New Huawei P30 Pro spec leak reveals the secrets of the 10x zoom camera

We’re still a few days away from Huawei’s official announcement of its new P30 Pro and P30 flagships, but the steady trickle of leaks regarding the phones has quickly turned into a flood. WinFuture has revealed the full specs for both devices, along with official PR images.

The most interesting new addition still appears to be the P30 Pro’s camera, which Huawei is bumping up with a hyped camera system that reportedly promises 10x zoom. According to WinFuture, that vaunted 10x figure is achieved through hybrid zoom. Using a periscope system, the P30 Pro has a focal length equivalent of 135mm for an optical zoom of 7.8x, which is combined with software enhancements and data from the main camera sensor to achieve the 10x figure. Additionally, the P30 Pro offers a 40-megapixel f/1.6 main lens, a 20-megapixel f/2.2 wide angle lens, and a small ToF (time-of-flight) sensor on the back underneath the flash for collecting depth data.

There’s also a larger OLED display that measures at 6.47 inches, with a smaller teardrop notch and Samsung-style curved sides. The new front-facing camera array seems smaller: there’s no IR sensor like the P20 Pro used for its 3D face unlock feature (although the P30 Pro will reportedly still support face unlocking, albeit in a presumably less secure fashion) and no speaker grille, which will apparently be replaced by vibrating the OLED panel, similar to other phones like the LG G8. The P30 Pro also will offer an in-display fingerprint sensor for additional biometric security options.

The processor is Huawei’s latest Kirin 980 octa-core chipset, with 8GB of RAM, and 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options (expandable through Huawei’s NanoMemory cards), along with a 4,200mAh battery and IP68 water resistance. Missing from the P30 Pro is a headphone jack as well as any 5G support, but that isn’t too surprising, considering how early we are in the life cycle of the next-generation network technology.

Huawei is also updating the standard P30 model: it’s getting a slightly larger 6.1-inch OLED display (also with a teardrop notch, but no curved sides) and a triple-camera system. (The regular P20 had a dual-camera system.) Huawei is also bumping up the specs: it’ll have the same Kirin 980 processor as its fancier sibling, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 3,650mAh battery. It’ll lack some of the more interesting parts of the P30 Pro: there’s no 10x zoom, no fourth ToF camera, and no vibrating OLED display, although it will still offer features like an in-display fingerprint sensor and IP68 water resistance. Unlike the P30 Pro, it seems that the standard P30 will hold on to the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Huawei is expected to fully reveal the P30 family of phones on March 26th. Despite the leaks, there may still be a surprise or two ahead (along with the usual things like price and release date).