Here’s to Huawei with its Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 flagship in the form of Mate 50, but is it worthy to upgrade your smartphone? Read on to find out more.
But before we begin, let’s take a trip down memory lane with the previous flagship called the P50 Pocket:
- 6.9-inch Full HD+ OLED screen with 1188 x 2790 pixels, 21:9 ratio or ~442 ppi density
- 120Hz refresh rate
- Cover display: 1.04-inch OLED screen with 340 x 340 pixels or 328 ppi
- Fingerprint sensor (side-mounted)
- Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 4G (5 nm) chipset, Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4x1.80 GHz Kryo 680) processor, Adreno 660 graphics and 8GB/12GB RAM
- Triple primary camera: 40MP with f/1.8 aperture, (wide), PDAF and Laser AF + 13MP with f/2.2 aperture and 120˚ (ultrawide) + 32MP with f/1.8 aperture, LED flash, HDR and panorama
- 10.7MP selfie camera with f/2.2 aperture, (ultrawide), HDR and panorama
- 256GB/512GB internal storage with Nano Memory expansion slot up to 256GB maximum
- Non-removable Li-Po 4000 mAh battery with Fast battery charging 40W and Reverse charging 5W
- HarmonyOS 2.0 with no Google Play Services
- Dual-sim and 4G LTE
- December 2021 release date
- 8,988 Chinese Yuan or ~1,415 USD price tag for the 8GB RAM + 256GB internal storage variant and 10,988 Chinese Yuan or ~1,729 USD price tag for the 12GB RAM + 512GB internal storage variant
The P50 Pocket is one of the best-sellers for foldable smartphones last year. But without 5G, Google Play services and its steep pricing – it might be a turn-off for a lot of people.
Having said that, let’s now get acquainted with the Mate 50, shall we?
- 6.7-inch Full HD+ OLED with 1224 x 2700 pixels or ~442 ppi density
- 1B colours
- 90Hz refresh rate
- Fingerprint sensor (under display, optical)
- IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 2 meters for 30 minutes)
- Huawei Kunlun Glass
- Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ 4G Gen 1 (4 nm) chipset, Octa-core (1x3.19 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3x2.75 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510) processor, Adreno 730 graphics and 8GB RAM
- Triple primary camera: 50MP with f/1.4-f/4.0 aperture, 24mm (wide), PDAF, Laser AF and OIS + 12MP with f/3.4 aperture, 125mm (periscope telephoto), PDAF, OIS and 5x optical zoom + 13MP with f/2.2 aperture, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), PDAF, LED flash, panorama and HDR
- 13MP selfie camera with f/2.4 aperture, 18mm (ultrawide), HDR and panorama
- 128GB/256GB/512GB internal storage with Nano Memory expansion slot up to 256GB maximum
- Non-removable Li-Po 4660 mAh battery with Fast battery charging 66W, Fast wireless charging 50W and Reverse wireless charging 5W
- EMUI 13
- Dual-sim and 4G LTE
- September 2022 release date
- 4,999 Chinese Yuan or ~700 USD price tag for the 128GB internal storage variant and 6,699 Chinese Yuan or ~940 USD price tag for the 512GB internal storage variant
A quick glance at the Mate 50, and we have ourselves a potential winner. Coming in with a large 6.7-inch Full HD+ OLED screen and 90Hz refresh rate, it is a beauty to watch anything on the device. It also comes with 1440 Hz PWM dimming which reduces flicker, and gives your eyes the breather they deserve. Coupled with the IP68 certification and Huawei Kunlun Glass, and we know we will get good protection from any mishaps.
Moving on to what’s under the hood of the Mate 50, we find ourselves with the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8+ 4G Gen 1 chipset being paired with a blazingly fast octa-core processor, amazing graphics and 8GB RAM. You should be able to run just about anything, and still have some spare left in the tank.
The Mate 50 also promises the below features:
SuperHold
Start fast and stay fast, with rapid app launching, nimble operations, and seamless web browsing.
SuperRender
Play longer at more stable high frame rates, thanks to pixel-level inter-frame prediction technology, which slashes phone body temperature and power consumption.
SuperStorage
Your phone will help clear up to 20GB of storage space, by stacking duplicate files, compressing lesser-used apps, and eliminating unnecessary re-downloads, leaving more room for the things you love.
Camera-wise, the Mate 50 is blessed with a great 50MP+12MP+13MP triple primary camera shooter that is highly capable of taking one of the best shots ever in camera photography. It is fully loaded with all the bells and whistles that you have come to expect from a very solid device. Then there’s also the 13MP selfie camera to make the package complete.
As for the storage, you get to choose either 128GB, 256GB or 512GB of internal space – it all depends on your budget. But in what is seen as a buck in the trend, Mate 50 does come with an expansion. You can slot in a Nano Memory card and can get an additional 256GB of space.
With the 4660 mAh battery, it can easily power up the smartphone for a good day or two in between charging. There are plenty of options available when the time comes to plug it in, and you can be sure of a speedy charge to full speed ahead.
Perhaps the downside, and it’s a huge one – the Mate 50 does not have 5G capability. And that’s a real turn-off if you ask me. Oh, and it won’t be coming with Google Play services as well, and that’s a real bummer.
Conclusion:
Huawei Mate 50 joins the bandwagon of the latest high-end Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, although without 5G capability. Everything else is perfect, but the question is whether you can live without having Google apps installed on this flagship?
Huawei Mate 50 had just been released a couple of weeks ago in September 2022 with a price tag of 4,999 Chinese Yuan or ~700 USD price tag for the 128GB internal storage variant and 6,699 Chinese Yuan or ~940 USD price tag for the 512GB internal storage variant. Four amazing colors are available: Black, Silver, Purple, and Orange.
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Eza EzamieCategory: Team WhaTech Profile: Tech junkie by profession and passionate about anything from the digital world, movies, games and reading. He loves writing and hopes you enjoy his writing as much as he does. Eza, is also known as Don in the virtual world, but don’t him me wrong, he's not a mafia type he's really a nice chap and a devout family guy.
