Yesterday at Huawei’s global launch event in Munich, the company detailed its new Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro flagship devices.
The two new phones continue Huawei’s focus on innovating in the photo capture departments, with the new Mate 30 Pro introducing innovative camera features and hardware. As is the tradition with the Mate series, it represents Huawei’s pioneer line through which it introduces the newest technologies, such as the new brand-new Kirin 990 as well as Kirin 990 5G. The new Mate 30 also introduce new designs and hardware builds – increasing battery life and minimizing the weight of the phones.
The Mate 30 Pro, in particular, introduces a new true edge-to-edge display that curves to the sides up to 90° – representing a brand-new form and feel as Huawei does away with physical buttons. Beyond all the hardware, the biggest news about Huawei’s newest devices is the fact that they will not come out of the box with Google Play or Google services preinstalled, representing a truly massive shift in the industry that’s bound to have reverberations for the next several years.
Starting off with the heart of the phone, both the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro are powered by the new Kirin 990 chipsets. We’re actually talking about two distinct new chips: The regular Kirin 990, and the Kirin 990 5G. As the name indicates, the 5G variant of the chip includes a new integrated modem with support of Sub-6GHz 5G NR connectivity.
A big part of the presentation was the phone’s cameras. The Mate 30 was more conservative in this regard, and essentially, we’re seeing the same camera setup as on the P30, with the exception of the addition of OIS on the main sensor. The main camera sensor for both phones is again the 40MP RYYB sensor employed in the P30 series, though the Mate 30’s pictures will notably improve thanks to a newer generation ISP in the Kirin processors. The aperture on the Pro unit is larger f/1.6 while the regular Mate 30 will make due with f/1.8 optics.
Probably the biggest and most important announcement today wasn’t the Mate 30 or Mate 30 Pro as devices, but the fact that the new units will not be released with Google’s services, such as the Play Store or Play Services, preinstalled on the phone. This is the unfortunate end result of the ongoing trade war between the US and China, with Huawei considering themselves as bargaining chips and pawns due to the US’s decision to block the company from all commercial interaction with American companies, something Huawei describes as having nothing to do with security or even 5G infrastructure concerns.
The Huawei Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro will be available in October in China and select European markets, with remaining European countries availability coming a bit later. The Mate 30 comes in an 8+128GB configuration for 799€, the Mate 30 Pro comes in an 8+128GB configuration for 1099€, and finally the 5G variant of the Mate 30 Pro coming at 1199€. You can find more comprehensive breakdowns of its specs elsewhere. It’s too early to say what the impact of a major worldwide manufacturer completely stepping away from Google will be, but it could be the start of a bold new trend in the coming years.
