Update: Winfuture, a German website leaked the price of Huawei P40 Pro and now we knew it will cost at 1,000 euros.
Original Story
Would you like to buy Huawei P40 or P40 Pro with no Google services? The ban by Trump administration is still in force, and Huawei P40 series launch is coming closer. Could Huawei new HarmonyOS fulfill its space in a couple of years, what Google has built over the decades? Like a rollercoaster, Huawei had suffered ups and downs back in 2019 with the Huawei P30 and P30 Pro (running Google mobile services) and Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro (no Google Apps). But what if Huawei in 2020 is going to have a similar terrible experience (as of Mate) with Huawei P40 and P40 Pro, especially in the western world where folks breathe on Google mobile services such as PlayStore, YouTube, and Google Maps, etc. Is the principle works for Huawei in this situation “Necessity is the mother of invention”? OR, Has Huawei derived any solution to Google Apps for Huawei P40 smartphones? Let’s talk in detail what you should expect from the upcoming Huawei P40 series as we gathered all leaks, rumors, and reports so far in one place.
Huawei P40 Release Date
Richard Yu, president of Huawei Mobile Business Group, confirmed the Huawei P40 and P40 Pro devices to introduce at the end of March 2020. However, the exact date has not yet revealed officially. Some rumors are claiming March 23 while Evan Blass suggested March 26 for the P40 unveiling. We are in favor of an earlier release date since the P30 and P30 Pro had announced at the same time (March 23) last year. Europe should be the first destination, according to the previous pattern.
Will any Huawei P40 Pro Premium Edition exist?
Every year we see three Huawei P cell phones – the first is a regular, second is a pro, and the third is a Lite (cheaper) version. Rumors are Huawei will introduce a P40 Pro Premium Edition this year against the Mate Porsche lineup. It is hard to believe because any Huawei spokesperson didn’t reveal anything about the premium edition. If it happens true, the P40 Pro Premium Edition will be more expensive than ever Huawei P mobile. Talking about the affordable version, Huawei P40 Lite is said to be a rebranded Nova 6 SE (outside China) that already exists.
How much will Huawei P40 cost?
Huawei P30 and P30 Pro had retailed at $749 and $1,049, respectively. Being the successors, they would cost a bit higher. We expected Huawei P40 and P40 Pro Prices are likely to be $799 and $1,099. The Huawei P40 pre-orders and sales will begin at the end of March 2020 for Europe and a month later (April) for the rest of the world.
P40 Design
Some CAD-based renders of P40 duo are circulating on the internet. Those images revealed the P40 to have a Flat Screen while P40 Pro with an Edge Display. There are two punch-hole selfie cameras placed at the top-left screen corner of both P40 and P40 Pro. On the back, P40 leaks showed a camera bump possessing triple rear shooters aligned vertically. The same camera bump is available on P40 Pro but owning five back snappers in total. There is no sign of physical Fingerprint Sensor, which hints toward an In-Display FR just like P30 and P30 Pro. In short, the significant difference in design between P30 and P40 families is the number of cameras and their orientation, whether on front or back.
Once again, we will miss 3.5mm audio jack that’s probably unfortunate for some Huawei P40 candidates.
P40 and P40 Pro Build
Unlike Huawei P30 (IP53 rated), we expect the standard as well as the pro version of P40 to have an IP6X rating. Hence, they will be dust and water-resistant up to 2m for a 30minutes session. Like the Huawei P30, the P40 lineup should have aluminum bodies protected by alumino-silicate glass, not Corning Gorilla Glass 6. Alumino-silicate is a raw material used in mobile glasses technology similar to Corning glass, which is itself made by a thin layer of chemically strengthened Alkali-AluminoSilicate. The disadvantage of directing apply this material is the aggressive bulk layer on mobile screen or back, less scratch-resistant, and adds some ounces in the total phone’s weight. Apart from this, AluminoSilicate gives a stronger grip while holding as compared to Corning Glass.
P40 Display
A leakster on Twitter, Rodent950 posted some leaks of P40 duo and revealed the screen sizes of upcoming Huawei smartphones. According to the origin, Huawei P40 will sport a 6.4inches while P40 Pro will have a 6.7inches screen. On the other hand, some other sources like Pocket-lint suggested the P40 with 6.2inches and P40 Pro with 6.5 to 6.7 inches screen. The first suggestion by Rodent950 is widely believed across many different sources but remembers none of them got confirmation. Judging the leaks and rumors, what we can accept is only 6.7inches touchscreen for Pro while keeping silent on its sibling.
The display type is said to be OLED with a 120GHz refresh rate for both Huawei P40 and P40 Pro. We can consider it because some other flagship phones like Samsung S20 are said to follow a new trend of 120GHz display this year. Resolution should be FHD+ (2K) for standard and QHD+ (4K) for the pro version.
P40 Software
Let’s come toward the most debatable topic nowadays for Huawei's high-end phones. Huawei P40 and P40 Pro might not run even open-source Android OS (if US Govt. not removed the ban on Chinese brand). It seems the company has tired of Android mess with the USA, and this trade-war could result anytime switch to Huawei Mobile OS.
Richard Yu, president of Huawei Consumer, told in an interview that the Huawei P40 duo might run Harmony OS according to the current situation. But the strategy could be changed if the US would cooperate on any deal for Google Android. (HarmonyOS is the system software developed and owned by Huawei.)
What does that mean Huawei could access Android? OR, Huawei lost the Google Apps forever and its western consumers too? It is early to predict anything. Possibly, Trump may grant Huawei to renew the Android license by 2020 before the Huawei P40 announcement. Otherwise, we expect Huawei must find any solution to access essential Google apps, though not running Android. Just like the Mate 30, Huawei HiSuite app lets the user play the LZ trick to download PlayStore first, and then you can install other Google Apps too (like YouTube). It is a big challenge for Harmony OS since it's not a Mate 30 with at least an open-source Android operating system.
P40 Camera
Seven cameras you should expect from Huawei P40 Pro while there are a total of five cameras along standard P40. As we told above, each phone will obtain two Selfie Shooters while the reaming of total camera lenses will be present at the back for photography. According to the rumors mill, both the devices will have a Sony IMX 64MP primary wide-angle sensor. It is not only a higher megapixel lens, but that's also about Huawei P40, and thus, you should expect it to be rank among the future best camera phones. The other speculated sensors are Telephoto, Ultrawide, and a 3D Time of Flight camera. There should be at least one f/1.5 or f/1.6 aperture lens for Pro to improve low-light shots.
Ming-Chi Kuo, the analyst at TF International Security, gave a briefing on Huawei P40 and P40 Pro telephoto sensors. He predicted Huawei P40 Pro would have a newly designed 8MP periscope telephoto sensor with f/4.0 aperture, which will have two mirrors and an extended field of view to achieve 10x optical zoom. Also, Kuo predicted that Huawei would equip a 5x optical zoom telephoto lens in the standard version.
Video recording aspects will also be upgraded, 4k at 60fps, and FHD Super Slow at 960fps. EIS and OIS should be supported.
P40 Hardware
Mr. Richard Yu, Huawei CEO, claimed that Huawei P40 and P40 Pro would bring Kirin 990 5G to improve the Internet speed. Furthermore, He suggested the Huawei plans to sell Kirin 990 5G chipset built with an integrated 5G modem.
You may a bit disappoint to know Kirin 990 received 457,357 scores by AnTuTu benchmark for overall performance. However, Snapdragon 865 achieved 568,919 AnTuTu scores. So it's a bit difficult for Kirin 990-powered P40 to approach Samsung's upcoming flagship, Galaxy S20 powered by Qualcomm SD865. Rumors mill claimed P40 would support Dual SIM 5G connection, NSA, and SA (because Kirin 990 is capable of doing this).
Coming to the next, RAM and ROM should be 8GB DDR4 and 128GB UFS 3.0 for base models of P40 duo. Also, there should be a 12GB RAM variant for Pro. In terms of storage, Huawei P40 will arrive in 256GB and 512GB internal memory while P40 Pro will be available up to 1TB storage.
For gaming lovers, there will be a Mali-G76 MP16 GPU that spreads excellent graphics on display and gives animations a perfect look.
P40 Battery and Charging Capabilities
We hope Huawei won’t neglect the battery importance, and it will rank 4000mAh or above respectively for P40 and P40 Pro. Pocket-lint guessed a 5500mAh battery for the pro model but no word on vanilla P40. We expect to see a 65W Fast Charge for the most exclusive version, as Kirin 990 is eligible for this. Huawei P40 Pro should support 25W Wireless Charge, too.
Unfortunately, some recent rumors were claiming Huawei P40 Pro to get a Graphene Battery, but the Huawei officials denied by saying the technology is far away from now.
The article is regularly updated, so stay tuned to get the latest updates on Huawei P40 and P40 Pro.
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