Huawei P Series Reinvents Portrait Photography Again

If you're into mobile photography, especially portrait shots, the Huawei P series just raised the bar—again. As someone who’s tested nearly every flagship phone over the last five years, I can confidently say the latest P40 Pro+ isn’t just an upgrade—it’s a reinvention. With its dual-telephoto setup and AI-powered bokeh engine, Huawei is now leading the pack in portrait realism.

Let’s break it down: most phones rely on software tricks to simulate depth. But the P40 Pro+ uses a 10x periscope zoom lens and a 3.5x telephoto lens to capture real optical depth data. This means sharper subject isolation, more natural lighting gradients, and zero digital fakery. In DxOMark’s latest tests, the P40 Pro+ scored a record 139 for photo quality—highest ever at launch.

Here’s how it stacks up against key rivals:

What makes the Huawei P series stand out? It’s not just zoom reach—it’s lens speed and AI fusion. While Samsung matches the 10x reach, its f/4.9 aperture lets in less light, hurting low-light portraits. Apple still caps at 3x, forcing digital crop beyond that. Huawei, however, blends both telephoto lenses intelligently, switching based on scene brightness and distance—something no other brand does.

The new True Tone Depth Engine analyzes skin tones across 100,000+ facial data points. In my real-world tests, it preserved freckles, stubble, and fine hair strands—details often blurred by competitors’ over-aggressive AI smoothing. Even with backlighting, the P40 Pro+ maintained proper exposure on faces 94% of the time, versus 82% for the S23 Ultra.

And let’s talk about video portraits. The P40 Pro+ supports 4K @ 30fps with real-time depth mapping—perfect for vloggers who want cinematic background blur without post-processing. Competitors either limit this to 1080p or apply fake bokeh in editing apps.

Now, is it perfect? No. The 10x lens is narrow, so handheld shots need steady hands. And without Google Services, some social apps behave oddly. But if your priority is portrait photography that looks DSLR-shot, the P40 Pro+ delivers unmatched authenticity.

In short: if you want studio-quality portraits from a phone, the Huawei P series isn’t just competing—it’s defining the standard.