huawei-mate-x-opening-100789459-orig.jpg
Google has indicated that Huawei's Mate 30 won't have access to US apps like the Google Play Store (or Facebook) at launch.
As originally reported by The Verge, a Google spokesperson has confirmed that Huawei's soon-to-be-revealed Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro won't be allowed to launch with Google's apps, services or even the Google Play Store due to the Chinese company's status on the US Commerce Department's Entity list.
The news throws the viability of Huawei's latest winter flagship handset into uncertain ground only weeks ahead of a rumored September 19th launch.
After being placed on the trade blacklist earlier this year, Huawei managed to obtain a three-month exemption that'd allow them to "provide service and support, including software updates or patches, to existing Huawei handsets that were available to the public on or before May 16, 2019."
Basically, if you already bought a P30 Pro, you're covered here. That exemption was renewed earlier this month and is due to expire on November 19th.
However, since the exemption only covers devices available before May 16, it won't cover the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro nor the yet-to-be-released Mate X foldable.
Since it'll still run on Android rather than Huawei's newly-announced Harmony OS, Mate 30 buyers could still side-load these apps or get them through an alternative app store but it still puts the company's next flagship at a massive disadvantage compared to its competition.
What's more, Google's confirmation that they'll be complying with the US Government's ban on doing business with Huawei casts a cloud over the many other America-based apps that you'd probably want to use on a device like the Mate 30.
Facebook, Twitter, Adobe and Microsoft Office? They're probably be covered by this as well.
Our Take: If you're still interested in buying a Mate 30 and looking to cut down on your social media usage, this might not be such a bad thing. But if you were hoping to see a compelling alternative to Samsung's newly-announced Note 10 and Note 10+, something with a better camera than Google's Pixel handsets or meaningful competition in the mainstream flagship smartphone space - this latest turn in the Huawei saga doesn't bode well.
PC World has reached out to Huawei Australia for comment.
