Which Huawei smartphone to choose in 2022?

Despite Huawei’s setbacks with the USA, some of the brand’s smartphone models remain interesting. Here are our recommendations for finding the best Huawei phone.

The best Huawei smartphones

Let’s not beat around the bush: Huawei is doing badly. From a challenger who was about to become an equal to Samsung or Apple, the Chinese firm is reduced to fighting for its survival after three years of American sanctions. To the point that the firm is no longer even in the world’s top 5.

Admittedly, progress has been made, notably with the introduction of Petal Search for research and Petal Maps for mapping, but we are still far from parity with Google. We therefore necessarily recommend these new terminals without Google with much more reluctance. The most hackers can try to reintegrate Google services themselves, but not everyone will want to go through these more or less reliable solutions that can affect the security of your data.

These services have become too essential to be able to do without them without significantly degrading the experience. And if some older models like the excellent P30 Pro are still sold, they clearly show the weight of the years and a price today too high for what they offer. If the Huawei P50 Pro is the brand’s flagship in Europe, other models are also available, such as the Huawei Nova 9 or the Nova 8i. These smartphones are however sold around 350 euros: it is therefore difficult to advise them when competitors, such as Xiaomi or Realme, offer better at the same price.

Note that Honor, the brand’s former subsidiary, recently became independent. More affordable and aimed primarily at young people, the latter offers alternatives to Huawei’s top of the range at a good price-performance ratio. To see over time how it will evolve away from the parent company, especially since it is already in the sights of certain American politicians. You will find the best Honor models here.

Huawei P50 Pro The software for absent subscribers

Still mired in its embargo and supply issues, Huawei continues to release new smartphone models in Europe. Released in January 2022, the P50 Pro tries to make a fairly marginal proposition. A high-end smartphone without Google and without 5G, but which shines in photos and on its touch screen.

Before discussing the recurring problem with smartphones from the Chinese manufacturer, the hardware part deserves a more detailed focus. First via its 6.6-inch OLED panel which is certainly one of the best in circulation today. With variable 120Hz refresh, you’ll have the best viewing experience. The definition in Full HD + does not spoil all the elements mentioned.

In terms of raw power, the P50 Pro incorporates the 4G version of the Snapdragon 888. This chip is accompanied by 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. It allows without any problem to run any mobile title smoothly. The 4360 mAh battery ensures a full day’s autonomy. Finally, a 66W fast charge allows you to be at 100% in less than an hour.

Unfortunately, the equipment promise is not quite complete. Long leader in the part of smartphones dedicated to photography, the P50 Pro is disappointing. On paper, however, the performance is there with good equipment. However, the zoom as well as the portrait mode have some detrimental failures in the conditions of the smartphone.

Indeed, despite all its goodwill, the Chinese manufacturer is unable to get rid of the software problems on its devices. The absence of Google services is still a problem since the Huawei P50 Pro multiplies approximations and errors. To take full advantage of this phone, you will need a minimum of knowledge in downloading software and APKs.

The other thing that makes the Huawei P50 Pro difficult for us to recommend is the lack of 5G given its price. It’s a great product, but it lacks real software. Under normal conditions, it would have been easy to recommend it to you. In this case, we still have some reservations. Want to get an opinion? Read our full Huawei P50 Pro review.

Huawei P40 Pro The high end

We are continuing the Huawei P40 Pro. Released in Spring 2020, this new flagship is very interesting in terms of hardware, but it still does not have Google services.

It’s a shame, a shame even, because between its excellent 6.58-inch AMOLED screen, its impeccable design, its performance provided by a SoC Kirin 990 and above all its photo module with four very high quality sensors, the P40 Pro has everything to please. Add to that a very satisfactory autonomy and you get an almost perfect smartphone.

In other words, on all technical criteria, Huawei is almost flawless. Unfortunately, the software, without the support of Google, is amputated by far too many functions and applications for us to be able to recommend it. We will therefore prefer the former flagship that is the P30 Pro on the high-end segment. You can read our Huawei P40 Pro review to convince yourself.

When will HarmonyOS arrive on Huawei smartphones in Europe?

Since the implementation of its embargo, the Chinese manufacturer can no longer use Google services. This means that smartphones do not integrate Android or the manufacturer’s applications. A real problem as the alternatives to the operating system are non-existent. Huawei has therefore chosen to develop its own software called “HarmonyOS”.

The new OS developed on open source software is already deployed in China on many of the manufacturer’s products. In France, it is only possible to discover the operating system on Huawei touch tablets such as the MatePad Pro (2021) or the MatePad 11 or on the Huawei Watch GT 3. However, the manufacturer aims to deploy little little by little its software especially for the European market.

The leaders of the Chinese firm confirm their desire to arrive on the Old Continent. According to recent statements by one of them, the operating system should arrive in 2022 for Europe. We invite you all the same to take this information with tweezers and to follow on our site the news around the software.

Before buying a Huawei smartphone

🤔 Who is Huawei?

To put it simply: Huawei is a Chinese telecommunications giant and today one of the largest companies in the country with a turnover that exceeded 120 billion dollars in 2019. If it is best known to the general public for its smartphones, tablets and PCs, it also designs 4G and 5G telecommunications antennas, and competes on this point with Ericsson and Nokia in particular. It also has many subsidiaries, including HiSilicon, which notably designs the processors integrated into the brand’s telephones.

🇺🇸 What happened between the USA, Donald Trump and Huawei?

What is nicknamed “the Huawei affair” is a long story that can be summarized very quickly as follows: Huawei was suspected of wanting to spy on Americans. The Americans, at the instigation of President Trump, have decided to sanction Huawei by prohibiting it from installing Google services (among others) on its – new – smartphones. There have of course been many ups and downs, but we are there as far as telephones are concerned. For all the details, we invite you to consult our detailed recap of the Huawei case.

↗️ Will my Huawei smartphone be updated?

A priori yes. Despite the US measures, Huawei still has access to AOSP, the open source version of Android, which continues to be updated by Google, both in terms of security and functionality. However, this will not allow you to benefit from Google services again if they are not present.

Huawei is unlikely to be able to use Android again. On the other hand, the brand has long promised the arrival of an in-house OS, HarmonyOS, as explained above.

📲 What apps are available without Google services?

To compensate for the absence of Google services and the Play Store, Huawei offers “AppGallery”. This app store has some essentials, but the proposition is very — very — far from being up to par with the Play Store. Also affected by the retaliatory measures, companies like Netflix, Facebook or Snapchat cannot offer their apps on the Chinese store. It’s unfortunate to say the least, but there are still web interfaces for some of them. Some European applications, such as Spotify for example, are present.

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