Compare Huawei P30 Pro deals and contracts

Huawei P30 Pro

Huawei is pushing the camera as the headline feature of its 2019 flagship, the P30 Pro. With four sensors, excellent zoom and impressive low-light capability, the camera is undeniably strong - but reviewers have questioned whether its specs are weighed down by its software.

Reviewers liked

• Excellent camera with impressive zoom
• Efficient in-display fingerprint sensor
• Generous display size

Reviewers disliked

• Specs are not market-leading
• Display colours are a little dull
• Software is not visually appealing

The Huawei P30 Pro: In more detail

The Huawei P20 Pro was lauded for its photographic capabilities in 2018, and the P30 Pro looks set to follow in its footsteps. Huawei has again teamed up with camera manufacturer Leica to push its smartphone technology even further. The zoom is the feature that has impressed the most, with T3 calling it ‘phenomenal’, TechRadar calling it ‘mind-blowing’ and Engadget calling it ‘a revelation in smartphone photography’. Besides the camera, it’s a well-built phone, although it doesn’t match the Samsung Galaxy S10 or the iPhone XS in terms of specs.

Camera

The P30 Pro features a quadruple-camera setup on the rear. It has a 40MP wide angle sensor, a 20MP ultra-wide sensor, an 8MP telephoto sensor and a time-of-flight sensor (for better background blurring). The 40MP main sensor shuns the typical RGB configuration (red, blue, green) and instead uses RYYB (red, yellow, yellow, blue). This ‘Super Spectrum’ feature is designed to absorb more light, giving better low-light photos.

Reviewers agree that the camera’s most impressive feature is its zoom capability. Its telephoto lens offers 5x optical zoom, and it has a 10x hybrid zoom, both (Huawei claims) completely lossless. It can also use these features to produce a 50x digital zoom. TechRadar found the 5x and 10x zooms both worked ‘incredibly well’ while the 50x zoom gave ‘strong, sharp photos’, and Stuff found it ‘really impressive’.

Initial reviews of the camera’s low light photography have been mixed. TechRadar said it ‘didn’t impress massively’, while Engadget found it marginally less impressive than the Google Pixel 3’s night mode - although the P30 Pro won on its ability to zoom in low light. Android Authority found it to be ‘insanely capable’ in very low light, taking usable shots in almost complete darkness. The Verge have been effusive in their praise for the camera’s prowess in low light, stating that the P30 Pro ‘sets a new benchmark for night photography’.

Design

The P30 Pro has a premium-looking design, with a screen that curves round into the aluminium frame and only a very thin bezel. It comes in five pearlescent ‘gradient’ colour finishes: Breathing Crystal (light blue), Aurora (purple/blue), Amber Sunrise (orange), Pearl White and Black.

The phone is slightly taller and thicker than its predecessor, the P20 Pro, although it’s around 0.5mm narrower. The screen has a teardrop-shaped notch for the 32MP front camera, and an in-display optical fingerprint scanner. Huawei claims the latter is faster and more accurate than Samsung’s latest ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, which T3's reviewer found to be true in their tests.

Display

Huawei has increased the screen size on the P30 Pro to 6.47 inches (the P20 Pro had a 6.1-inch screen). The camera notch is also smaller than the P20 Pro’s, giving you more screen space.

The Full HD+ resolution means the display isn’t as sharp as the quad-HD+ screens on the Pixel 3 and LG G8, and the OLED panel can’t rival Samsung’s brilliant AMOLED display. However, T3 found it ‘colourful and vibrant’ while TechRadar thought it gave a ‘very impressive picture’ with a peak brightness that ‘stuns at times’. TechRadar also noted that its colours are more muted and natural, which may not be to everyone’s taste.

Performance, software and battery

The P30 Pro is powered by the Kirin 980 chipset, which Stuff calls ‘powerful, fast and intelligent’. This comes with either 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, or 8GB of RAM with options for 128GB, 256GB or 512GB of storage. Coupled with Huawei’s EMUI 9.1 software, this setup provides fast browsing and a fluid user experience - although TechRadar found it wasn’t as fluid as the iPhone XS or the Galaxy S10. T3’s reviewer was less impressed by the software, calling its design ‘outdated and infantile’.

Like the Mate 20 Pro, the P30 Pro has a hefty 4,200mAh battery. Huawei claims that advances in AI and battery management will make the new phone’s battery life even better than the Mate 20 Pro’s, which has been previously been described by TechRadar as ‘gigantic’. The phone also has 40W fast charging, which should get you from 0-70% in around half an hour, and fast 15W wireless charging too.

What the critics say (scores are out of 100)

100	Expert Reviews | Edward Munn, Nathan Spendelow ... the P30 Pro's wide-ranging photographic capabilities are simply the icing on the cake of perhaps the most well-rounded flagship to date. Read full review
100	ZDNet | Sandra Vogel The P30 Pro's headline feature is clearly its quad camera system, but there are plenty of other things to like about it. The in-screen speaker system works well, as does the in-screen fingerprint sensor. The OLED display is superb, and the battery should last all day for most users.... There are downsides, though. The phone may have a beautiful backplate but it's slippery as an eel, while the audio quality from the single speaker is not acceptable in a handset at this price. Read full review
100	ITProPortal | Michael Moore A superstar handset that won't let you down, no matter what you throw at it. Read full review
100	IT PRO | Bobby Hellard Steep price aside, the P30 Pro is a beautiful smartphone, with exceptional battery life and a set of unparalleled cameras - Huawei is zooming to the top. Read full review
100	T3 | Aaron Brown The phenomenal 5x optical and 10x hybrid zoom are unlike anything we've used before and allow you to capture photos that you simply wouldn't be able to get with any other smartphone. Read full review
100	Stuff | Natalya Paul The P30 Pro sports a camera array that'll have its competitors calling for emergency meetings. It's not just all software, there's been an impressive update to the hardware, resulting in what is an unbeatable zoom on a smartphone camera. Read full review
100	Pocket-lint | Mike Lowe With great design and colour options, immense battery life plenty of power and the P30 Pro isn't just a photography phone, it's arguably the best flagship phone we'll see in 2019. Its camera setup is currently untouchable too. Read full review
100	The Guardian | Samuel Gibbs The P30 Pro genuinely marks a massive leap forward for smartphone cameras with game changing low-light performance and a remarkable new zoom technology. Read full review
96	Ubergizmo | Hubert Nguyen ... the Huawei P30 Pro is an exceptional smartphone by many objective metrics. Read full review
95	Neowin | Rich Woods This camera does things that I'd never have thought possible on a smartphone. The low-light capabilities can see more at night than I can see with my eyes. Read full review
95	Australian PC World | Fergus Halliday The P30 Pro doubles down on the things that worked about its predecessor and pushes the envelope for smartphone photography even further... And if you're after the smartphone with "the best camera" and are happy to work with the quirks ...the Huawei P30 Pro is probably going to be the premium flagship smartphone for you. Read full review
94	Pickr | Leigh Stark We wish the screen had more protection going for it, and suggest grabbing a screen protector if you do, but the Huawei P30 Pro sets a new standard in smartphone cameras, and the rest holds up, too. Highly recommended. Read full review
94	TechAeris | Jason Bouwmeester If mobile photography is your thing, you'll be hard pressed to find a better camera on another phone. As such, we've awarded the P30 Pro with a Top Pick of 2019 here at Techaeris, largely for the camera alone. Read full review
93	TheEffect.Net | John Reilly ... the Huawei P30 Pro's camera department is the most featured packed on any smartphone available right now. Pair that with is virtually 'unkillable' battery, glorious full-screen display and buttery smooth performance and Huawei may have taken the crown of 'Best Flagship of 2019' and it's only April. Read full review
92	NotebookCheck | Daniel Schmidt The Leica quad camera is the star of the show, but the Huawei P30 Pro excels in other areas too and offers a compelling flagship experience. We hope that Huawei improves its video performance though. Read full review
90	Toronto Sun | Adam Swimmer what really impressed me was the P30 Pro's photography in low-light ... the images were generally quite clear and could handle contrast incredibly well. Read full review
90	AVForums | David Phelan It's good that the P30 Pro is getting the next Android software as without some updating it would have been hard to recommend. But as it is, there's every reason to have confidence in this phone's longevity. And anyway, it's already a highly potent performer. Read full review
90	Android Central | Harish Jonnalagadda There is no perfect smartphone, but the P30 Pro has everything you'd want from a flagship. More importantly, it has the best smartphone camera I've ever used, and the only one you'll ever need. Read full review
90	VentureBeat | Chris O'brien In comparison to the P20 Pro, the P30 Pro is not such a radical leap forward. But Huawei still managed to pack in some improvements that resulted in even more staggering photos. Read full review
90	Wired UK | Andrew Williams ... the Huawei P30 Pro is one of the most impressive phones in the world, by any metric. Read full review
90	CNET | Andrew Hoyle The Huawei P30 Pro's impressive camera skills and vibrant design easily beat the Galaxy S10 Plus and the Pixel 3, but political entanglements mean the phone won't come to the US. Read full review
90	MobileTechTalk | Craig Bradshaw The design, the colour variants available, the performance and battery life of the P30 Pro is top-tier and really cements Huawei as one of the clear flagship manufacturers of smartphones...At a price that rivals (or matches) many of the flagship devices from the other main players, the P30 Pro simply has to be judged on the merits listed above, and it certainly delivers a compelling offering. The P-series used to indicate Huawei's focus on photography over performance, but with the P30 Pro, perhaps Progressive is now a more apt moniker. Read full review
90	news.com.au | Nick Whigham The Huawei P30 Pro has also the bells and whistles you'd expect from a premium phone Read full review
90	Gizmodo UK | Sam Rutherford Almost any feature found on any other high-end premium phone-the P30 Pro has too. Read full review
90	The Economic Times The P30 Pro offers the best zoom on a smartphone camera to date. Read full review
90	jmcomms | Jonathan Morris There's plenty to play for in the world of mobile photography, and the Huawei P30 Pro is the gold standard right now. Read full review
90	Digital Trends | Andy Boxall The camera's supreme flexibility is matched by long battery life, strong performance, and the choice of some gorgeous colors schemes. Read full review
90	phoneArena | Victor Hristov The Huawei P30 Pro is a flagship-level phone with a good-looking design, somewhat quirky interface, fast performance, great specs, outstanding battery life, and a camera that captures good-looking photos. Read full review
90	TechRadar | John McCann It's not the perfect smartphone – such a device will likely never exist – but the Huawei P30 Pro gets pretty darn close, and it's the best camera phone we've used to date. Read full review
90	91mobiles | Nitansh Rastog It's a near-perfect flagship that doesn't falter on any aspect, be it design, display, performance or battery. While its software might evoke mixed reactions, you can overcome that...All said and done, the Huawei P30 Pro is a near-perfect flagship, which is usually a rarity, and won't leave you asking for more. Read full review
90	Trusted Reviews | Max Parker If you're happy to live with Huawei's version of Android, the P30 Pro is a fantastic flagship...The camera here is incredible, the battery life superb and the design slick enough to help it stand out. Read full review
90	AndroidPit | Steffen Herget The P30 Pro has set the bar extremely high for smartphone cameras... Only the software lags a bit behind the hardware. Here, Huawei has room for improvement and a lot of potential. Read full review
88	Android Authority | Bogdan Petrovan, David Imel There are two big ways smartphones can still improve substantially, at least until foldables come along. One is the camera, the other is the battery. The Huawei P30 Pro does both. Its advantages over competitors are almost unfair. Read full review
86	Mr Phone | Ershad Kaleebullah The Huawei P30 Pro has an excellent set of cameras inside a reliably good flagship smartphone. Even if you hate EMUI, I can easily recommend more than a few launchers for you to try out. It is Android, after all, that is the beauty of open-source software. Read full review
85	India Today | Sanket Vijayasarathy The Huawei P30 pro doesn't come cheap, but you can be rest assured that you will be getting a feature-packed flagship that doesn't disappoint. Read full review
85	Mobile Syrup | Dean Daley I'd recommend the P30 Pro to anyone looking for a device with a good camera and a battery that can last longer than a day...I would have liked the phone to feature a headphone jack or a hole punch display, as well as perhaps a higher resolution screen. Read full review
84	TechPP (Technology Personalized) | Nimish Dubey It is the phone that lets you leave your DSLR behind. Well, for a while anyway. Really. And if that does not tell you everything about the Huawei P30 Pro, nothing will. Read full review
80	Mashable India | Aakash Jhaveri If I were to get a phone primarily as a serviceable camera, the P30 Pro would win my wallet. It is targeted towards those who prioritise imaging over everything, and it does excel in that department. Read full review
80	The Indian Express | Anuj Bhatia The P30 Pro is the best smartphone Huawei has ever made. From its cameras,battery and performance, the P30 Pro gets a lot of things right. Read full review
80	GadgetMatch | Marvin Velasco If you value camera performance more than anything else in a smartphone, you really don't have to look any further. The P30 Pro is 2019's top camera phone so far, and it would take a lot to dethrone it. Read full review
80	Firstpost | Sheldon Pinto Basically, the P30 Pro is a device that's screaming with new technology, but you will not notice most of the new stuff that's been added and that's a good thing. Technology is not supposed to get in your way but simply let you explore more the way you are used to doing it. Read full review
80	Mashable | Aakash Jhaveri The Huawei P30 Pro is one of the exciting devices around, with cameras that can give every other phone a run for the money. Read full review
80	Gadgets Now | Komal Mohan ... a sleek and premium design, flagship processor and solid battery life and you're staring at a winner. Read full review
80	SlashGear | JC Torres ...a mobile photography experience that perhaps only Google's next Pixel might be able to threaten. Save for a few paper cuts, like unimpressive audio and a heavily-customized Android experience, the Huawei P30 Pro is almost perfect in every way. Read full review
80	The Verge | Vlad Savov ...if you care at all about mobile photography, this is a device you'll want to know about. Because the P30 Pro is blazing the trail that everyone else will follow, it's showcasing the future of photography in a phone that's available today. And, for once, the device playing that role isn't made by Apple, Samsung, or Google. Read full review

Compare Huawei P30 Pro specs side-by-side with other phones COMPARE SPECS

Dimensions & Form	Form factor: Touchscreen bar Dimensions 158 x 73.4 x 8.41 mm (6.22 x 2.89 x 0.33 in) Weight: 192 g (6.77 oz)
Screen	Size: 6.47 inches diagonal Resolution: 2340 x 1080 pixels Screen Density: 398 ppi Screen-to-Body Ratio: 88.6 % Display Type: OLED
Runs
Performance	Chipset: HiSilicon Kirin 980 (7 nm) CPU: Octa-core (2x2.6 GHz Cortex-A76 & 2x1.92 GHz Cortex-A76 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55) GPU: Mali-G76 MP10 RAM: 6/8GB
Camera	Main Camera: 40 megapixels (wide-angle) + 16 megapixels (wide-angle) + 8 megapixels (telephoto) + Time-of-flight camera with LED flash Secondary Camera: 32 megapixels
Storage	Built-in Storage: 128GB, 512GB Expandable Storage: Nano Memory
Battery & Charging	Capacity: 4200 mAh Removable Battery: No Wireless Charging: Yes Quick Charge: Quick Charge
SIM standard	Nano SIM Compare SIM Only deals
Water & Dust Resistance	IP68 Rating: Protection from contact with harmful dust, and protection from immersion in water up to a depth of 30m for up to 30 minutes
Fingerprint Reader	Front (under the screen)
References & More info	Official website GSMArena specs page

Photos taken with the Huawei P30 Pro

We've used Flickr to find a selection of pictures taken by the Huawei P30 Pro camera. Here is a selection of photos taken by users from around the world so you can see what kind of picture quality you can expect from real-world use of the Huawei P30 Pro.

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All images shown are used under the rights and terms specified by the Creative Commons.