Mate 30 Pro was unwrapped during Huawei’s scheduled hardware event in the German city of Munich on Thursday – the device is brimming with innovative features but is hamstrung by its lack of Google apps or services.
The US instigated a trade ban on Huawei earlier this year that effectively prohibits domestic firms, such as Google, from doing business with it.
This means the Mate 30 Pro is unable to be granted an Android licence – therefore the phone can’t ship with the Google Play Store, Gmail, Chrome and Google Maps for instance.
Because Google’s apps and services are so fundamental to user experiences in Europe, the Mate 30 Pro faces a herculean challenge to be successful both critically and financially in the region when it releases later this year.
China is a different story – most Android phones sold in the Asian nation already come without offerings from Google. Therefore it’s expected the product won’t be affected at all here.
Following the Mate 30 Pro’s unveiling, Huawei Consumer Business Group CEO Richard Yu declared the firm is “planning” to let users unlock the device’s bootloader to sideload Google apps and services.
In an interview with media, Android Authority quoted the CEO as saying: “We limited [bootloader unlocking] because we wanted to guarantee more security for consumers.
“But this time we will leave more freedom for the consumers so they can do more customisation by themselves. So we are planning to let consumers do that.”
While it’s currently unclear how this would be achieved, the comment from Yu certainly gives Huawei fans hope the new device could be more functional than expected.
As is stands though, the Mate 30 Pro’s lack of support is certainly enough to discourage Android enthusiasts from the device, despite its flashy circular camera system, curvaceous screen and turbocharged internals.
In the opinion of Express.co.uk, this means the P30 Pro is still the best phone you can buy from Huawei right now – and that’s no bad thing.
The 2019 handset comes with the most diverse camera system on a smartphone, exceptional battery life and a gorgeous design.
But the P30 Pro’s immense advantage over the Mate 30 Pro is certainty – users know they are buying into a device that has Google’s backing and always will.
For context, the P30 Pro was released before the US’s actions and is therefore not severely affected.
Huawei has already confirmed the P30 Pro will be updated to its new EMUI 10 skin based on Android 10 later this year.
Moreover, the Chinese vendor has also assured fans the handset will continue to receive Android security patches.
Huawei is still giving the P30 Pro plenty of love, too. At German trade show IFA earlier this month the firm showed off an updated design for the flagship that comes in two new colours.
Dubbed misty lavender and mystic blue, the fresh flavours feature a two-tone design on their rear – two thirds of the P30 Pro’s glass back is frosted and the other is glossy.
The new P30 Pro models will come pre-installed with Android 10.