Huawei P40 Lite E review. Does the low price compensate for the lack of Google services?

P40 Lite E is one of the newest lower-end smartphones from Huawei. For a small amount, it offers an amazing amount on paper. However, there is one major problem - the lack of Google services. How is such a smartphone used? Does it make sense and is it really worth getting interested in this equipment? You will find out from this review.

Technical Specifications Huawei P40 Lite E:

Price at the time of publication: PLN 699

Video review

Case

Huawei P40 Lite E, at first glance, does not completely knock down in terms of performance. Plastic covering the back and sides was used here, the whole thing gets dirty quickly as standard, there are also small scratches. The shape does not stand out from other smartphones, it is rather a typical smartphone design from 2019.

Looking at the back, we can have associations with last year's series of Huawei smartphones with an emphasis on the P30 Lite model. We do not have a characteristic, more square "island" with a camera, such as in the P40 Lite without the "E" note next to the name.

However, the details of the rear panel are unique. The material shimmers with different colors, creating an interesting-looking effect. However, it is not as expressive as in press photos, colored elements only show when the light shines on the housing in the right way.

At the back there is a significantly protruding main camera module consisting of three matrices. Below it there is a LED flash, there is also information about 48 Megapixels and the presence of three cameras (as if someone did not notice;)). More in the middle is a slightly recessed, well-felt fingerprint scanner, and at the very bottom there is the manufacturer's logo and several symbols and trademarks.

From the front there is a large display with a diagonal of 6.39 inches and a resolution of 1560 x 1560 pixels. A more skilled eye will notice the slightly jagged edges of rounded elements, but in everyday use it is completely ignored. Especially that the screen is characterized by nicely saturated colors, which is further enhanced by the great wallpapers provided by the manufacturer in the system. The viewing angles are also good, and the brightness levels are more than enough for comfortable use.

There are quite narrow frames around the screen, but by default, the space under the screen is slightly larger. There is also a selfie camera in the upper left corner of the screen. It is mounted in a relatively small hole in the screen (although not as small as in the case of, for example, the Samsung Galaxy A51), which, after a few moments of use, completely stops paying attention. There is also a speaker for calls above the screen, but we will not find the notification LED.

The lower edge arouses both positive and negative emotions in me. The headphone jack is a plus, which manufacturers are increasingly giving up. However, a total misconception is the microUSB connector instead of the USB type C. I know that this is the cheapest smartphone from the entire P40 series, but for me, the implementation of such a port in the smartphone of a great manufacturer in 2020 is not a funny joke.

In addition to the connectors at the bottom, there is also a microphone and a speaker. It plays quite loud and clean, enough for everyday multimedia playback. There are no distortions or deterioration of sound quality at higher volume, it is okay for this class of equipment.

Only the microphone is mounted from the top. On the left edge, there is a place for a tray that can be pulled out with a pin. You can place two nanoSIM cards and one microSD card on it at the same time, we don't have to choose which one we want to use, they will all work at the same time.

On the right side there are also the volume and power keys. They are mounted in the right place, ensuring comfortable operation. I only have the impression that the switch has become a bit more after a month of use and is a bit more recessed than the volume keys.

System

Huawei P40 Lite E works under the control of Android in the 9 Pie version. Of course, it is enriched by the EMUI 9.1.1 overlay. As a curiosity, I can add that in the system settings there is information that it is a Huawei Y7p not available on our market, but I do not know if this is a general situation in all copies or only in my test one.

We will not find Google services on the smartphone. This is probably the biggest disadvantage of this smartphone, which for many people may turn out to be disqualifying at the very beginning of considering the purchase. I will not elaborate on what does not work and what are the limitations - Kasia did a great job in her Huawei P40 Pro review.

However, I must admit that using a smartphone without Google services is extremely bothersome. A few times it happened to me that I wanted to do something quickly, but I had to think first about how ... Not all activities are as obvious as in the case of smartphones with Google services.

For example - you will not collect a parcel from a parcel locker, because the application requires Google services (although it is available in the AppGallery, and Inpost boasts about it on the website). You will not log in to many applications, for example LIDL Plus, because you need Google maps to determine the location of the store. You will not benefit from the automatic completion of passwords - for this you also need Google services. You will also not log in to most banks - the lack of a certificate blocks this option - and if you do, some functions will be unavailable. It can also be annoying to not receive notifications from some apps.

The examples can be endlessly multiplied ... I come to the conclusion that with the Huawei P40 Lite E you have to learn to use your smartphone again. Develop new habits and slightly different ways of performing the simplest actions. While we can easily switch to using other, alternative replacements for popular applications, the problem is when a program has no equivalent. Or, if the application will not show us notifications anyway. These are very onerous situations that effectively hinder the use of the phone.

Okay, theoretically, you can manually upload Google services. However, it is often a complicated, multi-step process that is not always successful. At the beginning of the tests, I was able to use them for two days, but then I started to receive errors, messages about the lack of support, and the applications stopped working. The only remedy for this was a factory reset.

So what if you can upload services, if no one will give us a guarantee for how long I will work and to what extent? It misses the point for me. Until Huawei gets along with Google, the full functionality of the system will not be available.

What are the additional functions provided by the manufacturer in the system for users? It is a rather standard set of functions, there is nothing that somehow stands out from other smartphones of this company. So, for example, we have themes, a blue light filter, color temperature adjustment, the ability to hide a buttonhole by adding a black strip or digital hygiene. There are also twin applications that allow you to duplicate some programs and gestures that replace the function keys.

We also have rebuilt system applications, visually adapted to the entire system interface. We also have a Health app for tracking physical activity, compass, weather, tips, optimizer and support. One of the most important applications, however, is the AppGallery store, from which you can download additional programs. It is not known how many of them yet, but I admit that their number has increased significantly since the start of testing.

We can of course use alternative app stores (I personally used APKPure), but those that require Google services won't work anyway. And the installation process consists in downloading the APK file, which is associated with the lack of automatic updates, as is the case with, for example, the Google Play store.

When it comes to smooth operation, there is practically nothing wrong with this smartphone. The whole thing is smooth and stable, there are no problems with reloading desktops or closing the application. Clipping doesn't happen either, only occasionally you can notice a slight slowdown in the animation. Even applications in RAM are kept relatively long for hardware in this price category.

The components containing the Kirin 710 processor, the Mali G51 graphics system, 4 GB RAM and 64 GB of built-in memory are responsible for this operation of the smartphone. However, it is possible to expand with microSD cards here, up to 256 GB is supported.

There is also nothing wrong with the communication modules. Phone calls go smoothly, the internet is fast - both via WiFi and using data transmission, and the GPS determines the location correctly. There are also no problems with connecting to other devices via Bluetooth. The only thing missing is NFC.

Below are some screenshots with synthetic tests:

Contents:

1. Design, quality of workmanship. Loudspeaker. Display. System. Action.
2. Fingerprint scanner. Battery. The camera. Summary

Huawei P40 Lite E in Media Expert