We subjected the Huawei P50 Pro to our rigorous SBMARK Audio test suite to measure its performance both when recording sound using its built-in microphones, and when playing audio through its speakers.
In this review, we’ll break down how it fared across a variety of tests and several common use cases.
Overview
Key audio specs include:
- cooking from the upper side + cooking from the lower side
- No audio output Jack
Reproduction
Pros
- Good space performance
- Large recording volume
versus
- Lack of clarity in tonal balance, especially at soft volume
- Altered tonal balance due to strong resonance / distortion of bass from nominal volume to maximum volume due to excessive bass processing
Registration
Pros
- Overall, a good tonal balance in videos and selfies, as well as in high SPL environments
- Very good recording volume when recording selfies
- Good yield of distance and width
versus
- Poor stamp in the memo app
- Overall compression and imprecise envelope in most cases
- Unpredictable digital signal processing in noisy environments and sensitivity to occlusions during recording
Huawei P50 Pro offers mixed performance in the audio department. In playback, we recommend it primarily for gaming due to its good spatial performance and adequate tonal balance. Music and film playback is somewhat less gifted due to the lack of clarity and strong bass resonance and distortion. As a recording device, thanks to the excellent results in terms of volume, good spatial characteristics and a harmonious frequency response in most use cases, the Huawei P50 Pro works head-to-head with expert devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos ), or Xiaomi 12 Pro. The Huawei P50 Pro is particularly suitable for recording in noisy environments and is a good enough choice for selfie videos and meeting room recordings.
Test summary
Learn about SBMARK audio tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone audio reviews, SBMARK engineers perform a series of objective tests and undertake more than 20 hours of perceptual assessment under controlled laboratory conditions.
(For more details on our reproduction protocol, click here; for more details on our registration protocol, click here.)
The following section collects the key elements of our exhaustive tests and analyzes performed in SBMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations in the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.
How the audio playback score is composed
SBMARK engineers test playback through smartphone speakers, the performance of which is evaluated in our labs and under real-life conditions, using apps and default settings.
In playback tests, the P50 Pro’s stereo speakers deliver good results at nominal volume with correct treble and attack, natural midrange, good amplitude, realistic distance, and satisfying volume. At maximum volume, however, many artifacts occur, such as distortion and bass resonances, as well as excessive dynamic compression. At softer volumes, the lack of clarity of tonal balance intensifies, transients become dull and intelligibility decreases. In addition, strange volume variations often occur. All in all, the speakers are better suited for gaming, but not entirely suitable for listening to music or watching movies.
Here’s how the Huawei P50 Pro fares in playback use cases compared to its competitors:
Playback of use case scores
The Timbre score represents how well a phone reproduces sound across the audible tonal range and takes into account bass, midrange, treble, tonal balance and volume dependence. It is the most important attribute for reproduction.
The Dynamics score measures the accuracy of changes in the energy level of sound sources, such as the precision with which a bass note or the impact sound of drums is reproduced.
Secondary attributes for spatial tests include identifying the position of a specific sound, its positional balance, distance and amplitude.
The volume score represents the overall volume of a smartphone and how the volume gradually increases and decreases based on user input.
Here are some sound pressure levels (SPLs) measured when playing our sample recordings of hip-hop and classical music at maximum volume:
| Hip-Hop | Classic | |
| Huawei P50 Pro | 73.1 dB | 70.1 dBA |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos) | 74.1 dB | 70.2 dBA |
| Xiaomi 12 Pro | 69.1 dB | 66 dBA |
The graph below shows the gradual changes in volume from minimum to maximum. We expect these changes to be consistent across the range, so that all volume levels match user expectations:
The Artifacts score measures the extent to which sound is affected by various types of distortion. The higher the score, the less noise you notice. Distortion can occur due to the sound processing in the device and the quality of the speakers.
How the score of the audio recording is composed
SBMARK engineers test the recording by evaluating the files recorded on reference audio equipment. These recordings are performed in our labs and in real-life conditions, using apps and predefined settings.
The P50 Pro fares incomparably better on recording. It has a fairly spectacular performance in noisy environments, thanks to a high maximum achievable level with no noticeable artifacts, and a harmonious tonal balance in high SPL scenarios. Audio in selfie videos is also perfect, with satisfying volume, sharp attack and proper envelope, although localizability is a bit blurry. Life videos (made with the rear cameras), on the other hand, show a slightly inaccurate envelope, a narrower sound field, and numerous sonic artifacts. Memos are a bit behind too, due to poor timbre capture, a noticeable lack of clarity, limited signal-to-noise ratio, and just like in real videos, lots of perceptible artifacts.
Here’s how the Huawei P50 Pro fares in recording use cases compared to its competitors:
Record of use case scores
The Timbre score represents how well a phone captures sounds across the audible tonal range and takes into account bass, midrange, treble and tonal balance. It is the most important attribute for registration.
The Dynamics score measures the accuracy of changes in the energy level of sound sources, such as how accurately the explosives of a voice (p, tek, for example) are reproduced. The score also considers the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), such as how loud the main voice is compared to the background noise.
Secondary attributes for spatial tests include identifying the position of a specific sound, its positional balance, distance and amplitude on recorded audio files.
The volume score represents the normalization level of the audio on the recorded files and how the device handles noisy environments, such as electronic concerts, during recording.
Here are the sound levels recorded in the audio and video files, measured in LUFS (Loudness Unit Full Scale); as a reference, we expect loudness levels to be higher than -24 LUFS for recorded content:
| Match | Life video | Selfie video | Memo | |
| Huawei P50 Pro | -20.1 LUFS | -19.7 LUFS | -18.5 LUFS | -16.9 LUFS |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (Exynos) | -28.8 LUFS | -21.7 LUFS | -21.2 LUFS | -23.9 LUFS |
| Xiaomi 12 Pro | -25.8 LUFS | -23.1 LUFS | -20.4 LUFS | -20.2 LUFS |
The Artifacts Score measures the extent to which recorded sounds are affected by various types of distortions. The higher the score, the less noise you notice. Distortions can occur due to the sound processing in the device and the quality of the microphones, as well as user handling, such as the way the phone is held.
Hear about the artifacts in this excerpt, which was recorded in a fast-paced home environment:
Background evaluates how naturally the various sounds around a voice blend into the video recording file. For example, when recording a speech at an event, the background should not interfere with the main voice, but should provide context for the surrounding environment.
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