Huawei Mate 30 Pro review: Sublime camera, disastrous software

Huawei Mate 30 Pro review: Sublime camera, disastrous software

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Huawei started 2019 strong with the excellent P30 Pro phone, but things went downhill from there. Due to concerns that its equipment could be used to spy on the US and other companies, the Chinese tech giant has been banned from using technology from US companies. As a result, it can't license Google Mobile Services. The Mate 30 Pro, its latest flagship, has no Google Play Store, and no apps like Google Maps, Gmail and YouTube. 

It has the striking appearance of a futuristic slab of aluminum and glass, but I knew I was in for a rough ride just moments after booting up the Mate 30 Pro. Entering the AppGallery, Huawei's version of the Google Play Store, I was encouraged to download some of its most popular apps: Weibo, WeChat and the China Drama Channel. It quickly became clear that Huawei doesn't have much to offer its non-Chinese customers.

One question has enshrouded the Mate 30 Pro since Huawei's tech ban: Can Huawei, a huge, powerful company with deep resources, find a way to neutralize the loss of Google? 

The answer, unfortunately, is no.

The Mate 30 Pro is an exceptional piece of hardware. Its quad-camera setup shoots outstanding photos (sometimes better than the iPhone 11 Pro) a dazzling 6.53-inch waterfall display is the centerpiece of an inspired design, and its 4,500-mAh battery goes and goes and goes. But the fiasco that is Android without full Google support makes it impossible to recommend. 

Even more galling is the Mate 30 Pro's price. The phone starts at AU$1,599 in Australia, which converts to $1,100 or £830. (No availability has been announced for either the US or UK.) Yes, it's a premium phone and premium parts ain't cheap. But as a proposition to you, the buyer, that much money for a partially functioning phone is preposterous. 

Huawei tries Android without all of Google

Since Android 10 itself is open-source, the Mate 30 Pro still runs Google's most recent operating system fine. But since Google Mobile Services requires a license, Huawei has no access to the Google Play Store or any of Google's apps. 

Instead, you'll use Huawei's AppGallery, which the company says has over 45,000 apps. That sounds like a lot, but I could count the useful apps in the AppGallery on one hand.

There's no Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Netflix, Disney Plus or Reddit. You won't find Google apps, like Gmail, Maps or YouTube. (You can log into Gmail through Huawei's native email app, though.) Even if you do install Google apps by downloading their APKs -- the Android equivalent of Windows' .exe files -- they won't work without authentication from Google Mobile Services. Uber doesn't work either, since the ride-sharing app runs Google Maps. Losing Google's suite of apps is devastating; losing almost every useful app in the Google Play Store is debilitating. 

Huawei's AppGallery has over 45,000 apps. You'll find few of them useful.

Ian Knighton/CNET

Of all the apps I download onto every new phone, only one was available: Spotify. When I tried to find Spotify in the AppGallery a week later, however, it appeared to have been pulled. TikTok (which is owned by Chinese company Bytedance) was available at first, then disappeared and then appeared again. 

To get around the software obstructions I downloaded APKs from assorted websites. It was a dodgy process, and worked inconsistently. Some apps ran fine, others crashed after a few moments and others still didn't work at all.

It was a total mess.

Huawei Mate 30 Pro's camera credentials

If Huawei phones have been known for one thing, it's cameras. Huawei beat competitors to the punch with dual-lens cameras (P9), a dedicated Night Mode (P20 Pro) and 5x optical zoom (P30 Pro). Photography is undoubtedly the Mate 30 Pro's greatest strength.

The phone has a fantastic quad-camera setup. The main shooter has 40 megapixels. Then there's an 8-megapixel telephoto lens, which has a 3x optical zoom and 30x digital zoom; a 40-megapixel ultrawide-angle lens; and there's a 3D "time-of-flight" sensor that helps with depth perception.

The Mate 30 Pro has less zoom capability than Huawei's current flagship the P30 Pro, which has 5x optical and 50x digital. But it has a bigger, better ultrawide-angle sensor over the P30 Pro. This is a worthwhile trade, because I find ultrawide-angle capability much more useful than better zoom functionality. 

Some Portrait shots give the subject brushed, lightened skin.

Daniel Van Boom/CNET

Others work better.

Daniel Van Boom/CNET

The Mate 30 Pro's quad-camera setup generally captures crisp, vibrant shots. 

Daniel Van Boom/CNET

See that fountain all the way in the back? 

Daniel Van Boom/CNET

Here it is, shot with 30x zoom. 

Daniel Van Boom/CNET

Photography isn't perfect. Thanks to heavy software processing, skin can look artificially brushed in Portrait shots. This processing also makes Night Mode superfluous: Low-light shots capture an impressive amount of light, and toggling on Night Mode often results in overkill. I didn't have the option to shoot a dark photo even when I wanted to because the scene is brightened with software by default. 

But despite these issues, the Mate 30 Pro has one of the best camera setups on any Android phone. Photos generally look spectacular, with rich color and crisp detail. 

And Huawei packed in another innovative trick, but this time for the video camera. The Mate 30 Pro features stupefying slow-motion capabilities. There are four options: 4x, 8x, 32x, 64x and an astonishing 256x. That 256x option uses AI software to slow things down to 7,680 frames per second. 

Slow-motion cameras need more light, so you'll need a reasonably bright environment to take advantage of ultra-slow-mo. And since 256x slow motion makes 25 seconds out of one-tenth of a second, you'll need good timing to shoot the split second you want in slow-mo. But I found the feature super fun to play around with. It makes something as little as a water splash look spectacular. 

Good parts, bad phone

In regards to hardware, the Mate 30 Pro is luxurious in every aspect.

Its 6.53-inch, 2,400x1,176x-pixel screen is beautiful, bright and crisp. Its OLED screen is a waterfall display, meaning it wraps around the side of the phone all the way to the aluminum back. Videos and browsing were a joy, and the glass body felt more luxe to hold than aluminum. The downside is that there are no volume buttons, so I had to tap the side of the display to activate an on-screen volume slider instead. This generally works OK, but makes quick volume changes more cumbersome than they need be.

Powered by Huawei's own Kirin 990 processor and 8GB of RAM, the Android heavyweight felt silky smooth to use. But where the Mate 30 Pro really shines is battery life. Running it through CNET's battery test -- turning the phone on Airplane mode and looping an HD video -- it lasted 24 hours, 12 minutes. That's crazy. 

The best phone you shouldn't buy.

Ian Knighton/CNET

I wish I could say that the Kirin 990 CPU also scored well on Geekbench 5, a benchmark we run to test a processor's efficiency. Saying it performed well would be a safe bet but, after downloading the APK for Geekbench 5 from four different sites, the app never worked. I could try searching for more Geekbench APKs, but I think this anecdote is an apt encapsulation of the Huawei Mate 30 Pro.

It's a beautiful device with powerful parts and a sublime camera. But its software situation is a disaster. Don't buy this phone. 

Originally published Dec. 17.
Update, Dec. 28: Adds video review, comparison to iPhone 11 Pro camera.

Huawei Mate 30 Pro

	Huawei Mate 30 Pro	Google Pixel 4 XL	Samsung Galaxy Note 10	OnePlus 7T	iPhone 11 Pro
Display size, resolution	6.53-inch OLED	6.3-inch OLED	6.3-inch AMOLED; 2,280x1,080 pixels	6.55-inch AMOLED; 2,400x1,080-pixels	5.8-inch OLED Super Retina XDR; 2,436x1,125 pixels
Pixel density	409ppi	537ppi	401ppi	402ppi	458ppi
Dimensions (Inches)	6.22 x 2.88 x 0.35 in	2.9x6.3x0.3 in	5.94x2.83x0.31 in	6.34x2.93x0.32 in	5.67x2.81x0.32 in
Dimensions (Millimeters)	158.1x73.1x8.8 mm	75.1x160.4x8.2 mm	151x71.8x7.9 mm	160.94x74.44x8.13 mm	144x71.4x8.1 mm
Weight (Ounces, Grams)	6.98 oz; 198g	6.8 oz; 193g	5.93 oz; 168g	6.70 oz; 190g	6.63 oz; 188g
Mobile software	Android 10 with EMUI	Android 10	Android 9 Pie	Android 10 with OxygenOS	iOS 13
Camera	40 megapixel (standard), 8 megapixel (telephoto), 40 megapixel (ultrawide-angle), 3D ToF sensor	12.2-megapixel (standard), 16-megapixel (telephoto)	12-megapixel (wide-angle), 16-megapixel (ultra-wide angle), 12-megapixel (telephoto)	48-megapixel (standard), 12-megapixel (telephoto), 16-megapixel (ultra wide-angle)	12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide), 12-megapixel (telephoto)
Front-facing camera	32 megapixel, 3D ToF sensor	8-megapixel	10-megapixel	16-megapixel	12-megapixel
Video capture	4K	4K	4K	4K	4K
Processor	Kirin 990	2.84GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855	Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, or Samsung Exynos 9825	2.96GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+	Apple A13 Bionic
Storage	128GB, 256GB	64GB, 128GB	256GB	128GB	64GB, 256GB, 512GB
RAM	8GB	6GB	8GB	8GB	Not disclosed
Expandable storage	Up to 256GB	No	No	No	No
Battery	4,500-mAh	3,700-mAh	3,500-mAh	3,800-mAh	Not disclosed, but Apple claims it will last 4 hours longer than iPhone XS
Fingerprint sensor	In-screen	No	In-screen	In-screen	No
Connector	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C	Lightning
Headphone jack	No	No	No	No	No
Special features	Up to 256x slow motion; wireless charging; reverse charging; IP68 resistance; dual-SIM; waterfall display	Soli motion sensing and touchless gestures; 90Hz display; water resistant (IP68); dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); wireless charging	S Pen stylus; Wireless PowerShare; hole punch screen notch; water resistant (IP68)	90Hz display; dual-SIM; Warp Charge 30T	Water resistant (IP68); dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); wireless charging
Price off-contract (USD)	Converted: About $1,100	$899 (64GB), $999 (128GB)	$949	$599	$999 (64GB), $1,149 (256GB), $1,349 (512GB)
Price (GBP)	Converted: About £830	£829 (64GB), £929 (128GB)	£899	Converted: About £485	£1,049 (64GB), £1,199 (256GB), £1,399 (512GB)
Price (AUD)	AU$1,599	AU$1,279 (64GB), AU$1,429 (128GB)	AU$1,499	Converted: About AU$890	AU$1,749 (64GB), AU$1,999 (256GB), AU$2,349 (512GB)

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The race to build AR glasses is heating up, and Samsung is surprisingly quiet

The race to build AR glasses is heating up, and Samsung is surprisingly quiet

It's only January, but 2022 is already shaping up to be a big year for augmented and virtual reality. It was one of the most prevalent themes at CES, which featured AR and VR announcements from Sony, Microsoft and Qualcomm (among others). Apple is also rumored to finally make its anticipated move into the smart headset space this or next year.

Yet, one company has been unusually quiet on the AR and VR front in recent years: Samsung. 

The South Korean tech giant made a name for itself early on primarily through its line of Gear VR smartphone-based headsets, which launched in 2014. But companies like Meta, Microsoft and Snap have made bigger strides in the past couple of years. 

Samsung has a reputation for experimenting with new technologies early and often, typically before other major competitors like Apple. Its decision to enter the Android smartphone market early -- more than a decade ago -- also helped it become the world's largest mobile device maker in terms of market share. That makes Samsung's relative absence from the smart glasses discourse all the more puzzling. 

Smart glasses and VR are moving forward... without Samsung

Meta's (former Facebook) Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses.

Scott Stein/CNET

Although it will likely be a long time before smart glasses become useful enough to earn a place in our everyday lives, the industry seems eager to get there. This year kicked off with a slew of announcements at CES, which included a partnership between Microsoft and Qualcomm to make custom chips for AR glasses and a glasses concept from TCL that look like an evolved version of Google Glass. Sony also teased the second-generation PlayStation VR, although it didn't reveal a price or launch date.

We also saw some pretty significant developments in the AR and VR space throughout 2021, perhaps the biggest of which was Facebook's rebranding as Meta. The change reflects its larger goal to expand beyond social networking and focus on building the "metaverse," a blanket term for digital communities which also encompasses AR and VR.

Meta announced its Project Nazaré concept AR smart glasses last year, too, and released its first pair of connected spectacles: Ray-Ban Stories. Those shades don't have AR functionality and are designed primarily for taking hands-free photos, but they could still be a step toward future smart glasses. 

Meta is also currently leading the VR market thanks to its popular Oculus VR line. The company accounts for almost 75% of the market for AR and VR headsets, according to the International Data Corporation.

Snapchat parent Snap also debuted in 2021 its first wireless AR spectacles, which can display 3D effects over real surroundings and track hand movements. These glasses aren't available for the general public without an application and are primarily aimed at developers. But Snap has already released three generations of its photo-taking Snapchat Spectacles, a signal that it's serious about wearable tech.

Microsoft, meanwhile, was one of the early players in the AR and VR market with its first HoloLens AR headset back in 2015. It launched the second-generation model in 2019 and added 5G support in 2020.

Apple hasn't released VR or AR eyewear yet, but rumors that it could launch a headset this year are already making waves. The iPhone maker is expected to announce an AR and VR-capable headset mostly geared towards developers in 2022, which could lay the groundwork for a more ambitious pair of consumer-friendly AR glasses in the future, according to Bloomberg. But Apple may delay the headset's debut by several months because of development issues, possibly pushing it to 2023, according to a more recent Bloomberg report. 

While we don't know when or if we'll ever see an Apple AR headset, CEO Tim Cook has been vocal about his enthusiasm for augmented reality. He told journalist Kara Swisher in April 2021 that he's seeing AR "take off" when used with phones and that the technology is critical to the company's future. The company has long offered tools for developers to build better AR apps for the iPhone in its ARKit platform, but it recently started building depth-sensing Lidar sensors into certain iPhone and iPad Pro models, too.

Snapchat's AR Spectacles are compact, but they're entirely developer-focused and have a very short battery life.

Scott Stein/CNET

Samsung, meanwhile, hasn't released a new version of its Gear VR headset since 2017. But that doesn't mean it's been completely quiet; the company is seemingly focusing on different executions of AR. At CES 2022, for example, one Samsung concept showed how AR could be incorporated into a car's windshield to display the weather, tire pressure levels, maps and other information. The company also worked with the 3D avatar and social app Zepeto to create a virtual home filled with its products during CES, an effort to prove it's paying attention to the metaverse hype.

Meanwhile, an older Samsung concept from CES 2020 involved pairing AR glasses with an exoskeleton to provide virtual workout experiences. And back in 2017, it showcased a computer glasses concept called Monitorless at Mobile World Congress.

Still, it's been a while since Samsung has made announcements around concrete AR or VR products, while companies like Meta and Snap are moving full steam ahead. But that doesn't mean Samsung isn't thinking about it. Two leaked videos from 2021 suggested Samsung is working on a pair of AR glasses that could project a giant screen before your eyes or place 3D virtual objects in your surroundings.

Samsung said its research team "continues to develop related core technologies for smart devices including AR glasses, next-generation wearables and more" when CNET asked about its plans for AR and VR products. The company also pointed to the website for Samsung's research division, which mentions AR glasses specifically and discusses the technology's potential benefits and industrywide challenges.

"AR glasses are expected by many experts as a next-generation IT device because they have the advantages of large-screen immersiveness compared to smartphones, unfettered freedom of not having to hold it, immediacy of not having to take it out of one's pocket, and a truly private display," Samsung Research's website reads. 

Being early has worked to Samsung's advantage

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 has nearly all the refinements you could ask for but still feel like it's missing a purpose.

Patrick Holland/CNET

Samsung isn't usually one to sit on the sidelines when it comes to emerging technologies. It launched its first modern smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear, back in 2013 when the industry was still new and wearables were scarce. Apple didn't launch the first-generation Apple Watch until 2015, by comparison.

The story is similar for other technologies like curved screens and foldable smartphones. Samsung announced the Galaxy Round in 2013, which had dramatic curves along its sides, long before it integrated rounded edges into its more recent Galaxy phones. 

Samsung was also among the first major companies to release a smartphone with a foldable screen in 2019 with the Galaxy Z Fold, a phone that's already on its third generation. Years before we had the Galaxy Z Fold or Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung also showcased its flexible display technology prototypes during events. It's still cranking out new concepts, as we saw at CES 2022. 

The rest of the industry hasn't quite caught up with Samsung when it comes to foldable phones. Motorola, for example, has launched two versions of its foldable Razr, the last of which debuted in 2020, while Samsung has already released several foldables. Huawei, another early front-runner in the foldable space, only sells its flexible Mate X2 phone in China. Samsung, meanwhile, said it sold four times as many foldable phones in 2021 as it did in 2020.

Being early is a strategy that's paid off for Samsung in the broader smartphone space beyond foldables and in the smartwatch market. Samsung is the global leader in smartphone shipments, according to Counterpoint Research, and the second-largest player in the wearable device market, says the International Data Corporation. 

Showing up early has also given Samsung the flexibility to experiment, see what customers respond to and incorporate that feedback into future products. Take the Galaxy Round, Samsung's curved screen phone from 2013, as an example. That phone never caught on, but maybe it wasn't supposed to. 

Instead, the Galaxy Round helped pave the way for Samsung's later phone designs with more subtle curves, like the Galaxy S10 series. Samsung's early bet on larger-screened smartphones with the original Galaxy Note in 2011 not only influenced its own direction, but also helped usher in an industry-wide shift to bigger phones. And who knows if we would have the Galaxy Watch 4 without the original Galaxy Gear, which was deemed clunky and expensive nearly 10 years ago. 

Smart glasses still face many challenges

Amazon is also trying its hand at smart glasses with the Echo Frames, which provide hands-free Alexa access. 

James Martin/CNET

That we haven't heard much from Samsung on the smart glasses front makes me wonder if it'll skip that experimental phase and keep its earlier iterations behind closed doors. Of course, that's if Samsung is working on smart glasses at all, which is a big assumption. 

And more broadly, smart glasses face challenges that must be solved before they can become as mainstream as smartphones or smartwatches. Those include improving battery life, phone compatibility and working easily with eyeglass prescriptions. 

Does Samsung want to risk entering the market early, or wait out what could be a years-long process? Or could they launch simpler glasses in the meantime, similar to audio glasses from Amazon and Bose? Samsung is clearly thinking about some of these questions, as it says on its research website. What we don't know is when those efforts will materialize into a real product, if at all.

Who knows how long Samsung can afford to wait when companies like Meta and Microsoft are pushing forward. Those tech giants missed out on the smartphone boom for the most part and are seemingly determined to prevent the smart glasses market from becoming yet another two-horse race between Apple and Samsung. But the AR glasses landscape is still conspicuously missing some of the biggest players in the consumer tech space -- Samsung being one of them -- and that absence looms large.

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