In just a few years, Huawei has managed to climb into the world's top 3 smartphone manufacturers. In 2019, it even took the number 2 spot from the American giant Apple. However, at the same time, Donald Trump signed an anti-Huawei decree, preventing him from working with American companies and, by extension, from integrating Google services into his smartphones.

After taking the hit, the Chinese giant embarked on a pharaonic project. Since the embargo continues, it develops its own services. For some time, Huawei has therefore been offering smartphones without Google services but with Huawei services. Gradually, it replaces Google applications with its own programs. The Play Store has given way to the App Gallery to quickly respond to user needs.

And now it goes further. Indeed, Huawei now sells smartphones under its own operating system called HarmonyOS. For the moment, the system remains close to Android, which allows imperfect compatibility with APKs of applications available on Android – provided that the applications in question do not rely on Google services to function.

At the moment, App Gallery does not yet contain all the applications that you are used to finding on the Play Store. In fact, there are mostly a lot of Chinese alternatives to the most popular American services. Applications like Facebook have taken a long time to arrive. But gradually the situation is improving, although customers continue to complain that many applications are missing.

While Huawei's new smartphones have their own operating system and a new ecosystem of services, older models still include Android and Google services. Thus, the manufacturer's catalog remains very complete. In this period of transition, it is not always easy to choose the right smartphone. We have therefore prepared a short guide to the best Huawei smartphone for you to see more clearly.

All templates in this guide have been editorially tested.

Top 5 best Huawei smartphone 2021:

  1. Huawei P30 Pro
  2. Huawei P30
  3. Huawei Mate 40 Pro
  4. Huawei Mate 20 Pro
  5. Huawei Mate 20

Contents

1- Huawei P30 Pro

The best Huawei smartphone for photography?

Huawei P30 Pro © Presse-citron.net

Despite the arrival of the P40 Pro in the first half of 2020, the P30 Pro remains the best smartphone today. Slightly less powerful than the Mate 30 Pro, it is no less efficient (Kirin 980 and 8 GB of RAM) and meets all uses, including the most demanding. If its “drop of water” notch makes it look a little old, we have seen much worse on smartphones that have just been released (follow my gaze towards this apple).

Despite this, the device remains very elegant and its 6.47-inch curved AMOLED screen is a real eye-catcher. Its 4200 mAh battery allows a battery life of more than two days, making it one of the most enduring smartphones on the market, including in 2021. Above all, the P30 Pro is the last Huawei smartphone to embed Google services and especially the essential Google Play Store when you don't live in the age of untranslated applications, in Mandarin.

What is the best Huawei smartphone in 2021

The smartphone stands out from other models on the market for its photo skills. Thanks to its triple 40 + 20 + 8 megapixel sensor accompanied by a ToF, it has established itself as the ideal smartphone for the most complete photo on the market. The model notably distinguished itself with a telephoto lens that was still unheard of on the market when it was released. The partnership with Leica has as you can see really paid off.

At the time of writing, the P30 Pro is offered at around 350 euros, an extremely attractive price for such a complete product in all directions.

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2- Huawei P30

The balancing act smartphone

More compact and (very) slightly less powerful than the Pro version, the P30 is also the best and most affordable Huawei smartphone. It embeds the same Kirin 980 processor accompanied by 6 GB of RAM (compared to 8 GB for the Pro) which makes it a sufficiently powerful smartphone for all greedy uses.

Those who resist curved screens will appreciate the flat 6.1-inch OLED panel of the Huawei P30. Launched in early 2019, it also integrates Google services and therefore the Play Store. Although it does not have a 10x zoom or ToF sensor, it remains a versatile photophone thanks to its triple 40 + 16 + 8 megapixel sensor.

Finally, its 3650 mAh battery allows use for a day and a half. It is less than the Pro version, but it is still very correct. Note also that it does not include wireless charging or reverse charging. But thanks to its price of 250 euros (at the time of writing this guide), it stands out as an excellent alternative to the P30 Pro.

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3- Huawei Mate 40 Pro

The most premium, without Google

© Huawei

On paper, the best Huawei smartphone in terms of performance is the Mate 40 Pro. The most recent Huawei smartphone is also marked by the absence of Google services, which is a real obstacle to purchase, especially in France. The Mate 40 Pro is still an excellent smartphone. Its resolutely high-end design hides an equally premium technical sheet.

6.76-inch OLED screen, Kirin 9000 processor, top-flight quadruple photo sensor, it shines in all areas. Finally, like all smartphones in the Mate range, it has a battery life of at least two days (depending on your use) and inherits the winning trio of fast, wireless and reverse charging.

If you are ready to do without Google services, the Mate 40 Pro therefore embodies the Rolls from Huawei. However, its price of between 800 and 1000 euros is worth thinking about. Because Huawei services are still under development and do not support all the most popular applications (even if Huawei is moving very quickly in this area).

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4- Huawei Mate 20 Pro

An always very complete model

© Huawei

Launched at the end of 2018, the Mate 20 Pro remains to this day a very complete smartphone which makes it deserve its place in this best Huawei smartphone comparison. Above all, it makes it possible to circumvent the absence of Google services in its successors. Upon its release, it established itself as a market tenor. And for good reason, it had the best technologies of the time.

Among its strengths, its 6.39-inch curved OLED screen with QHD+ definition is undoubtedly the most attractive. Its all-glass design with its square photo module gives it a certain originality.

Under the hood, the Kirin 980 chip and its dual NPU make it a high-performance smartphone that meets the most demanding uses. In addition to its excellent autonomy, there is fast, wireless and reverse charging.

Thanks to its triple photo sensor, it established itself as one of the best photophones on the market when it was released. Since then, other models have done better but it remains very good and versatile. Offered around 300-400 euros (often refurbished) it is positioned as a good alternative to the P30 Pro. The two models are distinguished above all by their format, the Mate range having always been more imposing.

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5- Huawei Mate 20

Choose a safe bet

If the Mate 20 Pro is still too expensive for you, the Mate 20 should appeal to you. Offered around 200 euros (reconditioned), it also embeds the Kirin 980 chip and a very efficient triple photo sensor which makes it deserve its place in this ranking of the best Huawei smartphone.

To reduce costs (and therefore the final price) Huawei has made some concessions on the screen. No OLED for the Mate 20 but a 6.53-inch IPS LCD panel with a reduced notch and above all a flat format. Finally, note that the Mate 20 also displays excellent autonomy.

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6- Huawei P Smart 2019

The best value for money in this ranking best Huawei smartphone

If we know Huawei for its high-end smartphones, the Chinese giant also knows how to design much more affordable models. With the P Smart 2019, the manufacturer is focusing on the essentials.

Kirin 710 chip, 3 GB of RAM, 6.21-inch Full HD+ IPS LCD screen, 3400 mAh battery and dual photo sensor (13 + 2 megapixels): the technical sheet does not make you dream but meets the needs of an average user. It even has enough power to play 3D games with very decent quality.

It comes with EMUI 9 based on Android 9.0 Pie as a bonus with all Google services. For 140 euros in refurbished, the P Smart 2019 allows you to have fun on a small budget.

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Conclusion: choosing the best Huawei smartphone requires understanding your needs

Hauwei smartphones remain, despite US sanctions, among the best devices available on the market. It is enough to choose well to let yourself be guided by your budget, but also by the offer of functionalities that you want. Recent models will do better than older references. But we will have to accept the absence of Android from the Play Store and more generally from the essential Google applications.

Like our other guides, this one will evolve over time. Huawei regularly launches new models for all needs and budgets. In 2021, and probably for the following years, the Chinese giant will rely on its own services as well as its App Gallery. Ultimately, it wants to establish itself as an alternative to Android/Google and iOS. A bold bet, but not unrealistic for this giant manufacturer.

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