Huawei will launch its flagship Mate 30 series phones on September 19. The Mate 30 series, which is expected to have the premiere Mate 30 Pro and Mate 30, and the more affordable mate 30 Lite, will formally be unveiled at a standalone keynote event in Munich, Germany, Huawei has confirmed on microblogging website Twitter. A short teaser shared by Huawei shows off a distinct circle – hinting at the Mate 30 Pro’s much rumored round rear camera module – with the tagline, “Rethink Possibilities.”  

New possibilities

Huawei will indeed have to rethink the possibilities of launching a new high-end flagship Android phone minus all the core Google services – outside of China. For those unaware, Huawei has been effectively barred from using Android in the long-term following a recent US trade clampdown. Even though Android is open source and even though Huawei is free to use this open source version of Android (called AOSP), Google has been gradually moving OS essentials out – which means a large part of the Android that we use now isn’t open source per se. This includes everything from the Google Play Store to apps like Google Maps and Gmail.   

Without proper authorization from Google, Huawei can’t launch a new Android phone with the Google Play Store and apps like Google Maps and Gmail. As things stand, “the Mate 30 cannot be sold with licensed Google apps and services due to the US ban on sales to Huawei,” according to a Reuters report.   

Huawei's 'Google Play Store' alternative

Huawei has been working on its own Google Play Store alternative and is also reportedly working on its own mapping tech, akin to Google Maps, as a counter measure – but question is, will that be enough to compel buyers (outside of China) to invest in a Mate 30 – that would likely be high on good hardware – minus core Android. Huawei has already announced Harmony OS, software that has been designed in-house to replace Android, but the company has confirmed it will only use it in the worst-case scenario. That leaves Huawei with just one option – open source Android for the Mate 30 series.  

As for hardware, there’s little doubt that the Mate 30 series would be skimping on anything really. The Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro will likely be powered by Huawei’s new Kirin 990, a high-end chipset that Huawei would likely launch at IFA in Berlin. But the real star of the show would be the cameras with rumor mills hinting that the Mate 30 Pro would pack two high-resolution 40MP cameras to boot, among other things.    

Image courtesy: SlashLeaks

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