Huawei Mate 50 Pro Gets Fancy Camera but Still No 5G
The phone packs some exciting tech and goes on sale in Europe with a sky-high price attached.
- Shortlisted for British Photography Awards 2022, Commended in Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022
Launched in China earlier in the month, Huawei's Mate 50 Pro has now been officially launched in Europe, coming with a suite of fancy tech including a changeable-aperture camera, but still without Google services or 5G connectivity. Two points that somewhat sting especially considering the phone's £1,160 price tag.
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The Mate series has typically been where Huawei has thrown some of its best innovations, and the 50 Pro seems to keep that spirit going. Alongside the 13-megapixel ultrawide and 64-megapixel telephoto cameras, the main 50-megapixel camera packs an aperture that can be changed from f/1.4 through to f/4. Shoot with it wide open, and it'll let in more light (up to 24% more, Huawei reckons) and give that attractive out-of-focus "bokeh" to your portrait shots. Stop it down to f/4 and you'll get more of your shot in focus.
Samsung's Galaxy S8 packed a similar system, having just two aperture options. The Mate 50 Pro uses six aperture blades to vary the size of the opening, just like a professional camera lens. How much impact this has on images in real life remains to be seen.
The 6.74-inch OLED display has a 120Hz refresh rate, is HDR-certified and is covered in a material Huawei calls ceramic glass that's been toughened at temperatures reaching 1,600 degrees Celsius. The company reckons it's the most impact-resistant screen around -- a claim I'm more than happy to test when I get one (or maybe two, just to be safe) in my hands.
Huawei reckons its display covering is the toughest around.
The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, but crucially this is a 4G-only version as Huawei is unable to use 5G networks due to ongoing restrictions from the US. Those same restrictions also mean that, as with other recent Huawei phones, the Mate 50 Pro will not have any Google services, including Gmail, Chrome or the Google Play Store. While Huawei's own app store has grown significantly in recent years, it's still lacking many big names, and if you love playing the latest games along with your Android- or iOS-owning friends then it's likely not going to suit.
The lack of 5G and Google services would be a significant problem for even a budget phone, but at a starting price of 1,299 euros (which converts to £1,160 or $1,255, although it's not likely to go on sale in the US in its lifetime) the phone is astonishingly expensive considering its glaring omissions.
Huawei Mate 50 Pro key specs
- 6.74-inch, 2,616x1,212-pixel display
- 120Hz refresh rate
- IP68 water resistance
- In-screen fingerprint scanner
- 4,700mAh battery
- 66W fast charging, 50W wireless charging
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor (4G only)
- 50-megapixel main camera, 13-megapixel ultrawide camera, 64-megapixel telephoto camera (3.5x optical zoom)