The huawei p50 pocket is a direct competitor to Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 3 smartphone. With their folding clamshell designs, the two devices are very similar, and the struggle between them mirrors the battle for Android supremacy from a few years ago.
Since then, times have changed, and Huawei devices have struggled to be viable propositions for Western consumers due to substantial obstacles imposed by the US government. When you're spending this much money, the lack of Google Mobile Services & 5G connectivity is both difficult to take.
Nonetheless, this new form factor has a lovely novelty that is fun to check out, and the screen and camera are still excellent. This isn't a phone you should run out and buy (especially given its restricted availability in the UK), but it deserves your attention.
The P50 Pocket's availability in all markets has yet to be verified, and it's unclear whether it will ever be released in the United Kingdom, but we do have some pricing information.
Design and Screen
Without a doubt, the device's form factor is its distinctive characteristic. It takes up very little room when tucked away in your pocket, but because of the 6.9-inch display within the clamshell, you can take that out and open it up for a large-screen smartphone. It's a lot of fun to open and close the device, especially at first, and it naturally brings back memories of the ubiquitous flip phones that existed before the iPhone's irresistible rise.
Many of the foldable features are well implemented here; the two screens lie completely flat side by side when the phone is trimmed shut, and also the small bump in the center of the fully extended screen never bothered me.
Camera
On the phone's back cover, there's a triple camera system with two wide-angle sensors (one 40 megapixels, the other 32 megapixels) and a 13-megapixel ultrawide lens.
I was generally pleased with the image quality, as evidenced by the images below obtained with the main wide-angle sensor. You can jam more into the frame when utilizing the ultrawide snapper, but the quality still holds up. Although having this mobility is usually beneficial, you can see that some photographs show severe distortion, particularly at the corners of the frame.
Battery Life
The battery capacity is 4000mAh, which isn't particularly large when compared to other phones in this price range.
The battery had dropped by 8% after an hour of Netflix watching, and it had dropped by 4% after an hour of online streaming to Bluetooth headphones. These figures aren't particularly impressive, but they're within the range of power drain that we're used to seeing on smartphones.
However, while I had a great time playing on this phone, it was a bit surprising to see that the battery had dropped by 14% after only half an hour of intense gaming. To put it another way, unless you're sitting next to a charging port, you won't be able to fit numerous gaming sessions into your day.
Final Thoughts
It's nearly tough to suggest this phone without Google Mobile Services or 5G, especially at such a hefty beginning price. The folding concept is well-executed here, but a larger outer screen would be really useful, and the interior screen and camera are both excellent.
