The weekend brought on my test table a long-awaited flagship by the public, but also by me, that being, as the title of this post says - Huawei P40 Pro. I have been wearing this smartphone for a few days and I had the opportunity to use it as my main daily phone, or as they say in English, as a "daily driver". 
Find out what I particularly liked about this terminal and what not, but also other discoveries I made. The phone costs 3,999 lei during this period locally and you can still find out everything about the phone!
Unboxing Huawei P40 Pro
I start with unboxing and in the characteristic Huawei style it goes on a white box. Inside we find in the foreground the phone followed by accessories and textbooks. The user guide appears in the box, a transparent TPU case that allows you to still admire the design.
Also here is the USB-C cable and the 40W adapter for super fast power. In the package you will also receive a pair of standard headphones with USB-C port identical to what we see on most Huawei phones in recent years. 
It would not have ruined some premium headphones here, but during this period there is a special promotion that you can take advantage of. Thus, until April 26, the purchase of Huawei P40 Pro from partner stores brings you Freebuds 3 wireless headphones as a gift. In some cases, you also receive 50 GB of cloud storage depending on the retailer's offer.
Now that we've figured out how to deal with unboxing, it's time for design. From the first, there are some major changes compared to the Huawei P30 Pro in this regard. We say goodbye to the drop cutout on the screen and here we find a pill cutout (which is a bit big). It also hosts something extra next to the selfie camera as you will find out later. 
The screen is slightly curved on the side but also up and down, and regarding the edges of the front panel they are very narrow. This helps to immerse yourself in watching video content. Huawei P40 Pro comes with a unibody case and includes in the middle a metal frame that shines in the sun.
We have glass in front, and still glass in the back, but with a matte texture for a premium feeling that I personally really like compared to a glossy glossy surface. The rear camera has a noticeable protrusion that will cause the phone to sway on the table when used, but with a cover there should be no more problems. 
Find out that the phone weighs 209 grams and is 9 mm thick, but somehow it feels lighter. Comes in Silver Frost (Silver), Blush Gold, Deep Sea Blue, Ice White and Black.
As I said above, the screen is slightly curved sideways. The upper / lower parts also take on a curved shape. This is an OLED panel with a diagonal of 6.58 inches and Full HD + resolution of 2640 x 1200 pixels. A generous screen body ratio of 91.6% is reached, and HDR10 support is in place. 
We also check the 90Hz refresh rate that makes everything go "smooth" on the screen, from simple menu navigation to reading articles in the browser, respectively gaming sessions. The difference can only be felt in reality and is a notable upgrade that I appreciated. Regarding the resolution, I consider that FHD + is the ideal level on a smartphone of this size. The visual differences between FHD + and QHD + are not as great as you would expect. In addition, you have the advantage of lower energy consumption.
The display has, as I said, a pretty generous pill cutout in the upper left corner. In time, you will become accustomed to his presence in that place. If not, in the settings you have the option to show a black stripe in that area, so the cutout is hidden. The brightness provided is also sufficient for outdoor use. At night you can activate the dark theme throughout the system. There is also an Eye Comfort mode for eye protection, as well as an Always-on Display mode. 
Huawei P40 Pro is a flagship in all respects and does not make sacrifices as happens to other rival models. I am referring here in particular to offering 5G support on the basic version, a feature that makes it future-proof and for which you no longer have to pay extra if you especially want something like this. Inside the phone ticks the powerful octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G processor, a chipset developed on account of the 7nm + process.
Huawei P40 Pro Specifications:
It includes 2x 2.86 GHz Cortex-A76 cores + 2x 2.36 GHz Cortex-A76 cores and 4x 1.95 GHz Cortex-A55 cores. It has a Mali-G76 MP16 graphics processor and this version brings 8 GB RAM + 256 GB UFS 3.0 flash storage. If you are interested in expanding your storage space, find out that your phone has an NM slot of up to 256 GB.
Huawei P40 Pro has 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 6+ dual band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), but also A-GPS. We also have NFC, Bluetooth 5.1 and a USB Type-C port through which data is uploaded and synchronized. The fingerprint scanner is integrated into the screen and you will need to hold your finger for 1-2 seconds to unlock it. 
Authentication is very fast, and if you want another security method, find out that there is an IR ToF sensor for face unlock. This technique is also notable for its fast authentication time, but I personally appreciated the use of the fingerprint scanner. I found the area where it is located ideal because it is usually the place where the thumb reaches.
Huawei P40 Pro1 of 17 Although the benchmarks do not attest to the actual performance of a phone, we did a few such tests. You can see them above and find out that we scored 463138 points in AnTuTu. The scores in GeekBench 4 were 3860 points in the single-core test and 12263 points in the multi-core test. I didn't forget the graphics and used GFXBench to see what the phone can do. 5651 points were obtained in the Sling Shot Extreme test - OpenGL ES 3.1, respectively 5429 points in the Sling Shot Extreme test - Vulkan. 
The most interesting part, namely the camera, is the part that due to the current situation I could not test to the maximum. Limiting going outside, especially at night, did not allow me to see what the Huawei P40 Pro can do in terms of night shooting. However, from what I saw in the review of my colleague Alex on the sister site Mobilissimo, the phone handles excellently in this regard.
However, I tested the camera during the day in a short outing and tested the zoom, the ultra-wide sensor, but also the bokeh capabilities. As a reminder, find out that the P40 Pro comes with a quad-camera photo setup with the following components: 
It offers LED flash, HDR, but also Leica optics and the filming is done in maximum 4K at 30 or 60fps. You also have FHD slow-motion shooting at 960fps for unique shots. For selfie there is a 32 mpx sensor with HDR, 4K filming and secondary TOF sensor for bokeh. In the photo gallery below you will find different types of photos taken with different cameras in this setup, including zoom samples.
I tried to shoot a plane and things look really good up to 10x. The maximum digital zoom is 50x and with a tripod you should get successful images. You can also read the text from a great distance, and I personally think that a camera phone like the Huawei P40 Pro would help me a lot in the tech events I attend, where zooming is vital to get images with the devices. presented on stage and the officials of the companies hosting such shows. 
You will also find ultra-wide photos with zoom in the gallery, as well as some selfies. From the few moments I had the opportunity to take out the Huawei P40 Pro's camera, I noticed that the photos are very detailed, have good contrast and vivid color, especially in the images of nature where green predominates.
Photo exhibitions
Huawei P40 Pro1 of 47The interior seemed a bit dark to me, but overall the camera you have in your pocket with the P40 Pro should fully satisfy you, even exceed your expectations in some chapters. The selfies are detailed and clear, the only objection I have is the automatic application of contrast to highlight the background. I couldn't find an option to disable this feature, but since I'm not such a big fan of selfies, I don't mind too much.
At the acoustic level, although it has only one speaker on board, the Huawei P40 Pro manages to contribute to a pleasant listening regardless of the content played. This unique speaker is present in the lower area and you should not have problems even when you play because it is not so easy to cover with your finger. The volume is loud and clear, maybe too loud in some cases, and the bass is also present here to complete the audio experience. 
The vibrations produced by the speaker are minimal and you should see consistency whether it's voices, music, or games. Watching videos is one of the main activities we have on a smartphone, and Huawei P40 Pro does not disappoint in this regard. The AMOLED screen displays vivid colors and the higher refresh rate is a serious plus.
HDR support is in place, and when connected to the screen crop, it can sometimes become a visual nuisance, but you have the option to hide it with a black bar or depending on the application so as not to enlarge the appearance of the displayed image. The headphones in the box do their job for audio streaming, but also in calls, being equipped with a microphone. 
Nowadays, anyone who hears about a new Huawei phone is thinking from the start about the lack of Google certification and the Play Store app store. In reality, the situation is not so bad because there are alternatives or apk archives for your favorite applications so that you don't miss them on your phone. I use the following Google suite applications like Gmail, Drive and YouTube quite a bit every day. We don't have YouTube on this terminal but there is a YouTube Vanced alternative that you can find in the form of an apk anywhere on the web and that I also installed in 2 minutes on this Huawei P40 Pro.
For Gmail and Drive, there is always the option to access them from your web browser without too much hassle. You don't even have to worry about banking applications because Huawei is working to enrich the collection with as many titles as possible, including from Romania. Applications such as Banca Transilvania, BT Pay, BCR, BCR Plus in Account, BCR 24, but also Pago are currently available. The banking applications ING, BRD, as well as Raiffeisen are also being negotiated / prepared. 
Google Maps or Waze can't be used for GPS navigation (not even from the browser), but you can find some alternatives in AppGallery. However, I am waiting for Huawei to launch its own navigation application that is being talked about. To transfer the applications from my own phone, I used the Phone Clone application, which copied the titles to the Huawei P40 Pro in less than 10 minutes.
You can also transfer your messaging data, contacts, photos and anything else stored on your old device. Returning to the application transfer process, there were also titles that could not be copied or that failed. 
Here are the apps in my collection that have been successfully downloaded and are working:
As you can see, I don't play much on the phone, but in AppGallery you can find many games. I also successfully transferred the Canon Print printing application, the Fleksy virtual keyboard that I have been using for several years. Also the SmartPad application through which I control a smart light bulb ran smoothly.
Huawei P40 Pro1 of 25Spotify, Deezer and Shazam also work, but also the 500px application where I discover new photos from my favorite artists. As for the titles that could not be successfully run / transferred here, they are primarily those in the Google suite and banking applications:
For Chrome, Gmail and Drive I have alternatives, but for banking I still have to wait until they are included in AppGallery. The future is bright and we will soon have a native navigation app. In conclusion, this lack of Google services does not affect me so much, but as I said, for other users it can be a problem that weighs a lot when purchasing.
As we inform you in the list of specifications above, Huawei P40 Pro arrives equipped with a 4200 mAh battery. It is integrated in a case with a thickness of 9mm and a weight of 209 grams. We have support for fast power supply at 40W with the adapter in the box, something important to mention because other manufacturers offer the separate accessory for a fee, with a slower adapter arriving in the box.
Moreover, the P40 Pro also has support for 27W fast wireless power, as well as reverse wireless charging to power other phones. I was pleasantly impressed by how fast this phone charges by wire, a power supply from 5% to 99% being achieved in a fixed 60 minutes. It took up to 100% 2-3 minutes.
The autonomy is generous and I usually charge the phone in the morning, and the next day I still had 20-30% battery. I'm not a heavy user, but these days I've used the Huawei P40 Pro more than my phone. Photos, streaming audio, video, web browsing and all kinds of social applications were among the activities carried out. Even if you sit in your arms all day, charging at 40W will help and you can continue your work.
I came to the impressions formed after these few days of use, a few that are true but enough to get a great idea about the phone. I would have liked to be able to test the camera in more detail (especially at night) but as the current situation forces us to stay at home, this was not possible. Among the strengths that can be checked after this experience are the premium design (but a bit slippery), the high-end features and the room equipped to cope with any situation. Generous zoom check, ultra-wide check photos, detailed selfies check again!
Also here include the fast charging that won me over, but also the screen with a refresh rate of 90Hz. The content floats on the screen and offers a much smoother experience regardless of the task performed on the phone. The 5G support offered on the basic version makes it a future-proof phone.
What did I like?
What didn't I like?
I also have a few objections, including the size of the selfie cutout on the screen that can be distracting. It can be hidden from the software, but I would have preferred to see a "ball" cut out of the screen. This is even with the sacrifice of a poorer photo quality than the one delivered here.
Huawei P40 Pro1 of 35I must also admit that although the overall design of the phone is very good looking, it is very slippery. Fingerprints also gather quickly. Inevitably, the lack of Google certification also appears on this list of negative points, not because I would have too many applications in the Google ecosystem that I can't live without, only that there are 3rd Party titles that don't work without GMS. However, we are working on popularizing the store and porting these apps to AppGallery.
Price and availability
Huawei P40 Pro is currently available from most local retailers and operators. Many of them offering a discount of 600 lei on purchase. We have listed below the price list of the main traders. Find out that this is the version with 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage. Also, until the 26th of April, the purchase from the partner stores brings you the Freebuds 3 wireless headphones as a gift!