Huawei Mate 50 Pro (Vegan Leather) Unboxing, Impressions, and Camera Samples

I’m thrilled to unbox and experience the more premium Vegan Leather version of the Huawei Mate 50 Pro smartphone.

It comes in a black box with golden prints and a prominent Kunlun Glass logo – the drop-resistant glass protecting its screen. There’s also a FREE transparent phone case, 66W fast charger, white USB Type-C cable with orange accent color, and a SIM ejector pin.

 

 

I have the orange color but it’s also available in a new Carbon Black colorway with the same Vegan Leather material for the back panel. It has a nice texture that makes it less slippery and a premium vibe for its uniqueness.

There’s a triple rear camera system at the back but Huawei designed a more symmetrical arrangement with four inner camera rings. This is enclosed in a golden outer ring with Clous de Paris pattern usually seen in premium watches only.

 

 

 

The sides are metal with 3D curved edges from both the front and back panels resulting in a more ergonomic design and slimmer impression.

Its power and volume buttons are all on the right side while the SIM card tray, USB Type-C port, and main loudspeaker are at the bottom. There’s an IR blaster at the top for remote control function and multiple microphones for better audio recording.

 

 

 

On the front of the Huawei Mate 50 Pro is its large 6.74-inch OLED display. The curved edges make it look more premium and feel smoother when swiping from the sides.

It has 1212 x 2616 pixels of resolution or 428 ppi pixel density which means graphics look very sharp. There’s also 120Hz of screen refresh rate and high brightness which makes animations look and feel snappy and visible even under bright sunlight.

 

 

 

Of course, I tested Huawei’s claims when it comes to the Kunlun Glass. I dropped the Huawei Mate 50 Pro from the top of our dinning table and it fell screen first into the tile floor. Impressively, there were no scratches, dings, nor cracks on the screen!

I still don’t recommend doing this often but it’s reassuring to know that your premium smartphone can survive most accidental drops even in hard surfaces.

 

 

Aside from the drop test, I also tried the IP68 water and dust protection of the Huawei Mate 50 Pro. I sprayed the device with water from our garden hose for about a minute without any noticeable effect on its performance.

According to Huawei, the Vegan Leather version can survive being submerged under 6 meters of water for 30 minutes under certain conditions.

It’s still not a good idea to submerge your phone under water. However, it’s reassuring that it can survive a drop in the swimming pool or bath tub.

 

 

The screen uses a wide notch at the top instead of a punch-hole though. It houses a suite of 3D face recognition sensors and the earpiece which also functions as a secondary loudspeaker forming a stereo pair.

Since it’s an OLED display, features like Always-on-Display are present with different designs to choose from.

 

 

Upon using the Huawei Mate 50 Pro, I immediately checked the availability of my most used apps. I easily installed Facebook, TikTok, Spotify, Messenger, DITO, GCash, and the EastWest mobile banking app using the Huawei AppGallery.

Then, I searched for YouTube on the Huawei AppGallery and I was pleasantly surprised it’s already available! It has a byline that says “Run YouTube in GBox” which means it’s a virtualization solution.

Nevertheless, the experience of using YouTube on the Huawei Mate 50 pro is almost as seamless as any other smartphone. I was also able to install other apps like Google Maps, Google Photos, and Disney+.

 

 

 

Its performance is buttery smooth and snappy in opening apps, switching between apps, and running popular games.

I was able to play Mobile Legends, Asphalt 9 Legends, and PUBG Mobile at the highest graphics quality. There were virtually no lags during team fights and clashes with the added immersion of the stereo speakers, large screen, and Game Acceleration feature.

 

 

My hands-on experience won’t be complete without showcasing the cameras. The Huawei Mate 50 Pro is equipped with triple rear cameras – a 50 Megapixel main camera, 64 Megapixel periscope telephoto camera, and 13 Megapixel ultra-wide camera.

Here are some sample pictures (click to see bigger picture):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Huawei Mate 50 Pro has a powerful and versatile set of cameras that can produce impressive pictures in almost any situation.

Food pictures are detailed and colorful; Portrait shots are pleasing and lovely; zoomed-in pictures preserve details; low-light shots look bright; and selfies are social-media worthy. There are some quirks like the overly smooth default beautification settings but that can be toned down.

It can also shoot up to 4K videos or full HD 1080p videos with stabilization and subject tracking. The videos look good with built-in filters and additional features like dual-view video, story creator, and up to 960 fps slow motion.

Here are some sample videos:

 

 

 

The Huawei Mate 50 Pro is a dual-SIM smartphone but the second SIM card slot can also read an NM memory card for additional storage. I doubt that you’ll need more than the 256GB or 512GB built-in internal storage though.

However, it can only connect to 4G LTE networks. It can still provide fast mobile internet speed in areas with non-congested 4G LTE signals but it would have been better if it supports 5G.

It does have pretty seamless connectivity features with other Huawei devices like instant connection with Huawei TWS earphones, multi-screen collaboration with Huawei laptops, and video output with desktop mode via the USB Type-C port.

 

 

 

A large 4,700mAh battery powers the Huawei Mate 50 Pro and it can last more than a day on my normal use.

Recharging the device from 0% to 100% battery capacity only takes 37 minutes thanks to the 66W HUAWEI SuperCharge charger included inside the box. It also supports 50W wireless charging.

 

 

The Huawei Mate 50 Pro is now officially available in the Philippines with a starting price of ₱58,899.00.

The Carbon Black colorway with 256GB of storage is priced at ₱61,999.00 while the Orange colorway with 512GB storage is priced at ₱68,899.00. Both of these variants have the vegan leather back and Kunlun Glass front.

It’s also available via Globe GPlan 2499 with a FREE Huawei Watch GT Runner smartwatch.