Huawei P50 Pro in review: Unboxing and first impression
A TEST REPORT from Fabian Menzel 
on September 13, 2021, 6:00 am | Write a comment
A few weeks ago Huawei officially introduced the new P50 Pro for the Chinese market, among other things, and since then things have been rather quiet around the smartphone. The reasons for this are, on the one hand, that Huawei is not allowed to install 5G processors due to the problem with the USA, which is an important issue especially in China, and, on the other hand, because a market launch in Europe is still considered quite unlikely.
We now have a Huawei P50 Pro from China with the Kirin 9000 4G, unpack it, look at what is (not) included and then report on our first impressions after a few days of use.
Unboxing
The box of the Huawei P50 Pro is actually very different from last year's P series packaging. It is white and decorated on the front with the product name, the lettering "Powered by Harmony OS" and two large circles, which of course are intended to indicate the new "dual matrix" camera design. After removing the cover, the first thing that comes to light is the smartphone, which is still in a film for protection. A film to protect the display is also attached from the factory, which can definitely be used well. In addition to the smartphone itself, the Chinese manufacturer also supplies the usual paper stuff, a SIM needle for the dual SIM slot and a transparent protective case that makes a solid impression. After Apple and Samsung, Huawei is now unfortunately also dispensing with a power supply and a suitable USB-C cable in the scope of delivery, which is also the reason why the box, similar to the S21Ultrais so small.
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- The box is very small, but I think it's pretty chic. (Image: TechnikNews)
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- For a flagship smartphone from 2021, the scope of delivery is very disappointing. After Apple and Samsung, Huawei is now also dispensing with a power supply unit. (Image: TechnikNews)
Huawei P50 Pro first impression
Starting with the design, which is without question one of the highlights of the Huawei P50 Pro. It measures 158,8 mm in height and 72,8 mm in width, which means that the smartphone can still be operated quite well with one hand. In addition, there is a display that is slightly rounded on both sides, which makes the P50 Pro look even narrower in the hand. The weight of 195 grams and the thickness of 8,5 mm match the design perfectly. The frame is made of metal with a high-gloss look and glossy glass is used on the back, which feels extremely high-quality in the hand. Fingerprints cannot be avoided, but with the color I tested Pearl Whitethat I find beautiful, these don't stand out too much. In addition to the color, the new camera design should also immediately catch the eye, something I have never seen in this way on any other smartphone. Huawei speaks of the so-called Dual matrix Camera design: At the top left there is space for a total of four sensors, which are housed in two huge, black circles, which in my opinion looks really good and I am glad that the manufacturer has dared to do something new here.
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
Next, let's focus on the display, which I've really liked so far. It's a 6,6-inch OLED display, which has an extremely sharp resolution of 2.700 x 1.228 pixels, but for a flagship in 2021, Huawei would have liked to have chosen QHD + as the resolution. Colors are displayed beautifully, the brightness is sufficient even on sunny days and the black value is excellent as usual. The viewing angle stability is also good; the screen only turns a little yellowish at extreme viewing angles. My personal highlight and the biggest difference in terms of display compared to its predecessor concerns the refresh rate. While that P40 Pro from last year was one of the few flagships with only 90 Hertz, the successor finally comes with a smooth refresh rate of 120 Hertz. Paired with the Kirin 9000 4G under the hood and the extremely smooth animations of Harmony OS, the Huawei P50 Pro is currently one of the fastest and smoothest smartphones I have ever used.
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
The biggest criticisms and the reason why I can hardly recommend the smartphone are the lack of Google services and the lack of 5G connectivity. Personally, it doesn't bother me too much, but I know that most people value it, which I can of course understand 100 percent.
Last but not least, I would like to tell a little about the cameras that are loud DXO mark are currently the best in a smartphone. I cannot confirm whether this is the case, I need a little more time for that, but so far the cameras are a lot of fun, especially the zoom. Although on paper we are dealing with a step backwards compared to the predecessor - the P40 Pro still had a 5x and the successor only a 3,5x optical zoom - the P50 Pro takes better pictures in everyday life and even comes close to the 10x optical zoom of the P40 Pro + approach. That's pretty impressive. The first impression of the main camera also takes very good pictures, which are characterized above all by a significantly better color rendering than the predecessor. The ultra-wide-angle camera is unfortunately quite a downgrade in terms of sharpness, but it is now noticeably wider and colors are displayed more accurately.
A detailed test report with several camera comparisons can be found here: