Huawei Mate 30: Everything you need to know!

2019 has not been kind to Huawei. The Chinese company has been faced with unrelenting backlash all around the world, with the majority of the heat coming from the United States. Even so, Huawei has persisted through it all and continued to dominate the Android space.

The P30 series quickly established itself as one of the best smartphone offerings of the year, and a few months following its debut, Huawei's returning to the scene with the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro. The Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro build upon the already-great formula we were introduced to in 2018 with the Mate 20 lineup, and once again, Huawei's proving that it knows how to make killer Android handsets — even if this year's models come with a big caveat 😬.

From specs, features, availability, and so much more, here's everything you need to know about the Huawei Mate 30!

• The Mate 30 doesn't have Google apps
• Huawei's offering two models
• There's also a special Porsche Design version
• Here are the specs
• The cameras are a big deal
• So, about that waterfall display
• You have four colors to choose from
• When will you be able to buy the phone?
• Don't forget about the Mate 20

The Mate 30 series ships without the Play Store and Google apps

Yep, you read that correctly. Unlike just about every major global Android phone, the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro do not have access to the Google Play Store or any of the official Google apps. That means no Gmail, YouTube, Maps, Drive, Photos, etc. and no Play Store to go and download your favorite non-Google apps.

Seeing as how those are such critical components of any modern Android phone, why aren't they on the Mate 30? You have the U.S. trade ban to thank for this.

The United States Commerce Department is currently preventing Huawei from buying goods/services from companies in the U.S., meaning Huawei wasn't allowed to work with Google on the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro. Not only does this result in Huawei's latest phones to lose out on Google apps and access to the Play Store, but it also means any apps that rely on Google Play Services for notifications or other background processes potentially won't work correctly.

That's a big roadblock if we've ever seen one, but Huawei does have a plan in place to work around it. Huawei has its own App Gallery and Huawei Mobile Services platforms in China, and the company says it's working on expanding these to other countries as replacements for the Play Store and Play Services.

It remains to be seen how all of this will pan out, but if you want to learn more, we recommend checking out the links below for a deeper dive into this subject.

• Huawei can't use Google Services so it's paying developers $1 billion to build for its own app store
• There are too many great Android phones to recommend buying a Mate 30 Pro without Google apps

Huawei's offering the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro

Similar to the Mate 20, the Mate 30 consists of two main phones — the regular Mate 30 and the more powerful Mate 30 Pro.

We've seen this strategy from a lot of smartphone companies, including the likes of Samsung, Google, Apple, and others. The Mate 30 is the phone with the lowest price tag, and while it still offers a flagship experience, has a couple of drawbacks compared to the Mate 30 Pro.

You'll pay a fair amount more money for the privilege of owning the Mate 30 Pro, but if you want the best possible Mate 30 experience, the Pro is the way to go. Some of its main benefits include a higher-res display, four rear cameras instead of three, and a bigger battery.

We're all for having as many options as possible, so the option to choose which tier of Mate is right for you is great to see.

Huawei Mate 30 Pro unveiled: Kirin 990 5G, dual 40MP cameras, 27W wireless charging

Don't forget about the Mate 30 RS Porsche Design

If you aren't phased by the Mate 30 Pro's already steep price tag (which we'll talk about later), you can also pick up the ultra-premium Mate 30 RS Porsche Design.

This is essentially a souped-up version of the Mate 30 Pro, with a handcrafted leather back and an especially long rear camera housing instead of the circular one on the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro.

Specs-wise, the only real difference lies with the RAM and internal storage. Where the Mate 30 Pro has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, the Mate 30 RS Porsche Design has 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

Everything else is exactly the same as the Pro. Well, everything except the price.

If you decide you want to splurge on the Mate 30 RS, get ready to spend a hefty €2,095 — roughly $2,318 USD.

Huawei Mate 30 RS Porsche Design is here with a luxurious design, Kirin 990 5G chipset, and 12GB RAM

Get familiar with all of the specs

As you'd probably expect, the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro are packing some awfully impressive specs.

There's something here for everyone no matter which phone you choose, including big OLED displays, a blazing-fast processor, impressive camera systems, and huge batteries.

Below is a shortened version of the entire spec list, but make sure to check the link under the spec table for a full rundown on everything packed into the phones.

Huawei Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro specs

Huawei's new camera system has enormous potential

Huawei's established itself as one of the leaders for smartphone photography, and the Mate 30 Pro, in particular, looks to continue that dominance.

The star of the show is a 40MP Cine Camera, a sensor that's dedicated to capturing high-quality video. With the Cine Camera, Huawei's touting that you'll be able to record ultra low-light, ultra-slow motion, and ultra wide-angle time-lapse videos.

On the photography side of things, you'll primarily use the 40MP SuperSensing Camera. If you want to get up-close and personal with the subject you're shooting, there's an 8MP Telephoto Camera that offers a 3X optical zoom, 5x hybrid zoom, and 30x digital zoom.

The fourth and final sensor on the Mate 30 Pro is a 3D Depth Sensing Camera, and it's used to "bring professional Bokeh effects to your portrait photos and videos."

The Horizon Display is rather polarizing

The regular Mate 30 ships with a pretty typical curved OLED display, but on the Mate 30 Pro, you're getting Huawei's all-new "Horizon Display."

The Horizon Display is also curved on either side, but the curve is far more drastic — 88-degrees, to be exact.

With such a drastic curve, you can use the extra screen hanging over on either side for expanded functionality, such as controlling the phone's volume or "quad-finger game control."

We're happy to see that Huawei actually built some new function into the curve rather than just having it there for the #aesthetics, but unless the company perfected palm-rejection, using a phone with curves of this nature could be rather irritating in day-to-day use.

We'll have more to share about how the Horizon Display works once we get some hands-on time with the Mate 30 Pro.

You've got four gorgeous colors to pick from

No matter if you decide to pick up the Mate 30 or Mate 30 Pro, you'll have to choose one of four colors being offered. These include:

• Cosmic Purple
• Space Silver
• Emerald Green
• Black

All four look fantastic, and we're happy to see that Huawei didn't limit any colors to the Pro variant of the Mate 30.

The Mate 30 series launches in China in October

With all of that out of the way, let's end with everyone's favorite subject — price.

If you want to get the more affordable Mate 30, it'll set you back €799, or about $883 USD. The Mate 30 Pro is slapped with a much larger €1,099 sticker, coming out to $1,214. Of course, if you choose to import the Mate 30 or Mate 30 Pro into the U.S., you'll likely pay even more after the importing cost is taken into consideration.

As for when you'll be able to buy the phones, Huawei's first launching the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro in China this October. It's unclear right now which countries will follow and when that expansion will happen, but we'll be sure to update this article as soon as we learn more.

Last year's Mate 20 Pro is still a great buy

There's a lot of well-deserved hype building around the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro, but that doesn't mean you should completely write-off last year's Mate 20 Pro. In fact, if you want one of the best Huawei phones in recent years while also saving some cash, now's a better time than ever to buy.

We hailed the Mate 20 Pro as one of 2018's best smartphones, largely due to its fantastic display, battery life, cameras, and 3D face unlock system. All of those things hold up well a year later, and now that the Mate 20 Pro has been out in the wild for some time, it's considerably more affordable.

If you live in the U.S., you can buy an international model on Amazon right now for as little as $540. You don't get a U.S. warranty and LTE performance in rural areas + large buildings takes a hit compared to phones that are designed for the country, but considering everything you're getting, that's a phenomenal price.

Oh, and it has the Play Store and Google Apps. So that's something.