Huawei Mate 40 Pro: Great Specs, Even Greater Problem

Huawei has unveiled its latest flagship smartphones, the Mate 40 series. The three new handsets – the lower-end Mate 40, feature-packed Mate 40 Pro and the higher-end Mate 40 Pro Plus – offer the best specs and features that the smartphone maker can provide in a mobile device. There's one big problem with them, however: software.

CNet got its hands on a Huawei Mate 40 Pro and said the device is beautifully designed and packs great hardware features such as a powerful processor and a good set of cameras at the back.

Despite the device's features, however, it still lacks Google's services, which means users won't be able to use the Play Store, Gmail, YouTube and more.

Those who want to get the Mate 40 Pro might still be able to download a few popular apps such as Facebook, Amazon, Snapchat and WhatsApp, but the download process might be troublesome, the site noted. This is because these apps aren't available via Huawei's own app store and are only available via the internet.

Downloading such apps from the internet can be quite tricky. Some “big 'Download Now'” buttons are actually ads that take the user's attention away from the “install apk” button that lets users get the app itself, CNet noted.

There's also the question of safety. Apps downloaded from third-party sources on the internet may not be updated and/or can be “loaded with malware.” The former is negligible, but the latter is downright dangerous, especially if the user has his/her login or banking credentials stored on the device.

Great specs

Despite these, the Huawei Mate 40 Pro is packed with specs and features that make for a powerful device.

It has a bright 6.76-inch OLED display that has a pill-shaped punch hole at the top-left corner. This FHD+ display has 90Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate for smooth UI.

It is powered by a Kirin 9000 Octa-core SoC, which works alongside a 24-core Mali GPU. The chipset is backed by 8GB of RAM and comes with ample 256GB of storage.

At the back of the device rests a triple-camera setup, arranged in a circular camera module at the top center. This is comprised of a 50MP wide-angle sensor, a 20MP ultra-wide sensor and a 12MP telephoto lens. In front rests a 13MP wide-angle camera and a 3D depth sensor.

Huawei will be selling the Mate 40 Pro later this year for €1,199, which converts to about $1,420 as of writing time.