When to expect the Huawei P40 in South Africa

Huawei has outlined when it expects to launch its new flagship smartphones in South Africa, stating that this depends on the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in the country.

The company revealed its new P40 smartphones today, comprising the P40 Lite, P40, P40 Pro, and P40 Pro+.

These new devices offer impressive hardware and powerful new features compared to the previous generation of handsets.

The P40, P40 Pro, and P40 Pro+ feature HiSilicon Kirin 990 chipsets with 5G support, which means that this new lineup of devices will be able to connect to 5G networks where these networks are available.

They also have improved camera systems, with the P40 Pro+ boasting a penta-lens camera system with up to 100x digital zoom.

The P40 Lite is already available internationally, while the P40 and P40 Pro are set to launch globally on 7 April. The Huawei P40 Pro+ will launch in June 2020.

MyBroadband spoke to Huawei South Africa CTO Akhram Mohamed about the local rollout of the smartphones and the features which will be supported locally.

Launch depends on coronavirus outbreak

Mohamed told MyBroadband that all the P40 devices would launch in South Africa, including the P40 Lite.

“After the 21-day lockdown, we still don’t know exactly what is going to happen,” he said. “We have delayed our dates a little bit. We would like to launch by the middle of May and we are hoping that everything is okay by that time.”

“I can’t confirm the date right now apart from saying it is definitely going to come.”

“We have a great product and it will launch here, but we just have to be concerned about the public first now.”

Huawei has closed its retail operations in line with the coronavirus lockdown rules, but its 24/7 WhatsApp support, helpline, and HiCare app will still continue to offer support to Huawei users in the country.

The Huawei P40 and P40 Pro are expected to be priced as follows in South Africa:

• Huawei P40 –R16,999
• Huawei P40 Pro – R20,999

Mohamed noted that this pricing is based on current economic conditions and may change depending on the strength of the rand at the time of launch.

5G support and software

The flagship P40, P40 Pro, and P40 Pro+ come with 5G capabilities as a default feature, meaning they will support 5G networks that may roll out in South Africa.

“The architecture on these devices means they can work on standalone and non-standalone, so if you put on a Rain SIM or Vodacom is testing in some area, you can still be able to experience that.”

“And when [5G] is solid in the future, the device will be future-proof.”

Mohamed also confirmed that Huawei’s new Celia AI assistant would roll out to local P40 owners this year, and the new MeeTime functionality would be available from May 2020.

“The P Series is an important product for us. But the most important thing right now is the safety and health of South Africans.”

The specifications of the new Huawei P40 smartphones are detailed below.

P40 Pro+

P40 Pro

P40

P40 Lite

Now read: Apple considers 5G iPhone delay – Report