Huawei P30 Pro is slower than the Mate 20 Pro and we're as confused as you

Huawei will hold its next product launch on March 29, 2019 in Paris, where the Shenzhen-based company will unveil its new P30 series. The hotly-anticipated new devices look set to build on the P20 and P20 Pro launched almost exactly a year ago.

As such, we're expecting to see some seriously impressive new camera features, as well as a vibrating speaker-screen, and a curved display with an embedded fingerprint scanner. However, one area where the Huawei P30 and P30 Pro could be set to disappoint is the raw speed.

• Huawei P30 and P30 Pro release date, price, cameras, 5G: everything we know
• Huawei P20 Pro review

At least that's according to a leaked AnTuTu benchmark score published by technology blog GSMArena, which reveals a final score to be 286,152. That puts the Huawei P30 Pro somewhere between the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus (283,383) and the Sony Xperia XZ3 (287,255).

For those who don't know, benchmark scores are designed to help users quickly compare performance between different devices on different platforms. Regardless, the specs and operating system, the higher the AnTuTu score – the better.

Bizarrely, the leaked AnTuTu benchmark score for the Huawei P30 Pro means the new flagship smartphone will be slower than the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, which launched October 26, 2018 and clocked an impressive 302,985 score.

In fact, the only Android devices that are faster than the Mate 20 Pro on the AnTuTu leaderboard are the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus and Honor View 20.

Given that the P30 and P30 Pro are widely-tipped to be powered by the same Huawei-developed Kirin 980 system-on-a-chip that powers the Mate 20 Pro and Honor View 20, we're not entirely sure what has gone wrong here. It seems really odd that Huawei would launch a new flagship smartphone that can't even match its previous device in terms of raw performance – let alone the competition.

Of course, it's always possible this is a blip. After all, the P30 Pro could have been running pre-release software that wasn't as efficient as the final version already powering the Mate 20 Pro and Honor View 20. However, it's also possible this simply confirms earlier rumours that Huawei wants to fit its new flagship with less RAM and storage than its nearest competitor.

Either way, we'll find out later this month. As always, T3 will be in the crowd in Paris and will have all of the latest news as it breaks.

Lead Image Credit: Digital Trends