Despite the ongoing pandemic and a trade war between China and the US resulting in an embargo on Huawei, the P40 Lite is Huawei’s second Google-less smartphone in South Africa. The first was the Huawei Nova 5T, which was released in December. Now we’ve got the P40 Lite which, as part of the company’s new P40 lineup, is its newest budget-friendly device.
This mid-ranger sports a four-camera array on the back and an edge-to-edge LCD display up front. But until Huawei figures out how to give its users a fully capable AppGallery and other Google replacements, it’s going to be a hard sell.
That said, the Huawei P40 Lite’s hardware is extremely capable, and the camera is absolutely outstanding even by flagship terms. But without Google support, the whole experience seems a bit off for anyone invested in the Google ecosystem. Look past those niggles though, and you’ve got yourself some impressive tech. It’s available from Huawei’s online store for R6,500, from Cellucity for R7,000 and from Takealot for R7,500 (this is the dual-SIM model).
It’s also the first device in the P40 range to be available in SA, via contracts at major mobile networks. Let’s look at the contract options currently available in South Africa for thew device.
Network | Contract | Price | Extras |
Telkom | FreeMe 1.5GB | R400 x 24 | |
Cell C | Pinnacle 1GB TopUp | R320 x 24 | |
Cell C | Pinnacle 2GB TopUp | R400 x 24 | 20GB once-off |
Vodacom | Prepaid Contract | R370 x 24 | 20 GB once-off |