Huawei Mate 30 Pro Review & Comments

As I’ve decided to not give any more of my money to the US and it’s about time I had a new phone, this looks like a good choice to me.

Spotify is available, messages, a top class screen, great looking device and an excellent camera.

I don’t need anything else, and even if I did, there’s always a way around it.
 
Just a shame it will never be worth with the lack of Google services.
I find that the lack of google services is a bonus.
 
You must be a one in a million, can't think of any reason why?
I do not like them. I have disabled youtube, never have email on my phone. I have used maps but there better alternatives that allow me to use it off line. I do not have facebook, twitter and the like.

I hate the way google has setting very hidden like allowing the wifi chipset to scan even when wifi is turn off.

The only one app that I used regularly and will miss is whatsapp.
 
I'm utterly dependent on maps for my work and alternatives are nowhere near as good. Yes you can bypass the restrictions to install Google play services, but updates can once again render them unusable so it's no guarantee you'll be able to keep using them. Real shame. I have a Huawei Mate 20 X and it's fantastic. Let's hope they can sort this out and we can once again have access to these devices.
 
Whilst you may be able to sideload Google services the device would still not pass safety net. Various entertainment apps which use this API and more importantly, banking apps, will not function. There may be a workaround eventually with a rooted, less secure device using say magisk or similar tool.

Such a pity, i like my mate 20pro very much and this does look an excellent handset
 
The only one app that I used regularly and will miss is whatsapp.
WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, not Google. Is there a reprieve then for WhatsApp in the Har-One household? :)
 
Looks great, but I honestly don't know why anyone would bother with it. Phones can be annoying enough even when they're supposed to work.
 
You must be a one in a million
I have disabled youtube, never have email on my phone. I do not have facebook, twitter and the like.
LOL, judging by what one sees most people using their "phones" for in the present day, I guess you could make it into the "one in a million" club! :)

Oh, and that is in no way a dig - I do use email on my phone, and WhatsApp, but rarely watch a YouTube video on my phone, and I don't have a Facebook or twitter account at all! :)
 
I see they've switched back to a 3x telephoto like the P30, which is more use everyday than 5x for most people. The P30 is looking an even better buy now with price drops and Google Services. Much underrated phone with the P30 Pro grabbing the lazy headlines.
 
It's such a shame that what we can or cannot buy is now dictated by the whims of Donald Trump. I'm sure his motive is less about security and more about damaging the profits of this successful and innovative company. I've got a got a Huawei Mediapad M5 and it's faultless. It always puzzles me that his anti-China policy does not extend to Apple who manufacture the bulk of their production there and presumably import to the USA tariff free.
 
It's such a shame that what we can or cannot buy is now dictated by the whims of Donald Trump. I'm sure his motive is less about security and more about damaging the profits of this successful and innovative company. I've got a got a Huawei Mediapad M5 and it's faultless. It always puzzles me that his anti-China policy does not extend to Apple who manufacture the bulk of their production there and presumably import to the USA tariff free.

No puzzle for me, as even that idiot Trump daren't touch Apple;

"Compared to the U.S., the world's largest economy with GDP of $20.5 trillion in 2018, Apple's market cap represents 6.3%. "


Makes you wonder who runs the world, let alone the US, tbh.

Anyway, to try and stay on topic, the missus and I love Huawei phones.
We both had a P8 lite, but she sat on hers, so I just bought her a P30 lite.
A cut down version, I know, but she's well happy with it.
Comes with Play store and all the Google stuff, but if we were to lose that, it's no big big deal, as we try to avoid it anyway.
I'd just sideload.
My phone is just a phone and hers is just a mini gaming machine, albeit through bloody Faceache.
Anything serious gets done on a PC.
 
Last edited:
Looks like good hardware, but with no Google Maps/Translate/Gmail/Youtube/Calendar/Photos/etc it's mortally hampered. Add the lack of banking apps, transport apps, social media apps etc. and it turns into a dead duck. What would you use it for? Browse the net/phone calls/take photos? That's extremely restrictive. It wouldn't be worth $300.

I have stuff like Philips Hue, the Google Wifi mesh network, they all have their control apps which simply wouldn't work.

Who'd have the time to side-load and update all the time? Only the most dedicated and tech-savvy users.

Plus, no amount of side-loading will fix the inability to run banking apps or Netflix.

It's such a shame that what we can or cannot buy is now dictated by the whims of Donald Trump. I'm sure his motive is less about security and more about damaging the profits of this successful and innovative company. I've got a got a Huawei Mediapad M5 and it's faultless. It always puzzles me that his anti-China policy does not extend to Apple who manufacture the bulk of their production there and presumably import to the USA tariff free.
Huawei also stole IP and shamelessly copied for a very long time. They piggy-backed on what their competitors do, and bypassed all that R&D expense, so of course they could come out with really good stuff at great prices.

I read carefully all the security assessments involving them, and two things stand out: (1) the mobile net infrastructure they sold to Vodafone Italy had backdoors in it, that were found out (2) in the UK they simply could not compile the source code that Huawei provided for the 4G infrastructure to give the same binaries that Huawei provided - draw your own conclusions.

Don't get me wrong, I bought a P9 (which still works and has some uses) which I loved, but I think Huawei had this coming.

I think it would be crazy to get another Huawei phone, under the current circumstances.
 
Looks like good hardware, but with no Google Maps/Translate/Gmail/Youtube/Calendar/Photos/etc it's mortally hampered. Add the lack of banking apps, transport apps, social media apps etc. and it turns into a dead duck. What would you use it for? Browse the net/phone calls/take photos? That's extremely restrictive. It wouldn't be worth $300.

I have stuff like Philips Hue, the Google Wifi mesh network, they all have their control apps which simply wouldn't work.

Who'd have the time to side-load and update all the time? Only the most dedicated and tech-savvy users.

Plus, no amount of side-loading will fix the inability to run banking apps or Netflix.


Huawei also stole IP and shamelessly copied for a very long time. They piggy-backed on what their competitors do, and bypassed all that R&D expense, so of course they could come out with really good stuff at great prices.

I read carefully all the security assessments involving them, and two things stand out: (1) the mobile net infrastructure they sold to Vodafone Italy had backdoors in it, that were found out (2) in the UK they simply could not compile the source code that Huawei provided for the 4G infrastructure to give the same binaries that Huawei provided - draw your own conclusions.

Don't get me wrong, I bought a P9 (which still works and has some uses) which I loved, but I think Huawei had this coming.

I think it would be crazy to get another Huawei phone, under the current circumstances.

Exactly, if you're not interested in it's services then why bother forking out nearly a grand on a phone when you can get a Nokia 3310 for a fiver. 😂

The loss of Google services will have a catastrophic affect on sales in the UK.
 
Not sure that Italy story is quite right;

The press also have their own agenda, not just politicians. No company is cleaner than clean, they all "borrow" and bend the rules if they think they'll get away with it, but remember it's the US tech companies that keep getting fined over data misuse. Why anyone uses FB is beyond me.

Huawei are being used as a pawn in a trade war. Hopefully Trump will be out of the White House soon and someone sensible can get all this stuff sorted out.

I just want to be able to consider the P50 Pro when that arrives next Spring. I love my P30 Pro, best phone I've ever owned.
 
Not sure that Italy story is quite right;

The press also have their own agenda, not just politicians. No company is cleaner than clean, they all "borrow" and bend the rules if they think they'll get away with it, but remember it's the US tech companies that keep getting fined over data misuse. Why anyone uses FB is beyond me.

Huawei are being used as a pawn in a trade war. Hopefully Trump will be out of the White House soon and someone sensible can get all this stuff sorted out.

I just want to be able to consider the P50 Pro when that arrives next Spring. I love my P30 Pro, best phone I've ever owned.
Lots of articles out there. Here’s one stating the opposite: Bloomberg - Are you a robot? - I watched the coverage very carefully, like I said, and my conclusion is that it is more likely than not that Huawei engages in very dubious practices, relatively easy to explain given they operate with the backing of the biggest totalitarian surveillance regime in the world.

Their only defense would have been a policy of complete transparency, especially on source code producing the binaries they actually ship, and they haven’t done that, probably because they can’t.

Even now, their response to the Google fiasco is to clone the Play Services API, which is both unimaginative and means they’ll always be behind.

It’s doubtful that Trump will be out, given that Sanders is the most likely opposition candidate. Most likely the policy is here to stay, and probably Huawei will restrict itself to China in the long term, at least for handsets.
 
WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, not Google. Is there a reprieve then for WhatsApp in the Har-One household? :)
Yes, I know that it is owned by facebook. It is impossible to ignore it whenever it is starting but it was one of the apps mention in the review that might be problematic to get to work.

I had been using it before was bought by facebook. I know that there are similar ones, but it seems that for my needs it works best.

I used google search and the lot but usually not on my phone. I do not have the patience for it.
 
Lots of articles out there. Here’s one stating the opposite: Bloomberg - Are you a robot? - I watched the coverage very carefully, like I said, and my conclusion is that it is more likely than not that Huawei engages in very dubious practices, relatively easy to explain given they operate with the backing of the biggest totalitarian surveillance regime in the world.

Their only defense would have been a policy of complete transparency, especially on source code producing the binaries they actually ship, and they haven’t done that, probably because they can’t.

Even now, their response to the Google fiasco is to clone the Play Services API, which is both unimaginative and means they’ll always be behind.

It’s doubtful that Trump will be out, given that Sanders is the most likely opposition candidate. Most likely the policy is here to stay, and probably Huawei will restrict itself to China in the long term, at least for handsets.
Huawei did invite the experts to check the source code and opened their doors for it to be checked. The security services were inspecting, and they did not find anything. They recommended not use it in core system to pacify the US.

The real problem is that we follow the US then they do a deal with China and we are left in deep excrement. Blocking Huawei means destroying all of 4G and start from 0.

We are all concern with the potential data breach and spying from them, but Facebook already misused and manipulated our data. Cambridge Analytica is one example.
 
At the end of the day, the US is interested in the US. If they can get their fellow nations to follow suit and bolster their position on Huawei, they will. It's what they are trying to do with the UK right now. But if they decide in the future that Huawei are back in the good books, they won't give a damn that other nations have hampered their 5G roll outs by not using them.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending Huawei just because they made my phone, but this isn't as clear as the US want us all to believe.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom