Incredible performance at your fingertips: The best Huawei phones of 2024

The best Huawei phones have seen a meteoric rise in popularity this year, thanks to a huge range of brilliant options available, regardless of budget. Scouring the internet, we've found the very best smartphones from Huawei for you and your wallet, with performance, overall build quality and value firmly in mind.

From humble budget phones with nifty processors and remarkable cameras to lush, high-end models that easily go toe-to-toe with the most expensive flagship phones of the year, Huawei has an enormous range on offer. Though many of the best Huawei phones to be found are slightly older models, their performance can rival many of the latest phones from other brands. What's more, they're incredibly affordable. So, if you're a photography aficionado, or love delving into TV shows while out and about, there's a Huawei phone for you.

The best Huawei phones at a glance:

• Best overall: Huaewi Mate 20 Pro – View on Amazon
• Best budget: Huawei P Smart 2021 – View on Amazon
• Best under £150: Huawei P30 Lite – View on Amazon
• Best under £200: Huawei P20 – View on Amazon

The downside to a huge array of choices is making a decision. As with all smartphones, you have some basics to consider – like screen size, camera quality and battery life, but also storage, RAM and the operating system itself. Office workers may want a mid-spec phone with a large screen, but those who need a gaming phone or media player may need something beefier.

We've looked for our favourite Huawei phones of the year, selecting to suit all needs and budgets – from the best cheap phones to to high-end performers. Get ready for some serious smartphone power at a fraction of the cost of the average iPhone.

The best Huawei phones of 2024:

All prices are correct at the time of writing. Prices, stock and deals are subject to change without notice.

How to choose the best Huawei phone for you

The key things to consider when choosing from the best Huawei phones in our list are pretty simple. However, there are a few extra things to be aware of beyond the obvious phone specs. Let's look at the basics first.

Screen size and quality

With so many models to choose from, we recommend narrowing things down based on screen size. After all, the more casual phone user might only need simple smartphone apps like email, browser, social apps and a reasonable camera. And being able to slot that into a back pocket and forget it's there is also down the the size of the screen.

However, anyone looking to use their smartphone as a mobile office while about and about might need a larger display for spreadsheets, emailing and more. The same goes for gamers and fans of all media, from catching up on Netflix to enjoying a high-resolution camera. The larger and more impressive the screen, the better.

RAM and CPU

Many of the best smartphones on the market are actually closer to tablet computers than the smartphones of just a few years ago thanks to ever-improving and smaller tech. The mobile CPUs are now highly capable, supporting ultra-high resolution content and fast processing speeds. And what can RAM actually do for a smartphone? Well, as with desktop PCs, more RAM is always better if you're looking at entertainment and more professional apps, but cheaper or mid-budget phones often have less powerful specifications here, which is fine for everyday web and social apps and light gaming.

Cameras

If you're on the lookout for one of the best smartphones for photography, you're obviously going to be prioritising the lens and sensor capabilities of your Huawei phone. the higher the number of megapixels the better, and many flagship camera phones approach the same 20+ megapixel resolution as full DSLR cameras. And then there's the lens choice. Most smartphones come packing an array of lenses on the back, plus a selfie camera on the front for both stills and video. So, if you're looking to capture some amazing shots, make sure you have a good range of both wide-angle and macro lens options.

Operating system

Huawei used to run Android, but in 2021 they switched to HarmonyOS which claims to be far more efficient and powerful. However, there are plenty of good reasons why Android is a favourite OS for users everywhere, so we're happy to see that HarmonyOS is based on Android so there's a lot of compatibility there. That said, Google prevented Huawei from having any Google-based apps due to the USA's Huawei ban in 2020. Instead, Huawei users have access to Huawei AppGallery with over 200,000 apps available – including favourites like WhatsApp, Spotify and Facebook. So, for Gmail and YouTube you'll need to access those services via the smartphone browser.

FAQs

Are Huawei phones worth it?

Huawei phones, in spite of their older release dates, are still absolutely worth grabbing for solid performance and impressive tech specifications.

Well-priced and powerful, these smartphones are particularly good for those who aren't technologically inclined, offering a solid, but not extensive range of features for a modest price. You may find that even the best iPhones on the market are being given a run for their money in terms of features.

Can I update my Huawei phone to Android 13?

Unfortunately, the vast majority of Huawei phones cannot be updated to Android 13. They lack support for the software, so you won't be able to access the latest Android features.

However, there are still plenty of features to explore on current updates, and they still perform efficiently even on older software versions.

How can I boost my performance on my Huawei phone?

For the best performance, you should disable Power Saving Mode, this way, you'll get the most performance in exchange for less battery life.

You should also consider clearing your Huawei's cache, which can be done by: going to Settings, then Apps, and App Management. Then tap on Storage and Clear cache. This will delete excess files that are likely to cause some performance sluggishness.

Are Huawei and Honor the same?

Honor was once a subsidiary of Huawei, but in 2020 Huawei sold Honor to another company, so they're technically no longer affiliated. We've reviewed the Honor 50 smartphone and can confirm it offers a very similar experience to Huawei's flagship phones in both build and performance.

How we chose

We selected our pick of the best Huawei phones based on average user reviews, price, and suitability for each use case. We look carefully at the technical specifications of all products before we recommend them to ensure that they will meet buyers' needs without requiring modifications or costly additions to function as intended. With Huawei phones, our main focus is on performance, screen size and resolution, camera quality and overall design. Our writers also choose products based on hands-on experience where we own or have reviewed them ourselves. Retailers are selected based on price, availability and reputation as reliable and trusted sellers.

Ryan Houghton is a commercial content writer for What’s The Best, known best for his expertise in gaming, with a particular soft spot for PC gaming, audio tech, televisions and smartphones.

Diligently writing for What’s The Best for almost two years, there are very few tech products Ryan hasn’t had his hands on to review; televisions, headphones, folding phones and even LEGO, if it’s nerdy, he’ll be there.

His well-versed history as one of the resident techies at What’s The Best has kept him keen to uncover the very best deals, savings and offers for those in need of a cracking deal to upgrade their setup.

In his downtime, Ryan most likely has his nose buried in a fantasy book, or his eyes glued to a screen whilst playing a tough-as-nails Soulslike or leisurely RPG, indulging in most forms of escapism where possible.

Subscribe to the What’s The Best Newsletter to keep up to date with more of the latest reviews and recommendations from the rest of the What’s The Best team.