Huawei P40 Pro is a must consider 5G-ready flagship, AppGallery upgrades

The 5G revolution has recently started and it is here to stay—a reason why getting a device compatible with this tech as early as now is a wise choice.

File photo: Huawei P40 Pro receiving 5G signal in Pasig City

5G is here to stay

While the tech is not yet widely available, sooner or later, it will reach your area. Why? 5G modems are smaller in size with low power requirements. Also, 5G will initially operate on the current 4G core networks by just adding 5G radios with updated software.

This simply means that 5G is easier to deploy and implement than 4G. 5G will also coexist with 4G.

This is a huge deal as 5G can run between 10 and 100 times faster than 4G as well as a huge reduction in network latency.

In PH, local telco giant Globe has recently started rolling out its 5G services in select areas of Makati and BGC. Of course, the will implement this to more locations soon. On the other hand, Smart will soon make 5G available in Clark, Araneta Center, and more.

See also: 5G technology health risks debunked

However, not every phone maker has 5G-ready phones in the country yet. Fortunately, as a leader in innovation, Huawei is not one of them.

As of writing, Huawei, the world's largest network provider now has a total of six (6) smartphones with 5G in the Philippines, the most from any brand. It includes the P40 flagship family.

P40 Pro 5G tech explained

P40 Pro is one of the few high-end phones with next-generation 5G tech

Apart from its game-changing camera innovations, impressive design, and powerful overall performance, the Huawei P40 Pro 5G (PHP 50,990) is one of the few high-end phones with 5G connectivity in the country.

Related: Huawei P40 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S20+ - More expensive is not always better

To make 5G possible on the P40 Pro, Huawei equipped the handset with a 5G-ready SoC—the 7nm+ EUV Kirin 990 5G octa-core processor with a built-in Balong 5000 5G multi-mode modem.

To recall, Balong 5000 is a 5G modem that supports 2G/3G/4G/5G modes. For 5G, it has the SA & NSA Fusion Network Architecture. It comes with up to 4.6 Gbps Downlink and up to 2.5 Gbps Uplink via Sub-6GHz network and up to 6.5 Gbps Downlink and up to 3.5 Gbps Uplink via mmWave.

So last week, we tried Huawei P40 Pro's 5G tech using Globe Telecom's Huawei-backed 5G network at BGC while on Huawei MeeTime video call.

Watch: Huawei P40 Pro 5G BGC speed test

Results:

Speed test 1: 602 Mbps Download, 26.4 Mbps Upload, 5ms Ping
Speed test 2: 463 Mbps Download, 26.6 Mbps Upload, 7ms Ping
Speed test 3: 498 Mbps Download, 25.1 Mbps Upload, 7ms Ping
Average: 521 Mbps Download, 26.03 Mbps Upload, 6.33ms Ping

As you can see, the results that we got are clearly way faster than the current 4G tech in PH.

As of May 2020, Ookla reported that the average 4G LTE download speed in PH is just 14.23 Mbps with a download speed of 5.61 Mbps and 45ms ping.

This means that the 5G speeds that we got at BGC via Globe's network are around 36 times faster than our current 4G average.

Also, take note that this just a glimpse of 5G. Not its full potential yet.

AppGallery upgrades

Huawei AppGallery on P40 Pro

Compared to our first taste of the AppGallery on the P40 Pro in April 2020, the AppGallery as of early July 2020 has greatly evolved.

See also: Huawei AppGallery early 2020 experience

Huawei has added plenty of apps such as the HERE WeGo maps, FoodPanda, and other local apps as well as more features like the AppGo and Petal Search Widget to help Huawei users easily locate and install a few apps not available on the AppGallery yet. 

AppGo and Petal Search Widget are your gateway to millions of apps.

To recall, the AppGallery is Huawei's own app market. It is currently the 3rd largest app marketplace in the world that is still steadily and quickly growing. AppGallery is found on most modern Huawei smartphones.

It has a total of 18 categories include  Games, Business, Communication, Finance, Kids, Media and entertainment, Personalized themes, Shopping, Tools, Books and references, Cars, Education, Food and drink, Lifestyle and convenience, Navigation, Photography, Sports and health, and Travel and accommodation.

Editor's Choice: Top app picks on Huawei AppGallery

Huawei also upgraded the security of the AppGallery. It now has a four-layer threat detection to ensure all user data is contained within the device and every app installation is screened for threats without exemption.

This tech also has strict security detection for malicious behavior detection, privacy check, security vulnerability scanning, and the manual real-name security check.

Quick thoughts

The future is here. Huawei P40 Pro is an example of what a flagship smartphone should look like in 2020.

Again, it is a future-proof device due to its design, powerful specs, game-changing cameras, and next-gen 5G connectivity.

Since it has 5G, it will give you the option to enjoy the said tech with great connectivity speeds on certain locations ahead of a lot of people. AND, once 5G is already widely available, Huawei 5G smartphone owners won't be left behind.