The affordability of 5G phones has increased dramatically in recent months, and now one of the cheapest 5G handsets yet has landed in the form of the Huawei P40 Lite 5G.
Priced at just £379.99, this is in line with lower mid-range 4G handsets, yet packs the speediest possible connectivity.
And despite the ‘Lite’ in the name it’s no slouch, with a 6.5-inch 1080 x 2400 screen (complete with 405 pixels per inch and HDR10 support), a speedy octa-core Kirin 820 chipset (which isn’t a top-end chipset but isn’t too far below), 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage.
Looks good and takes great photos
The Huawei P40 Lite 5G also lives up to the P40 name by offering a great camera experience, with a 64MP main sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide one, a 2MP macro one, and a 2MP depth one, plus a 16MP snapper on the front. It’s even designed to perform well in low light.
Other highlights include a 4,000mAh battery with seriously fast 40W charging, which is enough to go from zero to 70% in just 30 minutes.
The Huawei P40 Lite 5G is a good looking phone too, with a 90.3% screen-to-body ratio meaning you get a truly all-screen design on the front, while the rear uses multi-layer glass in Space Silver, Crush Green or Midnight Black shades, each of which is designed to reflect light differently depending on the angle.
Innovative software and free earbuds
While the Huawei P40 Lite 5G runs Android 10 it doesn’t have Google apps or services, but Huawei has done a good job of making up for that with its own AppGallery store, plus handy features like ‘Floating Window’, which lets you reply to messages without leaving the game or other screen you’re on, and ‘eBook Mode’, which allows the phone to offer a paper-like reading experience.
If you like the sound of it, you’ll be able to pre-order the Huawei P40 Lite 5G from June 3rd, and if you do you’ll even receive a free pair of Huawei FreeBuds 3 (which usually cost around £130), making it even better value. The phone then goes on sale on June 17th.
But if you don’t want to wait for a great-value 5G phone you don’t have to, as there are others available, including the Motorola Edge 5G which has just landed on O2 and comes with a free tablet if ordered soon. Vodafone meanwhile will soon be stocking a range of 5G Oppo phones, many of which are likely to be great value too.
