MANILA -- Buying a flagship phone minus the "pro" or "plus" branding is like flying premium economy instead of business class, such is the case of the Huawei Mate 30.
The pocket-friendlier sibling of the Mate 30 Pro packs the same Kirin 990 processor, Leica-engineered cameras and EMUI 10 as on the Mate 30 Pro. All but the fourth depth-sensing rear camera and the fancy curved sides.
This year, Apple differentiated its 2019 models with a "pro" branding for the higher-end model, which costs as much as its base model MacBook Pro. It's a recognition that consumers are growing more cost conscious as manufacturers, especially the Chinese like Huawei, Vivo and Oppo are offering flagship features for less.
NON-PRO AT WHAT COST?
On paper, the size difference between the Mate 30 (6.62 inches) and the Mate 30 Pro (6.53 inches) seems small, but are more pronounced in the hand thanks to the less expensive model's flat panel and smaller notch. Both OLED displays are sharp with vivid colors, especially reds.
The Mate 30 Pro's notch is bigger to accommodate the face unlock cameras, but not as obtrusive as the iPhone 11 series or the Google Pixel 4, which is huge.
The Mate 30 has a 4,200 mAh battery compared to 4,500 mAh on the pro, but both can go from sunrise to late night comfortably without a midday top-up. This includes browsing on Instagram and Chrome, taking photos, watching YouTube videos and answering emails and messages.
Minus work correspondence on weekends, the Mate 30 can go from Saturday to Sunday. For the first time, too, the non-pro Mate charges wirelessly.
Like the Mate 30 Pro, the Mate 30 runs on Huawei's Kirin 990 with 8GB of RAM, but on board storage is at 128GB, half the 256GB on the Mate 30 Pro.
HOW ARE THE CAMERAS?
The Mate 30 has 3 cameras on the back, a 40-megapixel "super sensing" main camera with f/1.8 aperture, a 16-megapixel ultra wide with f/2.2 aperture and an 8-megapixel telephoto with f/2.4 aperture.
The Mate 30 Pro has two 40-megapixel cameras on the rear: a "cine camera" with f/1.8 aperture and a "super sensing" camera with f/1.6 aperture. It also has an 8-megapixel telephoto with f/2.4 aperture and a fourth depth-sensing lens, like the P30 Pro from earlier in the year.
The circular camera array on the back of the Mate 30 mimics that of the Mate 30 Pro, but it has 3 lenses instead of 4. The performance is also close, especially in the dark, where Huawei has performed well since the P20 series from 2018.
More than the camera specs, what differentiates the current crop of smartphone cameras is how their computational photography software works. Huawei's Master AI tends to make red, blue and green hues pop, ditching the need for an Instagram filter.
In these dusk shots of the Rockwell skyline in Makati, a zoomed in shot heightened the red while the wide shot differentiated the blue from the red.
When the on-board AI detects more pavement and concrete than sky, like in this wide shot of EDSA, it sharpens the head and tail lights of the crush of cars and buses.
The Mate 30 took bright and clear shots of Christmas displays around the city, albeit cooler than the night modes on the iPhone 11 Pro Max and the Galaxy Note 10+.
The Mate 30 can zoom up to 30 times like the Mate 30 Pro, but the zoomed images on the pro had less noise.
Wide shots have less distortion compared to the Mate 20. Close up shots of objects and food are clear and bright.
WHO IS IT FOR?
The Mate 30 is a solid phone, both on its own, and as an alternative to the Mate 30 Pro. It's fast, lasts all day and packs the Leica cameras that consumers look for in a Huawei smartphone.
The P16,000 savings from the Pro is also enough to save, or splurge on a Huawei Watch GT 2 with some P5,000 left to spare, or a nice pair of noise-cancelling wireless earbuds.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
MANILA -- It's the Huawei P30 -- no Pro, no X, no Max -- and it's fine. In fact, it's really good if you're looking for a photography-centered smartphone that can last for an entire day of snapping and sharing.
The 50 times zoom on the P30 Pro is absent on the P30. It also has 3 lenses instead of 4, missing the time of flight or depth sensor. The screen is also smaller at 6.1 inches versus 6.47 inches.
But the omissions don't take away from the experience of a Leica-powered P Series phone. Colors are rich, images are sharp and a wide angle view captures as much of the scene as possible.
It also helps that the P30 sells for P36,990, P14,000 less than the P30 Pro, P13,000 less than the Galaxy S10 with a similar sized screen and nearly half the price of the iPhone XS.
MINI MONSTER
The P30 has Leica-engineered triple shooters: a 40MP wide angle lens with f/1.8 aperture, a 16MP ultra wide lens with f/2.2 and an 8MP telephoto with f/2.4.
Huawei endorser and Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach said during the P30 series launch that the smartphones see what the eyes can't. The wide view was especially enjoyable for dramatic landscape shots.
The wide angle mode made this scene appear like a shower of yellow flowers while the macro mode made one cluster of blossoms pop.
Our review unit topped out at 30 times zoom and it took a decent shot of the moon at nightfall.
The night mode is among the best we've used in a smartphone, as in these photos of a church interior.
Colors on mundane objects like these pinwheels appear bright.
The P30's Master AI can recognize food, but we found that it needed a fair amount of natural light to make the colors pop. Colors can look bland in dim lighting.
PALM-SIZED POWER
The smaller screen on the P30 makes it easier to manage unlike its larger sibling. The flat screen comes with a screen protector. Looking for screen guards for curved screens like that on the P30 Pro or the Galaxy S10 and S10+ can be chore for those averse to scratches.
At 165 grams, the phone is easy to hold, coupled with the flat top and bottom. The supplied clear case makes it less slippery.
The P30 comes in the same gradient color finishes of the P30 Pro and seen from afar, the two phones look almost identical unless you know how to spot the square-shaped periscope lens and the TOF sensor on the Pro model.
The P30 also has a headphone jack and calls are loud on the earpiece speaker, which the P30 Pro replaces with screen vibrations.
The 3,650 mAh battery is enough to power the phone for a day. However, it lacks the wireless charging and reverse wireless charging on the Pro model.
The P30 ships with 128GB of on board storage with 8GB of RAM. The Kirin 980 blazes through applications and tasks. Navigation gestures on EMUI 9 is more intuitive than other Android skins. However the look of the UI is overdue for a refresh.
THE P FOR MOST PEOPLE
The Huawei P30 succeeds in bringing the P Series DNA to a smaller, less expensive package. Despite lacking the marquee features of the P30 Pro, it doesn't feel like a compromise.
It's rare for flagship phones to be priced in the P30,000 tier, even Huawei's rivals like Xiaomi and OnePlus have begun to flirt with higher price points.
For photography smarts, power and a competitive price tag, the P30 is a smart choice.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
PARIS -- Huawei launched its P30 series smartphone series here Tuesday, seeking to lure an increasingly saturated market away from Samsung and Apple with rear cameras that can shoot the moon better than its rivals.
The top-end P30 Pro has four Leica-engineered rear cameras with up to 50 times digital zoom, allowing users to capture more detailed images of stars and heavenly bodies. The regular P30 can zoom digitally up to 30 times.
"The Galaxy phone cannot see a Galaxy," Huawei Consumer Business Group CEO Richard Yu said in a jab at Samsung's Galaxy phones, while showing the audience a photo of a star cluster.
The P30 series was unveiled in the French capital just hours after Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled news and TV services and a credit card that will tie consumers deeper into the iOS ecosystem.
Shenzhen-based Huawei's newest flagships also came a month after Samsung launched the S10, S10+ and S10e, which saw the South Korean giant equip the S line for the first time with triple rear cameras (except for the S10e, which has two) and hole-shaped cutouts on the screen for the front-facing camera.
Huawei and Samsung, the world's number two and number one smartphone vendor in terms of sales, respectively, both unveiled handsets with folding displays and 5G capabilities last February, selling new features to a growing number of customers who are holding on to their phones longer than a year or two.
The quad cameras on the P30 Pro matches the four lenses on the Galaxy S10 5G and improves upon the triple lenses on Huawei's own P20 Pro and Mate 20 Pro from 2018. Apple stuck with dual lenses on the iPhone Xs and Xs Max while Google kept it at just one lens for the Pixel 3 and 3XL.
Huawei consumer business group CEO Richard Yu posted a photo of the moon on his Weibo account weeks before Tuesday's launch, with the blurred watermark hinting at the P30 series.
It's the fourth year of Huawei’s partnership with German camera-maker Leica that started with 2016's P9 series. For 2018's Mate 20 series, Huawei swapped the monochrome lens for a wide angle sensor.
Samsung also included a wide angle lens for the S10 and S10+ on top of the telephoto and standard lens.
Huawei, also the world biggest supplier of telecommunications equipment, is also unveiling new consumer products as it fights allegations of cyber espionage from the US.
Its founder, Ren Zhengfei, has denied that its equipment serve as a backdoor for Beijing. He also described the arrest of his daughter, Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou as politically motivated.
Meng was arrested in Canada on the request of Washington, who accused of violating sanctions against Iran.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
PARIS -- Huawei is set to unveil the next generation of its photography centered P series smartphones here on Tuesday, as the Chinese tech giant races to overtake world sales leader, Samsung.
The P30 series, tipped to come with improved zoom and low light capabilities, will debut in the French capital one month after Samsung unveiled a trio of Galaxy S10 phones with triple rear lenses and large screens.
Huawei posted teasers of the P30's camera capabilities in the run up to the launch, including how it can zoom into a cluster of buildings that will otherwise be hidden in a landscape shot.
Purported leaked images from tech journalist Evan Blass, who has a track record for accurately predicting smartphone specifications, showed triple lenses on both the P30 and P30 Pro. The third lens on the Pro model, however, looks different from the two other sensors based on Blass' leak
On the P20 Pro, the third lens provided up to 5 times zoom. The Mate 20 Pro from late 2018 also had triple lenses, with the third lens allowing wide-angle shooting instead of zoom.
The P30 Pro will have a smaller, dew drop-shaped notch for the front-facing camera and curved sides, based on the leak.
The Galaxy S10 line have hole punches on the screen for the selfie camera and curved sides on the S10 and S10+ models while the 5.8-inch S10e has a flat screen.
Huawei and Samsung also recently released smartphones with folding displays, the Mate X and the Galaxy Fold, respectively, seeking to reignite customer interest as industry sales growth slowed.
Shenzhen-based Huawei is also unveiling new hardware as it fights allegations of cyber espionage lobbed by the US. Its founder, Ren Zhengfei has denied wrongdoing.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
