HUAWEI Mate 50 Pro goes global, here’s how it compares to the competition

It had been more than two years since HUAWEI launched a new Mate series smartphone in Europe, and yesterday, the company unveiled the Mate 50 and Mate 50 Pro out of nowhere. The new smartphone from HUAWEI packs flagship specs, a premium build, and a pro-grade camera setup. Carrying a hefty price tag of €1,299 for the base variant, the Mate 50 Pro goes against the likes of HUAWEI’s own P50 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. In this comparison guide, let’s first take a look at what the Mate 50 Pro has to offer and how it compares to the smartphones from other Android manufacturers.

From the design perspective, you’ll notice that all three smartphones are quite large. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra takes the top spot with its 6.8-inch AMOLED display. The Mate 50 Pro settles for the second spot with its 6.74-inch OLED display, while the P50 Pro comes third with its relatively small 6.6-inch display. It is, however, worth noting that the display of all three smartphones, the HUAWEI Mate 50 Pro, P50 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, supports a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, so the content will look smooth regardless of the smartphone you pick.

Talking about the build, the Mate 50 Pro features HUAWEI’s own Kunlun Glass protection. The company claims it is on par with the Corning Gorilla Glass found on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and has been verified by the five-star glass drop resistance certification from Switzerland’s SGS. The HUAWEI P50 Pro, unfortunately, lacks Kunlun Glass or Gorilla Glass protection. Thankfully, all three smartphones feature IP68 water resistance you can carry them to the beach or nearby pool without having to worry much.

One key area where the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra beats both the other smartphones is support for the S-Pen stylus. If you’re looking for productivity features and want to make the most out of your smartphone’s display, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is the undoubted choice. But if it is the display quality that you are looking for, the HUAWEI Mate 50 Pro won’t disappoint as well.

Now, if you want your smartphone to stand out, the HUAWEI Mate 50 Pro is the one to keep an eye on. In addition to having glass back variants like the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the P50 Pro, the Mate 50 Pro comes in an eye-catching orange vegan leather finish. The vegan leather finish variant is, however, priced higher than the glass back variants, retailing for €1,399 in Europe.

From the performance standpoint, the HUAWEI Mate 50 Pro offers the best experience out of the bunch as it is powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset. The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 offers significant improvements over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 found in the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and is miles ahead of the Snapdragon 888 found in the P50 Pro. Although all three smartphones are capable of handling everyday tasks well, if you’re looking for a smartphone that is most suitable for gaming or other high-performance chores, the Mate 50 Pro is unquestionably the best choice.

While the battery capacity of the HUAWEI Mate 50 Pro (4,700 mAh) is smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (5,000 mAh), it boasts a faster wired charging speed of 66W (the S22 Ultra offers 45W fast charging). HUAWEI claims the 66W fast charging is capable of taking the smartphone from 0-60% in about 20 minutes. It also comes with a 5W reverse wireless charging feature, using which you can charge your smartphone’s accessories by just placing them on the back — something that the HUAWEI P50 Pro lacks.

Coming to the cameras, this is one department where the HUAWEI Mate 50 Pro leaves both the S22 Ultra and P50 Pro in the dust. While the Mate 50 Pro’s 50MP primary sensor may seem weaker on paper compared to the 108MP sensor of the S22 Ultra, it comes with a variable f/1.4-f/4.0 aperture. HUAWEI says the Mate 50 Pro’s smart aperture can auto-adjust according to the scene’s lighting conditions and capture the best image possible.

In addition, it comes with a 13MP ultra-wide lens and a 64MP periscope telephoto lens that supports up to 3.5x optical zoom and up to 200x digital zoom. And it’s not only about the smartphone’s powerful camera hardware, but it also comes with numerous software tricks that will make the whole experience a lot better if you’re a camera enthusiast.

Nonetheless, we don’t recommend you to make a judgment solely based on camera specs. We will be going hands-on with the HUAWEI Mate 50 Pro in the coming days, so make sure you stay tuned to Pocketnow to find out how its camera performs in the real world. In the meantime, check out how the Mate 50 Pro fares against the HUAWEI P50 Pro and the Galaxy S22 Ultra on paper:

On the whole, the HUAWEI Mate 50 Pro seems like a solid smartphone if 5G isn’t the deal breaker for you. The big and beautiful 6.74-inch OLED display, the amazing set of cameras, the class-leading chipset, and the fast charging features make this smartphone stand out. What are your thoughts on the HUAWEI Mate 50 Pro smartphone? What would you like us to cover in our hands-on review? Drop a comment down below and let us know!

• HUAWEI Mate 50 Pro

  The new HUAWEI Mate 50 Pro returns to the market after a 2-year break. It sports a large 6.74-inch, 120Hz, OLED display, a quad-camera setup on the back, and it’s powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset. It comes in beautiful Black, Silver, and Leather Orange color combinations.

• HUAWEI P50 Pro

  HUAWEI P50 Pro comes with a curved 6.6-inch 120Hz OLED display, a quad-camera setup with a 50MP primary sensor, a 4,360 mAh battery with support for 66W charging, Android 12, and more. Check out all the deals on the device using the links given below.

• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

  The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is one of the best Android devices available on the market. It features top-of-the-line specs, tons of power, an extraordinary camera, stylus support, and other great features. Check out all the deals on the device using the links given below.