Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Huawei is not exactly a name that’s been ever-present in the premium smartphone segment.

While being severely restricted by the US trade ban and no access to Google Mobile Services (GMS), the brand continues to keep its feet because of devices that break boundaries in design, camera capabilities, and balanced hardware.

The Huawei Mate 50 Pro gets to benefit from that, as well — it’s brash, classy, and admirably capable, too, even without access to the complete Android ecosystem.

So does it have what it takes to do battle with the Samsungs, Apples and OnePluses of the world? Let’s break it down.

Design: Premiumness in and out

At first try-on, the Mate 50 Pro is clearly a top-end device. Its large curved OLED screen, premium build quality and the iconic camera ring on the back all point to a standout design.

And it comes in several finishes, including vegan leather, which gives the phone luxury feel in the hand. Craftsmanship wasn’t skimped on by Huawei, and it shows.

The phone comes with a 6.74-inch curved AMOLED panel that has a resolution of 2616×1212 pixels. It’s not only crisp and vivid, but it also supports a buttery-smooth 120Hz refresh rates.

The visual experience is as stunning scrolling through social feeds as it is bingeing on Netflix.

Snapdragon Brains, But Only 4G

Inside, the Mate 50 Pro runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor.

Performance is snappy, fluid and it can easily multitask. But there’s a catch — and this due to the ongoing US sanctions: the device is stuck on 4G, even though the majority of today’s users already have access to 5G networks.

For daily use — gaming, photography, streaming or work — performance feels handicapped in nominally major ways. It’s just not future-proof when it comes to connectivity.

Camera: The Star of the Show

“Huawei has always been at the forefront of camera innovation, and the camera hardware and software in the Mate 50 Pro is as fantastic as ever.

It has a 50MP primary camera with a variable aperture of between (f/1.4 and f/4.0), something that’s still very uncommon on smartphones.

This makes better use of the depth of field and great for low-light photography. With it is a 13MP ultra-wide, and a 64MP telephoto lens that offers 3.5x optical zoom and up to 100x digital zoom.

Photos are vibrant, sharp and accurately colored — particularly in daylight. The Mate 50 Pro is even able to retain detail in low light without overly aggressive noise reduction.

Replaces partner Leica’s HMAGE system is Huawei’s XMAGE solution, which generally does a surprisingly good job also.

The front camera doesn’t disappoint either, a 13MP 3D depthsensing snapper for high-quality and secure facial recognition selfies.

Battery and Charging

Battery life is solid. The 4700mAh cell will comfortably last a full day even under moderate-heavy use.

When it’s time to recharge, there’s 66W wired and 50W wireless charging, providing you with a fast turnaround. That’s some flagship-level performance right there.

Software Disappointments: HarmonyOS and App Approaches

And this is where it gets tricky. In China, the Mate 50 Pro is powered by HarmonyOS 3.0 and in international markets it is based on EMUI 13.

While the UI is fluid and surprisingly easy to navigate, there’s no GMS, which means no Google Play Store, YouTube, or Google Maps out-of-the-box.

Huawei’s workarounds and AppGallery are there to fill the gaps, but it remains a less than perfect situation for anyone deeply immersed in Google’s eco-system.

For those who make their living in Gmail, Drive and other Google services every single day, that’s not an insignificant compromise.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Gorgeous OLED screen at 120Hz

Good build quality, core build quality and very stylish

Flagship photographer with variable aperture

Good battery life with fast wired and wireless charging

Overall smooth performance in everyday use even though there’s no 5G

Cons:

No Google Mobile Services

No 5G support

Some app compatibility issues

Not available in many regions

Huawei Mate 50 Pro: Final Thoughts

The Huawei Mate 50 Pro is not for everyone — but if you’re okay living life outside of Google’s loving embrace, there’s no reason not to consider it.

It offers great design, a stunning camera, and performance that can go head-to-head with the best flagship devices.

Huawei is evidently trying to rewrite the rulebook — and while it’s not always successful, you have to admire the effort.

For people sick of the same-old Android/iOS axis of monotony and hoping for something a little different, that might be enough reason to take a chance on the Mate 50 Pro.

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