Huawei has finally unveiled its 2019 flagship devices, the Huawei P30 and Huawei P30 Pro, in Kenya.
The two devices are expected to start selling in the market from April 26th.
Prior to doing so, they are available for pre-order through Safaricom and select retail outlets from today through to April 25th.
With the two devices, and living up to the P series’ photography focus, Huawei is hoping to provide the best camera experience possible to its high-end customers.
Thanks to a partnership with Leica that has been going on for the last 3 years, the Chinese device maker has been able to release a critically acclaimed photography experience on the Huawei P30 and P30 Pro.
Huawei P30, P30 Pro
The two devices feature triple and quad camera setups on the back to cater for expanding user needs for ultra-wide angle snaps to accommodate more subjects in a photo, photos rich in detail as well as what some are calling “stalker mode”, the ability to zoom in many times while having to make do with acceptable loss in details.
The P30 Pro’s 40-megapixel SuperSpectrum sensor goes with an RYYB colour filter instead of the usual RGB (red, green and blue) filter that can be found in other sensors. As a result, since yellow light (the Y in RYYB is for yellow) absorbs more light than green, that has resulted in 50% more light on the P30 Pro than there was last year on the P30 Pro. Or so Huawei says. That sensor’s other feature, its f/1.6 aperture, means that it gets to deliver all the amazing night shots that everyone on the World Wide Web has been losing their heads over.


An additional Time of Flight sensor at the back (below the flash module) is what, beyond the screen size, physically differentiates the P30 Pro from the standard P30. It features both a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter sends out infrared light and the return sensor times and collects it back, helping to calculate how far away an object is.
This is used to add depth information to images making it essential for blurring objects and people in the background. It is also used to measure length, distance, volume, and area of objects with a high level of accuracy (Huawei says up to 98.5%).
A very noticeable aspect of the devices is the lack of an earpiece. That is by design as the device’s display is from where the sound is projected into one’s ear when making and receiving calls thanks to electromagnetic levitation. All in a quest to keep the bezels and chins at a minimum, something that Huawei manages to achieve on both devices
Huawei P30 Lite
A major highlight of the show, however, was a device that did not get as much airtime during the global launch event held in Paris, France, late last month: the Huawei P30 Lite.
A constant feature whenever Huawei unveils its premium devices, the “lite” phones bring an almost similar experience at a budget. In the case of the P30 Lite, that is to say, a camera arrangement that is, at least by the look of it, similar to that on the P30 (see the spec sheets above and below for the exact differences) at a fraction of the cost.
The device is also up for pre-order within the same timeline as the P30 and P30 Pro.
Pricing and availability
The Huawei P30, P30 Pro and P30 Lite cost Kshs 72,999, Kshs 99,999 and Kshs 29,999 respectively.
Safaricom, which has the Huawei P30 Lite up for pre-order through its e-commerce platform Masoko, has slashed the price of the device by Kshs 1,000 for those who pre-order it.
The same is the case on Jumia Kenya where both the P30 and P30 Pro are up for pre-order for Kshs 1,000 less than the recommended retail price.
The P30 and P30 Pro are available only in three colour options: Breathing Crystal, Aurora and Black. The Amber Sunrise and Pearl White colour models are not available at this time either here in the country or in the rest of the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region and there are no guarantees from Huawei if we will get to see them.
The Huawei P30 Lite, on the other hand, also comes in 3 colours: Peacock Blue, Midnight Black and the Pearl White that is elusive on the superior models.
Those who pre-order the premium Huawei P30 and/or P30 Pro will also get a free Bluetooth speaker from Huawei that also has FM radio built-in as well a wearable device, the Huawei Band 3 Pro. Those who do the same for the budget device only get the Bluetooth speaker.
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