The Huawei P50 Pocket is the first entry in Huaweis third line of foldable phones.
It was released in late December 2021, and is available worldwide, though only unofficially in the US.
It is powered by the Snapdragon 888 CPU and has a 4000mAh battery.
The Huawei P50 Pocket is most closely compared to the Samsung Galaxy Flip3.
In this comparison, Huawei certainly wins on the form-factor front.
The screen halves fold flat together, rather than leaving the gap at the hinge on the Flip3.
It can fast charge with the included proprietary SuperCharge wired charger at a maximum of 40W.
There is no support for wireless charging.
The Snapdragon 888 CPU is known to be hot and power-hungry.
It has a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 800 nits.
The secondary cover screen is a tiny 1.04-inch smartwatch-style circular screen with a 340 x 340 resolution.
It features always-on functionality, clock faces, and can be used as a viewfinder for the main cameras.
Cameras
The Huawei P50 Pocket has a triple rear camera setup.
The main wide-angle camera has a 40MP sensor with an f/1.8 aperture.
The ultrawide camera features a 13MP with a 120 field of view and an f/2.2 aperture.
The ultrawide also features autofocus, allowing it to perform double duty as a macro camera.
The final camera is another wide-angle camera with a 32MP sensor.
This capability is exclusively used by the sunscreen feature.
To enable this feature, the camera island also features a UV flashlight.
The main screen also features a hole punch selfie camera with a 10.7MP sensor and an f/2.2 aperture.
The hinge design is great, allowing the screens to be flush against each other.
The crease is present and noticeable, but less so than on Samsungs foldable devices.
It cant easily be partially folded and just left to rest there as the hinge isnt stiff.
Instead, its a classic side power button/fingerprint reader combo.
The phone can also be unlocked with facial recognition.
Dual SIM cards are supported, though the second slot also doubles as the NanoMemory expandable storage slot.
With the restrictions Huawei devices face, this seems high.
Summary
The Huawei P50 Pocket is a solid foldable phone.
Performance is generally solid across the board, though heat and battery life can be a problem.
The lack of any waterproofing rating may put some potential users off.
Concerns about the lifespan of the fold in the screen are likely to be difficult to assuage.
Flagship phones with significantly better performance and features are available at a similar price.
The real question is do you really want, or need, a phone that folds?
