60 Days With The Huawei P40 Pro

I can’t believe that it’s been a little more than 60 days with the Huawei P40 Pro as my daily device. This is Huawei’s second device since switching from Google Mobile Services(GMS) to Huawei Mobile Services(HMS). If you’ve always used Google apps then making the switch to a new Huawei device can be a little like wading into the unknown. Thankfully I had the opportunity to play with the Mate 30 Pro for a little bit before getting this device so making the switch to the P40 Pro wasn’t a huge challenge.

The camera on the Huawei P40 Pro

What is HMS?

Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) is an ecosystem that was created by Huawei to essentially have all of their devices seamlessly “talk” to one another, much like Apple and their iOS operating system. By creating this ecosystem users can be assured of a consistent interface across all Huawei devices, a smoother user experience, and better data synchronization just by having a single Huawei ID. There is so much more to talk about regarding HMS but that’s for another blog post. I recently received the Huawei Matebook X Pro so stay tuned for that review where I’ll show just how effectively my Huawei P40 Pro integrates with the laptop.

Loading Apps

The first thing you need to do after your initial setup is install your favorite apps on the Huawei P40 Pro. All Andriod users are used to the Google Play store and its huge library of apps, but loading apps onto newer Huawei devices is a little different. Huawei has provided three easy ways to install everything you need:

1. Phone Clone
2. Huawei’s App Gallery
3. Petal Search

1) Phone Clone

Huawei’s Phone Clone app allows you to copy apps from your old to your new device. The great thing about this is that your old device doesn’t need to be a Huawei device in order to use Phone Clone, which can make the switch must less daunting. The app is available from Huawei’s AppGallery, as well as  the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store. It also comes pre-installed on the P40 series of phones. To start, both old and new phones must have the app installed. Once they’re connected to each other you simply choose what you want to transfer and the app does the rest. You can choose to transfer one app or all of them and it works like a charm. Not only are apps transferred but all of the app’s data. For example, a messaging app will also bring past messages with it.

The one downside to using Phone Clone is that while you can transfer apps to the P40 Pro it won’t receive future updates, but don’t worry too much about that because Huawei has a couple of solutions.

2) Huawei’s AppGallery

Huawei’s AppGallery has been around since 2014 and is currently in 170 countries making it the third largest app store in the world. The AppGallery is just one part of the HMS ecosystem. While it doesn’t have the same number of apps or level of support as the Google Play store, Huawei is rapidly building it up at a rate of around 4000 new apps per week.

Getting apps is just like the Google Play Store, find your app then click install. Popular apps like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook aren’t available in the AppGallery just yet but Huawei has another trick up it’s sleeve and its called Petal Search.

3) Petal Search

Petal Search features over 1 million of the most popular apps worldwide and is pre-installed on the P40 Series of phones. Petal Search isn’t limited to just the newer phones, it can also be downloaded from the AppGallery for older devices. If an app isn’t available in the AppGallery chances are you’ll find it using Petal Search.

There are so many apps available via Petal Search that I usually go there before  even trying the AppGallery. Petal Search is used in much the same way as the AppGallery. You simply search for your app and Petal Search will show what can be  downloaded from the Huawei AppGallery, installed via an official link, used via the web version, or installed from another third party source. Unlike Phone Clone, installing an app via Petal Search also allows for future updates. I used Petal Serarch to find and install Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and a few others.

User Experience

1) Unlocking

The Huawei P40 Pro gives you three ways to unlock the screen: Passcode, fingerprint and face unlock. We all know about passcode unlocking so I won’t go into detail about that.  The in-screen fingerprint scanner is super fast and works every single time. The third unlocking option, and the one I use the most when I’m not wearing a mask, is the face detection. The phone detects and unlocks almost instantaneously even if the phone isn’t directly in front of you. With the cold weather and therefore glove season around the corner I’ll be using this method a whole lot more.

2) Air Gesture

The Air Gesture functionality on the P40 Pro allows you to perform some tasks without actually touching the screen. This feature has to first be turned on in the settings. Air Scroll allows users to scroll just by moving their hand over the screen as if waving goodbye, and Grabshot allows you to take a screenshot just by clenching your hand in front of the screen. While it’s not an Air Gesture you can also take a screenshot by knocking twice on the screen.

3) Gesture Navigation

Gesture Navigation basically replaces the Back, Home and Task buttons on the bottom of most Android devices. By elimating these buttons you get more real estate on the screen. Once enabled all a user has to do is swipe in from the left or right edges to go back, swipe up to go Home, and swipe up but keep your finger on the screen to show your recent tasks. While it seems like a big switch, I’ve gotton so used to these, I automatically try using them on other devices.

4) Battery Life & Charging

The P40 Pro comes with a 4,200mAh battery and can easily last a day on a single charge. The phone comes with a 40W fast charger that gets the battery from 0 to 70% power in 30 minutes. It also supports wireless charging and reverse-charging.

5) Camera

I kept this for last because that’s what people do, they keep the best for last. Huawei has been producing some of the best cell phone cameras over the past few years and the P40 Pro continues that tradition. When I say that this phone comes loaded with cameras, I mean it’s LOADED. It comes with a 50 MP Ultra Vision Camera, a 12 MP Telephoto Camera, a 40 MP Ultra-Wide Cine Camera, and a 3D Depth Sensing Camera on the back. And if you want to take your selfie game up a few notches you’ll find a high definition 32 MP front camera with auto-focus and a IR depth camera to produce that perfect shot with natural bokeh effects. The cameras on this phone is so good that it recently received the 2020 TIPA award for “Best Photo Smartphone” and received a DXOMARK of 128. Check out some sample shots below sans selfies.

Conclusion

I’m sure some would dismiss this device because of the lack of Google apps and the Google Play Store. Keep in mind that workarounds are available via the AppGallery, Petal Search or apps web versions. Although the P40 Pro doesn’t have access it’s a top-of-the-line phone winning awards worldwide. This is proof of Huawei’s innovativeness. Their ecosystem is still in the early stages and will only get better with time as more devices are released. Apps are flooding into the AppGallery on a weekly basis and consumers will soon have a lot more choices.

That being said, there are some things that I’m hoping Huawei can deliver soon to the Canadian devices. Top of the list would be the ability to make in-app purchases. The other thing I would like, and this is more hardware than software, is better speakers in future devices. I often find the sound muffled as I hold it.

All in all, this is a stellar device with a gorgeous display, long lasting and fast charging battery, and an amazing camera. I can definitely say that my 60 days with the Huawei P40 Pro has been fun and I’m looking forward to pairing this device with the Matebook X Pro and experiencing more of Huawei’s ecosystem.

You can learn more about the Huawei P40 Pro by clicking here: Everything You Need To Know About The Huawei P40 Pro

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Huawei Mobile Canada but all opinions expressed are my own.