Journeying into Clementi Forest with a Huawei Mate 40 Pro

At this point in time, reviews of Huawei smartphones pretty much follow the same pattern. The bottom line is usually standard: they’re excellent phones with gorgeous displays and the best camera system in the business — it’s just too bad that they can’t run Android.

So we might as well get it out of the way. The Huawei Mate 40 Pro is the latest device made by the Chinese company that would have been perfect is not for the whole US trade ban shenanigans. No Google Play Services means no way to enjoy your crucial, daily driver apps because they won’t work properly or just can’t work at all.

Well, technically, you can get them to work. As long as you have some technical know-how and the patience to hack into the software.

Otherwise, if you’re willing to adapt to a whole new mobile operating system (HarmonyOS, in Huawei’s case) and find alternatives to some key apps in your life, you can’t go wrong with the Huawei Mate 40 Pro.

It’s an elegantly-designed phone with the internal hardware that easily outperforms flagship devices put out by other brands this year. Not to mention that everything is top-of-the-line — the 5G capabilities, Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, as well as plenty of RAM (8GB) and internal storage (256GB).

Picture perfect

But really, though, when it comes to Huawei phones, their most celebrated feature is their camera system. On its back, the Mate 40 Pro hosts a triple camera array arranged uniquely in a circular layout — a way more interesting look than the thick rectangular modules that have been in fashion in smartphones as of late.

The rear camera setup is pretty much as impressive as you’d expect from Huawei.

There’s a massive sensor that can suck in a lot of light, making shots look great regardless of the environment or time of day. It's also armed with a main camera with a 50MP resolution, a 20MP ultra-wide camera, and a periscope zoom lens that can capture things from far, far away.

Then there’s the usual Huawei magic involved in the camera software itself, like auto-detecting subjects and beautifying faces to the point of looking like a photo-realistic anime character.

Forest fit

With the superb camera quality in mind, I set out to find out if the Huawei Mate 40 Pro would be a good enough compact shooter to withstand the wilderness.

Yes, the actual wilderness in concrete-filled Singapore. Specifically, a spot that has remained untarnished by the machinery of progress and condo construction: Clementi Forest.

Thanks to a Facebook post last month by local nature enthusiast Brice Li, the patch of green, undisturbed flora and fauna has gained a huge interest nationwide ever since he shared a stunning video that made the Clementi Forest look like something from Jurassic Park.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/brice.li.397/posts/761644914692243[/embed]

In any case, it’d be a perfect spot to test run the phone’s capabilities. I dropped by on a Sunday morning, making the journey from Old Bukit Timah Railway Station.

Like many other hikers looking for the entry into the forest proper, one would first have to walk down the Green Corridor. Even before going off-trail, there is plenty of greenery abound to ogle at.

There are a couple of ways to enter Clementi Forest — they’re easily spotted by the crowd of people going off the paved track and walking into the wilderness. Or, you can just try to spot the trodden paths leading into the forest.

From there, you’re on your own to navigate through the bushes and slippery mud. But the pictures of your adventure should make up for your stained footwear.

This being a Huawei phone, I obviously had to test out the zoom function. Honestly, just take a look at how far the camera can capture.

Might I dare say, the phone is good enough to replace a proper camera for off-trail adventures — especially when you have to head somewhere as perilous as a forest. One wouldn’t want to accidentally drop a precious mirrorless camera kit in the mud while navigating fallen trees at the abandoned railway tracks.

For $1,598 — available on Lazada, Shoppee, local telcos and various consumer electronic stores — the Huawei Mate 40 Pro admittedly does land on the pricey side. But it's money well spent if world-class mobile photography is key and Google apps and services aren't, I suppose. 

ilyas@asiaone.com