Huawei has confirmed its latest flagship smartphone, the Mate 30 Pro, will officially go on sale in the UK – but like the Chinese version, it will not ship with access to Google apps or services.
This means the Play Store will not come preinstalled, and the Google Mobile Services required to run Google apps properly will not be present. While it is possible to sideload GMS onto the Mate 30 Pro, it’s hardly a great solution when the price is set at £899 from Carphone Warehouse (on sale “soon”).
You asked for it… Coming soon, exclusively at @CPWTweets, the #HuaweiMate30Pro. ? Who’s excited? Register your interest here: https://t.co/QzaCByNxJ6 pic.twitter.com/Fwe0z6h4uQ
— Huawei Mobile UK (@HuaweiMobileUK) February 11, 2020
The lack of Google support thanks to an ongoing trade ban in the US hasn’t affected Chinese sales in a country where Google has no presence. But without the Big G, suddenly the Mate 30 Pro is a less tempting option than the Mate 20 Pro and P30 Pro were before the ban was instated.
Carphone and Huawei are evidently tring to sweeten the deal by offering a free Huawei Watch GT 2 and FreeBuds 3 with every Mate 30 Pro – not bad when they retail for £199 and £169 respectively. But ultimately, the price you’re paying for not having official access to Google is probably more. Most normal people won’t want to sideload GMS on their £900 phone, leaving the Mate 30 Pro to be remembered as an Android enthusiast’s device.
Related stories for further reading
Author: Henry Burrell, Phones Editor
Henry is Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, ensuring he and the team covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about for readers and viewers all over the world. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.