Will it be the same camera monster as last time?

In two weeks time, Huawei will be unveiling the next iteration of their P series flagship family, set to debut in the city of lights, Paris. And just like last year, there are already a slew of leaks relating to Huawei’s camera-centric flagship that paints an accurate picture of what we can expect for the Chinese company’s first big flagship in 2019:

It’ll have a 10x optical zoom lens

While last year’s P20 Pro had an impressive 5x hybrid zoom capability that allowed you to take clear shots from a distance, it still had its limitations. It was still software based for one thing since the optical zoom component of the P20 Pro only went up to 3x.

This year’s P30 Pro will allegedly have an even better optical zoom camera, capable of going up to 10x. Rumors say this is made possible by using a periscope-like arrangement of lenses on the rear.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because OPPO is using a similar set of tech for their next generation flagship, set to launch in Q2 of this year.

Aside from a new optical zoom camera arrangement, regular lens and a wide-angle shooter, the P30 Pro is also rumored to get a fourth camera, time-of-flight (TOF) camera. A ToF camera is used for accurately mapping out distances, which can be used in 3D mapping as well as getting an accurate depth map for better and more accurate software bokeh.

Dance with the darkness and light up the night. Get a super glow on 26.03.2019. https://t.co/8K3OHmpdPQ #RewriteTheRules #HUAWEIP30 pic.twitter.com/fesJFUrNBI

— Huawei Mobile (@HuaweiMobile) March 13, 2019

It’ll be a low-light monster

One thing that really impressed us with the Huawei P20 Pro was its AI-assisted low-light capabilities. The camera’s ability to stitch together several hand-held shots in low light was unparalleled during the time and is still regarded as the best in the industry today, one year later.

Huawei will also be improving on that low-light performance, both through the use of better AI and software as well as camera hardware. In an interview with Pocket Lint, Clement Wong, Huawei’s VP of global product marketing said that they’ve been looking at improving the low-light aspect of their flagship through several avenues, including both hardware and software.

“What if technology can empower the good low-light quality? We can crack it. Not only the camera system but also the Kirin chipset will play a big role. That’s the ‘magic’ inside; the recipe. A lot of companies [can use the same sensor as others but] cannot make a good picture because of that recipe. We’ve been improving a lot since P6 and, of course, Leica collaboration has a lot of influence. The lens, the chipset, the software and of course the camera system [all make a difference]. This time [for P30] we combine [all that] together,” he said.

In-screen fingerprint scanner, smaller notch

The P30 family will also be getting new tech used in the Mate 20 series to put it on par with the early flagship releases of its competitors.

The P30 Pro specifically will be getting an in-screen fingerprint scanner, which isn’t surprising considering the number of leaks that show the phone without an obvious rear-mounted scanner like the P20 Pro from last year.

Leaks of the front of the phone also show a smaller, dew-drop notch as well as smaller bezels all around.

New, dazzling color options

Huawei’s Twilight color option for the P20 Pro was a definite eye-catcher and drove many of their competitors to develop similar eye-catching colorways.

While there hasn’t been a lot of leaks regarding exclusive new colors for the P30 family, we’re already pretty stoked for one of the leaked colors, Sunrise.

It’ll come with the same processor as the Mate 20 series

This one comes as no surprise: it’s very likely the P30 family will sport the same Kirin 980 processor as the one inside Huawei’s Mate 20 series of devices.

Huawei historically equips the P series flagship with their current, top-end Kirin processor, reserving the next generation chip for their big-screen flagship series, the Mate.

That being said, we can probably expect higher RAM and storage configurations on top-end P-series models to counter the offerings of Samsung and their S-series flagships.

Remember that all of these reports are merely rumors at this point, so take this article with a large helping of salt. Nothing is final until we hear the announcement straight from Huawei on March 26.