Huawei Mate30 Pro: Official Specs Released

Against the odds, Huawei unveiled its Mate30 Pro smartphone in Australia today. The long-awaited successor to the Mate20 packs in a bevy of new hardware features, including what looks to be the world’s best phone camera, ever.

What it doesn’t have is access to the Google Play Store or any Google apps (at least, not officially.) Here’s everything Aussies need to know.

What’s going on with Huawei again?

It’s impossible to talk about a new Huawei phone without mentioning the company’s current predicament with US lawmakers. As you’ve surely heard by now, American telecommunications firms are currently banned from using Huawei equipment due to governmental security concerns.

This has essentially shut the Mate30 Pro out of the Android 10 operating system and all US-based apps. Despite this not insignificant setback, the phone is still getting an Aussie release. In fact, Huawei almost sounds like it’s trying to spin the situation into a positive.

According to the press release, the Mate30 is “challenging” consumers around the globe to “rethink” what a smartphone can be. Um, okay.

[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2019/09/huawei-mate-30-pro-launch-whats-happening-with-google/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/09/Mate-30-410×231.jpg” title=”Huawei Mate 30 Pro Launch: What’s Happening With Google?” excerpt=”Huawei’s Mate 30 is set to be announced this week, despite a series of setbacks caused by the US and China trade wars and bans relating to security concerns. It’s expected the models will be released in Australia without access to Google apps – but Huawei might have a workaround for users still needing them.”]

Does the Huawei Mate30 Pro come with Android 10?

No. The phone will be powered by EMUI10; an open source operating system based on the latest version of Android. According to Huawei, it will come pre-loaded with stand-ins for Google’s most popular apps, including Huawei Browser (instead of Google Chrome) and Huawei Assistant (in place of Android Assistant.)

Huawei reckons its EMUI10 OS is a mark of software leadership and demonstrates the company’s commitment to Australian consumers. That last part is true at least; Huawei is clearly moving mountains to bring a version of the phone to western markets despite the Google ban.

What kind of apps will the Huawei Mate30 Pro come with?

The Play Store has been replaced with the Huawei AppGallery, which allegedly has over 45,000 apps. You’re probably wondering how many of these apps are familiar or relevant to English speaking customers. Huawei didn’t have an answer to this question which doesn’t bode well. We’ll keep you updated as soon as we learn more.

Okay, so what about the specs?

Here’s where the news starts to get better. The Huawei Mate30 Pro is a seriously impressive piece of hardware, boasting a next-gen Kirin 990 chipset, a huge 4500mAh battery with ultra-fast wireless charging and a 6.5-inch OLED display.

But the biggest bright spot is undoubtedly its astonishing quadruple rear-camera array which includes a 40-megapixel sensor dedicated to videography. There’s also a 40MP wide-angle camera, an 8MP telephoto camera a with 3x optical lens and a 3D depth-sensing sensor.

In addition to the above, Huawei has packed no fewer than three cameras in the front, for a grand total of seven.

When you consider how impressive the photographic output of the Mate20 and P30 was, we’re inclined to believe Huawei’s claim that the Mate30 Pro will have the world’s most advanced smartphone camera to-date. Here are the chief specs.