Huawei Mate 40 Pro

NETWORK	Technology	GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G

LAUNCH	Announced	2020, October 22
Status	Available. Released 2020, November 01

BODY	Dimensions	162.9 x 75.5 x 9.1 mm (6.41 x 2.97 x 0.36 in)
Weight	212 g (7.48 oz)
Build	Glass front, glass back, aluminum frame
SIM	Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
	IP68 dust/water resistant

DISPLAY	Type	OLED, HDR10, 90Hz
Size	6.76 inches, 115.7 cm2 (~94.1% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution	1344 x 2772 pixels, 18.5:9 ratio (~456 ppi density)

PLATFORM	OS	Android 10, EMUI 11, no Google Play Services
Chipset	Kirin 9000 5G (5 nm)
CPU	Octa-core (1x3.13 GHz Cortex-A77 & 3x2.54 GHz Cortex-A77 & 4x2.05 GHz Cortex-A55)
GPU	Mali-G78 MP24

MEMORY	Card slot	NM (Nano Memory), up to 256GB (uses shared SIM slot)
Internal	256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM
	UFS 3.1

MAIN CAMERA	Triple	50 MP, f/1.9, 23mm (wide), 1/1.28", 1.22µm, omnidirectional PDAF, Laser AF 12 MP, f/3.4, 125mm (periscope telephoto), PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom 20 MP, f/1.8, 18mm (ultrawide), PDAF
Features	Leica optics, LED flash, panorama, HDR
Video	4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240/480fps, 720p@960fps, 720p@3840fps, HDR, gyro-EIS

SELFIE CAMERA	Dual	13 MP, f/2.4, 18mm (ultrawide) TOF 3D, (depth/biometrics sensor)
Features	HDR, panorama
Video	4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps

SOUND	Loudspeaker	Yes, with stereo speakers
3.5mm jack	No
	32-bit/384kHz audio

COMMS	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth	5.2, A2DP, LE
GPS	Yes, with dual-band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS, NavIC
NFC	Yes
Infrared port	Yes
Radio	No
USB	USB Type-C 3.1, USB On-The-Go

FEATURES	Sensors	Face ID, fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, barometer, compass, color spectrum

BATTERY	Type	Li-Po 4400 mAh, non-removable
Charging	Fast charging 66W Fast wireless charging 50W Reverse wireless charging 5W

MISC	Colors	Mystic Silver, White, Black, Green, Yellow
Models	NOH-NX9
Price	$ 1,499.99 / € 1,199.00

TESTS	Performance	AnTuTu: 686835 (v8) GeekBench: 3704 (v5.1) GFXBench: 43fps (ES 3.1 onscreen)
Display	Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal)
Camera	Photo / Video
Loudspeaker	-24.9 LUFS (Very good)
Battery life	Endurance rating 97h

Introduction

The world doesn't end with this one escalating trade dispute, Huawei insists, so here's the Mate 40 series for you. We have the Mate 40 Pro for review, the high-end almost-flagship that sits just below the ultimate Mate 40 Pro+.

We say almost-flagship just because there's one better, but the Mate 40 Pro is nothing short of a top-tier handset. Immediately striking is the display - a 6.76-inch OLED that envelops the device's sides - similar to the Mate 30 from last year, but even more extreme.

Flip over to the back, and you'll be greeted by a camera arrangement that you haven't seen before - so it turns out distinctive design is still possible. A proper tri-set of cameras sits inside that circle with a 50MP main unit and 5x periscope tele, both coming straight from the P40 Pro, and a new 20MP ultra-wide.

That's what you can see. What you won't be able to see is the new Kirin 9000 chipset, the first 5nm SoC for Android (Apple's A14 Bionic inside the iPhone 12 has one). Powering things is a 4,400mAh battery, fairly unimpressive, but that gets charged by a 66W adapter over a cable and up to 50W wirelessly - those aren't rookie numbers.

Huawei Mate 40 Pro specs

Body: 162.9x75.5x9.1mm, 212g; Glass front, aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant; Colors: Black, White, Mystic Silver with glass backs, Yellow and Green with vegan leather backs.

Display: 6.76" OLED, 90Hz, HDR10, 1344x2772px resolution, 18.6:9 aspect ratio, 460ppi.

Chipset: Kirin 9000 (5nm): Octa-core CPU (1x3.13GHz Cortex-A77 & 3x2.54GHz Cortex-A77 & 4x2.05 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G78 GPU.

Memory:256GB 8GB RAM; NM (Nano Memory), up to 256GB.

OS/Software: Android 10, EMUI 11, no Google Play Services.

Rear camera: Wide (main): 50MP, f/1.9, 23mm, 1/1.28", 1.22µm, omnidirectional PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 20MP, f/1.8, 18mm, PDAF; Telephoto: 12MP, f/3.4, 125mm periscope lens, PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom. Leica optics, LED flash.

Front camera: Ultra wide angle: 13 MP, f/2.4, 18mm; Depth: IR TOF 3D; HDR.

Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, 720@7680fps, 1080p@960fps, HDR; gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps.

Battery: 4400mAh; Fast charging 66W, Fast wireless charging 50W, Fast reverse wireless charging.

Misc: Stereo speakers, Infrared face recognition, fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass; NFC.

Huawei hasn't skimped on the smaller niceties either, and the Mate 40 Pro comes with stereo speakers – two evenly matched units. The front-facing ToF cam provides secure face recognition, and there's another IR-based feature – a blaster up top to operate your old-school TV or AC unit. An IP68 rating is also par for the course in this segment. Sure, there's no 3.5mm jack, but does that really bother anyone at this point? Plus, there's headset in this box, unlike other, half-sized boxes.

Huawei Mate 40 Pro unboxing

The Mate 40 Pro's retail box is the same as what we've gotten with previous Mates - black cardboard, golden lettering, red Leica dot on the front. Inside, there's a full set of accessories.

A powerful 66-watt adapter, which is still reasonably compact, is included as is a cable to go with it - since both pieces use the in-house SuperCharge technology you better hold on to them to get the maximum charging speeds.

There is a pair of earbuds, too, ending in a USB-C connector - that's the only wired interface on the Mate 40 Pro. There's no USB-C-to-headphone jack adapter included.

A new addition this time is a protective case. It's a basic clear silicone one, but it's thick and provides protection straight out of the box. It also doesn't interfere with the touch operation on the curved display edges but does rob you of feedback when operating the physical buttons

Design

The Mate 40 Pro isn't quite your ordinary slab of a smartphone - it does have some standout design elements. The waterfall display, the rear camera assembly, the pill-shaped selfie camera cutout if you will.

Huawei says the OLED panel takes an 88-degree turn to cover the sides of the phone and we're seeing no reason to doubt that claim. They've gone a notch further compared to the already pretty curvy sides of last year's model though perhaps you wouldn't be able to tells it's 88 or 80 or whatever degrees - it's one curved display, for sure, of the type that Samsung's been moving away from for a few generations.

There's a sizeable cutout in that display, one that houses the selfie cam and the ToF bits for 3D face recognition. On last year's model those were in an iPhone-style notch, but Huawei switched to a pill-shaped implementation on the P40 Pro and that design makes it to the Mate 40 Pro. Apple has the notch, Huawei has this cutout and neither is exactly pretty, but the Mate does allow you to hide it in software. Having said that, as recent years have thought us, you learn to ignore notches or punch-holes in no time.

Unlike the P30 Pro, P40 bunch and the Mate 30 Pro that vibrate their displays for voice calls, the Mate 40 Pro has a conventional earpiece - sound comes out through a thin slit where the display glass meets the aluminum frame.

That comes hand in hand with another most welcome development - this Mate here has stereo speakers. It's two identical ones, one firing out the top of the device, the other - from the bottom.

One more notable step in the right direction is the return of the physical volume buttons. Entirely software-based on the Mate 30 Pro, volume control operation was fiddly, needed learning, and even then worked some of the time. The Mate 40 Pro has a proper mechanical rocker for this task.

Of course, with the extreme curve of the display, the buttons are... below the equator. While not strictly the greatest example for excellent ergonomics, they do at least work every time.

Immediately noticeable when you pick up the Mate 40 Pro after holding last year's model is that the new one feels bigger. While the numbers do objectively say so, it's also a tangible difference that the 2.4mm of added width and 0.3mm of extra thickness may not directly communicate. It's a big phone though, and as big phones go, the Mate is... ordinary, if that makes sense.

Mate 40 Pro (left) next to Mate 30 Pro

There's nothing ordinary about its back, however. The unique circular camera configuration is entirely a by-product of engineering considerations, we've been told, and not a form-over-function decision - the arrangement of the modules called for that particular design.

The four cameras are placed inside a black circle, the mandatory Leica logo in the middle. Without the circle as an accent, Huawei could have made one large rectangle with the four modules in the corners. That wouldn't have been 1/3.14 as cool, though, would it?

There's also the matter of color and finish. Our review unit is in the Mystic Silver colorway and comes with a matte glass back that does the usual pearl-like play with light - only even more of it. Black and White options will be available with similarly finished glass backs. Black and Mystic Silver be the ones you can get in Europe.

Two more variants will exist and those will have vegan leather on their backs. One will be in 'Sunflower Yellow', the other - 'Olive Green'.

As any self-respecting high-end phone, the Mate 40 Pro has an IP68 rating for dust and water protection. The one place you can tell care has been taken to waterproof the handset is the card slot - there's a red gasket on the card tray for environmental protection. The tray takes a nano SIM and an NM card (Nano Memory) back to back - it's one better than no memory expansion capability, but still no microSD.

The card slot is on the bottom where you'll also find the USB-C port, the bottom loudspeaker and the primary mic. Meanwhile, up top, a second mic keeps company to the other loudspeaker and the IR emitter - we're glad Huawei keeps fitting those in phones, even as the number of people looking for one is progressively shrinking.

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