The Huawei P50 Pro: A Flagship Phone with Significant Compromises

As soon as you lay eyes on the Huawei P50 Pro, it's clear that this is a premium device. The phone's luscious design and premium build quality are on full display, making it a joy to hold and use. But beneath its sleek exterior, there are some significant compromises that might make you question whether or not this phone is worth the investment.

One of the most notable features of the P50 Pro is its camera system. The phone boasts a 50-megapixel main camera, a 40-megapixel monochrome camera, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 64-megapixel telephoto zoom camera. Huawei also promises to have improved image processing, which indeed delivers some truly impressive images. The zoom on the P50 Pro is superb, even surpassing that of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra's 10x zoom. However, without access to Google services due to ongoing issues with the US government restricting Huawei from using Android, the phone falls short in this area.

The camera system is indeed great, but it's not enough to make up for the massive failings elsewhere, most notably the lack of Google services. The US government has imposed restrictions on Huawei, preventing them from using Android at its core. This means that the P50 Pro cannot access Google services such as Gmail, Chrome, YouTube, and crucially, the Google Play Store. Without the Play Store, users are unable to download apps from it, instead being forced to use Huawei's own AppGallery. While there are some notable names available in the AppGallery, it is generally slim pickings compared to what's available on other platforms.

To get around these limitations, some workarounds exist. For example, Petal Maps is essentially identical to Google Maps, and users can still access their Gmail account by adding it to Huawei's own email client. However, watching YouTube videos in the browser is a more fiddly process, and downloading APK files from third-party websites can be inherently risky. Many popular apps, such as Instagram and Adobe Lightroom, are not officially available on the AppGallery but can be installed manually by finding them on various third-party websites.

Another significant issue with the P50 Pro is its lack of 5G connectivity. While this might not be a major concern in all regions, it's likely to become more of an issue as 5G coverage becomes more widespread over the next few years. In fact, forking out thousands of dollars for a flagship phone that doesn't even have the latest technology available is a significant compromise. In contrast, mid-range phones like the OnePlus 9 offer all the features you'd expect from a flagship device at a fraction of the cost.

The Samsung Galaxy S22, set to be released soon, offers an alternative to the P50 Pro. As one of our top phones from last year, it's still worth waiting for if you're looking for the best flagship phone available. However, the P50 Pro's combination of missing features and high price makes it a phone to avoid.

In conclusion, while the Huawei P50 Pro has some impressive features, its significant compromises make it a difficult sell. Without access to Google services and 5G connectivity, this premium device falls short of what you'd expect from a flagship phone in 2022. If you're considering spending thousands of dollars on this phone, there are far better alternatives available that offer the same or better features at a lower price point.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhuawei's p50 pro is the most beautiful phone that you absolutely should not buy confused so was i here's what you need to know huawei's flagship p50 pro actually launched in china last year and it's finally getting a release into the uk and wider europe it will not go on sale in the us due to the ongoing restrictions imposed by the us government and it is those same restrictions that makes this phone so problematic but i'm not a negative nelly so let's start with the good stuff for one thing it looks pretty awesome it's got a luxurious glass and metal design and i'm really keen on these two big circles on the back of the phone which i think gives it a look that really stands out from its competitors it's also ip68 rated so spilled drinks are no concern here and just take a look at this display it measures 6.6 inches it's pin sharp got 120 hertz refresh rate and it is vibrant as the day is long and i love the way that it curves so much of the edges just oozes that premium charm or as much as any display can ooze something i suppose it's got a meaty battery that'll keep on chugging all day and it's got a pretty wild camera setup on the back as well you get a 50 megapixel main camera a 40 megapixel monochrome camera a 13 megapixel ultra wide camera and a 64 megapixel telephoto zoom camera huawei also promises all kinds of improved image processing to make those shots look even better than before and indeed i found that this can take some really really great images and that zoom is superb as well with shots at the 10 times level even surpassing the 10 times seen on the samsung galaxy s21 ultra and that phone has always held the flag for being the best zoom phone around so it's definitely got some competition from huawei here so the camera is certainly great no question there but it's not great enough to make up for its massive failings elsewhere most notably no google services due to the ongoing issues of the us huawei can use android at its core but it can't use google services including gmail chrome youtube and crucially the google play store and no access to the google play store means no downloading of any apps from it so instead you'll have to use huawei's own app gallery and while there are some notable names on its shelves it is generally slim pickings there are workarounds sure petal maps for example which is huawei's own maps app is nion identical to google maps there's no gmail app but you can still add your gmail account to huawei's own email client and access your email as normal and there is no youtube app but you can still watch youtube videos in the browser it's a lot more fiddly sure but it still technically works and while apps like instagram and adobe lightroom are not officially available in huawei's app gallery you can find the apks on various third-party websites and install them manually and that's the case for many apps but it is important to keep in mind that downloading apk files from untrusted third-party websites is inherently risky and doing that can really open you up to putting a lot of bad nonsense onto your phone the other main issue here though is that again due to the restrictions this phone does not have 5g now sure 5g might not really be everywhere just yet but in the three years or so that you're likely going to be using this phone if you bought it you can expect that 5g coverage to be a lot more common and you may well find yourself missing out particularly when you forked out so much cash for a supposedly top-end flagship phone in 2022 so no 5g and no google services two huge issues for any phone in 2022 particularly as this one costs more than the iphone 13 pro there are some compromises that maybe you're happy to make maybe you don't care about 5g right now maybe you don't even care about having access to the latest apps that all your friends are talking about playing but those are compromises you would usually make in order to keep the price down you'd look at a mid-range phone that has all those everyday features but comes at a price that is much less than your elite flagships take the oneplus 9 for example it's got 5g it's got google services it's got a lovely screen a great camera the same processor and awesome battery life but it also costs hundreds and hundreds of dollars less than huawei's p50 pro the cash that huawei is demanding for this phone should really score you the absolute best of the best around the phone that ticks all of the boxes that you would expect from a flagship phone in 2022 but that is far from the case here yes the hardware is great this luscious design is premium all the way and that camera is excellent if the restrictions weren't in place so this thing could have 5g and use google services this would be a very very different story but as it stands it demands you make two massive sacrifices and doesn't even try to tempt you to do so with a lower price tag if you're watching this in the us it's a bit of a moot point anyway as you can't buy it but if you are somewhere that this is on sale and you're seriously considering dropping four figures in order to get it then don't instead look towards phones like the oneplus 9 or the google pixel 6 pro one of our top phones from last year and cheaper than the p50 pro then there's the upcoming samsung galaxy s22 which is well worth waiting for if you are the sort of person who's looking for the best flagship phone around but unfortunately its combination of missing features and sky high price means the huawei p50 pro is definitely a phone to avoid what do you think to this phone is it still something that you would consider spending that money on in order to get do make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below and keep it cnet for a lot morehuawei's p50 pro is the most beautiful phone that you absolutely should not buy confused so was i here's what you need to know huawei's flagship p50 pro actually launched in china last year and it's finally getting a release into the uk and wider europe it will not go on sale in the us due to the ongoing restrictions imposed by the us government and it is those same restrictions that makes this phone so problematic but i'm not a negative nelly so let's start with the good stuff for one thing it looks pretty awesome it's got a luxurious glass and metal design and i'm really keen on these two big circles on the back of the phone which i think gives it a look that really stands out from its competitors it's also ip68 rated so spilled drinks are no concern here and just take a look at this display it measures 6.6 inches it's pin sharp got 120 hertz refresh rate and it is vibrant as the day is long and i love the way that it curves so much of the edges just oozes that premium charm or as much as any display can ooze something i suppose it's got a meaty battery that'll keep on chugging all day and it's got a pretty wild camera setup on the back as well you get a 50 megapixel main camera a 40 megapixel monochrome camera a 13 megapixel ultra wide camera and a 64 megapixel telephoto zoom camera huawei also promises all kinds of improved image processing to make those shots look even better than before and indeed i found that this can take some really really great images and that zoom is superb as well with shots at the 10 times level even surpassing the 10 times seen on the samsung galaxy s21 ultra and that phone has always held the flag for being the best zoom phone around so it's definitely got some competition from huawei here so the camera is certainly great no question there but it's not great enough to make up for its massive failings elsewhere most notably no google services due to the ongoing issues of the us huawei can use android at its core but it can't use google services including gmail chrome youtube and crucially the google play store and no access to the google play store means no downloading of any apps from it so instead you'll have to use huawei's own app gallery and while there are some notable names on its shelves it is generally slim pickings there are workarounds sure petal maps for example which is huawei's own maps app is nion identical to google maps there's no gmail app but you can still add your gmail account to huawei's own email client and access your email as normal and there is no youtube app but you can still watch youtube videos in the browser it's a lot more fiddly sure but it still technically works and while apps like instagram and adobe lightroom are not officially available in huawei's app gallery you can find the apks on various third-party websites and install them manually and that's the case for many apps but it is important to keep in mind that downloading apk files from untrusted third-party websites is inherently risky and doing that can really open you up to putting a lot of bad nonsense onto your phone the other main issue here though is that again due to the restrictions this phone does not have 5g now sure 5g might not really be everywhere just yet but in the three years or so that you're likely going to be using this phone if you bought it you can expect that 5g coverage to be a lot more common and you may well find yourself missing out particularly when you forked out so much cash for a supposedly top-end flagship phone in 2022 so no 5g and no google services two huge issues for any phone in 2022 particularly as this one costs more than the iphone 13 pro there are some compromises that maybe you're happy to make maybe you don't care about 5g right now maybe you don't even care about having access to the latest apps that all your friends are talking about playing but those are compromises you would usually make in order to keep the price down you'd look at a mid-range phone that has all those everyday features but comes at a price that is much less than your elite flagships take the oneplus 9 for example it's got 5g it's got google services it's got a lovely screen a great camera the same processor and awesome battery life but it also costs hundreds and hundreds of dollars less than huawei's p50 pro the cash that huawei is demanding for this phone should really score you the absolute best of the best around the phone that ticks all of the boxes that you would expect from a flagship phone in 2022 but that is far from the case here yes the hardware is great this luscious design is premium all the way and that camera is excellent if the restrictions weren't in place so this thing could have 5g and use google services this would be a very very different story but as it stands it demands you make two massive sacrifices and doesn't even try to tempt you to do so with a lower price tag if you're watching this in the us it's a bit of a moot point anyway as you can't buy it but if you are somewhere that this is on sale and you're seriously considering dropping four figures in order to get it then don't instead look towards phones like the oneplus 9 or the google pixel 6 pro one of our top phones from last year and cheaper than the p50 pro then there's the upcoming samsung galaxy s22 which is well worth waiting for if you are the sort of person who's looking for the best flagship phone around but unfortunately its combination of missing features and sky high price means the huawei p50 pro is definitely a phone to avoid what do you think to this phone is it still something that you would consider spending that money on in order to get do make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below and keep it cnet for a lot more\n"