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Huawei P40 Smartphone Review – Tough sell despite its great camera

Can they make this work? The Huawei P40 belongs to the first generation of Huawei's P series smartphones without Google services. The P40's camera takes very sharp pictures and the high-end smartphone looks very promising in general.
Huawei P40

Huawei does not have it easy: After having built very popular smartphones that do not just do well in our reviews, the Chinese manufacturer is now faced with the trade war between the US and China, which at least outside of China takes away one of the important ingredients of its success: Google services. These are obligatory for commonly used apps such as Google Maps and Google's Play Store and also required by numerous other apps that rely on Google's modules.

Now, with the Huawei P40, the second flagship after the Mate 30 Pro has been released without these Google services and as our review of the Huawei P40 Pro has shown, it is complicated. Although on the one hand we are excited about the image quality, since judging from our first impressions, the pictures once again look amazing, it is as difficult for us as it will likely be for many users to imagine an Android phone working well without Google services and thus, without many familiar apps.

Since all these concerns almost seem to be taking the spotlight away from the smartphone itself, we chose to list the main specifications here: The Huawei P40 is a 5G smartphone that comes with a triple-camera system, which has once again been co-developed by Leica, and in some countries there is a new digital assistant called Celia. We are excited to see how well the smartphone performs in our tests.

Huawei P40 (P40 Series)
Processor
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G 8 x - 2.9 GHz, Cortex-A76/-A55
Graphics adapter
Memory
8 GB 
Display
6.10 inch 19.5:9, 2340 x 1080 pixel 422 PPI, capacitive touchscreen, AMOLED, glossy: yes, HDR, 60 Hz
Storage
128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash, 128 GB 
, 115 GB free
Connections
1 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, Audio Connections: audio output via USB-C, Card Reader: Nano Memory up to 256 GB, 1 Fingerprint Reader, NFC, Brightness Sensor, Sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, compass
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, 2G, 3G, 4G (B1/​B2/​B3/​B4/​B5/​B6/​B7/​B8/​B9/​B12/​B17/​B18/​B19/​B20/​B26/​B28/​B32/​B34/​B38/​B39/​B40/​B41), 5G (n1/​n3/​n28/​n38/n41/​n77/​n78/​n79), Dual SIM, LTE, 5G, GPS
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 8.5 x 148.9 x 71.1 ( = 0.33 x 5.86 x 2.8 in)
Battery
3800 mAh Lithium-Polymer
Charging
fast charging / Quickcharge
Operating System
Android 10
Camera
Primary Camera: 50 MPix f/​1.9, phase detection AF (dual-pixel), color gamut sensor, dual LED flash, video @2160p/​60FPS, video @720p/​7860FPS (camera 1); 16.0MP, f/​2.2, wide-angle lens (camera 2); 8.0MP, f/​2.4, OIS, telephoto lens (camera 3)
Secondary Camera: 32 MPix f/​2.0, video @2160p/​60FPS (camera 1); ToF (camera 2)
Additional features
Speakers: Mono speaker on the bottom edge, Keyboard: virtual keyboard, Charger, USB cable, SIM tool, headset, 24 Months Warranty, IP53-certified; SAR value: 0.49W/​kg (head), 1.29W/​kg (body); eSIM, fanless, waterproof
Weight
175 g ( = 6.17 oz / 0.39 pounds), Power Supply: 69 g ( = 2.43 oz / 0.15 pounds)
Price
799 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
87.4 %
04/2020
Huawei P40
Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16
175 g128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash6.10"2340x1080
87.7 %
03/2020
Samsung Galaxy S20
Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11
163 g128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash6.20"3200x1440
86.4 %
05/2019
Huawei P30
Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10
165 g128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash6.10"2340x1080
86.5 %
09/2019
Apple iPhone 11
A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU
194 g64 GB SSD6.10"1792x828
85.8 %
10/2019
OnePlus 7T
SD 855+, Adreno 640
190 g128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash6.55"2400x1080
88.6 %
08/2019
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
SD 855, Adreno 640
191 g128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash6.39"2340x1080

Case – Waterproof Huawei Smartphone

In terms of the case's design, the Huawei P40 has taken a distinctly subtle approach: Out of the three color variations, blush gold is the most striking with black and gray being the two alternative options.

The glass back is reflective and has rounded-off edges on all four sides, which makes it look sleek. The smartphone makes a very solid impression overall and while it is also waterproof, the IP53 class hints at a slightly weaker protection compared to the Huawei P40 Pro.

At 175 grams (~6.17 oz), the P40 is slightly heavier than its predecessor, although it is still fairly lightweight compared to other phones in its price class. The smartphone is ergonomic, making it easy to handle, and thanks to the moderately-sized case as well as the edge-to-edge display it is suitable even for smaller hand sizes.

While the build quality is good overall, the clearances could have been more even and the transition from the screen to the metal frame also feels somewhat rough.

Huawei P40
Huawei P40
Huawei P40
Huawei P40
Huawei P40
Huawei P40
Huawei P40
Huawei P40

Size Comparison

160.94 mm / 6.34 inch 74.44 mm / 2.93 inch 8.13 mm / 0.3201 inch 190 g0.4189 lbs156.7 mm / 6.17 inch 74.3 mm / 2.93 inch 8.8 mm / 0.3465 inch 191 g0.4211 lbs151.7 mm / 5.97 inch 69.1 mm / 2.72 inch 7.9 mm / 0.311 inch 163 g0.3594 lbs150.9 mm / 5.94 inch 75.7 mm / 2.98 inch 8.3 mm / 0.3268 inch 194 g0.4277 lbs148.9 mm / 5.86 inch 71.1 mm / 2.8 inch 8.5 mm / 0.3346 inch 175 g0.3858 lbs149.1 mm / 5.87 inch 71.36 mm / 2.81 inch 7.57 mm / 0.298 inch 165 g0.3638 lbs148 mm / 5.83 inch 105 mm / 4.13 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 1.5 g0.00331 lbs

Features – Proprietary Memory Card Form Factor

Huawei demands 799 Euros (~$869) for the P40, which makes it 200 Euros (~$218) cheaper than the P40 Pro - this is quite a sizable difference. Meanwhile 128 GB of storage and 8 GB of RAM are the norm for current high-end smartphones. At least in Central Europe, other configurations are currently not available.

Although the modern Bluetooth 5.1 standard is on board, it unfortunately comes without aptX HD compatibility, since the enhanced audio codec belongs to the US company Qualcomm, which similarly to Google is not allowed to supply Huawei with its goods and services. In terms of wired audio output, users are limited to USB-C, since there is no headphone jack. While NFC is available, Google Pay cannot be used due to the missing Google services.

The dual-SIM variant (which most retailers have on offer, while carriers often sell the single-SIM variant) is compatible with eSIM and when the latter is being used, an additional, normal nano-SIM card can be used. Alternatively, users can insert a SIM card into both of the nano-SIM slots, although only one of them may use 5G. Huawei's own nano memory cards for storage expansion can also be inserted, which will occupy one of the two nano-SIM slots.

Left: No connectivity
Left: No connectivity
Right: standby button, volume rocker
Right: standby button, volume rocker
Bottom: SIM slot, microphone, USB Type-C port, speaker
Bottom: SIM slot, microphone, USB Type-C port, speaker
Top: microphone
Top: microphone

Software – The Google Crisis

Huawei has installed its EMUI 10 software, which is based on the open-source portion of Android. Since this includes the security patches, Huawei can continue to provide a secure Android experience and in our case, the security patches on our test device date back to the beginning of March 2020, making them fairly recent at the time of writing. However, since Google's services are no longer available to Huawei, the vast majority of Google apps such as the Google Play Store, Google Maps, Google Pay and many more as well as many third-party apps will not work.

With the Huawei services, Huawei now provides users with its own, alternative framework and the App Gallery is a stand-alone app store that is already quite popular in China. By contrast, the app store will not be quite as useful for Western users, since many apps have to be partially rewritten in order to be compatible to the Huawei services. Even though the manufacturer offers support and a monetary incentive for porting an app to the store, many app providers have not yet responded to this offer. Additionally, American providers such as Facebook are forbidden from making their apps available on the store officially.

Here, Huawei is also trying to help users with a workaround: Via an app called "App Search", users can find ways to install their favorite apps. For example, the apps can be downloaded as an .apk file from the manufacturer's web page, from the Amazon app store or from other sources. Compared to other Android smartphones, this is of course an inconvenience and a potential obstacle for novice users on top of being a potential security risk. For the initial setup, Huawei offers a free service in its service centers, where a Huawei associate will install all the desired apps on the device, provided they are available.

All of this still sounds somewhat inconvenient because it currently is - even we had to use the browser version of many tests and tools or download them from other sources. In this regard, the Huawei P40 feels like a downgrade compared to the experience with the Play Store.

That being said, EMUI offers an otherwise modern, easy to use interface that can be adjusted according to your own preferences with various designs. Unfortunately, we have not been able to test the digital assistant Celia in Germany yet, since it is currently only available in English, Spanish, and French and only in a select few countries. In this regard, we consider Huawei's marketing somewhat problematic, since the manufacturer still advertises the service in countries where it is not yet available and hides the information concerning availability in a small footnote. 

Software Huawei P40
Software Huawei P40
App Search
App Gallery

Communication and GPS – Very Fast Wi-Fi and 5G

The Huawei P40 supports 5G and is compatible with both mmWave and sub-6. The modem, which was developed by Huawei itself, additionally supports a mode that uses 5G and 4G for even higher transfer speeds.

For local networking, there is a Wi-Fi 6 module, which we immediately tested with our reference router Netgear Nighthawk AX12. Here, the P40 performs extraordinarily well and beats its predecessor and many high-end smartphones by a large margin in terms of the peak Wi-Fi speed.

The smartphone can be used worldwide in numerous 4G networks, which should make it a good companion for frequent travelers.

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Huawei P40
Mali-G76 MP16, Kirin 990 5G, 128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
1296 (1095min - 1376max) MBit/s
Samsung Galaxy S20
Mali-G77 MP11, Exynos 990, 128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
882 (847min - 902max) MBit/s -32%
Huawei P30
Mali-G76 MP10, Kirin 980, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
680 (646min - 700max) MBit/s -48%
Apple iPhone 11
A13 Bionic GPU, A13 Bionic, 64 GB SSD
529 (204min - 603max) MBit/s -59%
OnePlus 7T
Adreno 640, SD 855+, 128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
422 (238min - 447max) MBit/s -67%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Adreno 640, SD 855, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
389 (366min - 444max) MBit/s -70%
iperf3 receive AX12
Huawei P40
Mali-G76 MP16, Kirin 990 5G, 128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
1368 (1104min - 1442max) MBit/s
Samsung Galaxy S20
Mali-G77 MP11, Exynos 990, 128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
827 (791min - 846max) MBit/s -40%
Apple iPhone 11
A13 Bionic GPU, A13 Bionic, 64 GB SSD
563 (490min - 597max) MBit/s -59%
Huawei P30
Mali-G76 MP10, Kirin 980, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
544 (38min - 618max) MBit/s -60%
OnePlus 7T
Adreno 640, SD 855+, 128 GB UFS 3.0 Flash
430 (374min - 485max) MBit/s -69%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Adreno 640, SD 855, 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash
383 (242min - 434max) MBit/s -72%
Average of class Smartphone
  (last 2 years)
376 MBit/s -73%
075150225300375450525600675750825900975105011251200127513501425Tooltip
Huawei P40; iperf3 receive AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø1368 (1104-1442)
Huawei P40; iperf3 transmit AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø1296 (1095-1376)

Apart from the traditional dual-band GPS, the Huawei P40 supports various locating services such as BeiDou, Galileo, GLONASS, QZSS and the Indian NavIC. As a result, it should be easy to use the phone for navigation purposes anywhere in the world.

Evidently, the app GPS Test that we usually use relies on Google's location service, since it immediately crashes without any error messages.

The Huawei P40 achieved an acceptable result in our real-world bike ride, on which we also brought the professional navi Garmin Edge 520, although the recorded route still often deviated from the actual track. However, since the Garmin navi was also not able to track our exact position, it is possible that the conditions on this day were not optimal (clouds, etc.). Prospective buyers should still remain skeptical and if a smartphone with exact navigation capabilities is desired, testing the Huawei P40 yourself may be worthwhile.

Locating Garmin Edge 520 – Overview
Locating Garmin Edge 520 – Overview
Locating Garmin Edge 520 – Turn
Locating Garmin Edge 520 – Turn
Locating Garmin Edge 520 – Bridge
Locating Garmin Edge 520 – Bridge
Locating Huawei P40 – Overview
Locating Huawei P40 – Overview
Locating Huawei P40 – Turn
Locating Huawei P40 – Turn
Locating Huawei P40 – Bridge
Locating Huawei P40 – Bridge

Telephony and Call Quality – Great Microphone

Huawei's own telephony app is well-structured and intuitive to use. Modern features such as VoLTE or VoWi-Fi are of course almost obligatory for an expensive smartphone and included here as well. As mentioned before, using an eSIM is also possible.

We were particularly impressed by the call quality of the earpiece: Our conversational partner can be heard clearly, even though voices come across as slightly dull and higher volume levels introduce booming. However, these are extremely minor issues in practice. We were also pleased by the noise cancelling on our side, which ensures that our voice is transmitted in a very clear and distinct manner even in echoey rooms.

While the person on the other end of the line can be heard clearly on the speakerphone, the microphone is more susceptible to loud voices, which boom noticeably. That being said, the call quality of the Huawei P40 is very solid overall.

Cameras – Optical Zoom Is Limited to Photos

Picture front camera
Picture front camera

The camera modules co-developed by Leica and the associated software have always been a defining feature of Huawei's flagships. We have already taken a first look at the camera during our photo tour, which you can read about here, and the pictures can be found further below in this article as well.

Compared to the Huawei P40 Pro, there are very noticeable omissions: The wide-angle optics of the cheaper flagship phone P40 has significantly fewer pixels and there is also no periscope zoom. Similarly, the 3D depth of field camera has been cut. What is left is the main sensor that with 50 megapixels and a very large diameter of 1/2.28 inches is still excellent. Additionally, the sensor is able to combine multiple pixels via pixel-binning, which can increase the light yield and improve the results in low-light scenes.

The sharpness of the details in our test image is once again outstanding and the AI is great at detecting the right scenes in a vast majority of cases, which allows it to use the appropriate settings. Similarly, the zoom setup is very flexible, as the pictures from our photo tour beautifully illustrate: There is a lot of potential that encompasses panorama shots of a large public square, detailed macro photography and everything in-between.

While the level of detail is high in low-light situations, we still prefer the results from the iPhone 11 Pro Max by a slim margin. Furthermore, pictures taken with the Huawei P40 under normal lighting conditions appear very bright, which can lead to washed-out colors in a few cases. However, these are very minor complaints that do not detract from the overall excellent main camera of the P40.

Videos can be recorded at 4K and 60 FPS, although many effects are not available in this mode. Huawei also provides an option with automatically adjusted frame rates. For videos, only the digital zoom can be used and other optics aside from the main sensor are not accessible. Here, users get more options on smartphones from other manufacturers.

The front camera has a staggering resolution of 32 megapixels, it finally has an autofocus, and it captures very detailed pictures.

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.

Scene 1Scene 2Scene 3
click to load images

In our lab tests, the Huawei P40 showcases its great color accuracy and brightening even in low-light situations. Spotty color tiles such as the blue one in the bottom right are the only pieces of evidence for a barely lit scene. At the same time, the color representation is almost too bright under normal circumstances and we already took note of this when we captured our sample pictures outdoors.

The contrast and colors are reproduced well otherwise and fine lines remain discernible even in low-light scenes.

ColorChecker
13.7 ∆E
6.2 ∆E
14 ∆E
16 ∆E
12.8 ∆E
8.7 ∆E
4.7 ∆E
11.1 ∆E
7.3 ∆E
7.3 ∆E
7.2 ∆E
5.5 ∆E
10 ∆E
12.4 ∆E
7.4 ∆E
1.9 ∆E
8.8 ∆E
16.4 ∆E
4.5 ∆E
1.9 ∆E
6.1 ∆E
11.4 ∆E
10.6 ∆E
3.9 ∆E
ColorChecker Huawei P40: 8.74 ∆E min: 1.9 - max: 16.38 ∆E
ColorChecker
6.9 ∆E
6.2 ∆E
4.8 ∆E
5.6 ∆E
4.5 ∆E
2.7 ∆E
8.7 ∆E
4 ∆E
9.2 ∆E
7.4 ∆E
4.2 ∆E
6.5 ∆E
2 ∆E
1.3 ∆E
4.6 ∆E
7.7 ∆E
8 ∆E
5.7 ∆E
8.8 ∆E
6.2 ∆E
4.2 ∆E
6.2 ∆E
11.1 ∆E
12 ∆E
ColorChecker Huawei P40: 6.19 ∆E min: 1.28 - max: 11.98 ∆E
Picture standard optics
Picture standard optics
Picture 3x zoom
Picture 3x zoom
Picture standard optics
Picture standard optics
Picture standard optics
Picture 5x zoom
Picture standard optics
Picture standard optics
Picture standard optics
Picture standard optics
Picture standard optics
Picture wide-angle optics
Picture standard optics
Picture 3x zoom
Picture 5x zoom

Accessories and Warranty – Protection for Two Years

Aside from the charger and a USB cable, the package of the Huawei P40 also includes a wired headset and a SIM tool. Huawei's online shop currently only lists a few cases that appear fairly basic and only cover the back of the Huawei P40. Regardless, Huawei charges 30 Euros (~$33) for them, which seems rather steep to us.

Huawei offers its customers a 24-month warranty. Due to the Google services situation, the warranty does not become void after installing apps from external sources on the smartphone.

Input Devices & Handling – Precise Touchscreen

Huawei has opted to use Swift Key as its keyboard app of choice. While the app is easy to use and offers a lot of settings, changing the theme requires logging in to a free account. Those who would rather use Google's Gboard can simply download the keyboard app and use it in the same way as with any other keyboard app.

The touchscreen is very precise and responsive. The fingerprint sensor below the screen very quickly and accurately detects our fingerprint and unlocks the smartphone almost as fast as a standalone fingerprint sensor. Furthermore, the screen can be unlocked via facial recognition by using Face Scan. Thanks to the infrared sensor on the front, this works even in total darkness.

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

Display – P40 Screen with Vivid Colors

Huawei P40
Huawei P40

Huawei has installed a display with an extended Full HD resolution in the P40. While this is a common choice for current high-end smartphones of this size, the Samsung Galaxy S20 shows that there are even higher-end options. Although the screen is HDR-capable, it only supports a maximum refresh rate of 60 Hz, whereas other manufacturers offer more advanced displays in this regard.

In terms of brightness, OnePlus and Samsung currently also have more to offer, which can be particularly beneficial outdoors or in bright environments.

The subjective impression is convincing: Colors look well-saturated and details are accurately represented.

588
cd/m²
577
cd/m²
609
cd/m²
586
cd/m²
583
cd/m²
616
cd/m²
582
cd/m²
580
cd/m²
614
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 616 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 592.8 cd/m² Minimum: 1.9 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 94 %
Center on Battery: 583 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.03 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 2 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
129.7% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.301
Huawei P40
AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.10
Samsung Galaxy S20
AMOLED, 3200x1440, 6.20
Huawei P30
OLED, 2340x1080, 6.10
Apple iPhone 11
IPS, 1792x828, 6.10
OnePlus 7T
AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.55
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.39
Screen
14%
17%
34%
-9%
7%
Brightness middle
583
745
28%
561
-4%
679
16%
693
19%
594
2%
Brightness
593
740
25%
560
-6%
671
13%
703
19%
607
2%
Brightness Distribution
94
97
3%
95
1%
93
-1%
96
2%
91
-3%
Black Level *
0.68
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
3.03
2.67
12%
1.5
50%
0.8
74%
3.42
-13%
1.51
50%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
5.33
4.52
15%
2.5
53%
2.4
55%
6.12
-15%
4.27
20%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
2
2
-0%
1.8
10%
1.1
45%
3.3
-65%
2.6
-30%
Gamma
2.301 96%
2.092 105%
2.2 100%
2.24 98%
2.265 97%
2.219 99%
CCT
6621 98%
6240 104%
6512 100%
6610 98%
6799 96%
6390 102%
Contrast
999

* ... 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 245 Hz

The display backlight flickers at 245 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) .

The frequency of 245 Hz is relatively low, so sensitive users will likely notice flickering and experience eyestrain at the stated brightness setting and below.

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.

Short response times are particularly important for gamers, since they ensure that no small detail is lost. Here, the Huawei P40 shines. The color accuracy is good as well, as our test with the spectrophotometer and the software CalMAN shows.

Users can choose between two color settings: "Vivid" offers stronger colors, while the colors are slightly more accurate on "normal". Meanwhile, the color balance can be manually tweaked or adjusted with the presets "warm", "cold" and "standard".

CalMAN grayscale
CalMAN grayscale
CalMAN color accuracy
CalMAN color accuracy
CalMAN color space AdobeRGB
CalMAN color space AdobeRGB
CalMAN color space sRGB
CalMAN color space sRGB
CalMAN color space DCI P3
CalMAN color space DCI P3
CalMAN saturation
CalMAN saturation
CalMAN grayscale – preset "normal"
CalMAN grayscale – preset "normal"
CalMAN color accuracy – preset "normal"
CalMAN color accuracy – preset "normal"

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
6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 3 ms rise
↘ 3 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. » 13 % 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
8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 3 ms rise
↘ 5 ms fall
The screen shows fast response rates in our tests and should be suited for gaming.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 15 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

The viewing angles of the AMOLED display warrant no criticism. Even when looking at the display from an angle, the screen content remains undistorted.

Outdoor use shows the limitations of the screen resulting from its low maximum brightness, and while there are no issues in the shade it becomes very hard to read the screen in direct sunlight.

Viewing angles
Viewing angles
Outdoor use
Outdoor use

Performance – Powerful Hardware

The HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G is an in-house development from Huawei's subsidiary. The SoC is supposed to deliver a performance level that is worthy of a flagship smartphone. In order to achieve this, it uses a total of eight cores, which are divided into three clusters: There are two cores with a very high clock speed for extremely demanding workloads, two fast cores for medium-high intensity workloads, and four slower cores for standard tasks.

The benchmark results of our Huawei smartphone show it to be very fast, which means it can at least compete with other recent high-end phones. While it cannot quite match the Snapdragon 865 in terms of raw processing power, users will be hard-pressed to notice the difference in practice.

The ARM Mali-G76 MP16, which is used as the graphics unit, achieves very good results in our benchmarks as well.

Geekbench 5.5
Single-Core (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
755 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
903 Points +20%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (755 - 783, n=4)
771 Points +2%
Average of class Smartphone
  (119 - 2138, n=212, last 2 years)
902 Points +19%
Multi-Core (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
2988 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
2731 Points -9%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (2972 - 3183, n=4)
3077 Points +3%
Average of class Smartphone
  (473 - 6681, n=212, last 2 years)
2950 Points -1%
OpenCL Score 5.1 (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
3606 Points
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3600 - 4586, n=4)
4076 Points +13%
Average of class Smartphone
  (516 - 18876, n=39, last 2 years)
6770 Points +88%
Vulkan Score 5.1 (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
2693 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
3670 Points +36%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (2693 - 3979, n=4)
3350 Points +24%
Average of class Smartphone
  (281 - 18656, n=45, last 2 years)
7243 Points +169%
PCMark for Android
Work performance score (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
11268 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
14708 Points +31%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
9890 Points -12%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
10286 Points -9%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
11167 Points -1%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (10628 - 14814, n=4)
12766 Points +13%
Average of class Smartphone
  (10884 - 19297, n=2, last 2 years)
15091 Points +34%
Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
8736 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
10431 Points +19%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
8016 Points -8%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
8702 Points 0%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
9296 Points +6%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (8512 - 11509, n=4)
10025 Points +15%
Average of class Smartphone
  (9101 - 12871, n=4, last 2 years)
10872 Points +24%
3DMark
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Score (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
46552 Points
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
35680 Points -23%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
97276 Points +109%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
75613 Points +62%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
63969 Points +37%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (46141 - 70593, n=4)
58351 Points +25%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Graphics Score (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
66142 Points
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
44261 Points -33%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
209204 Points +216%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
117304 Points +77%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
103955 Points +57%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (60860 - 82652, n=4)
72875 Points +10%
1280x720 offscreen Ice Storm Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
22857 Points
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
21257 Points -7%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
33864 Points +48%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
33697 Points +47%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
27278 Points +19%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (22857 - 46731, n=4)
35317 Points +55%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
3973 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
5646 Points +42%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
3337 Points -16%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
8136 Points +105%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
5478 Points +38%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3973 - 6739, n=4)
5362 Points +35%
Average of class Smartphone
  (712 - 7285, n=52, last 2 years)
3495 Points -12%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
3894 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
6388 Points +64%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
3281 Points -16%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
10781 Points +177%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
6325 Points +62%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3894 - 7499, n=4)
5702 Points +46%
Average of class Smartphone
  (618 - 9451, n=52, last 2 years)
3845 Points -1%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Physics (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4279 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
4015 Points -6%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
3548 Points -17%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
4377 Points +2%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
3726 Points -13%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4192 - 4975, n=4)
4605 Points +8%
Average of class Smartphone
  (1093 - 4525, n=52, last 2 years)
2989 Points -30%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4432 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
7981 Points +80%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
3226 Points -27%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
9199 Points +108%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
8531 Points +92%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
5460 Points +23%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4213 - 7286, n=4)
5793 Points +31%
Average of class Smartphone
  (704 - 23024, n=115, last 2 years)
9014 Points +103%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4293 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
11301 Points +163%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
3491 Points -19%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
17853 Points +316%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
11433 Points +166%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
6730 Points +57%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4064 - 7905, n=4)
6024 Points +40%
Average of class Smartphone
  (607 - 45492, n=114, last 2 years)
15728 Points +266%
2560x1440 Sling Shot OpenGL ES 3.0 Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4998 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
3935 Points -21%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
2550 Points -49%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
3411 Points -32%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
4517 Points -10%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
3288 Points -34%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4836 - 5721, n=4)
5318 Points +6%
Average of class Smartphone
  (1075 - 8749, n=114, last 2 years)
4327 Points -13%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5651 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
6732 Points +19%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
4020 Points -29%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
4400 Points -22%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
6319 Points +12%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
5475 Points -3%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (5651 - 6069, n=4)
5867 Points +4%
Average of class Smartphone
  (286 - 7890, n=102, last 2 years)
2665 Points -53%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6244 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
8411 Points +35%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
4200 Points -33%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
5726 Points -8%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
7150 Points +15%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
6325 Points +1%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (6244 - 6472, n=4)
6362 Points +2%
Average of class Smartphone
  (240 - 9814, n=102, last 2 years)
2655 Points -57%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Physics (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4242 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
3963 Points -7%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
3496 Points -18%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
2429 Points -43%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
4492 Points +6%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
3724 Points -12%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4242 - 4983, n=4)
4625 Points +9%
Average of class Smartphone
  (858 - 4679, n=102, last 2 years)
3119 Points -26%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6140 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
6638 Points +8%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
3707 Points -40%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
6067 Points -1%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
6875 Points +12%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
5440 Points -11%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4422 - 6508, n=4)
5895 Points -4%
Average of class Smartphone
  (317 - 20131, n=175, last 2 years)
6514 Points +6%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6606 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
8106 Points +23%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
4162 Points -37%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
8119 Points +23%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
7977 Points +21%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
6739 Points +2%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (5672 - 6771, n=4)
6451 Points -2%
Average of class Smartphone
  (267 - 33376, n=174, last 2 years)
9281 Points +40%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
4924 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
4063 Points -17%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
2682 Points -46%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
3219 Points -35%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
4635 Points -6%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
3280 Points -33%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (2497 - 5766, n=4)
4729 Points -4%
Average of class Smartphone
  (938 - 8480, n=174, last 2 years)
4150 Points -16%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (Vulkan) Unlimited (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5456 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
5139 Points -6%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
4165 Points -24%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
5530 Points +1%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
4548 Points -17%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3948 - 5648, n=4)
5174 Points -5%
Average of class Smartphone
  (365 - 6439, n=97, last 2 years)
2594 Points -52%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (Vulkan) Unlimited Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6326 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
6315 Points 0%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
4613 Points -27%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
6640 Points +5%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
5702 Points -10%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4046 - 6360, n=4)
5773 Points -9%
Average of class Smartphone
  (298 - 8601, n=97, last 2 years)
2755 Points -56%
2560x1440 Sling Shot Extreme (Vulkan) Unlimited Physics (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
3684 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
3112 Points -16%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
3080 Points -16%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
3489 Points -5%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
2657 Points -28%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (3638 - 4057, n=4)
3857 Points +5%
Average of class Smartphone
  (1667 - 3525, n=97, last 2 years)
2668 Points -28%
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
T-Rex Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
60 fps
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
60 fps 0%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
59 fps -2%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
60 fps 0%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
59 fps -2%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
69 fps +15%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (58 - 60, n=4)
59.5 fps -1%
Average of class Smartphone
  (22 - 165, n=178, last 2 years)
83 fps +38%
1920x1080 T-Rex Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
151 fps
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
199 fps +32%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
122 fps -19%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
322 fps +113%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
185 fps +23%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
167 fps +11%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (139 - 152, n=4)
148.5 fps -2%
Average of class Smartphone
  (19 - 791, n=178, last 2 years)
244 fps +62%
GFXBench 3.0
on screen Manhattan Onscreen OGL (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
46 fps
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
60 fps +30%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
59 fps +28%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
60 fps +30%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
59 fps +28%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
59 fps +28%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (46 - 60, n=4)
53 fps +15%
Average of class Smartphone
  (6.8 - 165, n=179, last 2 years)
71 fps +54%
1920x1080 1080p Manhattan Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
100 fps
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
108 fps +8%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
87 fps -13%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
175 fps +75%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
112 fps +12%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
90 fps -10%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (81 - 118, n=4)
104 fps +4%
Average of class Smartphone
  (9.2 - 363, n=179, last 2 years)
138 fps +38%
GFXBench 3.1
on screen Manhattan ES 3.1 Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
57 fps
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
59 fps +4%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
54 fps -5%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
60 fps +5%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
58 fps +2%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
51 fps -11%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (26 - 57, n=4)
47.5 fps -17%
Average of class Smartphone
  (3.7 - 158, n=179, last 2 years)
59.9 fps +5%
1920x1080 Manhattan ES 3.1 Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
33 fps
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
85 fps +158%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
50 fps +52%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
117 fps +255%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
79 fps +139%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
62 fps +88%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (33 - 75, n=4)
58.5 fps +77%
Average of class Smartphone
  (6.2 - 279, n=179, last 2 years)
96.7 fps +193%
GFXBench
on screen Car Chase Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
36 fps
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
43 fps +19%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
27 fps -25%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
60 fps +67%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
41 fps +14%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
41 fps +14%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (17 - 36, n=4)
29.5 fps -18%
Average of class Smartphone
  (5 - 117, n=179, last 2 years)
42.9 fps +19%
1920x1080 Car Chase Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
43 fps
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
50 fps +16%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
30 fps -30%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
73 fps +70%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
47 fps +9%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
36 fps -16%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (32 - 44, n=4)
40.5 fps -6%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2.9 - 166, n=179, last 2 years)
58.6 fps +36%
on screen Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
42 fps
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
50 fps +19%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
31 fps -26%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
60 fps +43%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
41 fps -2%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
36 fps -14%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (36 - 60, n=4)
44.5 fps +6%
Average of class Smartphone
  (3.6 - 123, n=219, last 2 years)
43.2 fps +3%
1920x1080 Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
49 fps
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
54 fps +10%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
31 fps -37%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
87 fps +78%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
47 fps -4%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
42 fps -14%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (49 - 165, n=4)
78.5 fps +60%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2.3 - 229, n=219, last 2 years)
63 fps +29%
on screen Aztec Ruins High Tier Onscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
27 fps
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
22 fps -19%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
20 fps -26%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
60 fps +122%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
27 fps 0%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
17 fps -37%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (23 - 46, n=4)
30.5 fps +13%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2.8 - 105, n=219, last 2 years)
32.2 fps +19%
2560x1440 Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
29 fps
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
20 fps -31%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
14 fps -52%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
33 fps +14%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
18 fps -38%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
24 fps -17%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (19 - 68, n=4)
33.8 fps +17%
Average of class Smartphone
  (0.85 - 94, n=219, last 2 years)
25.1 fps -13%
AnTuTu v8 - Total Score (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
450373 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
504192 Points +12%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (450373 - 527856, n=4)
486472 Points +8%
Average of class Smartphone
  (last 2 years)
101336 Points -77%
BaseMark OS II
Overall (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
5105 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
4764 Points -7%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
4327 Points -15%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
5124 Points 0%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
4045 Points -21%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (4640 - 5595, n=4)
5232 Points +2%
Average of class Smartphone
  (411 - 11438, n=158, last 2 years)
5704 Points +12%
System (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
8992 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
8843 Points -2%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
7684 Points -15%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
8988 Points 0%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
7423 Points -17%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (8823 - 9806, n=4)
9351 Points +4%
Average of class Smartphone
  (2376 - 16475, n=158, last 2 years)
9621 Points +7%
Memory (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
6942 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
4271 Points -38%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
5425 Points -22%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
4869 Points -30%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
3922 Points -44%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (6038 - 6942, n=4)
6382 Points -8%
Average of class Smartphone
  (670 - 12306, n=158, last 2 years)
6230 Points -10%
Graphics (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
8634 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
10703 Points +24%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
6751 Points -22%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
10611 Points +23%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
8700 Points +1%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (8570 - 10138, n=4)
9350 Points +8%
Average of class Smartphone
  (697 - 58651, n=158, last 2 years)
13900 Points +61%
Web (sort by value)
Huawei P40
HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G, Mali-G76 MP16, 8192
1260 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20
Samsung Exynos 990, Mali-G77 MP11, 8192
1274 Points +1%
Huawei P30
HiSilicon Kirin 980, Mali-G76 MP10, 6144
1246 Points -1%
Apple iPhone 11
Apple A13 Bionic, A13 Bionic GPU, 4096
Points -100%
OnePlus 7T
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ / 855 Plus, Adreno 640, 8192
1485 Points +18%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, Adreno 640, 8192
1076 Points -15%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
  (950 - 1631, n=4)
1368 Points +9%
Average of class Smartphone
  (10 - 2145, n=158, last 2 years)
1487 Points +18%

We used the Huawei browser to perform our benchmarks. Even though theoretically Chrome could also be installed, we decided to test the preinstalled browser, which users will be more likely to use. The result: The Huawei phone performs quite well with this browser and is on par with current high-end phones using Chrome.

In practice, browsing the web is a very pleasant experience, since web pages and images load very quickly.

Jetstream 2 - Total Score
Apple iPhone 11 (Safari Mobile 13.0)
132.9 Points +139%
Average of class Smartphone (13.8 - 351, n=167, last 2 years)
104.5 Points +88%
OnePlus 7T (Chrome 76)
65.3 Points +17%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (55.6 - 70, n=4)
62.8 Points +13%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro (Chrome 75)
58.7 Points +6%
Huawei P40 (Huawei Browser 10.1)
55.6 Points
Samsung Galaxy S20 (Chrome 80)
53.9 Points -3%
Huawei P30 (Chrome 73)
48.63 Points -13%
JetStream 1.1 - Total Score
Apple iPhone 11 (Safari Mobile 13.0)
293.4 Points +184%
Average of class Smartphone (66.1 - 414, n=3, last 2 years)
194.9 Points +89%
OnePlus 7T (Chrome 76)
120.8 Points +17%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (103.2 - 116.6, n=4)
110 Points +7%
Huawei P40 (Huawei Browser 10.1)
103.2 Points
Huawei P30 (Chrome 73)
96.3 Points -7%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
96.1 Points -7%
Samsung Galaxy S20 (Chrome 80)
93.5 Points -9%
Speedometer 2.0 - Result
Apple iPhone 11 (Safari Mobile 13.0)
157 runs/min +149%
Average of class Smartphone (14.9 - 445, n=151, last 2 years)
105.7 runs/min +68%
OnePlus 7T (Chome 76)
69.1 runs/min +10%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (63 - 71.8, n=4)
67.4 runs/min +7%
Huawei P40 (Huawei Browser 10.1)
63 runs/min
Huawei P30 (Chrome 73)
58.7 runs/min -7%
Samsung Galaxy S20 (Chome 80)
50.8 runs/min -19%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro (Chrome 75)
42.5 runs/min -33%
WebXPRT 3 - Overall
Apple iPhone 11 (Safari Mobile 13.0)
184 Points +94%
Average of class Smartphone (37 - 304, n=119, last 2 years)
131.8 Points +39%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro (Chrome 75)
107 Points +13%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (95 - 124, n=3)
105.7 Points +11%
OnePlus 7T (Chrome 76)
100 Points +5%
Samsung Galaxy S20 (Chrome 80)
97 Points +2%
Huawei P40 (Huawei Browser 10.1)
95 Points
Huawei P30 (Chrome 73)
90 Points -5%
Octane V2 - Total Score
Apple iPhone 11 (Safari Mobile 13.0)
48819 Points +129%
Average of class Smartphone (4633 - 89112, n=202, last 2 years)
33525 Points +57%
OnePlus 7T (Chrome 76)
25353 Points +19%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (20917 - 23690, n=4)
22323 Points +5%
Huawei P40 (Huawei Browser 10.1)
21348 Points
Huawei P30 (Chrome 73)
20714 Points -3%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro (Chrome 75)
20598 Points -4%
Samsung Galaxy S20 (Chrome 80)
18162 Points -15%
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
Samsung Galaxy S20 (Chrome 80)
2511 ms * -10%
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro (Chrome 75)
2334 ms * -2%
Huawei P40 (Huawei Browser 10.1)
2287 ms *
Huawei P30 (Chrome 73)
2095 ms * +8%
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G (1914 - 2287, n=4)
2084 ms * +9%
OnePlus 7T (Chrome 76)
2021 ms * +12%
Average of class Smartphone (388 - 9999, n=165, last 2 years)
1653 ms * +28%
Apple iPhone 11 (Safari Mobile 13.0)
573 ms * +75%

* ... smaller is better

In our Huawei test with the app AndroBench, the read and write speed results of the internal storage are relatively fast, although as the Samsung Galaxy S20 proves, there are smartphones that are even faster in terms of the write speeds.

The storage can be expanded via Huawei's own nano memory cards. While they are even smaller than microSD cards, they cannot yet be used in as many devices. Overall, the Huawei P40 read from and wrote to the external memory card very quickly in our test.

Huawei P40Samsung Galaxy S20Huawei P30OnePlus 7TXiaomi Mi 9T ProAverage 128 GB UFS 3.0 FlashAverage of class Smartphone
AndroBench 3-5
34%
-13%
-26%
-27%
21%
115%
Sequential Read 256KB
1592
1542
-3%
909
-43%
1406
-12%
809
-49%
1520 ?(1406 - 1692, n=13)
-5%
1467 ?(215 - 4512, n=210, last 2 years)
-8%
Sequential Write 256KB
212.9
670
215%
186
-13%
218.4
3%
196.9
-8%
546 ?(213 - 740, n=13)
156%
1077 ?(57.5 - 3678, n=210, last 2 years)
406%
Random Read 4KB
189.4
205.3
8%
138.8
-27%
170.1
-10%
142.5
-25%
206 ?(170.1 - 253, n=13)
9%
241 ?(22.2 - 543, n=210, last 2 years)
27%
Random Write 4KB
197
228.1
16%
195.3
-1%
29.9
-85%
148.5
-25%
193.9 ?(29.9 - 271, n=13)
-2%
265 ?(13 - 709, n=210, last 2 years)
35%
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard
81.6 ?(Nano Memory Card)
66.3 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-19%
82.8 ?(Huawei NanoSD 128 GB)
1%
67.3 ?(34.6 - 81.6, n=8)
-18%
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard
66.4 ?(Nano Memory Card)
57.7 ?(Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
-13%
71.3 ?(Huawei NanoSD 128 GB)
7%
55.7 ?(30.7 - 66.4, n=8)
-16%

Gaming – Accurate Controls

Playing games at up to 60 FPS is no problem on the Huawei P40. PUBG Mobile runs smoothly even at high settings and Arena of Valor runs well, too, despite the frame-rate cap of 30 FPS.

The touchscreen and gyroscope are very accurate, which guarantees a fun experience when playing long sessions at night on the Huawei P40.

Arena of Valor
Arena of Valor
PUBG Mobile
PUBG Mobile
051015202530354045505560Tooltip
Huawei P40; PUBG Mobile; Smooth; 0.17.0: Ø59.8 (54-61)
Huawei P40; PUBG Mobile; HD; 0.17.0: Ø29.9 (26-31)
Huawei P40; Arena of Valor; high HD; 5.0.1: Ø30.1 (29-31)
Huawei P40; Arena of Valor; min; 1.34.1.10: Ø30.2 (29-31)

Emissions – Good Mono Speaker

Temperature

GFXBench battery test
GFXBench battery test

While the Huawei phone becomes warm under load, the temperatures never become uncomfortable. While idling, the surface temperatures of the smartphone do not increase.

Since this suggests that Huawei has done a solid job of managing the heat development, we used GFXBench's battery test to determine whether this remains true under prolonged stress. Here, the SoC showed an unusual behavior: By the 12th benchmark loop, the performance level dropped significantly to about 50%. By the time the 14th loop has been completed, the SoC bounced back to its initial performance level. These fluctuations occurred fairly consistently until the 30th loop.

Evidently, the SoC is trying to restore its initial performance level after a low-load phase and regularly succeeds for short periods of time. However, this also implies that the maximum performance level cannot be reliably accessed after prolonged stress periods.

Max. Load
 38.9 °C
102 F
38.9 °C
102 F
36.3 °C
97 F
 
 39.8 °C
104 F
38.7 °C
102 F
37.1 °C
99 F
 
 39.9 °C
104 F
38.9 °C
102 F
37.1 °C
99 F
 
Maximum: 39.9 °C = 104 F
Average: 38.4 °C = 101 F
36.1 °C
97 F
38.3 °C
101 F
38.4 °C
101 F
37.1 °C
99 F
38.4 °C
101 F
41 °C
106 F
36.8 °C
98 F
38.4 °C
101 F
41.3 °C
106 F
Maximum: 41.3 °C = 106 F
Average: 38.4 °C = 101 F
Power Supply (max.)  41.2 °C = 106 F | Room Temperature 21.9 °C = 71 F | Fluke t3000FC (calibrated), Voltcraft IR-260
(-) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 38.4 °C / 101 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 39.9 °C / 104 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 41.3 °C / 106 F, compared to the average of 33.8 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 31.3 °C / 88 F, compared to the device average of 32.7 °C / 91 F.
Heat map front
Heat map front
Heat map back
Heat map back

Speakers

Speaker test pink noise
Speaker test pink noise

Although a mono speaker in a high-end smartphone sounds like an outdated concept, we are still open to it, provided it delivers a decent audio experience.

As it happens, the mono speaker performs quite well: It produces deep mids, sounds fairly warm and it is well-balanced. While voices sound somewhat unpleasant at maximum volume, this effect can be reduced by lowering the volume by one or two steps.

For audio output, both Bluetooth 5.1 and a USB-C port on the bottom edge of the smartphone are available. Both options can be used to achieve a clean sound on external audio devices. However, Bluetooth audio does not benefit from aptX HD, which slightly reduces the audio quality. The included wired headset sounds decent, although there are far better alternatives.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2042.3432540.740.83131.130.14034.3335034.7336328.927.48023.824.410026.225.71252231.916020.739.22002144.425018.649.431517.754.540017.257.450019606301761.780015.265.5100017.371125015.471.7160018.568200015.966.7250015.170.7315014.469400014.866.4500015.162.9630015.364.2800015.663.91000015.959.11250016.165.91600016.657SPL69.667.428.379.6N24.219.31.144.1median 17median 62.9median 14.7median 61.8Delta4.19.413.617.732.534.431.925.722.326.821.724.929.23126.725.520.324.620.530.52335.815.647.417.846.616.353.215.456.115.955.915.857.913.361.314.162.514.167.91470.213.572.613.469.413.970.114.272.113.975.514.670.814.266.814.768.8156814.958.715.34326.482.40.851.4median 14.7median 62.50.99.1hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseHuawei P40Huawei P30
Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)
Huawei P40 audio analysis

(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (79.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 22% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (10.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.7% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.4% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (20.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 31% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 61% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 51% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 41% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Huawei P30 audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (82.4 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 17.5% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.3% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (5.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 7.8% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (5.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (21.5% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 36% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 57% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 38%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 55% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 38% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Energy Management – The Huawei P40 Lasts for a Long Time

Energy Consumption

Like with its predecessor, the Huawei P30, the flagship from the current year is also relatively economical under load: A peak consumption of only 6.9 watts is a very good value that many competitors struggle to achieve. Although there are devices that consume less power while idling, the Huawei P40 still reaches good results in terms of the overall consumption.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0 / 0.3 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 1 / 1.9 / 2.4 Watt
Load midlight 3.5 / 6.9 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
3800 mAh
Samsung Galaxy S20
4000 mAh
Huawei P30
3650 mAh
Apple iPhone 11
3110 mAh
OnePlus 7T
3800 mAh
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
4000 mAh
Average HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
 
Average of class Smartphone
 
Power Consumption
-11%
-2%
-7%
-8%
6%
-11%
-2%
Idle Minimum *
1
0.9
10%
0.69
31%
0.56
44%
0.9
10%
0.7
30%
1.24 ?(0.82 - 2.22, n=4)
-24%
0.891 ?(0.42 - 2.37, n=157, last 2 years)
11%
Idle Average *
1.9
1.5
21%
2.41
-27%
2.99
-57%
1.4
26%
1
47%
2.33 ?(1.41 - 3.94, n=4)
-23%
1.448 ?(0.69 - 4.26, n=157, last 2 years)
24%
Idle Maximum *
2.4
2
17%
2.51
-5%
3.02
-26%
2.9
-21%
1.3
46%
2.49 ?(1.47 - 4.01, n=4)
-4%
1.63 ?(0.79 - 4.45, n=157, last 2 years)
32%
Load Average *
3.5
4.8
-37%
3.86
-10%
4.17
-19%
4.7
-34%
5.2
-49%
3.55 ?(2.99 - 4.34, n=4)
-1%
5.57 ?(2.4 - 16.5, n=157, last 2 years)
-59%
Load Maximum *
6.9
11.5
-67%
6.96
-1%
5.44
21%
8.3
-20%
10
-45%
7.09 ?(6.37 - 8.46, n=4)
-3%
8.27 ?(4.32 - 20.8, n=157, last 2 years)
-20%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

With a capacity of 3,800 mAh, the battery of the Huawei P40 is quite big compared to competing solutions. At 13:26 hours, the smartphone's runtimes in our Wi-Fi test are convincing as well and promise two workdays of average use without having to recharge the device.

Huawei Super Charge can deliver up to 22.5 watts of power and fully charges the battery in just under 2 hours. Unlike the P40 Pro, the Huawei P40 cannot be charged wirelessly.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
34h 23min
WiFi Websurfing
13h 26min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
17h 32min
Load (maximum brightness)
3h 56min
Huawei P40
3800 mAh
Huawei P30
3650 mAh
Samsung Galaxy S20
4000 mAh
Apple iPhone 11
3110 mAh
OnePlus 7T
3800 mAh
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
4000 mAh
Battery Runtime
-8%
-3%
16%
5%
-5%
Reader / Idle
2063
1914
-7%
2105
2%
2765
34%
2003
-3%
1768
-14%
H.264
1052
1050
0%
809
-23%
1147
9%
967
-8%
987
-6%
WiFi v1.3
806
715
-11%
726
-10%
866
7%
896
11%
762
-5%
Load
236
208
-12%
279
18%
267
13%
283
20%
249
6%

Pros

+ fast performance
+ camera pictures with a high degree of sharpness
+ flexible zoom cameras
+ good microphone quality
+ color-accurate display
+ long battery life
+ good speakers
+ fast Wi-Fi
+ 5G and eSIM
+ infrared facial recognition

Cons

- only digital zoom during video recording
- no Google services
- limited to nano-memory cards
- display refresh rate limited to 60 Hz
- no wireless charging

Verdict – Don't Abandon All Hope

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

Our initial question "Can they make this work?" of course alluded to the fact that the Huawei P40 does not have access to the Google services. The answer is a definitive "Maybe". On the one hand, the Huawei P40 is a high-end smartphone with a good camera setup, reasonable battery runtimes, fast performance and fast Wi-Fi.

On the other hand, there is one big drawback: The lack of Google services makes using Google Maps or Google's Play Store impossible, while also potentially causing issues with many other apps as well. Even though the App Gallery is steadily growing and installing apps from unknown sources is possible at least in theory, the latter entails a high security risk for normal users, and even for advanced users it can be difficult to tell whether download files from external sources have been manipulated.

Huawei is supporting users in many ways, which include apps and services to assist users during the initial setup. It is a tough sell regardless, particularly since there are so many other alternative smartphones that just work out of the box.

That being said, since the development of Huawei's ecosystem has been moving forward more quickly than expected, it is possible for the situation to change in one or two years, making Huawei a real alternative for anyone who does not want Google on their smartphone.

The Huawei P40 is a premium high-end smartphone that forces users to compromise due to the lack of Google services.

Furthermore, the manufacturer appears to be primarily focusing on the P40 Pro, and as a result it feels as though the P40 falls behind in a direct comparison with its competition: Firstly, only one of the optics can be used to record videos and the optical zoom is limited to pictures.

Secondly, the refresh rate is limited to the usual 60 Hz, whereas the Galaxy S20 has more to offer. The display's brightness could also be higher, there is no wireless charging, and on top of that prospective buyers will have to ask themselves whether they want to buy a dedicated memory card just for the Huawei P40, since microSD is not supported.

Huawei P40 - 08/31/2022 v7
Florian Schmitt

Chassis
90%
Keyboard
67 / 75 → 89%
Pointing Device
95%
Connectivity
58 / 70 → 83%
Weight
90%
Battery
90%
Display
91%
Games Performance
54 / 64 → 84%
Application Performance
76 / 86 → 89%
Temperature
88%
Noise
100%
Audio
72 / 90 → 80%
Camera
77%
Average
81%
87%
Smartphone - Weighted Average

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Huawei P40 Smartphone Review – Tough sell despite its great camera
Florian Schmitt, 2020-04-16 (Update: 2020-05-19)