Huawei’s Mate 50 series was recently announced after a couple of years of hiatus. The phone marks the company’s top-end lineup and also includes the awaited Mate 50 RS Porsche Edition, like its predecessors. Given how the phone comes with a bunch of upgrades over its old predecessor, like the latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, 64MP telephoto cameras and a larger battery, it’s time to take a closer look at how these two phones fare against each other.
Huawei Mate 50 Pro vs Mate 40 Pro
Table of Contents
| Huawei Mate 50 Pro | Huawei Mate 40 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT | 162.1 x 75.5 x 8.5 mm, 205 g | 162.9 x 75.5 x 9.1 mm, 212 g |
| DISPLAY | 6.74 inches, 1212 x 2616 pixels (Full HD+), OLED | 6.76 inches, 1344 x 2772 (Quad HD+), OLED, HDR10, 90Hz |
| PROCESSOR | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 4G, octa-core 3.19 GHz | Kirin 9000 5G |
| MEMORY | 8 GB RAM, 256 GB – 8 GB RAM, 512 GB | 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB – 8 GB RAM, 512 GB |
| SOFTWARE | EMUI 13 | Android 11 EMUI 11 |
| CONNECTIVITY | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS |
| CAMERA | Triple 50 + 64 + 13 MP, f/1.4-f/4.0 + f/3.5 + f/2.2 Single 13 MP f/2.4 front camera + TOF 3D camera | Triple 50 + 12 + 20 MP, f/1.9 + f/3.4 + f/1.8 Single 13 MP TOF f/2.2 front camera |
| BATTERY | 4700 mAh with 66W Fast charging and Qi wireless charging 50W | 4400mAh, Fast Charging 66W and Qi wireless charging 50W |
| ADDITIONAL FEATURES | 5G, optional dual SIM, IP68 waterproof, reverse wireless charging, 3D facial recognition | 5G, optional eSIM, IP68 waterproof |
DESIGN
The overall form factor remains the same on both the devices. This is not surprising given that they have the same size displays too. If you look at the individual dimensions, there isn’t much difference either, with the Mate 50 Pro becoming a bit thinner – despite the larger battery capacity. The Mate 50 Pro comes in a 162.1 x 75.5 x 8.5 mm body, while the Mate 40 Pro has a 162.9 x 75.5 x 9.1 mm body. The new Mate 50 Pro is also lighter at 205 grams vs 212 grams on the Mate 40 Pro.
If you look at the back, both the devices feature a round camera module with curved edges, which makes it comfortable to hold. But the module designs are different, with the Mate 50 Pro’s camera housing featuring a metallic finish while the Mate 40 Pro getting an all black design.
Coming to the front, the differences between the two models are even more evident. The Mate 50 Pro comes with a water drop notch with 3D face recognition. On the other hand, the Mate 40 Pro features a dual-camera punch hole display.
Both the phones are IP68 water and dust resistant.
Despite their differences, the two devices are pretty good-looking smartphones with fresh color options. The new Mate 50 Pro offers four color schemes, namely Black, Silver, Orange, and Purple, while the Mate 40 Pro came in Mystic Silver, Black, Green, White, and Yellow options.
DISPLAY
Coming to their displays, the two phones have good quality display panels on board. The new Mate 50 Pro brings a 6.74-inch 1212 x 2616 pixels OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate. On the other hand, the Mate 40 Pro came with a 6.76-inch screen with 1344 x 2772 pixel resolution but with 90Hz refresh rate. That said, both displays are excellent, with good visibility and colors.
One major difference between the two models is the new Huawei Kunlun Glass protection on the Mate 50 Pro’s front.
SPECS
One of the biggest differences between the two models is in their processors inside. The new Mate 50 Pro comes with the latest snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset clocked at 3.2GHz while the older Mate 50 Pro used a self-developed Huawei Kirin 9000 5G processor. Owing to the ongoing sanctions against Huawei, the Mate 50 Pro still can’t use 5G networks and the phone is limited to 4G LTE connectivity.
Clearly, the new-age Snapdragon chip makes it a lot more powerful and efficient than the Kirin chip on the older model.
Both the phones max out at 8GB of RAM and 512GB of ROM. However, you do have an option to upgrade storage using the nano memory slot that’s shared with the SIM card slot.
The Mate 50 Pro comes with the new EMUI 13 OS internationally and HarmonyOS 3.0 in China. On the other hand, the Mate 40 Pro features the EMUI 11 OS based on Android 10.
CAMERAS
The cameras on the new model get significant upgrades too.
The Mate 50 Pro comes with a 50MP Sony IMX766 main camera with OIS support, another 13MP ultra-wide shooter, and a third OIS-supported 64MP periscope telephoto camera with 3.5X optical zoom.
On the other hand, the Mate 40 Pro comes with a 50MP primary shooter, a 12MP persicope telephoto camera with 5X optical zoom, and a 20MP ultra-wide shooter. Note that the older Mate 40 Pro model had Leica optimizations, which isn’t the case on the new model.
On the front, both phones feature 13MP selfie shooter and a TOF 3D sensor for Face recognition.
CONNECTIVITY
Both phones come with 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax support, Bluetooth 5.2 and SBC, AAC, LDAC codecs. They have USB-C 3.1 Gen1 ports, but only the Mate 50 Pro comes with Display Port 1.2 support. The two phones also come with NFC support and an Infrared Port.
BATTERY
The Mate 50 Pro comes with a larger 4700mAh battery as compared to Mate 40 Pro’s 4400mAh. That said, they both support 66W fast charging, 50W wireless charging, and 5W reverse wireless charging.
PRICING
The Huawei Mate 50 Pro comes in multiple configurations, like 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage, or 8 GB RAM + 512 GB storage. 256GB ROM variant starts at 6,799 Yuan (~$977) and goes up to 7,799 Yuan (~$1,121), respectively for the 512GB model. There are two Kunlun special editions too which are priced at 6,999 Yuan (~$1,006) and 7,999 Yuan (~$1,149).
On the other hand, the Huawei Mate 40 Pro was launched at €1199 for its 8GB of RAM and 256GB variant internationally. But its available for under $1000 on Amazon and other retailers.
VERDICT
It’s clear that the Huawei Mate 50 Pro brings significant upgrades in multiple departments. The biggest one is in the processing department, with the new Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 chip ensuring you get the best performance from a 2022 smartphone. The new Huawei’s XMAGE image processing technology also brings a better photography experience from the new smartphone, despite lacking the Leica optimization of the previous generation model.
HUAWEI MATE 50 PRO vs HUAWEI MATE 40 PRO – Pros & Cons
Huawei Mate 50 Pro
Pros
- Newer Design
- Faster Processor
- XMAGE processing tech
Cons
- No 5G
- Limited Availability
Huawei Mate 40 Pro
Pros
- Cheaper
- Leica optimized CAmeras
Cons
- Smaller Battery
- Older Processor
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