By Islam Al-Sharaa

Kuwait: The HUAWEI P50 Pro is a phone that definitely stands out from the crowd! When it comes to its aesthetic or its camera, the latest flagship from Huawei is really second to none! Its True Form Dual Matrix Camera system has a lot to offer. The camera system comprises the powerful Main Camera Matrix and SuperZoom Matrix to provide a true to life imagery with extreme clarity, high dynamic range and incredible photography capabilities. The hardware is enhanced with the HUAWEI XD Optics and HUAWEI XD Fusion Pro image engine, resulting in brighter high-resolution images with more details. The True-Chroma Shot, which has an upgraded ambient light sensing system, allows you to capture colours as you see them. A new super colour filter system with True-Chroma Image Engine and Super HDR technology provides comprehensive enhancements to details, colours and dynamic range.

HUAWEI P50 Pro

The periscope zoom lens on the HUAWEI P50 Pro has a zoom range of up to 200x. The HUAWEI P50 Pro is extremely capable when it comes to videography, as well, as it supports 4K video recording on both the front and rear.These days, the design and aesthetics are just as important as the features for smartphones. Fortunately, the HUAWEI P50 Pro fairs well in the design department too. The phone has the Dual-Matrix Camera Design that appeals to the eyes and makes the phone instantly recognisable. As the cherry on top, there are the Cocoa Gold and Golden Black colourways to make the phone stand out even more. The 3D curved screen has a hole punch at the top for the camera. The display that adorns the front of the phone supports HDR and the full P3 colour gamut, delivering a stunning visual experience. It’s also a 120Hz refresh panel with a 300Hz touch sampling rate providing a smoother display and faster response time. Furthermore, having the IP68 rating means it is adequately protected against dust and water.

Another good thing about this phone is that you don’t have to worry about unexpectedly running out of battery halfway through the day. Powering the phone is a massive 4360mAh battery that supports 66 W HUAWEI SuperCharge and 50W Wireless HUAWEI SuperCharge for quick and effortless charging. The HUAWEI P50 Pro runs on EMUI 12, which offers a straightforward, smooth, safe and reliable user experience for working, studying, gaming, entertainment or video editing. Thanks to the Super Device features, Huawei has consolidated different tools into the Control Panel (Device+) menu with a simple swipe users can explore the Control Panel and get quick access to audio playback, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings, as well as making it easier to control multiple devices as if they were controlling just one device.

HUAWEI P50 Pocket

The HUAWEI P50 Pocket is the most stunning foldable phone with fashion beauty and technological innovations. It redefines the idea of foldable smartphones with the all-new Multi-Dimensional Hinge that allows the phone to achieve a seamless fold in an ultra-slim form factor. Moreover, this allows the phone to stay lightweight with a durable build. When you unfold the phone, an immersive 6.9-inch fully flat screen welcomes you. The screen is a high refresh rate 120Hz panel with a touch sampling rate of 300Hz. You can also choose any of the two dreamy colourways: White and Premium Gold. There is an elaborate 3D micro-sculpture pattern adorning the back of the white version of the phone.

Its camera system comprises a 40MP True-Chroma Camera, a 13MP Ultra Wide Angle Camera, a 32MP Ultra Spectrum Camera, a 10-Channel Multi-Spectrum Sensor and an Ultra Spectrum illuminator. Like the HUAWEI P50 Pro, this phone also features True-Chroma Image Engine and HUAWEI XD Optics and more. All of these results in pictures that are true to life and rich with details. For the first time, the image processing capabilities were added to the optical imaging system, correcting the optical differentials and restoring the details in images. The HUAWEI P50 Pocket also has exceptional low light capabilities. The HUAWEI P50 Pocket features rear camera portrait selfie algorithms and uses the big camera sensor to boost low light performance, allowing the foldable smartphone to take full advantage of its form factor and empower users to take superior, more atmospheric selfies.

The Ultra Spectrum Camera lets users capture images with accurate colours as they see with their eyes, while the Ultra Spectrum Fluorescence Photography feature allows them to capture details that are even unseen by the human eye. The HUAWEI P50 Pocket also introduces Sunscreen detection. Using the Mirror app, you can see the spread of sunscreen over the skin and find out any spots that you missed to avoid getting sunburnt. The Smart Cover Screen on the phone displays notifications, schedule, calendar, music, weather, and you can even access the camera from this screen. You can customise the Cover Screen using a myriad of vibrant themes. The HUAWEI P50 Pocket runs on EMUI 12 and boasts the same Super Device features as the HUAWEI P50 Pro. Finally, the HUAWEI P50 Pocket packs a 4,000 mAh battery and supports the 40W HUAWEI SuperCharge for effortless, high-speed charging.

Phone 13 Pro Max

Comparing the iPhone 13 Pro Max to the last year’s 12 Pro Max, there are only some minor upgrades. The design of the phone is pretty much identical to the last year’s model except for a more emphasised camera bump on the back. Having a fingerprint unlock option would have been great, but it is still lacking for now.

Talking about hardware upgrades, there is the new and improved Apple A15 Bionic. Also, finally, there is a high refresh display on an iPhone. The new 120Hz display uses the ProMotion technology that automatically switches the screen refresh rate from 10Hz to 120Hz, depending on the usage scenario. Other than these two, another major upgrade is the new camera system. There are four cameras on the phone. All of them, including the wide, the ultra-wide, the telephoto and even the selfie camera on the front, use a 12MP sensor. The phone also has a LiDAR sensor to detect the depth to create the portrait effect.

Coming to the battery life, Apple does not specify the exact battery capacity of the phone. However, in actual use, the phone does seem to have pretty decent battery life. In fact, Apple has made the phone slightly thicker to fit in a bigger battery. You will be able to use the phone for an entire day on a full charge unless you are a heavy user.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 follows a plain and simple design. But the fold is not seamless, and it has a gap of 1.2mm. According to Samsung, the new screen is 80% more durable than the previous generation Galaxy Z Flip. The 6.7-inch main display is just as good as other Samsung flagships, and it has a refresh rate of 120Hz. The cover display on the phone is a 1.9-inch rectangular screen which makes it much larger than the 1.1-inch cover screen of the previous Flip model. You can use the cover screen to control music, as a viewfinder, check the time, etc.

There are only two rear cameras on this phone; a 12MP wind angle camera and a 12MP ultra-wide camera. Another weak point of the phone is the battery capacity. The Flip 3 comes with a 3300mAh battery that supports up to 15W wired charging. At the time of release, the phone came with Samsung’s One UI 3.1, which was based on Android 11. But soon, this device will also get the latest One UI 4 update based on Android 12. The One UI 4 promises a host of new features, like cooler animations, updated widgets, redesigned Quick Settings Panel, and some privacy improvements.

Samsung Galaxy S21+

The first thing that you will notice about this phone is the new design, especially on the backside of the phone. The design of S21+ has steered away from the last year’s S20+; the most notable changes being the new camera module and the new flat screen. With this iteration, Samsung has moved the camera module further towards the top left corner of the device, and it flows over the edge of the phone. As always, the bezels around the 6.7-inch screen is thin and unobtrusive, with curved corners. The display is a 1080p panel with a 120Hz refresh rate.

The phone boasts a 12MP wide-angle, 12MP ultra-wide and 64MP telephoto cameras. The selfie camera on the front is a 10MP sensor, and it is pretty decent. Despite the same hardware, Samsung has made some software improvements to enhance the camera features.

The battery life is good, as the phone has a battery capacity of 4800mAh. Furthermore, there are some notable improvements to Samsung’s One UI, which replaced the old Samsung Experience a couple of years ago.

Take away

Every year, we expect smartphones to make disruptive innovations. Even though reality cannot keep up with our imaginations, smartphones are getting better and better. After comparing all these phones, it looks like the HUAWEI P50 Pro and HUAWEI P50 Pocket have an edge; that’s why they stand as our favourites for 2022!