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WhatsApp will let you move chat history between iOS and Android
WhatsApp will let you move chat history between iOS and Android
WhatsApp users will soon be able to move their chat history between iOS and Android devices if they decide to switch mobile operating systems.
The announcement came during Wednesday's Samsung Unpacked event. Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp at Facebook, also posted about the feature in a tweet: "Want to securely take your WhatsApp history from one platform to another? We're working to make this possible starting with @SamsungMobile devices, and it's coming to @Android and iOS phones soon."
The messaging platform plans to keep users' chat history secure with end-to-end encryption, according to a WhatsApp spokesperson. Users will be able to move photos and voice messages between platforms, too. The feature will be launched on Android and the new Samsung Galaxy phones first.
The ability to move your chat history is just the latest new feature in WhatsApp. Earlier this year, the app unveiled a new Shops feature, to let customers ask businesses questions before buying, and View Once, to show photos and videos one time before they disappear, similar to Snapchat's disappearing messages.
Add these 19 things to your travel checklist before leaving the house add these 19 things to your travel checklist before death add these 19 things to your travel agency add 19 to the difference between 70 and 56 add 1952 plus 50 years add these 10 in demand add these figures add these fortnite bots add these minutes
Add These 19 Things to Your Travel Checklist Before Leaving on a Trip
Add These 19 Things to Your Travel Checklist Before Leaving on a Trip
This story is part of Home Tips, CNET's collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.
As you count down the days to your end-of-summer trip, you might find your pre-vacation giddiness is actually overshadowed by stress. There's a heap of chores to manage before traveling: After you arrange your time out of office, you'll have to prep your home for your absence and make sure it's secure. Then there's figuring out what to pack, not to mention fitting it all into your suitcase.
But all those tricky logistics are so much easier to tackle once you've put together a comprehensive set of to-dos, along with a smart packing list.
The tips below will make your vacation a walk in the park. Or, preferably, a walk on the beach.
Packing list essentials most people don't think about
A few small additions to your suitcase can minimize hassle and maximize comfort when you're traveling. Here are some essentials you probably already have in your home. (If you're interested in bringing your computer or tablet on your trip, be sure to also check our list of must-have travel gadgets.)
1. Pack a reusable water bottle
With heat waves happening now, this one is a must — especially if you're not staying in an environment where free water is easily accessible. A hydration bladder (a pouch that fits in your backpack and sends water to your mouth via a long tube) is a handy option for more hiking-oriented trips, though keep in mind it's a little more complicated to clean. Either way, you need some sort of reusable vessel to keep you hydrated consistently. Otherwise you'll have to rely on buying water bottles, which is expensive in tourist hubs and not always feasible in more rural areas. Here's a list of our favorite water bottles for 2022. If your destination's tap water isn't drinkable, try a water bottle with a built-in filter.
Hydrate or diedrate.
Paige Thies
2. Bring dryer sheets
Ironically, they're bad for your dryer. But dryer sheets will do wonders for your foul-smelling shoes. Bunch them up and stick them inside (or, for sandals, on top of the footbeds) before you go to bed. This will alleviate the stench that will inevitably accumulate after days of walking. Dryer sheets can also get rid of deodorant stains on clothes and flatten down your hair's flyaways. (Here are 20 unexpected ways that dryer sheets can come in handy.)
Pack plastic shopping bags to keep dirty clothes from muddying up your clean ones.
mrs/Getty
3. Don't forget plastic bags
Nothing fancy, just the disposable grocery bags you stuffed in the back of your pantry. While they're not the most luxurious of travel take-alongs, plastic bags prove their usefulness in a number of situations. You can fold and stuff your already-worn outfits into plastic bags to partition dirty laundry from the rest of your suitcase and keep it from stinking up the rest of your clothes. They can also offer some temporary storage for wet swimsuits and grubby shoes. Plus, if there's any chance you'll be grocery shopping on your trip, you can reuse those plastic shopping bags in countries that ban stores from providing them or require stores to charge extra for them.
Packing tips to fit more and travel easier
Once you've determined what to pack, next comes figuring out how to pack. Whether you're trying to squeeze your belongings into a compact carry-on or you're filling up a roomier suitcase you plan to check at the airport, packing strategically can maximize space in your luggage and make it easier to access the things you need most.
4. Fold, roll and cube your clothes
Every traveler has their preferred method of packing clothes: Some fold their garments, others roll them into logs and still others flatten them into packing cubes. We recommend mixing these three strategies. Fold your more structured, bulky clothes: jeans, trousers, formal dresses and button-downs. Then roll up the rest of your garments and stuff them into the remaining gaps in your suitcase. For some extra flattening down, squeeze some of those rolled clothes into packing cubes.
Fold or roll? It depends on the garment you're dealing with.
Sellwell/Getty
5. Prepare for TSA
To bring a carry-on through security, you'll need easy access to your electronics and liquids so you can place them on the conveyor belt.Stick them in the top layer or outer pocket of your suitcase (or your allotted personal item). Otherwise, you'll have to jumble your perfect packing as you dig around for your laptop, stalling the line behind you in the process.
6. Put the most important things in your carry-on
When you check your luggage, you run the risk of losing it. That's why your carry-on or personal item is the optimal place for the essentials that would be most difficult to replace: your wallet, contact lenses, glasses, medication, electronics or anything you would hate to be stuck without for a few days.
7. Track your bags
To give your luggage some extra protection from loss and theft, outfit both your carry-on and checked bag with tracking devices, like Tiles or Apple AirTags. Knowing your suitcases' exact location will certainly save you some headaches if something goes awry: AirTags enabled Ross Feinstein, of CNET's sibling site The Points Guy, to find his missing bag and board a connecting flight on time.
8. Leave luggage wiggle room if necessary
Is there a chance you'll hit the shops or bring back some souvenirs? As you're loading up your luggage, take into account any extra space you might need on the way back. You don't want to end up in a situation in which you've bought, say, a fabulous pair of pants at your destination, but your suitcase is so stuffed you have to consider sacrificing some other belongings in order to make them fit. (True story.)
Pre-vacation home checklist
Handling some quick chores before you leave will help ensure that you'll come back to find your home just as you left it. Check out our full list of pre-vacation household tasks.
It's important to unplug your appliances while you're gone because some of them drain electricity even when they're turned off.
Sarah Tew/CNET
9. Unplug your electronics
This will lower your energy bill and reduce the risk of electrical fires. Before you depart, unplug your appliances, lamps, chargers, routers, computers and TVs.
10. Lock your windows
In addition to triple-checking all your doors, make sure you secure your windows, the next easiest entry point for thieves. Better yet, a smart lock can alert you when a window is unlocked and allow you to lock it remotely.
11. Put timers on your lights
To make it look like you're home, plug light timers into your outlets or install a remotely controllable smart bulb. Set your indoor lights to turn on and off as they normally would, and set your outdoor lights to turn on at night.
12. Keep your plants alive while you're away
Don't doom them to wither in your absence. You can fashion a drip system out of a plastic water bottle by filling it with water, drilling some holes toward the top, turning it over and tucking it into the soil deep enough that the holes are covered. For big pots, water-filled wine bottles work well. (There's no need to drill any extra drainage holes: Just leave the bottle open.) For more ideas, check out our guide to helping your plants thrive while you're away.
With this plant-friendly hack, there's no need to spend money on watering globes.
Chris Parker/CNET
13. Stay cool
It's possible to keep the summer heat out of your home without running up your electric bill. Close your shades if you're in a sunny area, and run a dehumidifier if your local weather calls for it. Set your thermostat 5 degrees higher than you normally keep it, or get a smart thermostat that you can set to vacation mode.
Figure out how your phone will work abroad
If you keep your phone's default settings while traveling abroad, it won't work the same way. At least, not without your provider slapping hefty international charges onto your phone bill.
14. Sort out your SIM situation
To get the full range of calling, SMS texting and data, you'll need to get another SIM card that's supported abroad. Some newer phones have eSIM technology that lets you do this digitally, but many still require you to physically remove your SIM card and replace it with another.
With eSIM support becoming increasingly common with newer phones, physical cards will soon be a thing of the past.
Jason Cipriani/CNET
15. Know where to get a SIM if necessary
International airports typically have counters or self-serve kiosks where you can buy prepaid local SIM cards once you get to your destination. But if you'd rather figure it out in advance and have service right as your plane touches down, CNET has previously recommended KnowRoaming, which now offers eSIMs.
16. Let your contacts know what's happening
With a new phone number comes potential snafus you'll want to anticipate. If you don't want to deal with texting your contacts from a number they won't recognize, let them know you'll be going abroad and tell them to reach you on apps like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, which just use data.
17. Work around two-factor authentication obstacles
You might need to access services or accounts that require two-factor authentication to log in. Before you go, make sure the authentication method is set to email instead of your phone number.
Stash money safely while traveling
Your mind is often in a million places at once as you're traveling, so it's all too easy to let your guard down and lose track of your money. With a bit of planning ahead, you can dramatically reduce the likelihood of your funds getting lost or pickpocketed.
18. Don't be an easy target
Stuff your cash in a money belt or fanny pack, which makes it far more difficult to steal than a tote or the outer pocket of a backpack.
Fanny packs and money belts keep your money easily accessible (but not to pickpockets).
grandriver/Getty Images
19. Hide your money
Avoid putting all your eggs in one basket... or all your funds in one place. Stick an extra card in your carry-on or some small bills in a second wallet. That way, if you lose one bag or wallet, you're not stuck penniless. (Just make sure you remember all your hiding places; maybe keep track of them in a password-protected note on your phone.)
Looking for more travel tips ahead of your next vacation? These features on Google Maps and Google Flights will help you save money and find your way around. Here are seven gadgets we recommend packing, along with our staff's favorite carry-on luggage. Plus, elevate your travel photography with these 12 pro tips.
Vivo X50 Pro review: A solid all-rounder for camera lovers
Vivo X50 Pro review: A solid all-rounder for camera lovers
The Vivo X50 Pro is a midrange phone on the higher end of that spectrum and has many of the trappings of an enticing flagship. Starting at approximately $670, you get a crystalline screen, 5G, a powerful battery, a speedy display and fast charging. But the phone also has a camera feature that undeniably distinguishes it from its rivals. The X50 Pro is the world's first mass-produced phone with a built-in gimbal camera system that allows you to capture smooth, fast-action video with the click of a button. Out of Vivo's trio of X50 handsets -- which the Chinese phone-maker is marketing as a professional photography flagship -- the X50 Pro is the only one to boast this futuristic feature. But Vivo did make a few compromises. For instance, it lacks stereo speakers (a big drawback for music lovers like myself) and it isn't water resistant, which many phones of this class are. It also has a midrange processor (Snapdragon 765G) instead of the most adva nced chipset available.
If you're not fussed about shooting action video, you're better off buying Vivo's base X50 or the OnePlus Nord. Both have comparable specs but don't charge a premium for advanced video gimbals and hardware. The X50 and Nord feature a quad-camera system led by a 48-megapixel shooter, the same chipset and a fast display, but are nearly $100 to $200 cheaper respectively. But if being splash-proof is important to you, consider the iPhone 11 ($500 at Best Buy).
Vivo doesn't currently have plans to officially release the phone in the US. But X50 phones have been released in parts of Asia and Europe, so they'll be reasonably easy to import. Pricing also varies based on country with prices trending higher in Western countries. In India, the base variant (with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage) starts at 49,990 rupees (approximately $670, £510 or AU$930), while in Eastern Europe it starts at the equivalent of $780.
Vivo's X50 Pro features a 6.5-inch AMOLED display.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
The X50 Pro's gimbal camera delivers
The X50 Pro has multiple rear cameras. The entire setup uses a gimbal-like system and a combination of optical image stabilization and electronic image stabilization to produce incredibly stable video. Vivo says its gimbal system reduces shakiness by up to three times compared to traditional stabilization technology, thanks to a "double ball structure" that allows it to rotate on three axes.
I captured a bunch of video in different lighting conditions to see how well the X50 Pro stacked up against another phone known for its video-camera prowess, the iPhone 11 Pro Max. In short, the X50 Pro performed very well. When I recorded video while walking in daylight and panning the cameras from side to side, I didn't see much of a difference between the two phones. Both captured stable footage without any obvious jerkiness.
The differences were noticeable, however, when running, especially in darker conditions. Although the X50 Pro's output was steady and seamless, there were several times when the camera went out of focus and blurred slightly.The iPhone 11 Pro Max's footage, on the other hand, always remained in focus but was extremely shaky. In the end, I preferred video from the X50 Pro because it was easier for me to watch stable video with occasional blurs rather than jerky footage. Apart from video, another use-case for the gimbal system is taking photos while zooming. I was able to more easily capture some great photos zoomed in because of the stability it provided.
Bottom line: The X50 Pro's gimbal-style camera is impressive and generally delivers what it promises. But it cannot replace a full-sized gimbal -- it is built into a phone after all. And while its technology is unique, its videos aren't earth-shatteringly better than, say, what you get on the pricier iPhone 11 Pro Max.
The X50 Pro's design is slender and classic
Though its design isn't wholly unique, the Vivo's X50 Pro is still a sleek phone with a classic aesthetic. I prefer designs like this because they're more enduring rather than envelope-pushing trends that seem to fade away (remember pop-up selfie cameras?). The X50 Pro has a spacious 6.56-inch curved display with a discreet hole-punch selfie camera. On the back there's a larger than average rectangular protrusion that's home to a rear quad-camera module and the phone's headline gimbal feature.
The X50 Pro comes in gray, which I love. Its subtle sheen adds to the phone's premium look. Overall the X50 Pro is neither heavy or exceptionally lightweight, but it is relatively slim, which allows me to type out emails and messages using one hand.
The X50 Pro's screen has a higher 90Hz refresh rate than most phones, which have 60Hz displays. It offers a silky smooth experience, which I really like, though it's not as high as the 120Hz screens on the OnePlus 8 Pro and Galaxy S20.
Vivo's rear camera setup is headlined by a 48-megapixel shooter.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
The X50 Pro's multiple cameras have range
In addition to the phone's main 48-megapixel sensor, there are two telephoto shooters and an 8-megapixel ultrawide-angle lens. These multiple cameras offer plenty of variety and range in terms of photographic possibilities, which I really appreciate. For example, the ultrawide camera has a 120-degree field of view, while the periscope zoom camera can zoom in on an object up to 60x.
In general, the X50 Pro captured crisp and vibrant photos that captured my surroundings wonderfully and with accurate colors. But in certain lighting conditions, during sunset for example, photos were more saturated and punched-up in the X50 Pro than the iPhone 11 Pro. Whichever photo you prefer is likely a matter of personal preference, but you can see the difference for yourself in the photos below. Keep in mind that the monitor you're viewing these pictures on has an affect as well.
The Vivo X50 Pro captured a fiery yellow-orange sunset (left), while the photograph taken by the iPhone XS Max (right) was more true to life.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
This photo was taken indoors with the default lens. As you can see, there was natural light pouring through the windows and it wasn't the easiest lighting conditions for the camera to work with, but the image came out well.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
This image was taken using the default shooter and is more saturated in the photo than it was in real life.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
This image was taken at night using the camera's dedicated Night Mode setting.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
The phone's 60x zoom, known as "Hyper Zoom," doesn't close in as intimately as the Galaxy S20 Ultra's 100x "Space Zoom," but I was still blown away by the sheer power of it. Photos were blurry, but they still retained detail that I couldn't see with my own eyes. And when I didn't need to zoom that far, I was also able to take sharp and detailed images at 5x optical zoom, which few phones have.
Vivo's X50 Pro has range. Using its 60x hyper zoom, I was able to zoom into the sign on the hotel on the opposite side of the harbor. I couldn't see the sign with my naked eye and did not know it existed till I zoomed in with the phone.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
This image was taken on default settings (1x).
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
Zooming in 5x.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
Zooming in 10x.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
The four zoom modes side by side.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
The phone's ultrawide lens captured sprawling landscapes and sunsets. Colors, however, weren't as true to life as they appeared when I took pictures with the X50 Pro's other lenses in most lighting conditions. For some reason, blues were darker on images taken with the ultrawide lens. This isn't a major flaw, but color accuracy is super important to photographers, and they're who Vivo is actively courting with this phone.
X50 Pro's software features and UI
The X50 Pro runs FunTouch OS 10.5 on top of Android 10. It's a clean interface that's easy to use. There was some bloatware, but most of it could be turned off and it didn't bother me much. The X50 Pro also comes with dark mode, an always-on display option and an app drawer. It also has circular icons, which I prefer to the rigidness of square ones.
Like most Android 10 phones, you'll use swiping gesture controls to navigate through the phone. But the phone does have some unintuitive controls of its own. In the early days of my reviewing the X50 Pro, for example, I accidentally hung up on a bunch of incoming calls. That's because to answer a call you need to swipe down as opposed to up, which is the more common direction on Android phones.
X50 Pro battery and performance
The X50 Pro's battery comfortably lasted me throughout the day with mild usage. That means I used it for light gameplay, reading the news on various apps, answering emails, scanning my social media account and chatting with loved ones on WhatsApp. When I continuously played an HD video on Airplane mode for battery tests, the phone lasted 15 hours, 22 minutes at 50% brightness.
When it did eventually run out of juice, it took the phone between 52 to 73 minutes to reach a full charge using the bundled 33-watt flash charger (during the three times that I tested it). That's a pretty good time -- most premium phones take about 90 minutes to fully charge. By comparison, Apple says the fast charger that comes with its iPhone 11 Pro can hit a 50% charge in 30 minutes. Fast charging is super handy, especially for those occasions when I'm about to leave my apartment and I realize my phone is almost dead.
The phone's Snapdragon 765G processor (the G stands for gaming BTW) is a lower-cost option for phone-makers to equip their phones with 5G. It isn't as powerful as the Snapdragon 865 chipset (as seen in the OnePlus 8 Pro and the Galaxy S20 line), but the 765G provided more than enough power for all my processing needs. The X50 Pro stacked up well in benchmark tests against other phones equipped with the same chip like the OnePlus Nord and LG Velvet. And when I played more demanding, graphics-intensive games such as PUBG, I didn't notice any lags or stuttering. The gaming experience was immersive and graphics were crisp.
Encrypted messages don t always stay private here s what i think in text encrypted messages don t always stay private here s what a 2 million retirement encrypted messages don t always stay private here synonyms encrypted messages don t always stay private here s your sign bill engvall encrypted messages don t always stay private keep encrypted messages don t always stay private app encrypted messages don t download encrypted messages don t send encrypted messages meaning encrypted messages video for students
Encrypted messages don't always stay private. Here's what that means for you
Encrypted messages don't always stay private. Here's what that means for you
As a group of alleged conspirators recently learned, encrypted messaging isn't a guarantee that your private conversations will stay between you and the recipient. The FBI arrested six men on Thursday for allegedly plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. How did the feds get the information they needed? They read the group's encrypted conversations.
To be clear, accessing the communications wasn't a highly technical effort. The FBI had a confidential informant who participated in the group message threads in which much of the conspiracy was laid out, according to a criminal complaint. That kept the FBI in the loop even when the group changed messaging apps to avoid detection.
"Because the group still included [the informant], the FBI has maintained the ability to consensually monitor the chat communications," FBI special agent Richard J. Trask II said in the complaint.
The incident underscores a basic fact about encrypted messaging apps, like Signal, Telegram and WhatsApp. While they all offer a layer of privacy, there are plenty of ways for someone to access your messages from these services.
That's good news and bad news. On the bright side, it means criminals plotting violence can't rely completely on encrypted messaging services to hide their plans from the police. While law enforcement has warned that encryption threatens to make their investigations into the worst criminals "go dark," this case is one example of how investigators can continue to read messages sent with encrypted services.
On the other hand, it means regular users who want to protect their data from hackers, creeps and foreign governments need to rethink what encrypted messaging really does for them. It isn't a magic wand. Here's what you should know about what encryption does -- and doesn't do -- to protect your privacy.
How does encrypted messaging work?
It's OK, most people don't have a handle on just what encrypted messaging apps like Signal, Telegram and Facebook-owned WhatsApp do. They look and act like regular text messaging tools. But behind the scenes, the services scramble up your messages as they travel across cellular communications systems and the internet to get to the intended recipient's phone.
That means no one involved in sending the message -- including the encrypted messaging service -- can read your messages. Regular SMS messaging is sent in plaintext and doesn't have this layer of protection, so your SMS messages are vulnerable to interception at multiple points as they travel from your phone to the recipient's device.
Is my phone encrypted, too?
If you use an iPhone, the data on your phone is encrypted when the device is locked. On Android phones, users have to enable disk encryption themselves. Device encryption will protect your messages as long as the phone is locked.
Apple describes this form of encryption as essential to users' privacy. For one thing, it protects all the personal data on your phone if it gets stolen. Think private messages and photos, as well as access to your email account and financial information.
Like encrypted messaging, device encryption has been a sore subject with law enforcement. The FBI tried to get a court order in 2016 to force Apple to help it access encrypted messages on an iPhone used by an extremist shooter. After Apple refused, the agency was eventually able to access the data on the phone with another technique.
How can someone get my encrypted messages?
As the Michigan case shows, anyone you send a message can share it with a wider circle of people, regardless of whether it's sent on an encrypted service. The same goes for anyone who has the ability to unlock your phone, which disables device encryption. If you don't lock your device at all, anyone who gets your phone can access your messages.
Then there's hacking, which is used by law enforcement, as well as criminals and foreign governments, to target someone's phone with malicious software. Once the device is compromised, the malware can read messages on the device just like someone looking over your shoulder to watch you type. These tools are sophisticated, can be very expensive, and require someone to target you specifically.
Another form of malware that can get your communications is called stalkerware. That's phone monitoring software that many people admit to using to spy on their partners or exes, and it usually requires the person to have access to your phone. There are steps you can take if you're worried your device has stalkerware.
Finally, there are your backups. Data on your cloud accounts might not be encrypted, and anyone who has the password could access your backed-up messages there. Some stalkerware works by accessing your phone's cloud backup. That's a great argument for using a unique, hard-to-guess password to protect your cloud accounts, and using a password manager.
Huawei Mate 30 Pro review: Sublime camera, disastrous software
Huawei Mate 30 Pro review: Sublime camera, disastrous software
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
