Huawei P60 Pro Review: Can a brilliant camera make you forget about Google-less software?

Four years after the United States imposed harsh sanctions on Huawei and barred it from using Google apps, the business has lost the majority of its global market share, but what you couldn’t expect was that it would survive and thrive. And it has; it has always made phones, and if the software is a Google-less sore point, the hardware is rather excellent.

What we have here is the Huawei P60 Pro, the company’s 2023 camera-centric flagship, and it demonstrates that, despite all odds, Huawei has created a compelling camera phone. The business is also clearly not hesitant to experiment with lavish design styling, but what you want to know is whether the Huawei P60 Pro has what it takes to outperform established camera phones and steal their thunder.

HUAWEI P60 PRO KEY FEATURES

The Huawei P60 Pro enters an overcrowded smartphone market, with other firms vying for the top cameraphone place. Huawei, once a market pioneer, has become an uncompetitive competitor as a result of US sanctions and technological restrictions. And yet, it’s still here, with a brand-new Huawei P60 Pro that features a camera you’ll adore.

Huawei is not going anywhere, and neither are its smartphones. EMUI and its services have grown to the point where using them makes sense, as have alternatives that enable Google apps without breaking any regulations, such as Gbox. And the Huawei P60 Pro is undoubtedly one of the best camera phones on the market, and you are welcome to stay with us and learn everything about it.

Let us cut to the chase. The P60 Pro features a recognizable glass design with curved panels and a single big LTPO OLED screen with high resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and 1 billion colors. It sports a small punch hole for the selfie camera, which is a significant improvement over the Mate 50 Pro’s massive cutout. Sure, there is no Face ID, but the under-display fingerprint scanner should suffice.

The chipset is the same as on the Mate 50 Pro: a bespoke 4G version of the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, the second-best platform on the market. While it is not the most recent Gen 2 model, it should still be adequate.

The Huawei P60 Pro’s most exciting feature is undoubtedly its camera. On the back, there are three cameras: a 48MP main with variable aperture and stabilized lens, a 48MP telephoto with 3.5x optical zoom and telemacro mode, and a 13MP ultrawide with autofocus.

Huawei has thought of everything for the P60 Pro. The sole significant camera change since prior P series smartphones is variable aperture, which was initially introduced on the Huawei Mate 50 Pro. And it appears that the optical zoom will be reduced in favor of larger sensors and brighter apertures, which is a contentious issue even inside our office.

The Huawei P60 Pro has no glaring omissions, except those caused by US restrictions: 5G connection and Google Mobile Services. Without further ado, let us unbox the Huawei P60 Pro.

HUAWEI P60 PRO UNBOXING

The Huawei P60 Pro comes in a white paper package with all necessary attachments. It contains an 88W charger, a 6A USB-A-to-C cable, and a clear protective case.

The P60 Pro also includes a thin protective coating on top of the screen, which we pulled off right away because it was a major smudge magnet. We are confident that many people will appreciate it, as it prevents scratches.

Finally, we want to draw your attention back to the new 88W charger. It has two ports next to each other: USB-C and USB-A. In this manner, you can use it to charge computers, tablets, cell phones, and other devices. And, no, you cannot use both ports concurrently.

CAMERA

The Huawei P60 Pro features a 13-MP wide sensor with an f/2.4 aperture and the latest Ultra Lighting XMAGE Camera, which delivers sharp shots comparable to DSLR cameras. One of the camera’s primary selling features is its 48MP telephoto lens, which allows for up to 100x digital zoom without sacrificing quality.

For filmmakers and vloggers, the camera offers a stabilization mode that ensures shake-free and blur-free videos. We tested it in Dual-View mode, which allows you to record with both the front and back cameras at the same time.

While the quality of the front camera did not completely satisfy us, the back camera won us over with its sharp footage. Overall, it’s an excellent choice for recording YouTube vlogs, Facebook Lives, and sharing your surroundings with loved ones in real-time.

If you desire, you can use the Aperture mode to manually change the focus to your liking, but I found the automatic Super Macro mode to work well for most activities.

In addition to the optical zoom lens, there is a digital zoom option of up to 100x. When photographing at more than 3.5x magnification, the clarity suffers noticeably, with lines becoming slightly fuzzier and shades appearing less true to life.

The 13 MP wide-angle lens falls short of the quality of the other two lenses. While it is adequate for landscape or large group photographs, the colors become less natural-looking, and ultra-fine details disappear.

If you’re photographing people or animals, the portrait mode is the greatest option because the shades contrast much more starkly than when using the usual camera mode. Furthermore, there is exactly the appropriate amount of blur, with no stray hairs smudging into the background.

The 13MP front camera offers a wide-angle setting, making it ideal for large group selfies. Oddly, the bokeh effect does not appear to activate immediately while in portrait mode, and you must select an effect in the camera app.

DESIGN AND SCREEN

Mobile phone design language enjoys trends. One of today’s examples is the extravagant camera housing. Camera lenses are decked to the nines in a peacock manner, with huge discs of glass, even though the diameter of the camera lens is best measured in millimeters.

The Huawei P60 Pro is one of these smartphones. But it does give the phone a distinct rear, especially if you go with the finish I have, which looks very similar to marble.

It’s, of course, glass. However, it has a little soft finish, and if the look is “too much,” there is always the much plainer black variant available.

This phone feels about as wonderful as phones get, thanks to the brilliant combination of premium materials and dual-sided curved glass. Tapered sides make the Huawei P60 Pro feel thinner — and it is slim to begin with — and eliminate any sharp edges.

The elephant in the room is that, yes, I did manage to smash the rear glass of the Huawei P60 Pro. I’m not sure when this happened, but it was before I took the phone out of the house. I saw the spider’s web of cracks when I inserted my personal SIM card into the slot.

Phone glass does not break for no cause, but this serves as a reminder that the Huawei P60 Pro does not employ Corning’s category-leading Gorilla Glass. It employs Huawei’s formulation, Kunlun.

Huawei has promoted its reinforced glass since 2019. However, the fact that I was able to crush this phone without dropping it shows that it may not be up to the Huawei P60 Pro’s merciless design, with aluminium sides that extend right up to the display/rear glass. Less ambitious designs usually include a small layer of plastic between the two, which serves as an impact force buffer.

I’m not sure I can blame this on Huawei rather than myself. The most effective testing is empirical and replicable, none of which are applicable here. Huawei’s Kunlun glass is also said to be the first to achieve a 5-star rating from Swiss testing center SGS. Do you want to buy one of these phones? I recommend you use a case.

The Huawei screen does not raise such concerns. It’s a 6.67-inch OLED display with LTPO technology, which enables dynamic modulation of the phone’s refresh rate of up to 120Hz.

HOW’S THE PERFORMANCE?

The Huawei P60 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, one of the fastest smartphone CPUs available. This implies that the P60 Pro can easily manage the most demanding jobs. The phone also boasts 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, which is more than enough for most users.

In terms of performance, the P60 Pro is extremely fast. I was able to run many apps simultaneously without any lag or slowness. I also played several demanding games, like Fortnite and Asphalt 9 Legends, and the P60 Pro handled them effortlessly.

The P60 Pro also boasts superb connectivity. It includes 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, GPS, and infrared. This means you may use it to access the internet, watch videos, download files, and more.

Overall, the P60 Pro is a very competent smartphone. It features a strong processor, plenty of RAM, and superb networking. This makes it an excellent alternative for anyone searching for a high-end smartphone.

Buy it if...

• Premium design and appearance, IP68 certified.
• Outstanding LTPO OLED screen, quite bright, and HDR10+.
• Adequate battery life and rapid charging.
• The phone is shipped with a universal PD charger.
• The speakers have excellent audio quality.
• Class-leading photo quality, including selfies.
• The main camera has a truly variable aperture.
• Amazing telemacro shots and videos.
• The hardware is sufficiently powerful.

Don't buy it if…

• There are no native Google Mobile Services.
• No 5G.
• We have seen more detailed videos from other Huawei phones.
• EMUI has a propensity to clean things that it shouldn’t.
• Prone to throttling during peak performance.
• A little costly at launch.

FULL SPECIFICATION