At a launch event in Paris yesterday, Huawei unveiled its latest P30 and P30 Pro handsets, with the latter having camera capabilities of up to 50X zoom.
Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer business, said the P30’s latest camera system can “see things the human eye cannot”. This is thanks to the new camera setup that allows for more light to enter the sensor than was possible before. The device’s new bokeh mode, called Super Portrait Mode, promises to capture individual hairs on a person’s head and/or face.
Of course, the P30 gets the features that were missing on the P20 but featured on the Mate 20 Pro, including the reverse wireless charging feature.
While there is no South African pricing yet, the P30 Pro has been priced at 1000 Euros in Europe. This makes it likely to be priced in the same category as the iPhone Xs and Galaxy S10.
Huawei’s Watch GT series gets an upgrade with the Watch GT Active, geared towards the fitness conscious, and the Watch GT Elegant, which is aimed at those wanting a smaller smartwatch.
Huawei says the GT Active edition will last 2 weeks on a single charge with the on-watch fitness tools used regularly. It also comes with a new mode that will track triathlon events.
The smaller Watch GT Elegant fills a gap that other smartwatch manufacturers like Samsung and Apple currently satisfy: a version of the smartwatch that isn’t enormous. This new GT Elegant variant is much smaller, at 42mm instead of 46mm. It comes with a ceramic bezel, new watchfaces, and advanced fitness tracking features.
Click here to read about Huawei’s smartglasses, fast charging , and wireless earphones.
In a “one more thing” moment, Huawei announced its smartglasses range, called Eyewear. It offers the ability for wearers to listen to music, make calls, and use the glasses as a virtual assistant. The glasses are IP67 dust and water resistant, and they can charge wirelessly via the case that holds the glasses, or via USB Type-C. The case has a 2,200mAh battery to keep the glasses powered.
They won’t be ugly either. Huawei has partnered with Korean fashion brand Gentle Monster for the design, ensuring the glasses look normal.
Powerbanks are fairly common nowadays. But can they charge a phone from 0-70% in 30 minutes? Huawei’s latest Super Charge 40W powerbank charges at the same rate as the company’s Super Charge wall chargers, giving users an extra boost on the go.
Huawei also released two sets of earphones at the event. The FreeLace “neckbud-style” earphones boast an 18 hour listen time for active/gym users and connect wirelessly through Huawei’s HiLink protocol.
The FreeBuds 2 mimic the iconic all-white stemmed design of Apple’s AirPods. It promises 12 hours of usage with a battery case. Hopefully its cheaper price point can be enough to save these earphones in an already saturated wireless earphone market.