on nearby objects that, as an emergency solution, I always moved away from the object and then used the zoom. It's a shame that it hasn't been fixed yet.
Oh yes: Unfortunately, not only we, but also many colleagues forget to include films in smartphone test reports. There is either a lack of time, a suitable motif or the lack of optimal test conditions (you should be able to somehow compare the videos of other smartphones). My colleagues on YouTube are often better placed, I have to admit. It is therefore best to always browse through several test reports and videos. 🙂
Cover the microphone and Program: I always held the phone by the side edges, otherwise this happens with almost every smartphone 😉
Strange, I didn't notice that. This always happens with my chargers from Huawei and Anker proworks flawlessly - which one do you use?
Hopefully our test report could still help you and give you a good purchase decision!
Best regards,
David from TechnikNews