The launch of a new smartphone is the tech equivalent of a Supreme drop in fashion circles. The latest entrant: the Huawei P30 series, which was revealed in Paris yesterday and is said to be the electronics giant’s most advanced camera smartphone to date.
Tech geeks are already hyperventilating over features such as a cutting-edge processor (now, don’t fade out yet) that reportedly allows for faster image recognition (read: your Netflix experience is going to be even better on it). What’s in it for the fashion and creative set? What’s reportedly groundbreaking photo and video-taking capabilities, particularly on the premium P30 Pro model. (Singapore will be the first country in Asia Pacific to retail it come April 6 at the recommended price of $1,398 and if you head down to the brand’s roadshow at Vivocity’s Central Court that weekend, you get to snag a gift worth up to $470 with every purchase.)
Here, all the ways that make the Huawei P30 Pro quite possibly the phone for the visual-obsessed, fashion and vlog-loving generation:
#1 It’ll make every OOTD look like it was taken by a pro
For one, the P30 Pro is fitted with reportedly the world’s first Leica Quad camera system that boasts four different camera including a 20MP ultra wide-angle camera and what Huawei calls a “Time-Of-Flight” camera. The latter is said to capture depth-of-field information precisely to allow users to create that hip and oh-so-flattering, Leica-esque bokeh effect. Couple this with the phone’s Super Portrait Mode function — it snaps details as minute as individual strands of hair and automatically softens what’s in the background, putting the focus on the subject — and your street style photos just reached Tommy Ton/Phil Oh league.
#2 It’ll always give you a front row view
Thanks to its periscopic Superzoom lens, the phone’s camera offers up to 5 times optical zoom, 10 times hybrid zoom, and — get this — 50 times digital zoom. Even if you don’t know what all that means, just know that you’ll nail that clear shot of your favourite model strutting down the runway at Fashion Week even if you’re squashed behind in the standing room-only pit.
#3 It lets anyone perfect the art of the selfie
The phone’s front camera is a whopping 32 megapixels (that makes its images higher resolution than that of some DSLRs). Making selfies even better though is a feature dubbed Huawei AI HDR+ that triggers this camera as well as the P30 Pro’s four rear cameras simultaneously, snapping and then combining multiple images in quick succession to eliminate those overexposed or backlit moments. Meanwhile, a SuperSpectrum sensor delivers details even in less-than-favourable lighting. Now this is how you do a true #nofilter selfie.
#4 It’ll lend some Hollywood polish to that bedroom-made beauty vlog
Ace selfie mode aside, the Huawei P30 Pro is equipped with ultra high definition 4K video recording while its SuperSpectrum Sensor is said to be so effective in low light that night time videos come out clear. A Dual-View mode turns on two of the phone’s rear cameras at the same time to shoot different angles (a wide angle clip and a close-up shot) and to further up the finesse, there’s the pre-installed AI Movie Editor that allows users to add music and special effects. Now who says vlogging is basic?
#5 Its design makes a style statement
The P30 Pro comes in some of the most unexpected finishes around that’s guaranteed to make others do a double take. Besides sleek, classic black, it’s available here in a lustrous opalescent tone dubbed Breathing Crystal, and a metallic bluish gradient referred to as Aurora (its effect mimics that of the northern lights).
#6 It lets you ditch that portable charger
It’s one the most important accessories to have during Fashion Week, but it also doesn’t always fit into that ultra cute bag that you just bought (I mean, have you seen these acrylic ones that we predict will soon be all the rage?). Enter the Huawei P30 Pro’s 4200 mAh battery — it’s said to last for more than a day, even if you’ve been doubling down on the screen time. And when you do have to charge the device, a SuperCharge technology means that the battery can go from zero to 70 per cent in strength in half an hour. Go on, be snap happy.
