Huawei has been in the market for quite some time now, and it has its fair share of users and fans all over the world. Since May 2019, Huawei has stopped using Google services and switched to its own App Gallery, that has slowly but surely getting filled up with apps. In the Middle East, most of the popular local apps are now part of the Huawei App Gallery.
With the announcement of the brand-new flagship smartphone, Huawei Mate 50 Pro, Huawei is trying to get back in the game by offering users powerful hardware in return for an affordable price tag. Huawei is no stranger to making flagship phones, especially ones with incredible cameras.
Pricing and availability
Huawei announced Huawei Mate 50 Pro for the Middle East in early December 2022 and the phone is now available through Huawei as well as retailers like Amazon. The Huawei Mate 50 Pro has a price tag of AED 3,999 ($1,049.99) for the 8GB/256GB 8GB model in black or white colors. The orange version is slightly extra at AED 4,299 and comes with 512GB of storage.
Weight: 205 | Thickness: 8.5 mm| OS: EMUI 13 | Screen: 6.74 inches, OLED, 120Hz | Processor: Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 4G (4 nm)| RAM: 8GB | Storage: 256GB/512GB | Cellular: LTE | Rear camera: 50 MP (Wide), 64 MP (Periscope Telephoto), 13 MP (Ultrawide)| Front camera: 13 MP (Wide), TOF 3D (Depth/Biometrics sensor)| Battery: Li-Po 4700 mAh
- Incredible camera system
- Tough Kunlun glass
- App Gallery improving by the day
- No 5G cellular
- Lacks Google Play
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Specs you should know
| Huawei Mate 50 Pro | Huawei Mate 40 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Dimensions: 162.1 x 75.5 x 8.5 mm Weight: 205 g / 209 g Colors: Black, Silver, Purple, Orange | Dimensions: 162.9 x 75.5 x 9.1 mm Weight: 212 g Colors: Mystic Silver, White, Black, Green, Yellow |
| Screen | Size: 6.74 inches, 111.8 cm2 (~91.3% screen-to-body ratio) Type: OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, | Size: 6.76 inches, 115.7 cm2 (~94.1% screen-to-body ratio) Type: OLED, HDR10, 90Hz, 1344 x 2772 pixels, 18.5:9 ratio (~456 ppi density) |
| Performance | CPU: Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 4G (4 nm) GPU: Adreno 730 RAM: 8GB RAM Storage: 256GB/512GB Cellular: LTE | CPU: Kirin 9000 5G (5 nm) GPU: Mali-G78 MP24 RAM: 8GB Storage: 128GB/256GB/512GB Cellular: LTE / 5G |
| Camera | Wide: 50 MP, f/1.4-f/4.0, 24mm Periscope Telephoto: 64 MP, f/3.5, 90mm, 3.5x optical zoom Ultrawide: 13 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ Selfie: 13 MP, f/2.4, 18mm (Wide) + TOF 3D (Depth/Biometrics sensor) | Wide: 50 MP, f/1.9, 23mm Periscope Telephoto: 12 MP, f/3.4, 125mm Ultrawide: 20 MP, f/1.8, 18mm Selfie: 13 MP, f/2.4, 18mm (Ultrawide) + TOF 3D, (Depth/Biometrics sensor) |
| Battery | Li-Po 4700 mAh 66W wired charging 50W wireless charging 5W reverse wireless charging | Li-Po 4400 mAh, 66W wired charging 50W wireless charging 5W reverse wireless charging |
Design and display
Arguably, the looks of a mobile phone have less significance than its specification, but this doesn’t mean it shouldn’t look nice. Huawei gave the appearance of its new flagship a huge boost with different designs in each color. The Orange model has faux leather on the back, while the Black and Silver ones feature a glass cover on the rear.
While the Black and Silver variants offer IP68-rated splash, water, and dust resistance, the Orange model boasts significantly improved water protection. Huawei claims that this variant can sink 6 meters and survive.
The Huawei Mate 50 Pro inherits the circular camera design, which features all the main camera lenses.
The device has a 6.74-inch screen with a resolution of 2616 x 1212 and a 120Hz OLED screen that will enable the device to display smoother animations and amazing pictures. With 1,750 nits of peak brightness, Huawei left no room for complaints about the screen visibility.
The display is also reinforced with Kunlun Glass. Huawei claims that this protective glass is the first ever to get a five-star glass drop resistance certification from Switzerland’s SGS. It certainly passed our walnut test.
Features and performance
The thing that might disappoint some is the lack of 5G connectivity on the Huawei Mate 50 Pro and users will have to make do with a 4G LTE connection.
Besides that, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 will have no problems running daily tasks or demanding games at 60 FPS or higher on maxed settings. Since the device has a 120Hz refresh rate, you will see smooth animations across the OS.
Huawei also announced SuperRender 4 technology on the device, which presumably boosts the gaming performance of the device and helps it to keep the processor unit cool, even under heavy load.
Software
The Huawei Mate 50 Pro will run on EMUI 13 internationally, while devices sold in China will have HarmonyOS 3.0. Since no Google services are involved, there is not much difference between these two operating systems. AppGallery is the default App store for the phone that works like Google Store.
Huawei has replaced the Google application with its version of the services, and you won’t have any problems in this regard. The only issue you may face due to the lack of Google services is that some third-party apps require Google to run properly.
Cameras
Huawei implemented three rear camera lenses into this device, with the periscope telephoto receiving an upgrade to become a 64 MP lens. This lens also has a 3.5 optical zoom to take clear pictures from a long distance.
This 65 MP module is paired with 50 MP wide and 13 MP ultrawide cameras to equip the phone with comparable image capture capabilities.
The best camera feature on the Huawei Mate 50 Pro, and the one which distinguishes this smartphone from any other, is the variable aperture of the main camera. By lowering the aperture, the photos will have a greater depth effect.
To adjust its setting manually, you should know a thing or two about photography; otherwise, the auto-configuration will figure out the best setting based on the condition.
Battery & Charging
The absence of Google services isn’t always a downside since most apps tend to run in the background and drain the battery. Because of this, and thanks to the Li-Po 4700 mAh battery and, finally, a power-efficient chipset, the Huawei Mate 50 Pro should last longer than its predecessors or even its rivals.
We don’t see much of an innovation in terms of charging technology. 66W wired charging and 50W wireless charging are what we previously saw on Mate 40 Pro, and we see them return on this phone.
FAQ:
Can I access my Google account with Huawei Mate 50 Pro?
You can access your GMail using Huawei‘s email client or third party apps like Spark which you can download from AppGallery. Huawei also has a default Email app by which you can add your emails and open them whenever you like.
What does variable aperture do in Mate 50 Pro?
In technical terms, the unique adjustable aperture allows photographers to choose between a very wide depth of field at f/4 and maximum light-capturing ability at f/1.4. Simply put, it balances the brightness and the contrast of the picture to give it a greater depth of field effect.
How fast would Mate 50 Pro fully recharge?
The 66W charging power is nothing new, as we saw in the Mate 40 Pro. Connect the Mate 50 Pro to its charger for 5 minutes, and it can be charged to 20%. For a full recharge, it would take about 40 minutes.
