Andy Boxall/DigitalTrends
The Huawei Mate 30 Pro is one of the most anticipated smartphone announcements of 2019. Every flagship phone from Huawei carries considerable expectation, due to the success and ability of the company’s recent products; but the Mate 30 Pro carries even more weight on its shoulders. It’s the first phone to be announced since Huawei was placed on the Entity List by the U.S. government, which bans U.S. businesses from working with the company. It has everything to prove with the new device.
Despite the tumultuous past months, Huawei has still delivered the Mate 30 series, and it’s the powerhouse we’ve been hoping for. Here’s everything you need to know.
Huawei Mate 30 Pro
As we’ve come to expect from Huawei, it has outdone itself with the camera. It’s a quad-sensor array set inside an unusual ring on the back of the phone, complete with a metallic halo around the edge. Huawei says it’s inspired by professional cameras, a process that extends to the shape of the phone itself. The corners are curved for comfort, and the 3D glass on the back matches it. Huawei calls the triple-lens system a Super Sensing Triple Camera, and it has a 40-megapixel main lens, a 40-megapixel SuperSensing lens, and an 8-megapixel telephoto camera. These are joined by a 3D depth sensor, completing the quad-sensor setup.
The main lens has a 1/1.54-inch sensor with a 51200 video ISO. The SuperSensing lens is 1/1.7-inches in size and has an ISO of 409600, ready to collect 40% more light for stunning lowlight images. The telephoto camera has a 3x optical zoom, a 5x hybrid zoom, and a 30x digital zoom. Finally, the 3D sensor helps with bokeh shots.
What else? The camera will take super macro shots, at a distance of 2.5cm. It’s the world’s first 40-megapixel Cine Camera shooting at 4K resolution at 60 frames-per-second (fps), and can even shoot amazing slow-motion video at 7860fps. That’s way beyond the 960fps we’ve seen on some other phones. The video camera will also add real-time bokeh effects and uses stabilization enhanced by artificial intelligence (AIS) for super-smooth recordings.
Take a look at the 6.5-inch Flex OLED screen with a 2400 x 1176 pixel resolution, and you’ll see it features an 88-degree curve down the sides, which we’ve come to know as a “waterfall” design. There are no side buttons, and the phone uses virtual keys for the volume and camera controls. Using the front 3D sensor, the Mate 30 Pro has face unlock and gesture controls too. The phone weighs just 198 grams and the notch is just 26.6mm wide, narrower than the Mate 20 Pro. This is where a gesture sensor and the 3D depth camera are stored. Inside the phone is the Kirin 990 processor, and supports 5G.
The 4,500mAh battery inside has a 27-watt wireless supercharging system, and a continuation of Huawei’s reverse charging feature, which is 3x faster than before. The main SuperCharge power brick charges at 40-watts, and is strong enough to charge laptop batteries when you travel.
Android, and Google Play?
Andy Boxall/DigitalTrends
Wondering about Android, and Google services? Neither has been mentioned during the event, but the Mate 30 Pro does use Huawei’s EMUI 10 software, which is built over Android 10. However, it appears to be the same version used in China, where Google services are not featured anyway, based on the image above shared during the event, where no Google apps are visible on the screen. We’ll find out more when we get our hands on the phone.
The event is still going on, and we will be updating this story live with new information as it happens, so refresh the page or check back often for the latest.