Huawei P40 Pro and Pro Plus phones may rival the best cameras out there - CNET, Cnet.com

Huawei Huawei has just taken the wraps off its latest superphone series. It unveiled the P , P (Pro) and (the P) (Pro Plus in) an event livestreamed on YouTube Thursday, and there’s no question that these phones are all about the cameras. The P costs euros (about $ 891, £ 799 or AU $ 1, 659); the P (pro is) (euros (about $ 1, , £ 1092 or AU $ 1, 823). Both will ship April 7. The P (Pro Plus will cost 1,) (euros) about $ 1, , £ 1, 0387 or AU $ 2, 550 and ships in June. None of them will be available officially in the US, and none will have access to Google services, due to Huawei’s ongoing difficulties with the US government .

(The standard P) comes with three rear cameras, the P 49 Pro ups that to four and the P Pro Plus comes with five. All three models have a – megapixel standard zoom lens, equipped with a larger sensor for better low-light imaging. The standard P (also has a – megapixel ultra wide lens and an 8-megapixel optical zoom. The P Pro ups that to a

– megapixel ultrawide lens and a 22 – megapixel 5x optical zoom. It also has a time-of-flight sensor for better depth sensing to add an artfully out-of-focus background to your portraits.

Huawei

The P . Pro Plus is the hero of the trio. It comes with the standard – megapixel zoom, a

– megapixel ultrawide-angle camera, an 8-megapixel optical zoom, as well as the time-of-flight depth sensor. The zoom skills are what set the Pro Plus apart from the rest. This is the first time we’ve seen a 12 x optical zoom on a phone and I’m keen to see just how it compares to the 4x optical zoom offered on Samsung’s (Galaxy S) Ultra

The Pro Plus can also achieve

. (x zoom – just like the S) Ultra. Huawei showed off a comparison photo from both phones taken at 189 x zoom. Huawei’s did look clearer, but I’ll reserve judgment on that until I can get both phones side by side. Apart from the zoom, the P

range promises improved low-light imaging, which is exciting as Huawei’s phones were already superb in the dark. They also get various AI updates including a mode that can apparently automatically remove passersby in your photos. Again, I’m going to wait and see how that works outside the presentation.

Huawei

Beyond the cameras, the phones have some impressive hardware. The display on the P (Pro and P) Pro Plus wraps so far over the sides of the phone that there’s basically no bezel at all. It looks great in the images and videos Huawei’s shown off so far, but whether it makes them a little awkward to hold remains to be seen. The screens themselves are OLED, have high resolutions and support HDR – which is all pretty much what you’d expect. Under the hood is Huawei’s latest Kirin processor, which supports 5G . It also promises better performance and better power consumption. I’ll be putting that to the test soon.

Other treats include faster in-screen fingerprint scanning, faster wireless charging and updates to Huawei’s EMUI 1 software for better multitasking.

Huawei

Speaking of software, these phones won’t support Google services, so you won’t have access to the Google Play Store, Gmail, Maps and so on. That’s going to be a major downside for most people, but Huawei did make a lot of noise about the increase in developers it’s working with and the number of people using its own app store. There are plenty of apps on Huawei’s app gallery, but it’s worth checking out if your favorites are available before you spend your money. (Read more about what it’s like to use a phone without Google services in our (Huawei Mate) Pro review from a few months ago.)

Overall these phones are pretty much what I’d expect from Huawei – potentially awesome camera skills, attractive design, 5G, the latest processors and no Google. But how it all comes together in the real world remains to be seen when I put the phones to the test.