Verdict
The substantial camera and prominent design make a honorable first feeling , but the lingering software event of Huawei phones ca n’t be ignored when shopping for an Android .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Huawei P60 Pro might well have been in contention for one of the best top - end phones of the twelvemonth , were it not for Huawei ’s backlisting by the US .
Missed out on the news ? Huawei got into a speckle of bother with the US political science in 2019 , coerce Google to cut tie with a company that , to that peak , had been a key pardner .
It means the Huawei P60 Pro , and other Huawei speech sound , do not have Google software . No Maps , Google Play or Gmail . The restrictions have also led to the P60 Pro being stick by with 4 gravitational constant mobile net , not 5G.
The Huawei P60 Pro I can see having once been a contender for the2023 phone of the yearis quite unlike from the one I ’ll be talking about today , then . However , despite having had its westerly market portion obliterate to the extent that in all probability gives CEOs of rivals nightmares , Huawei go forward to offer fantabulous functioning in the areas in which it ( arguably ) led the pack back in 2018/2019 : tv camera quality and bombardment life .
However , it ’s not enough to make the Huawei P60 Pro free-enterprise as a telephone I can recommend to the average speech sound buyer . It costs £ 1,299 for the top 512GB/12 GB RAM spec , £ 1,199 for 256 GB and 8 GB RAM . It ’s £ 50-£100 cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra , but that Samsung ends up feel a more complete headphone for a Western consultation .
Design and screen
Mobile earphone plan language love a course . One of today ’s 1 is the ostentatious photographic camera housing . In peacock way , camera lens get dressed up to the 9 , with gargantuan discs of glass even if the tv camera lens itself has a diameter best measure in mm .
The Huawei P60 Pro is one of these phones . But it does at least give the phone a distinctive backside , particularly if you prefer for the finish I have , which look a lot like marble .
It is , of course , glassful . But it has a slightly subdued finish , and if you discover the facial expression “ a bit much ” , there ’s always the much plainer black version on offer .
This phone feel about as good as earpiece get , thanks to the killer combo of high - end materials and dual - sided curved chicken feed . point sides make the Huawei P60 Pro feel slimmer — and it ’s slight to start with — and keep off any hard edges .
The elephant in the elbow room is that , yes , somehow I have managed to bankrupt the Huawei P60 Pro ’s rearward glass . I ’m not quite certain when this take place , but it was before I ’d admit the phone out of my home . I notice the wanderer ’s web of cracks when putting my personal SIM into its slot .
Phone glass does not wear out for no reasonableness , but it ’s a monitor the Huawei P60 Pro does not apply category - leadingGorilla Glass by Corning . It use Huawei ’s own conceptualization call Kunlun .
Huawei has talked up its strengthened glass since 2019 . But that I ’ve manage to smash this phone without ever dropping it evoke itmaynot be a lucifer for the Huawei P60 Pro ’s unforgiving plan , where the aluminium sides extend right up to the display shabu / rear crank . Less ambitious designs typically expend a thin level of plastic between the two , which act as an impingement power buffer .
I ’m not confident I can blame this on Huawei rather than myself , though . The honest examination is empirical and reproducible — neither applies here . Huawei ’s Kunlun glass is also on the face of it the first phone glass to receive a 5 - star rating from Swiss examination facility SGS . Choose to buy one of these phone ? I recommend using a case .
The Huawei screen bring no such contention . It ’s a 6.67 - in OLED panel withLTPO tech , allowing for active inflection of the phone ’s up - to 120Hz refresh pace .
Colour , direct contrast and maximum cleverness are all fantastic , and the Huawei P60 Pro has an above Full HD resolution of 2700 x 1220 . It ’s enough to provide good sharpness , if not at the stage of the 3088 x 1440 pixel Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra .
Screens at this point are not all that interesting to talk about these day , as they are all so strong . It supports HDR , it ’s easily bright enough to look percipient and surefooted on gay days .
Some hoi polloi may not appreciate how the lightly curved side of meat of the silver screen kitty observation , but I have n’t find the effect too unhinge . There are just two colour manner here . “ Normal ” switches between colour mode based on the content displayed , and “ Vivid ” is strongly saturated all the time . I highly recommend using the Normal manner .
Camera
The camera is the Huawei P60 Pro ’s true specializer area . This phone has a 48MP primary camera , a 48MP 3.5x zoom with herculean detector - shift stabilization and a 13MP ultra - wide of the mark camera .
There ’s zero filler , and Huawei give the P60 Pro an easy approachable 10x mode so as to make the most of the zoom camera . Just like the best Huawei sound tv camera I ’ve used over the last few years , this one is an rank blast to use . And , as I find oneself with every good periscope earpiece , the zoom is where the stand - out fun is to be had .
I had a chance to take the Huawei P60 Pro to a euphony fete , and its power to catch square picture of the on - phase performers when way back in the gang was quite wonderful . This is nothing newfangled , of course , but it is something you only get with true top - tier earpiece like theXiaomi 13 UltraandSamsung Galaxy S23 Ultra .
Take it out of these uttermost situations and the resultant role are still excellent . nighttime photography is great , and feels responsive . Day - metre photos show a tasteful approach to processing you might not have associated with Huawei a few years ago .
Detail manipulation , coloration and dynamic range are all splendid . The Huawei P60 Pro camera is a joy to practice , and you may track a evenhandedly linear throughline between this phone photographic camera and2018 ’s P20 Pro . It ’s a disgrace it all went wrong in 2019 , eh ? Here are some sample to show off the raiment of cameras :
Where are the issues ? Despite powerful stabilization , it can be knavish to get sharp zoomed prototype at times , particularly when the light tier is broken . You ’ll often see slight colour temperature variation when switching between the cameras , but this can easily be pull off post - shoot .
Video quality ca n’t rely on wise and intensive image processing as much as stills , but the timbre is still there . you could dart at up to 4 kB resolution , 60 frames per instant , and habituate both the elementary and rapid climb cameras in this mode . The app lets you zoom in mid - capture , and the P60 Pro will mechanically throw to the soar at the 3.5x mark .
However , you ’ll only see the ultra - wide view list as an pick when you drop down to 30 skeleton per secondly . It ’s arguably a bit of a poor user experience blunder , as some folks may assume there ’s no way to take video with the ultra - wide . The Huawei P60 Pro ’s selfie camera uses a 13MP sensing element that also perform well , rendering lots of detail and natural enough - looking cutis tones .
This is up there with telephone set like the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra as one of the honorable phone cameras around , although the Samsung still has the edge for extreme rapid climb thanks to its 10x zoom .
Performance
From outstanding lights to crushing lows , we ca n’t avoid talking about the big Huawei P60 Pro issue . This phone does n’t have Google apps , and does not have Google Play memory access .
In its place you get Huawei ’s Petal apps and the AppGallery . This jazz group create you beaming some app maker still supply direct downloads of their apps , rather than relying entirely on official app computer memory . That ’s how I set up WhatsApp , for example . However , even then you ca n’t get your old archive of messages and pictures because WhatsApp utilize Google store to keep that material in the cloud .
My controversy against Huawei ’s plan of attack is the same as it always was . While AppGallery is n’t a terrible app store , it ’s nowhere near skillful enough for Western users looking for a flagship phone .
A lot of the best game and creativeness apps are missing , and the Huawei solution is Petal Search . This prove you listings from third - party app stores , such as getapk . These are not the kind of land site I ’d recommend to the average phone user . The experience of downloading apps is often more clunky , and the security measures of these sites is simply not go to be on par with Google Play .
These sites also do n’t get you any of the big - name give - for apps and games you might be looking to get . It makes the powerful processor of the Huawei P60 Pro seem quite extra a lot of the time . You ca n’t easy get Minecraft , The Room series game , Five Nights and Freddy ’s or Stardew Valley , to pick a few game from the tilt of Google Play ’s “ top paid ” games at the meter of review .
The Huawei P60 Pro has the 4 G version of theSnapdragon 8 Gen 1 + processor . You could debate a lack of 5 G bars this from being considered a feature - accomplished phone but it is punchy even in 2023 , when we have telephone with theSnapdragon 8 Gen 2already .
It ’s powerful enough to make Android experience top-notch - slick , and smoothen enough to show off the speech sound ’s 120Hz refresh rate .
It scores 3911 in Geekbench 6 . While a eminent score , this is also one of the lowest scores you ’ll ever see in a phone this expensive . The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra will score around 4900 points in the same trial , the iPhone 14 Pro a grotesque 6600 points . At this point it effectively has last - genesis performance , but in my mentation that ’s the least of its problems .
Battery life
Back in 2017 - 2019 glorification era of Huawei , I found its flagship homes provided among the best stamp battery life in their class . The P60 Pro come out to be no different , at least when comparing it to phones with the same generation of mainframe .
However , my veridical - creation observations of the P60 Pro are entirely swayed by the form of phone this is . I ca n’t utilize it like the other telephone I utilize , because it just does n’t have half the apps I habitually habituate .
That said , I have had it end up with over 50 % charge by bedtime , which is excellent .
The phone uses an 88W adapter that has both USB - C and USB - A socket on the top , a prissy touch . It gets the Huawei P60 Pro to 50 % in 16 minutes , to 100 % in 40 minutes . It ’s not the quickest - charging telephone set in the world , but is nippy .
It also has superb 50W wireless charging , matching theOnePlus 10 Pro . I do n’t have the wireless courser to test this feature film , but it ’s more powerful than the iPhone serial ’s cabled charging .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
The Huawei P60 Pro is one of the best camera phones around with a fairly capable rear apparatus .
With Huawei ineffectual to operate with companies like Google , the phone does n’t transport with Google Play and you ca n’t sideload it either . Apps that trust on Google , like the Hive app , wo n’t work either .
Final Thoughts
The usual restriction make it hard to commend the Huawei P60 Pro to most people . It costs a fortune but does n’t have 5 gigabyte , and ca n’t start the majority of Android ’s best and most ambitious apps and games .
Do n’t underestimate what a worry the deficiency of Gmail , Google Play and Google Maps may end up being .
We ca n’t wipe aside those long - stand issues in a review design to help you resolve whether you want to purchase a phone or not . However , there ’s quite a little of positive stuff in the Huawei P60 Pro too . Its camera array is fantabulous , the design is slick and the display is great .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every nomadic phone we look back thoroughly . We expend industry - standard trial run to compare feature film properly and we apply the phone as our main gimmick over the review catamenia . We ’ll always tell you what we line up and we never , ever , accept money to review a ware .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics policy .
FAQs
It has IP68 water resistance , an excellent rating that meet the best mainstream headphone available .
Huawei is still under US sanction so this earpiece does not have any Google apps .
This phone does not have 5 G , just 4 chiliad and early / slower fluid internet standard .
Test Data
Full Specs
