It also means that, yes, for the third year running, a new Huawei P phone has the best extreme lowlight capabilities. Even in pitch black rooms, the P40 Pro can grab something clearly visible, without resorting to the computational “night mode” that other brands require.

Another camera feature that got an upgrade is the Periscope zoom lens; it too uses an RYYB sensor for better light absorption. During the day, the 10X and 30X zoom shots are about the same as those taken by the latest powerful zoom phones on Samsung and Oppo, but at night, once again, the P40 Pro’s zoom stands apart.

Rounding out the rear camera lenses are a 40-megapixel wide-angle lens and a TOF (time-of-flight) sensor. The wide-angle shooter remains unchanged from that of the Huawei Mate 30 Pro, so expect a narrower field of focus, but in return get wide-angle shots that are much more detailed than other phones can offer.

Around the front, there’s a wider-than-usual hole-punch cut-out in the screen, housing a 32-megapixel selfie camera with autofocus, and an infrared camera for real 3D face unlock.

The latter is an impressive tech hardware breakthrough because phone brands previously had to decide between secure, 3D face scanning that requires a large notch eating into the screen (like an iPhone, or Huawei’s Mate 30 Pro), or a less secure, basic 2D face scan using just a small selfie camera (like on Samsung’s recent phones).

The P40 Pro has found the middle ground.

Screen

The P40 Pro’s 6.6-inch OLED screen uses a new design Huawei calls the “overflow display”, because it not only curves on the left and right side, but also at the top and bottom. I think the top and bottom curves are so subtle that the visual appeal is barely noticeable, but the phone does feel really nice in the hand, as every side is rounded.

The screen is above average, even if resolution falls short of Quad HD and the refresh rate is “just” 90Hz compared to 120Hz phones on the latest flagship phones from Samsung and Oppo.

The slightly lower resolution is an absolute non-issue – I doubt anyone can really tell the difference between Quad HD and “just” 1,080p – but the slower refresh rate does show up time to time.

This may not be bad news, because the 120Hz screens are very power hungry on both Samsung’s and Oppo’s handsets.

The P40 Pro’s 4,200 mAh battery, along with the usual Huawei battery optimisation, is almost certainly going to last several hours longer than the other two.

Hardware and software

The P40 Pro is powered by Huawei’s Kirin 990 5G-ready chip, and supports wireless charging up to 40W speeds (industry-best right now). Huawei is also launching its own digital assistant, named Celia, with the P40 series (though she will make her way to older Huawei phones via software updates). Right now, Celia can speak and understand English, Spanish, and French.

Of course, Celia’s existence is due to the fact the P40 series will not have access to Google Assistant, or some core Google services.

As far as differences between the three models go, all three P40s share the same main, wide-angle, and selfie cameras. But the standard P40 has an inferior zoom lens and loses the infrared face scanner. It also has a smaller, 3,800 mAh battery and 6.1-inch screen.

The Pro Plus is mostly identical to the Pro, except it has a ceramic back finish and an extra telephoto camera that Huawei says will work in tandem with the Periscope lens for even better zooming prowess.

Pricing has not been announced as of time of publication, but Huawei has historically priced itself in the Apple/Samsung premium range, so expect the Pro and Pro Plus to break the US$1,000 mark, with the latter close to the US$1,300 asking price of Samsung’s S20 Ultra. The standard Pro, I’m guessing, will be kept under US$800.