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Huawei P40 Pro Plus Smartphone Review: Flagship with 100x Zoom

Going all out. The Huawei P40 Pro Plus is the flagship model of the P40 series. Our high expectations were not just met by the 1399-Euro (~$1599) price tag. The smartphone will likely appeal to photography enthusiasts in particular, since they receive an improved camera setup with 100x digital zoom on top of the P40 Pro's camera features, which are already excellent.

Following the excellent P40 Pro, Huawei has released the P40 Pro Plus, which is the flagship model of the P40 series. Compared to its smaller sibling, the P40 Pro Plus offers slightly better hardware.

There are many similarities to the P40 Pro. For example, they share the 6.58-inch size, 2640x1200 pixel OLED display, high-end Kirin 990 5G SoC, and 8 GB of RAM. Visually, the two devices look almost identical.

The improved camera module is the most important difference. The P40 Pro Plus uses an additional telephoto lens, which allows for an up to 100x digital zoom similar to the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. However, Huawei charges a hefty fee for the intriguing feature. At 1399 Euros (~$1599), the P40 Pro Plus is 400 Euros (~$458) more expensive than the P40 Pro (999 Euros/~$1142).

Huawei P40 Pro Plus (P40 Series)
Processor
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G 8 x - 2.9 GHz, Cortex-A76/-A55
Graphics adapter
Memory
8 GB 
, LPDDR4X
Display
6.58 inch 22:10, 2640 x 1200 pixel 441 PPI, capacitive, OLED, FHD+, 16.7 million colors, glossy: yes, HDR, 90 Hz
Storage
512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash, 512 GB 
, 496 GB free
Connections
1 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, Audio Connections: USB-C audio, Card Reader: NM card up to 256 GB, 1 Fingerprint Reader, NFC, Brightness Sensor, Sensors: Accelerometer, fingerprint sensor, hall effect sensor, gyroscope, compass, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, gesture sensor, infrared sensor, color temperature sensor, HDMI and DisplayPort via USB, Camera2 API Limited, DRM Widevone L1, IP68 certification, IR blaster
Networking
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/ax = Wi-Fi 6/), Bluetooth 5.1, GSM (bands 2, 3, 5, 8), UMTS (bands 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19), LTE (bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 34, 38, 39, 40), 5G (bands 1, 3, 28, 38, 41, 77, 78, N79), head SAR 0.49 W/kg, body SAR 0.99 W/kg, Dual SIM, LTE, 5G, GPS
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 9 x 158.2 x 72.6 ( = 0.35 x 6.23 x 2.86 in)
Battery
4200 mAh Lithium-Polymer, Talk time 2G (according to manufacturer): 23.2 h, Talk time 3G (according to manufacturer): 35.1 h, Standby 2G (according to manufacturer): 451 h, Standby 3G (according to manufacturer): 440 h
Charging
wireless charging, fast charging / Quickcharge
Operating System
Android 10
Camera
Primary Camera: 50 MPix 50-MP Ultra Vision lens (wide-angle, f/1.9 aperture, OIS) + 40-MP ultra-wide-angle lens (f/1.8 aperture) + 8-MP SuperZoom lens (10x optical zoom, f/4.4 aperture, OIS) + 8-MP telephoto lens (3x optical zoom, f/2.4 aperture, OIS) + 3D depth sensor
Secondary Camera: 32 MPix 32-MP selfie camera (f/2.2 aperture) + depth sensor with face unlock
Additional features
Speakers: single speaker on the bottom edge, Keyboard: virtual, modular 40-Watt AC adapter, USB cable (Type-C to Type-A), USB-C headset, SIM tool, quick-start guide, warranty card, EMUI 10.1, 24 Months Warranty, fanless
Weight
226 g ( = 7.97 oz / 0.5 pounds), Power Supply: 40 g ( = 1.41 oz / 0.09 pounds)
Price
1399 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Competing Devices

Rating
Date
Model
Weight
Drive
Size
Resolution
Best Price
89.3 %
07/2020
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16
226 g512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash6.58"2640x1200
87.1 %
09/2019
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU
226 g64 GB SSD6.50"2688x1242
86.1 %
03/2020
Oppo Find X2 Pro
SD 865, Adreno 650
202 g512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash6.70"3168x1440
89.4 %
04/2020
Huawei P40 Pro
Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16
209 g256 GB UFS 3.0 Flash6.58"2640x1200
88.5 %
04/2020
OnePlus 8 Pro
SD 865, Adreno 650
199 g256 GB UFS 3.0 Flash6.78"3168x1440
88.9 %
03/2020
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11
219 g128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash6.90"3200x1440

Case - Ceramic Back and IP68 Protection

Rounded-off display corners, excellent build quality and IP68 protection: The case of the P40 Pro Plus is almost identical to that of the P40 Pro. The differences only become apparent after taking a look at the back.

The two color options "White Ceramic" and "Black Ceramic" hint at it: The back cover of the P40 Pro Plus consists of ceramic, while the P40 Pro's back "only" consists of glass. Second notable difference: Although the main camera on the P40 Pro Plus is located in the same spot as on the P40 Pro, the camera setup itself has changed. While the P40 Pro uses a quad-camera system, the P40 Pro Plus uses five lenses with 100x zoom as a stand-out feature.

With a thickness of 9 mm, the P40 Pro Plus is ever so slightly thicker than the P40 Pro (8 mm), and at 226 g vs. 209 g it is slightly heavier as well. The dimensions are otherwise identical.

Size Comparison

166.9 mm / 6.57 inch 76 mm / 2.99 inch 8.8 mm / 0.3465 inch 219 g0.4828 lbs165.2 mm / 6.5 inch 74.4 mm / 2.93 inch 9.5 mm / 0.374 inch 202 g0.4453 lbs165.3 mm / 6.51 inch 74.3 mm / 2.93 inch 8.5 mm / 0.3346 inch 199 g0.4387 lbs158.2 mm / 6.23 inch 72.6 mm / 2.86 inch 9 mm / 0.3543 inch 226 g0.4982 lbs158.2 mm / 6.23 inch 72.6 mm / 2.86 inch 8.95 mm / 0.3524 inch 209 g0.4608 lbs158 mm / 6.22 inch 77.8 mm / 3.06 inch 8.1 mm / 0.3189 inch 226 g0.4982 lbs148 mm / 5.83 inch 105 mm / 4.13 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

Features - Huawei P40 Pro Plus with 512 GB Internal Storage

With 512 GB, the internal storage capacity of the Huawei P40 Pro Plus is twice as large compared to the P40 Pro. As a result, being limited to Huawei's own brand of memory card, the Nano Memory card (NM), is less of an issue. The memory card can be formatted as exFAT, which allows the P40 Pro Plus to store individual files on it that exceed 4 GB.

The USB-OTG-compatible USB Type-C port of the P40 Pro supports video output via a DisplayPort or HDMI adapter. The EMUI desktop mode is also available. Although the USB port runs at USB 3.1 Gen. 1 speeds, the included cable only supports USB 2.0. Furthermore, an infrared transmitter has been integrated into the thin top edge, allowing users to remote control electronic devices, for example.

Left: No connectivity
Left: No connectivity
Right: volume rocker, power button
Right: volume rocker, power button
Top: infrared, microphone
Top: infrared, microphone
Bottom: speaker, USB, microphone, card slot
Bottom: speaker, USB, microphone, card slot

Software - AppGallery Instead of Google Play

Android 10 with version 10.1 of Huawei's user interface EMUI runs on the P40 Pro Plus. At the time of writing (early July), the latest Android security patches date back to May 1, 2020, making them fairly recent.

Since Huawei has been hit with US sanctions, the manufacturer currently has to ship its smartphones without the Google Play Store. Similarly, other Google services such as YouTube, Gmail, and Maps are off the table.

With the AppGallery, Huawei has developed its own app ecosystem to replace the Google Play Store. Although the number of apps has grown substantially over the past couple of months, there are still not nearly as many apps available as on the Google app store. As an alternative, users can download apps via third-party app stores such as the Amazon Appstore. In order to assist users, the smartphone comes with a search feature called Petal Search, which finds apps across various app stores.

Communication and GPS - P40 Pro Plus with 5G and Gigabit Wi-Fi

The Kirin 990 5G SoC of the P40 Pro Plus uses an integrated 5G modem. While it only supports sub-6 GHz frequencies, it still achieves very fast maximum data transfer rates of 2.3 Gb/s and 1.25 Gb/s for downloads and uploads, respectively.

For Wi-Fi connections, the Huawei smartphone also comes with Wi-Fi 6 and 2x2 MIMO antennas. In conjunction with our reference router Netgear Nighthawk AX12, it achieved excellent upload speeds of 1.6 Gb/s. At 1.4 Gb/s, the download speeds are still above average as well. In either case, the transfer rates remain fairly consistent.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
Mali-G76 MP16, Kirin 990 5G, 512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
1599 (1502min - 1669max) MBit/s
Huawei P40 Pro
Mali-G76 MP16, Kirin 990 5G, 256 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
1544 (797min - 1619max) MBit/s -3%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Adreno 650, SD 865, 256 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
876 (767min - 904max) MBit/s -45%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Mali-G77 MP11, Exynos 990, 128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
818 (425min - 890max) MBit/s -49%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
A13 Bionic GPU, A13 Bionic, 64 GB SSD
589 (461min - 625max) MBit/s -63%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Adreno 650, SD 865, 512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
509 (264min - 571max) MBit/s -68%
iperf3 receive AX12
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
Mali-G76 MP16, Kirin 990 5G, 512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
1414 (1369min - 1469max) MBit/s
OnePlus 8 Pro
Adreno 650, SD 865, 256 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
831 (745min - 872max) MBit/s -41%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Mali-G77 MP11, Exynos 990, 128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
825 (763min - 855max) MBit/s -42%
Huawei P40 Pro
Mali-G76 MP16, Kirin 990 5G, 256 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
821 (388min - 998max) MBit/s -42%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Adreno 650, SD 865, 512 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
754 (346min - 881max) MBit/s -47%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
A13 Bionic GPU, A13 Bionic, 64 GB SSD
580 (550min - 597max) MBit/s -59%
Average of class Smartphone
  (last 2 years)
376 MBit/s -73%
08517025534042551059568076585093510201105119012751360144515301615Tooltip
Huawei P40 Pro Plus; iperf3 receive AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø1414 (1369-1469)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus; iperf3 transmit AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø1599 (1502-1669)
GPS indoors
GPS indoors
GPS outdoors
GPS outdoors

When it comes to the locating capabilities of the P40 Pro Plus, the smartphone relies on the satellite systems GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo. While the smartphone takes its time indoors, it then displays our position with an accuracy of within 4.5 meters. Outdoors, the satellite uplink is established very quickly with an accuracy of within around 3.5 meters.

On our 12-km bike ride, the smartphone has to prove its navigation prowess in a real-world scenario. Here, the P40 Pro Plus is able to go head-to-head with the professional navi Garmin Edge 500, which we used to simultaneously record the route. Although our P40 Pro Plus occasionally deviates from the track, the inaccuracies are so small that it is still well suited to navigation tasks.

Huawei P40 Pro Plus: Overview
Huawei P40 Pro Plus: Overview
Huawei P40 Pro Plus: Lake
Huawei P40 Pro Plus: Lake
Huawei P40 Pro Plus: Turn
Huawei P40 Pro Plus: Turn
Garmin Edge 500: Overview
Garmin Edge 500: Overview
Garmin Edge 500: Lake
Garmin Edge 500: Lake
Garmin Edge 500: Turn
Garmin Edge 500: Turn

Telephony and Call Quality - Dual SIM, VoLTE and VoWiFi

The P40 Pro Plus' card slot accepts two nano-SIM cards, either of which can be used as the primary SIM card. It can then be used to connect to 5G networks, while the secondary SIM card is limited to 4G networks. Although the smartphone also supports VoLTE and VoWiFi, the lack of an eSIM strikes us as odd.

Overall, the call quality of the P40 Pro Plus is excellent and voices can be clearly understood even in hands-free mode. The noise-cancelling feature is reliable even in loud environments.

Cameras - Five Lenses and 100x Digital Zoom

Picture taken with the main camera
Picture taken with the main camera

The differences between the P40 Pro Plus and the P40 Pro are mostly minor. However, the P40 Pro Plus comes with zoom features that are unmatched by almost any other smartphone.

The 50-MP main optics (wide-angle, f/1.9, OIS), the 40-MP ultra-wide-angle lens (f/1.8), and the 3D depth information sensor are identical between the P40 Pro Plus and the P40 Pro. Meanwhile, the 12-MP telephoto lens on the P40 Pro has been replaced with two telephoto lenses on the P40 Pro Plus: An 8-MP zoom camera (10x optical, f/4.4, OIS) and an 8-MP telephoto lens (3x optical zoom, f/2.4, OIS). In total, the main camera consists of five individual lenses.

Like on the P40 Pro, there is a 32-MP selfie camera with an f/2.2 aperture and a depth sensor on the front.

Picture taken with the selfie camera and beauty filters enabled
Picture taken with the selfie camera and beauty filters enabled

Like the P40 Pro, the P40 Pro Plus produces stunning photos and video recordings that remain excellent even in low-light situations. However, the zoom capabilities of the P40 Pro Plus are the main advantage compared to the P40 Pro.

Thanks to 10x optical zoom, the P40 Pro Plus still produces great pictures at the respective ranges, while the optical image stabilizer ensures that objects remain in focus. A higher degree of magnification is possible thanks to 20x hybrid and up to 100x digital zoom. However, good results at the maximum zoom level require a flat surface or a tripod. The resulting pictures still look quite decent, provided either one is available.

The transition between zoom steps is smooth - the zoom slider can be moved continuously from the wide-angle setting all the way to 100x enhancement. At higher zoom levels, the camera app displays an additional window. It shows the entire scene as well as the part of the picture that is being magnified.

No zoom
No zoom
10x zoom
10x zoom
20x zoom
20x zoom
50x zoom
50x zoom
100x zoom
100x zoom

Image Comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

Daylight scene 1Daylight scene 25x zoomUltra-wide-angleLow-light environment

Controlled lighting conditions show that the P40 Pro Plus displays colors even more naturally in the dark than in daylight. The smartphone displays our test chart with consistent sharpness and does not struggle with color gradients or transitions.

ColorChecker
14.9 ∆E
5.6 ∆E
14.3 ∆E
17 ∆E
11.3 ∆E
6.6 ∆E
5.1 ∆E
14 ∆E
6.8 ∆E
5.8 ∆E
7.1 ∆E
10.4 ∆E
11.3 ∆E
12.7 ∆E
10.1 ∆E
5.9 ∆E
6.8 ∆E
13.3 ∆E
4.4 ∆E
1.7 ∆E
7.7 ∆E
8.9 ∆E
2.9 ∆E
3.7 ∆E
ColorChecker Huawei P40 Pro Plus: 8.68 ∆E min: 1.67 - max: 17.05 ∆E
ColorChecker
12.7 ∆E
24.4 ∆E
17.7 ∆E
16.1 ∆E
19.9 ∆E
22.1 ∆E
23 ∆E
11.5 ∆E
16.6 ∆E
13.6 ∆E
22.6 ∆E
26.7 ∆E
9.1 ∆E
17.5 ∆E
9.7 ∆E
26.2 ∆E
17.2 ∆E
17.7 ∆E
24.2 ∆E
24.1 ∆E
23.9 ∆E
21.9 ∆E
16.8 ∆E
12.3 ∆E
ColorChecker Huawei P40 Pro Plus: 18.63 ∆E min: 9.11 - max: 26.68 ∆E

Accessories and Warranty - 40-Watt Quick Charger Included

Huawei includes a modular 40-watt quick charger, a USB 2.0 cable (Type-A to Type-C), a USB-C headset, a SIM tool, a quick-start guide, and a warranty card with the P40 Pro Plus. On its online shop, the manufacturer has various accessories on offer ranging from speakers to wireless charging and protective cases.

The Huawei P40 Pro Plus comes with a 24-month warranty.

Input Devices & Handling - IR Facial Recognition & Gesture Control

Reliable, effortless, quick: That is the P40 Pro Plus user experience in a nutshell. The capacitive touchscreen registers commands instantaneously and the physical buttons offer a great feedback. The haptic feedback of the display can be amplified by enabling touch vibration for typing and swiping.

While the smartphone also supports non-touch gestures, they need to be activated via the settings menu first. The selfie camera is also responsible for unlocking the phone via IR facial recognition, which is not fully 3D-based. It works well regardless, and we have no complaints about the in-display fingerprint sensor, either.

Keyboard portrait mode
Keyboard portrait mode
Keyboard landscape mode
Keyboard landscape mode

Display - P40 Pro Plus with Color-accurate OLED Panel

Subpixel array
Subpixel array

The 6.58-inch OLED display of the P40 Pro Plus has a refresh rate of 90 Hz and a native resolution of 2640x1200 pixels (FHD+). The panel of our test device has an average brightness of 672.2 cd/m², which makes it slightly brighter than the P40 Pro, which sits at 575.7 cd/m².

Without the ambient light sensor, the P40 Pro Plus only reaches 417 cd/m². Notably, the luminance increases to 883 cd/m² in the test with an even distribution of bright and dark areas (APL50).

Many OLED panels use pulse-width modulation to control the brightness and the P40 Pro Plus is no exception. Its frequency ranges from 121.4 Hz to 367.6 Hz, which may bother sensitive users. In this case, the display menu item "flicker reduction" can alleviate the issue.

660
cd/m²
666
cd/m²
688
cd/m²
659
cd/m²
672
cd/m²
692
cd/m²
659
cd/m²
664
cd/m²
690
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 692 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 672.2 cd/m² Minimum: 1.63 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 95 %
Center on Battery: 672 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 1.5 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 2.4 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
99.3% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.25
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
OLED, 2640x1200, 6.58
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
OLED, 2688x1242, 6.50
Huawei P40 Pro
OLED, 2640x1200, 6.58
OnePlus 8 Pro
AMOLED, 3168x1440, 6.78
Oppo Find X2 Pro
AMOLED, 3168x1440, 6.70
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 3200x1440, 6.90
Screen
10%
9%
32%
-77%
-37%
Brightness middle
672
790
18%
584
-13%
796
18%
778
16%
734
9%
Brightness
672
790
18%
576
-14%
779
16%
775
15%
748
11%
Brightness Distribution
95
97
2%
95
0%
94
-1%
99
4%
95
0%
Black Level *
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
1.5
1.4
7%
1.1
27%
0.68
55%
4.4
-193%
3.2
-113%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
3.2
3.4
-6%
2.3
28%
1.55
52%
8.7
-172%
6.8
-113%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
2.4
1.9
21%
1.8
25%
1.1
54%
5.6
-133%
2.7
-13%
Gamma
2.25 98%
2.23 99%
2.16 102%
2.237 98%
2.26 97%
2.11 104%
CCT
6250 104%
6466 101%
6355 102%
6310 103%
7250 90%
6299 103%

* ... smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 367.6 Hz ≤ 99 % brightness setting

The display backlight flickers at 367.6 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 99 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.

The frequency of 367.6 Hz is relatively high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering. However, there are reports that some users are still sensitive to PWM at 500 Hz and above, so be aware.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

The OLED panel shines in our analysis with a spectrophotometer and the CalMAN software. Using either the "normal" or the "vivid" mode produces very accurate colors, with the "normal" mode being slightly ahead in terms of the accuracy.

Color accuracy (color mode vivid, color temperature standard, target color space P3)
Color accuracy (color mode vivid, color temperature standard, target color space P3)
Color accuracy (color mode normal, color temperature standard, target color space sRGB)
Color accuracy (color mode normal, color temperature standard, target color space sRGB)
Color space (color mode vivid, color temperature standard, target color space P3)
Color space (color mode vivid, color temperature standard, target color space P3)
Color space (color mode normal, color temperature standard, target color space sRGB)
Color space (color mode normal, color temperature standard, target color space sRGB)
Grayscale (color mode vivid, color temperature standard, color space P3)
Grayscale (color mode vivid, color temperature standard, color space P3)
Grayscale (color mode normal, color temperature standard, color space sRGB)
Grayscale (color mode normal, color temperature standard, color space sRGB)
Saturation sweeps (color mode vivid, color temperature standard, target color space P3)
Saturation sweeps (color mode vivid, color temperature standard, target color space P3)
Saturation sweeps (color mode normal, color temperature standard, target color space sRGB)
Saturation sweeps (color mode normal, color temperature standard, target color space sRGB)

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
2.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 1.6 ms rise
↘ 1.2 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 8 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 2 ms rise
↘ 2 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 9 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Thanks to its great luminance, the outdoor visibility of the P40 Pro Plus is good, provided you are not in direct sunlight. On very bright days, the fact that the brightness could have been slightly higher becomes apparent. Although this is a very minor criticism, it is warranted for a smartphone in this price class, where users can expect very few compromises.

Outdoor use (cloudy sky, auto brightness)
Outdoor use (cloudy sky, auto brightness)
Outdoor use (direct sunlight, auto brightness)
Outdoor use (direct sunlight, auto brightness)

The viewing angles of the P40 Pro Plus' OLED display are convincing. The image remains impeccable even when viewed from a very steep angle. While colors can then appear warmer, this is barely noticeable.

Viewing angles
Viewing angles

Performance - Kirin 990 5G Delivers

The HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G SoC is at the heart of the P40 Pro Plus and is slightly faster than the 4G version Kirin 990. 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and the graphics unit ARM Mali-G76 MP16 accompany the octa-core processor. Since the hardware is identical to the P40 Pro, both models achieve the same scores in synthetic benchmarks.

The performance of the P40 Pro Plus is high enough for it to make the exclusive list of the fastest current Android devices. That being said, Qualcomm and Apple SoC competitors such as the Oppo Find X2 Pro, OnePlus 8 Pro and the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max tend to be faster by a slim margin, particularly when it comes to graphics-intensive benchmarks.

Geekbench 5.5
Single-Core (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
783 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
1326 Points +69%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
779 Points -1%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
909 Points +16%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
911 Points +16%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
940 Points +20%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (755 - 783, n=4)
771 Points -2%
Average of class Smartphone
  (119 - 2138, n=211, last 2 years)
900 Points +15%
Multi-Core (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
3183 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
3476 Points +9%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
3165 Points -1%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
3318 Points +4%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
3360 Points +6%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
2815 Points -12%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (2972 - 3183, n=4)
3077 Points -3%
Average of class Smartphone
  (473 - 6681, n=211, last 2 years)
2944 Points -8%
OpenCL Score 5.1 (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4586 Points
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4511 Points -2%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
3027 Points -34%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
2960 Points -35%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
Points -100%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3600 - 4586, n=4)
4076 Points -11%
Average of class Smartphone
  (516 - 18876, n=39, last 2 years)
6770 Points +48%
Vulkan Score 5.1 (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
3972 Points
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
3979 Points 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
2659 Points -33%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
2641 Points -34%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
3804 Points -4%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (2693 - 3979, n=4)
3350 Points -16%
Average of class Smartphone
  (281 - 18656, n=45, last 2 years)
7243 Points +82%
PCMark for Android
Work performance score (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
14814 Points
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
14352 Points -3%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
13471 Points -9%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
13360 Points -10%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
14307 Points -3%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (10628 - 14814, n=4)
12766 Points -14%
Average of class Smartphone
  (10884 - 19297, n=2, last 2 years)
15091 Points +2%
Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
11509 Points
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
11341 Points -1%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
11153 Points -3%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
11387 Points -1%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
10255 Points -11%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (8512 - 11509, n=4)
10025 Points -13%
Average of class Smartphone
  (9101 - 12871, n=4, last 2 years)
10872 Points -6%
3DMark
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
70116 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
96826 Points +38%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
70593 Points +1%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
82562 Points +18%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
75632 Points +8%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
66452 Points -5%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (46141 - 70593, n=4)
58351 Points -17%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
81847 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
206190 Points +152%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
82652 Points +1%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
149017 Points +82%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
145567 Points +78%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
79572 Points -3%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (60860 - 82652, n=4)
72875 Points -11%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
46692 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
33898 Points -27%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
46731 Points 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
32240 Points -31%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
28147 Points -40%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
42135 Points -10%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (22857 - 46731, n=4)
35317 Points -24%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6659 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
7893 Points +19%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6739 Points +1%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
8811 Points +32%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
8866 Points +33%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
8010 Points +20%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3973 - 6739, n=4)
5362 Points -19%
Average of class Smartphone
  (712 - 7285, n=52, last 2 years)
3548 Points -47%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
7372 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
11302 Points +53%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
7499 Points +2%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
11371 Points +54%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
11458 Points +55%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
11488 Points +56%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3894 - 7499, n=4)
5702 Points -23%
Average of class Smartphone
  (618 - 9451, n=52, last 2 years)
3905 Points -47%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Physics (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4974 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
3839 Points -23%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4975 Points 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
4928 Points -1%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
5054 Points +2%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
3889 Points -22%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4192 - 4975, n=4)
4605 Points -7%
Average of class Smartphone
  (1093 - 4525, n=52, last 2 years)
3005 Points -40%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
7240 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
7286 Points +1%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
9807 Points +35%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
9616 Points +33%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
7563 Points +4%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4213 - 7286, n=4)
5793 Points -20%
Average of class Smartphone
  (704 - 23024, n=115, last 2 years)
9038 Points +25%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
7834 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
7905 Points +1%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
12665 Points +62%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
12573 Points +60%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
9470 Points +21%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4064 - 7905, n=4)
6024 Points -23%
Average of class Smartphone
  (607 - 45492, n=114, last 2 years)
15757 Points +101%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5721 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5718 Points 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
5480 Points -4%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
5209 Points -9%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
4436 Points -22%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4836 - 5721, n=4)
5318 Points -7%
Average of class Smartphone
  (1075 - 8749, n=114, last 2 years)
4335 Points -24%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6069 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
5471 Points -10%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6060 Points 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
7117 Points +17%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
7012 Points +16%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
6836 Points +13%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (5651 - 6069, n=4)
5867 Points -3%
Average of class Smartphone
  (286 - 7890, n=102, last 2 years)
2685 Points -56%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6472 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
6088 Points -6%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6465 Points 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
8106 Points +25%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
8045 Points +24%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
8257 Points +28%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (6244 - 6472, n=4)
6362 Points -2%
Average of class Smartphone
  (240 - 9814, n=102, last 2 years)
2675 Points -59%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Physics (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4983 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
4038 Points -19%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4971 Points 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
4987 Points 0%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
4582 Points -8%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
4267 Points -14%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4242 - 4983, n=4)
4625 Points -7%
Average of class Smartphone
  (858 - 4679, n=102, last 2 years)
3127 Points -37%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6508 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6508 Points 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
8111 Points +25%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
7982 Points +23%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
7412 Points +14%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4422 - 6508, n=4)
5895 Points -9%
Average of class Smartphone
  (317 - 20131, n=174, last 2 years)
6545 Points +1%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6756 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6771 Points 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
9379 Points +39%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
9345 Points +38%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
9157 Points +36%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (5672 - 6771, n=4)
6451 Points -5%
Average of class Smartphone
  (267 - 33376, n=173, last 2 years)
9330 Points +38%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5766 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5728 Points -1%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
5506 Points -5%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
5187 Points -10%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
4447 Points -23%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (2497 - 5766, n=4)
4729 Points -18%
Average of class Smartphone
  (938 - 8480, n=173, last 2 years)
4158 Points -28%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (Vulkan) Unlimited (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5642 Points
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5648 Points 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
6618 Points +17%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
6444 Points +14%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
6280 Points +11%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3948 - 5648, n=4)
5174 Points -8%
Average of class Smartphone
  (365 - 6439, n=96, last 2 years)
2611 Points -54%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (Vulkan) Unlimited Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6358 Points
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6360 Points 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
8279 Points +30%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
8076 Points +27%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
8659 Points +36%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4046 - 6360, n=4)
5773 Points -9%
Average of class Smartphone
  (298 - 8601, n=96, last 2 years)
2775 Points -56%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (Vulkan) Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4047 Points
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4057 Points 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
3888 Points -4%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
3843 Points -5%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
3201 Points -21%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3638 - 4057, n=4)
3857 Points -5%
Average of class Smartphone
  (1667 - 3525, n=96, last 2 years)
2671 Points -34%
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
60 fps
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
59 fps -2%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
60 fps 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
60 fps 0%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
60 fps 0%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
119 fps +98%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (58 - 60, n=4)
59.5 fps -1%
Average of class Smartphone
  (22 - 165, n=177, last 2 years)
83.6 fps +39%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
152 fps
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
287 fps +89%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
152 fps 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
206 fps +36%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
202 fps +33%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
200 fps +32%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (139 - 152, n=4)
148.5 fps -2%
Average of class Smartphone
  (19 - 791, n=177, last 2 years)
243 fps +60%
GFXBench 3.0
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
60 fps
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
60 fps 0%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
59 fps -2%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
60 fps 0%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
58 fps -3%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
59 fps -2%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (46 - 60, n=4)
53 fps -12%
Average of class Smartphone
  (6.8 - 165, n=178, last 2 years)
71.3 fps +19%
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
117 fps
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
157 fps +34%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
118 fps +1%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
126 fps +8%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
123 fps +5%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
100 fps -15%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (81 - 118, n=4)
104 fps -11%
Average of class Smartphone
  (9.2 - 363, n=178, last 2 years)
137.9 fps +18%
GFXBench 3.1
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
55 fps
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
60 fps +9%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
52 fps -5%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
60 fps +9%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
45 fps -18%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
58 fps +5%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (26 - 57, n=4)
47.5 fps -14%
Average of class Smartphone
  (3.7 - 158, n=178, last 2 years)
60.2 fps +9%
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
75 fps
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
100 fps +33%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
75 fps 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
88 fps +17%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
86 fps +15%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
72 fps -4%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (33 - 75, n=4)
58.5 fps -22%
Average of class Smartphone
  (6.2 - 279, n=178, last 2 years)
97 fps +29%
GFXBench
on screen Car Chase Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
34 fps
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
48 fps +41%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
31 fps -9%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
45 fps +32%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
26 fps -24%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
44 fps +29%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (17 - 36, n=4)
29.5 fps -13%
Average of class Smartphone
  (5 - 117, n=178, last 2 years)
42.9 fps +26%
1920x1080 Car Chase Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
43 fps
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
63 fps +47%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
44 fps +2%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
51 fps +19%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
51 fps +19%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
50 fps +16%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (32 - 44, n=4)
40.5 fps -6%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2.9 - 166, n=178, last 2 years)
58.6 fps +36%
on screen Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
40 fps
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
58 fps +45%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
36 fps -10%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
48 fps +20%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
28 fps -30%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
51 fps +28%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (36 - 60, n=4)
44.5 fps +11%
Average of class Smartphone
  (3.6 - 123, n=218, last 2 years)
43.3 fps +8%
1920x1080 Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
50 fps
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
75 fps +50%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
50 fps 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
54 fps +8%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
53 fps +6%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
56 fps +12%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (49 - 165, n=4)
78.5 fps +57%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2.3 - 229, n=218, last 2 years)
62.9 fps +26%
on screen Aztec Ruins High Tier Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
26 fps
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
46 fps +77%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
23 fps -12%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
31 fps +19%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
18 fps -31%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
33 fps +27%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (23 - 46, n=4)
30.5 fps +17%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2.8 - 105, n=218, last 2 years)
32.2 fps +24%
2560x1440 Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
19 fps
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
29 fps +53%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
19 fps 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
20 fps +5%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
20 fps +5%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
22 fps +16%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (19 - 68, n=4)
33.8 fps +78%
Average of class Smartphone
  (0.85 - 94, n=218, last 2 years)
25 fps +32%
AnTuTu v8 - Total Score (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
527856 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
510245 Points -3%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
496966 Points -6%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
585231 Points +11%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
599843 Points +14%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
498708 Points -6%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (450373 - 527856, n=4)
486472 Points -8%
Average of class Smartphone
  (last 2 years)
101336 Points -81%
BaseMark OS II
Overall (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5595 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
5607 Points 0%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5589 Points 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
5993 Points +7%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
5540 Points -1%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
4915 Points -12%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4640 - 5595, n=4)
5232 Points -6%
Average of class Smartphone
  (411 - 11438, n=158, last 2 years)
5704 Points +2%
System (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
9806 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
14189 Points +45%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
9782 Points 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
10058 Points +3%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
9555 Points -3%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
9478 Points -3%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (8823 - 9806, n=4)
9351 Points -5%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2376 - 16475, n=158, last 2 years)
9621 Points -2%
Memory (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6094 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
2350 Points -61%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6038 Points -1%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
7240 Points +19%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
6350 Points +4%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
4497 Points -26%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (6038 - 6942, n=4)
6382 Points +5%
Average of class Smartphone
  (670 - 12306, n=158, last 2 years)
6230 Points +2%
Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
10056 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
16996 Points +69%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
10138 Points +1%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
11842 Points +18%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
11496 Points +14%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
10781 Points +7%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (8570 - 10138, n=4)
9350 Points -7%
Average of class Smartphone
  (697 - 58651, n=158, last 2 years)
13900 Points +38%
Web (sort by value)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
1631 Points
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
1745 Points +7%
Huawei P40 Pro
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
1629 Points 0%
OnePlus 8 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
1496 Points -8%
Oppo Find X2 Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650, 12288
1351 Points -17%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 12288
1270 Points -22%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (950 - 1631, n=4)
1368 Points -16%
Average of class Smartphone
  (10 - 2145, n=158, last 2 years)
1487 Points -9%

Version 10.1 of the Huawei browser comes preinstalled on the P40 Pro Plus, and it uses Bing as its default search engine. Browsing with it feels snappy and responsive, which our browser benchmarks also confirm. Like all other Android smartphones, however, the P40 Pro Plus does not stand a chance against the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, which is in a league of its own.

Jetstream 2 - Total Score
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max (Safari Mobile 13.1)
129.1 Points +85%
Average of class Smartphone (13.8 - 351, n=167, last 2 years)
104 Points +49%
Huawei P40 Pro (Huawei Browser 10.1)
70 Points +1%
Huawei P40 Pro Plus (Huawei Browser 10.1.2.322)
69.6 Points
Oppo Find X2 Pro (Chrome 80)
64.6 Points -7%
OnePlus 8 Pro (Chrome 80)
63.4 Points -9%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (55.6 - 70, n=4)
62.8 Points -10%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (Chrome 80)
51.8 Points -26%
JetStream 1.1 - Total Score
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max (Safari Mobile 13.1)
301.9 Points +159%
Huawei P40 Pro (Huawei Browser 10.1)
116.6 Points 0%
Huawei P40 Pro Plus (Huawei Browser 10.1.2.322)
116.5 Points
OnePlus 8 Pro (Chrome 80)
114.8 Points -1%
Oppo Find X2 Pro (Chrome 80)
114.7 Points -2%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (103.2 - 116.6, n=4)
110 Points -6%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (Chrome 80)
89.6 Points -23%
Average of class Smartphone (66.1 - 104.3, n=2, last 2 years)
85.2 Points -27%
Speedometer 2.0 - Result
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max (Safari Mobile 13.1)
153 runs/min +113%
Average of class Smartphone (14.9 - 445, n=151, last 2 years)
104.7 runs/min +46%
Huawei P40 Pro (Huawei Browser 10.1)
71.8 runs/min 0%
Huawei P40 Pro Plus (Huawei Browser 10.1.2.322)
71.8 runs/min
Oppo Find X2 Pro (Chrome 80)
71 runs/min -1%
OnePlus 8 Pro (Chome 80)
67.7 runs/min -6%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (63 - 71.8, n=4)
67.4 runs/min -6%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (Chrome 80)
63.7 runs/min -11%
WebXPRT 3 - Overall
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max (Safari Mobile 13.1)
181 Points +46%
Average of class Smartphone (37 - 304, n=118, last 2 years)
130.7 Points +5%
Huawei P40 Pro Plus (Huawei Browser 10.1.2.322)
124 Points
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (95 - 124, n=3)
105.7 Points -15%
OnePlus 8 Pro (Chrome 80)
104 Points -16%
Oppo Find X2 Pro (Chrome 80)
100 Points -19%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (Chrome 80)
86 Points -31%
Huawei P40 Pro
Points -100%
Octane V2 - Total Score
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max (Safari Mobile 13.1)
49388 Points +112%
Average of class Smartphone (4633 - 89112, n=202, last 2 years)
33355 Points +43%
Huawei P40 Pro (Huawei Browser 10.1)
23690 Points +2%
OnePlus 8 Pro (Chrome 80)
23678 Points +1%
Huawei P40 Pro Plus (Huawei Browser 10.1.2.322)
23338 Points
Oppo Find X2 Pro (Chrome 80)
22976 Points -2%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (20917 - 23690, n=4)
22323 Points -4%
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (Chrome 80)
19122 Points -18%
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (Chrome 80)
2345 ms * -23%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (1914 - 2287, n=4)
2084 ms * -9%
Oppo Find X2 Pro (Chrome 80)
2044 ms * -7%
OnePlus 8 Pro (Chrome 80)
1945 ms * -2%
Huawei P40 Pro (Huawei Browser 10.1)
1914 ms * -0%
Huawei P40 Pro Plus (Huawei Browser 10.1.2.322)
1914 ms *
Average of class Smartphone (388 - 9999, n=165, last 2 years)
1658 ms * +13%
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max (Safari Mobile 13.1)
571 ms * +70%

* ... smaller is better

The P40 Pro Plus is equipped with 512 GB of UFS 3.0 storage with an excellent read and write performance. Oddly, it significantly outperforms the P40 Pro, which is equipped with the same type of storage, in terms of sequential write and 4 KB random read speeds, and it also claims first place in our comparison when it comes to the overall transfer rates. By contrast, reading from or writing to the memory card with the P40 Pro Plus is not any faster than with competing devices.

Huawei P40 Pro PlusHuawei P40 ProOnePlus 8 ProOppo Find X2 ProSamsung Galaxy S20 UltraAverage 512 GB UFS 3.0 FlashAverage of class Smartphone
AndroBench 3-5
-17%
-26%
-26%
-22%
-20%
-11%
Sequential Read 256KB
1802
1775
-1%
1627
-10%
1606
-11%
1632
-9%
1593 ?(1303 - 1802, n=5)
-12%
1468 ?(215 - 4512, n=210, last 2 years)
-19%
Sequential Write 256KB
911
395.7
-57%
730
-20%
729
-20%
697
-23%
565 ?(386 - 911, n=5)
-38%
1078 ?(57.5 - 3678, n=210, last 2 years)
18%
Random Read 4KB
324.1
228.1
-30%
208.3
-36%
202.6
-37%
202.4
-38%
211 ?(158.4 - 324, n=5)
-35%
242 ?(22.2 - 543, n=210, last 2 years)
-25%
Random Write 4KB
318.9
271.8
-15%
197.7
-38%
205
-36%
221.4
-31%
196.5 ?(34.4 - 319, n=5)
-38%
266 ?(13 - 709, n=210, last 2 years)
-17%
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard
82.3 ?(NM Card)
82.3 ?(Nano Memory Card)
0%
67.6 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-18%
82.5 ?(82.3 - 82.6, n=2)
0%
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard
67.4 ?(NM Card)
68.1 ?(Nano Memory Card)
1%
58.3 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-14%
69.8 ?(67.4 - 72.1, n=2)
4%

Gaming - 90-Hz Display Is Not an Advantage for the P40 Pro Plus

The P40 Pro Plus is more than well equipped for gaming. The combination of the Kirin 990 5G and ARM Mali-G76 MP16 delivers great performance. As our test tool Gamebench shows, it is easily sufficient for smoothly displaying the latest titles at high graphics settings. When holding the smartphone in landscape mode, users will have to be careful not to block the speaker with their hands.

The 90-Hz refresh rate of the OLED screen is not necessarily an advantage, particularly since not every game supports it. In our test, this applied to both Asphalt 9: Legends and PUBG Mobile. These two titles simply refused to cross the 30 FPS threshold.

Asphalt 9: Legends
Asphalt 9: Legends
PUBG Mobile
PUBG Mobile
051015202530Tooltip
Huawei P40 Pro Plus; PUBG Mobile; 0.18.0: Ø30 (29-31)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus; Asphalt 9: Legends; 2.3.4a: Ø29.8 (25-31)

Emissions - P40 Pro Plus with Weak Audio

Temperature

GFXBench battery test T-Rex
GFXBench battery test T-Rex
GFXBench battery test Manhattan
GFXBench battery test Manhattan

The thermals of the P40 Pro Plus match our expectations and its surface temperatures barely rise during use. As GFXBench's battery test shows however, a few tricks under the hood of the smartphone were necessary in order to achieve this.

The T-Rex test, during which the same scene is rendered 30 times in succession, is undemanding in terms of graphics load. After the first loop, the performance already drops substantially and remains on a lower level throughout the remainder of the test. Conversely, the frame rate remains consistently high in the more-demanding Manhattan test. The observed throttling behavior does not need to be overrated though, since there is still an abundance of performance available.

Max. Load
 31.6 °C
89 F
32.4 °C
90 F
30.9 °C
88 F
 
 32.8 °C
91 F
32.8 °C
91 F
31.4 °C
89 F
 
 33.3 °C
92 F
33.2 °C
92 F
31.1 °C
88 F
 
Maximum: 33.3 °C = 92 F
Average: 32.2 °C = 90 F
27.8 °C
82 F
28.9 °C
84 F
29.2 °C
85 F
28.3 °C
83 F
29.5 °C
85 F
29.9 °C
86 F
28 °C
82 F
31.2 °C
88 F
30.8 °C
87 F
Maximum: 31.2 °C = 88 F
Average: 29.3 °C = 85 F
Power Supply (max.)  23.3 °C = 74 F | Room Temperature 20.8 °C = 69 F | Fluke t3000FC (calibrated) & Voltcraft IR-260
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 32.2 °C / 90 F, compared to the average of 32.7 °C / 91 F for the devices in the class Smartphone.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 33.3 °C / 92 F, compared to the average of 35 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 56 °C for the class Smartphone.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 31.2 °C / 88 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.2 °C / 83 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.

Speaker

Speaker: Pink noise
Speaker: Pink noise

While the speaker of the P40 Pro Plus reproduces voices clearly, the sound it produces feels weak overall, which can be partially attributed to its lack of bass. For a high-end smartphone, the audio experience is somewhat lackluster.

The P40 Pro Plus fares better when the included headphones are connected to the USB Type-C port or when pairing an external audio device with the Huawei phone via Bluetooth.

Due to the trade war between China (Huawei) and the US government, users not only lose access to the Google services but also Bluetooth audio codecs such as aptX and aptX HD.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2031.737.12528.7293130.630.24023.7295030.736.76323.830.68024.225.310024.626.512520.533.216018.344.920018.741.925016.6473151752.740014.753.95001459.763015.266.580014.267.7100014.669.9125013.868.5160014.169.3200014.873250014.574.531501574.6400014.872.9500014.870.2630014.969.6800015.164.91000015.258.81250015.456.51600015.344.2SPL26.983N0.951.9median 15median 64.9Delta1.39.930.534.522.427.621.422.824.323.128.233.121.622.722.318.620.426.918.63917.251.317.549.415.153.615.256.41559.114.261.513.167.813.9721374.81376.513.775.214.276.51477.514.479.114.380.514.480.514.67814.975.614.973.415.269.715.659.926.489.10.875.7median 14.6median 73.40.89.5hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseHuawei P40 Pro PlusHuawei P40 Pro
Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)
Huawei P40 Pro Plus audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 23.8% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.2% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 6.2% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (23.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 45% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 47% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 64% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 29% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Huawei P40 Pro audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (89.1 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 27.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 5.3% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (4.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.4% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (18.5% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 14% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 77% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 36% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 57% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Battery Life - Solid but Not Phenomenal

Energy Consumption

Compared to the majority of its competitors, the P40 Pro Plus consumes far less power both while idling and under load. Only the P40 Pro is even more energy efficient.

The 4200-mAh lithium-polymer battery can be recharged very quickly with the included 40-watt charger. According to our measurements, fully recharging the empty device only took 75 minutes. After 25 minutes, the battery is already at 50%. The smartphone can also be charged wirelessly at up to 40 watts, whereas the P40 Pro only supports wireless charging at up to 27 watts.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.01 / 0.14 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 0.82 / 2.06 / 2.07 Watt
Load midlight 2.99 / 6.64 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
4200 mAh
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
3969 mAh
Huawei P40 Pro
4200 mAh
OnePlus 8 Pro
4510 mAh
Oppo Find X2 Pro
4260 mAh
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
5000 mAh
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
 
Average of class Smartphone
 
Power Consumption
-22%
8%
-86%
-77%
-18%
-22%
-14%
Idle Minimum *
0.82
0.92
-12%
0.92
-12%
2.2
-168%
1.47
-79%
0.76
7%
1.24 ?(0.82 - 2.22, n=4)
-51%
0.894 ?(0.42 - 2.37, n=157, last 2 years)
-9%
Idle Average *
2.06
2.9
-41%
1.41
32%
3.3
-60%
3.43
-67%
1.91
7%
2.33 ?(1.41 - 3.94, n=4)
-13%
1.452 ?(0.69 - 4.26, n=157, last 2 years)
30%
Idle Maximum *
2.07
2.94
-42%
1.47
29%
3.7
-79%
3.52
-70%
1.96
5%
2.49 ?(1.47 - 4.01, n=4)
-20%
1.632 ?(0.79 - 4.45, n=157, last 2 years)
21%
Load Average *
2.99
3.65
-22%
3.35
-12%
5.9
-97%
6.2
-107%
4.72
-58%
3.55 ?(2.99 - 4.34, n=4)
-19%
5.55 ?(2.4 - 16.5, n=157, last 2 years)
-86%
Load Maximum *
6.64
6.18
7%
6.37
4%
8.3
-25%
10.63
-60%
10.15
-53%
7.09 ?(6.37 - 8.46, n=4)
-7%
8.23 ?(4.32 - 20.8, n=157, last 2 years)
-24%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

With 18.5 hours of H.264 video playback and 12.5 hours of simulated web browsing, the P40 Pro Plus achieves good runtimes that are almost identical to those of the P40 Pro. However, the OnePlus 8 Pro and particularly the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max manage to squeeze even longer runtimes out of their batteries.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
23h 42min
WiFi Websurfing
12h 30min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
18h 35min
Load (maximum brightness)
3h 29min
Huawei P40 Pro Plus
4200 mAh
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
3969 mAh
Huawei P40 Pro
4200 mAh
OnePlus 8 Pro
4510 mAh
Oppo Find X2 Pro
4260 mAh
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
5000 mAh
Battery Runtime
55%
0%
26%
-13%
9%
Reader / Idle
1422
2618
84%
1474
4%
2103
48%
1858
31%
H.264
1115
1346
21%
1137
2%
1023
-8%
1131
1%
WiFi v1.3
750
909
21%
743
-1%
923
23%
654
-13%
720
-4%
Load
209
408
95%
198
-5%
296
42%
221
6%

Pros

+ excellent camera with 100x zoom
+ color-accurate 90-Hz OLED display
+ fast Wi-Fi 6 and 5G
+ expandable storage
+ dual SIM
+ great call quality
+ USB 3.1 with HDMI/DisplayPort
+ IP68 certification

Cons

- no aptX or aptX HD
- no eSIM
- no Google services
- weak speaker
- no barometer

Verdict - Amazing Smartphone with Considerable Disadvantages

In review: Huawei P40 Pro+. Test device courtesy of Huawei Germany
In review: Huawei P40 Pro+. Test device courtesy of Huawei Germany

One great smartphone after the other: Like its sibling, the P40 Pro, the Huawei P40 Pro Plus is an excellent smartphone. However, the differences between them are so small that spending 1399 Euros (~$1599) on the P40 flagship may not be the best choice, particularly in light of the fact that the P40 Pro does the same job about as well for just 999 Euros (~$1142).

While the Huawei P40 Pro Plus is a great smartphone, it faces three challenges: There are no Google services, it is very expensive, and it is almost identical to the P40 Pro.

100x digital zoom and 10x optical zoom are clear advantages of the P40 Pro Plus. That being said, only a very few users will feel limited by the 50x digital zoom of the P40 Pro. The remaining differences in terms of the features certainly do not make up for the higher price: Twice as much storage space, faster wireless charging and a ceramic back instead of a glass back.

The P40 Pro Plus did not have much choice when it comes to the lack of Google services. Still, this drawback disqualifies the smartphone for users who rely on them. The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is the first alternative that comes to mind: The base model is significantly cheaper than the P40 Pro Plus and it comes with Google services, 5G and the same 100x zoom option.

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Huawei P40 Pro Plus - 08/31/2022 v7
Manuel Masiero

Chassis
93%
Keyboard
67 / 75 → 89%
Pointing Device
95%
Connectivity
70 / 70 → 100%
Weight
88%
Battery
90%
Display
92%
Games Performance
58 / 64 → 90%
Application Performance
83 / 86 → 97%
Temperature
93%
Noise
100%
Audio
72 / 90 → 80%
Camera
84%
Average
83%
89%
Smartphone - Weighted Average

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Huawei P40 Pro Plus Smartphone Review: Flagship with 100x Zoom
Manuel Masiero, 2020-07-18 (Update: 2020-07-20)