We’re a couple of months away from Huawei’s next 6-monthly smartphone release, and this time around, it’ll be the P-Series. With the Huawei P30 Pro, we expect to see a lot of the improvements made in the Mate series from last October, including new hardware and software improvements to match.
Unsurprisingly, some of the improvements are logical steps. For example, it doesn’t take much imagination to conclude the P30 series will be powered by Huawei’s current generation chipset the Kirin 980 SoC. Equally, 6GB of RAM is probably a minimum, at least on the Pro model.
Some of the other improvements also come from the Mate 20 line, but they will represent a first for the P-series. Let’s take a look at these features.
In-screen fingerprint sensor?
Earlier renders – shown above – indicated a lack of a physical fingerprint sensor. The P20 Pro featured a front-facing fingerprint sensor. I quite liked the placement; it was great for using on a desk or in the car. Initially, the in-screen fingerprint sensor of the Mate 20 Pro annoyed me. However, I grew to love it – it mightn’t be quite so fast, but it works very well.
It seems this same technology will feature in the Huawei P30 Pro, perhaps even an improved version. Reports this week from Chinese outlet QQ confirmed the inclusion of an optical fingerprint sensor in-display, and also the upgrade from the LCD technology of the P20 Pro to OLED. This is a definite improvement.
Other improvements – screen size, rounded screen, more RAM?
Other changes for the P30 Pro (over the P20 series it replaces) include a waterdrop notch increasing the available screen real-estate for users. There will also be a curved panel which will ultimately make the phone easier and more comfortable to hold. Screen-size is increased, too, from 6.1-inches on the P20 Pro to 6.5-inches on the newer P30 Pro.
Other rumours suggest 8GB of RAM in the standard P30, and a whopping 12GB of RAM in the P30 Pro. This, frankly, sounds fanciful to me. That represents a 100% increase in RAM over the Mate 20 Pro, released just three months ago. Considering the Mate 20 Pro is meant to be the powerhouse of the Huawei smartphone stable, the jump to 12GB in the P30 Pro seems .. unrealistic at best.
New camera technology too
The QQ report also tells us more about the cameras in the two upcoming flagships. The Huawei P30 will flaunt the same triple rear camera array present on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. This is a pretty good thing, as the Huawei Mate 20 Pro has been rated the best smartphone for photography by DxOMark. Case renders of the Huawei P30 which surfaced earlier this month also indicate that the Huawei P30 will come equipped with a vertically aligned triple rear camera setup.
The improvements don’t stop there; don’t forget this is the P30 we’re talking about here, not the Pro.
The P30 Pro will see a more marked improvement. Rumours suggest it will featurea a periscope-style rear-camera to facilitate lossless optical zoom. We’ve seen Oppo talking about this technology recently, but it’s unclear whether they’ll deliver it in a working phone before Huawei does.
As for the P30 Pro, it will reportedly feature a periscope-style rear imaging hardware to facilitate lossless optical zoom, something which Oppo claims to deliver with its 10x hybrid optical zoom technology for smartphone cameras. Given the P-series is the photography-focused smartphone from Huawei, this development is hardly surprising. Let’s see how it pans out.
