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Huawei P40 Pro+ is now available outside of China, without Google apps
Four rear cameras, two colors, zero Google Maps
Even though Huawei has been blocked from working with Google, the company is continuing to push forward with its Android smartphones. The P40 series was announced earlier this year, but at the time, only the P40 and P40+ models were available to purchase outside of China. Now the camera powerhouse that is the P40 Pro+ is coming to the rest of the world, but there's still no sign of the Play Store.
Sorry Huawei, the P40 Pro without Google apps is just too broken to live with
Outstanding hardware and camera performance can’t compensate for a subpar software experience
When Huawei launched the P30 Pro this time last year, we knew it could be the last for some time to ship with a full-fat version of Android. Huawei had been added to the US Entity List as a result of the intensifying trade war with China, and the company's ability to do any kind of business with Google and other US firms had been severely limited. Even so, David called the P30 Pro the “world’s best camera phone” in his review and Huawei's photography credentials have only been strengthened since then — the more recent Mate 30 Pro competed directly with the Pixel 4 and iPhone 11 for the honor of best smartphone camera. The problem with that phone and the freshly released P40 Pro is that neither was allowed to ship with Google Mobile Services (GMS), which means no Play Store, no Google apps, and none of the APIs required to make certain popular apps work properly. Instead, you get Huawei Mobile Services, which isn’t yet able to offer the same backend functionality that many third-party apps currently rely on. EMUI 10.1 may be based on Android 10 — and it’s certainly less objectionable than it once was — but this isn’t Android as most western users know it.
The Huawei P40 Series is official, with camera systems to make Samsung blush
P40 Pro+ features 5-camera setup with the world's first dual optical telephoto lens
It's a troubling time for the smartphone industry in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with trade shows and launch events being canceled left, right, and center, but it's doubly hard for Huawei since its Android devices are still banned from using Google apps and services. With all that in mind, it's not the best time to launch a range of new products, but that hasn't stopped the Chinese company from forging ahead with its latest flagship series. In an online-only event today, Huawei announced the P40, P40 Pro, and P40 Pro+ — as we've come to expect, it's all about the cameras.
Latest Huawei P40 Series leaks reveal near bezel-less design and most of the specs (Update: P40 Pro+)
We now know basically everything ahead of this week’s launch
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Only about a month after Huawei released the P40 Lite, the company is gearing up to launch the regular P40 and the P40 Pro on March 26 in an online-only event that was originally planned to take place in Paris. However, the manufacturer might not have too much left to reveal, as leaks have already spilled almost everything there is to know about the two phones.
Huawei teases P40 Series as fresh leak shows off all the color options
The March 26 announcement will now be an online-only event
Previous leaks have given us a pretty good idea of what the Huawei P40 and P40 Pro will look like, but with 10 days to go until the official unveiling, new leaked renders show off every color option for the upcoming phones. Huawei has also shared a teaser video on YouTube that shows off the sleek, curved edge of the display and confirms something we could have easily guessed: the cameras will be the key focus.