6 best Huawei phones, from high-end models to photography-focused handsets

Best: Overall

Rating: 9/10

• Weight: Approx 212g
• Dimensions: H 16.2cm x W 7.5cm x D 0.9cm
• Screen: 6.76in
• Battery: 4,400 mAh
• Rear cameras: 50MP wide-angle, 20MP ultra-wide-angle, 12MP telephoto
• Front camera: 13MP wide-angle
• OS: EMUI 11.0 (based on Android 10)
• Memory: 8GB RAM, 256GB ROM

The mate 40 pro is the flagship Android smartphone developed by Huawei. When you remove the handset from its box, you instantly notice the craftsmanship that has gone into it. Made from glass and aluminium, it sports a highly premium design that looks stunning and feels amazing to hold.

What’s cool about the back of the phone is that its rear cameras have been organised in a unique-looking, circular design. Whether you’re a professional or amateur photographer, you’ll be happy to learn that there are three rear cameras to choose from: a 50MP main camera, a 20MP ultra-wide camera and a 12MP telephoto camera. Overall, they’re capable of taking fantastic photos.

There’s also a 13MP front-facing camera, which is handy for taking selfies and video calls. However, it does take up quite a lot of room on the top left-hand corner of the mate 40 pro. In terms of other features, it sports a 6.76in curved display, a 90Hz refresh rate, a Kirin 9000 processor, a fingerprint sensor, Android 10, IP68 water and dust resistance, and more. The mate 40 pro comes in either mystic silver or black.

Best: Mid-range phone

Rating: 8/10

• Weight: Approx 175 g
• Dimensions: H 14.8cm x W 7.1cm x D 0.8cm
• Screen: 6.1in
• Battery: 3,800 mAh
• Rear cameras: 50MP wide-angle, 16MP ultra-wide-angle, 8MP telephoto
• Front camera: 32MP
• OS: EMUI 10.1 (based on Android 10)
• Memory: 8GB RAM, 128GB ROM

The Huawei P40 is the mid-range offering from Huawei. Costing under £500, it has an elegant glass and metal design that feels amazing to hold. On the front, there’s a decently sized 6.1in, 2340px x 1080px display with stripped-back bezels and curved edges.

Thanks to a powerful Kirin 990 5G processor, the P40 offers nippy speeds. Additionally, a 3800mAh battery should offer plenty of juice for a busy day. But you sadly don’t get wireless charging on this handset. With a 50MP main camera, a 16MP ultra-wide camera and an 8MP telephoto camera, the P40 is an excellent phone for photography lovers.

There’s also a massive 32MP front-facing camera, but it looks very distracting. Other features include 4K video recording, a fingerprint scanner, IP53 water and dust resistance and more. You can get it in a range of colours, including black, “silver frost” and “blush gold”. While the P40 is currently sold out on the Huawei store, you can sign up to be notified when it comes back in stock.

Best: For professionals

Rating: 8/10

• Weight: Approx 209g
• Dimensions: H 15.8cm x W 7.2cm x D 0.8cm
• Screen: 6.58in
• Battery: 4,200 mAh
• Rear cameras: 50MP wide-angle, 40MP ultra-wide-angle, 12MP telephoto, 3D depth-sensing camera
• Front cameras: 32MP, depth camera
• OS: EMUI 10.1 (based on Android 10)
• Memory: 8GB RAM, 256GB ROM

Should you like the sound of the P40 but wish it had a larger screen, you’re in luck. Its bigger sibling, the P40 pro, offers a 6.58in, 2640px x 1200px display with a smooth 90Hz refresh rate. That should be big enough for streaming movies, browsing the web, scrolling through Twitter and performing many other activities on the go.

Like the regular P40, it has a premium design that looks and feels great. The pro is powered by the same Kirin 990 5G chipset, which delivered powerful overall performance during our tests. This is accompanied by 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of onboard storage.

The P40 pro is also a powerful camera phone, including a 3D depth-sensing camera. We found that all of the lenses produced impeccable photos. As for other features, there’s also 4K video recording, a fingerprint scanner and IP68 water and dust resistance. It’s available in black, “blush gold” or “silver frost”.

Best: For photography lovers

Rating: 8/10

• Weight: Approx 226g
• Dimensions: H 15.8cm x W 7.2cm x D 0.9cm
• Screen: 6.58in
• Battery: 4,200 mAh
• Rear cameras: 50MP wide-angle, 40MP ultra-wide-angle, 8MP superzoom with 10x optical zoom, 8MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, 3D depth-sensing camera
• Front cameras: 32MP, depth camera
• OS: EMUI 10.1 (based on Android 10)
• Memory: 8GB RAM, 512GB ROM

In addition to the P40 pro, Huawei also offers a “plus” version. The main difference between both phones is that the plus has five rear cameras, while the P40 pro has four, including an 8MP camera with a 10x optical zoom. We were impressed by the lenses’ ability to take superb photos while we were out and about with the phone. 

As well as a five-camera system, the P40 plus features a 32MP front-facing camera for epic selfies and 4K video recording. As is the case with the P40 and P40 pro, the P40 pro plus uses the snappy Kirin 990 5G processor.

It also provides a 6.58in 2640px x 1200px display with a 90Hz refresh rate, a fingerprint scanner, a premium design and IP68 water and dust resistance. It comes in either white ceramic or black ceramic.

Best: Budget Huawei phone

Rating: 7/10

• Weight: Approx 206g
• Dimensions: H 16.5cm x W 7.6cm x D 0.9cm
• Screen: 6.67in full HD display
• Battery: 5,000mAh capacity
• Rear cameras: 48MP, 8MP ultra-wide-angle, 2MP depth lens and 2MP macro lens
• Front camera: 8MP
• OS: EMUI 10.1
• Memory: External storage of up to 512GB

If you’re after an affordable Huawei smartphone that doesn’t compromise on features and performance, look no further than the P smart 2021. One of its standout features is a large 6.67in display with a 1080px x 2400px resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate. Overall, we thought it provided decent visuals and was pretty responsive to use.

Under the hood, the P smart 2021 sports a Kirin 710A processor that offers good performance, a massive 5000mAh battery, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Other top features include a quad-camera system, 1080p video recording and a fingerprint scanner.

Despite sporting an economical plastic design, the P smart 2021 feels solid in the hand and we think it looks slightly more expensive than it actually is. It is available in “midnight black”, “blush gold” and “crush green”.

Best: Affordable 5G option

Rating: 7/10

• Weight: Approx 189g
• Dimensions: H 16.2cm x W 7.5cm x D 0.8cm
• Screen: 6.5in
• Battery: 4,000 mAh
• Rear cameras: 64MP, 8MP ultra-wide-angle, 2MP bokeh lens, 2MP macro
• Front camera: 16MP
• OS: EMUI 10.1 (based on Android 10)
• Memory: 6GB RAM, 128GB ROM

The P40 lite 5G is another budget-friendly Android smartphone offered by Huawei. But unlike the P smart 2021, it offers 5G connectivity and costs less than £300 if you buy direct from the Huawei store (£300, Huawei.com). However, it is currently out of stock on the store site itself, so you can either sign up to be notified when it becomes available again, or you can buy it elsewhere, though the price may be little higher (£399, Amazon.co.uk). Along with 5G support, it also boasts a sizeable 6.5in 2400px x1080px display.

Compared to other models in the P40 range, the P40 lite 5G has a glossy plastic finish that looks cheaper and may attract some fingerprints. But on the bright side, the phone feels solid to hold and comes in a few different colours: black, “space silver” and “crush green”.

What’s more, the P40 lite 5G sports a quad-camera system, a Kirin 820 processor, a fingerprint sensor and many other great features.