Huawei P50 Pro: Once at the top, it has now become exotic

There was hardly a smartphone that was anticipated as eagerly as those from the Huawei P series. The Chinese manufacturer now continues the series with the P50 Pro, even if only a single model comes to Europe, which is then also only available in a single storage version and two color options. 

For the first time, a Qualcomm chipset is used in the P50 Pro. While the abandoning of the in-house Kirin is probably not voluntary, the integration of the Snapdragon 888 into the Huawei world is unfortunately not perfect. The begins with the facts that the modem doesn't support 5G, Qualcomm's aptX codecs are also unavailable, and Huawei is unable to keep the heat development properly in check. In addition, the integrated WLAN receiver is significantly slower than the in-house version in the P40 Pro and it also doesn't support Wi-Fi 6E. 

There are also some noticeable cuts in the display technology. While a refresh rate of 120 Hz is very current, the adaptive control only allows lowering it down to 60 Hz, which keeps the power consumption unnecessarily high. The competitors from Xiaomi and Samsung are already able to drop this down to 1 Hz. This is then also reflected in the battery life. While the P30 Pro could still be considered a real endurance champion, the P50 Pro is far from it. 

And finally, the Huawei smartphone still continues to lack the Google Mobile Services (GMS), which limits usage in Europe, also making it more uncomfortable. Even though Huawei is trying to remedy this with its own AppGallery, not all the important apps are available there. The side loading via Petal Search is a doable alternative, but it isn't very practical, particularly for users who aren't as technically versed. 

The good news is that it is a great smartphone for those who don't care about the Google services. While the above-mentioned limitations might be annoying from the viewpoint of some technology enthusiasts, they don't represent any real limitations. The Huawei P50 Pro offers a great user experience, which is combined with a powerful camera. 

Huawei is trying to compensate for the high price in its own store with some attractive rebates, which might be a great deal for some interested buyers.