Want a telescope with that phone? The HUAWEI P40 Pro might be the answer

HUAWEI could be gunning for double the optical zoom on its upcoming P40 Pro flagship. The HUAWEI P30 topped off at 5x optical zoom but the P40 Pro has been tipped to take it to a whopping 10x.

The tip-off comes from famous industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Security. Kuo says (via HUAWEI Central) that the HUAWEI P40 Pro will come bearing an 8MP periscope zoom camera with an f/4.0 aperture. The camera is said to facilitate 10x optical zoom, the highest in the smartphone industry to date. On the other hand, Samsung is tipped to offer 5x optical zoom through a 48MP camera on the upcoming Galaxy S11 trio.

Huawei’s new periscope lens is said to include a combination of prism and mirror structures. Kuo says it will use two mirrors and an extended field of view to achieve 10x optical zoom. In contrast, the P30 Pro and OPPO Reno 10x Zoom Edition use just a prism lens to achieve its 5x zoom.

The non-pro P40 variant is said to keep optical zoom at 5x. The analyst also predicts that HONOR phones, and HUAWEI’s Mate and Nova series phones will gain 5x periscope cameras in 2020.

Citing HUAWEI’s shipment numbers, HUAWEI Central notes that total periscope lens shipments for 2020 are targeted at 37 million compared to nine million in 2019. Looks like HUAWEI is indeed going big on periscope cameras next year.

Kuo estimates the price of the HUAWEI P40 series to start between 4,000 to 5,000 yuan ($570 – $713). This is around the same price as the HUAWEI P30 series when it went on sale in the US.

While the P40 series will follow the ultra-successful P30 series, it still might not get Google services at launch. The US-HUAWEI trade ban continues to bar American companies from doing business with the Chinese phone maker.

Between these camera details and the recent render leaks, what are your thoughts on the upcoming P40 series? Tell us in the comments section.