A week with Huawei Mate 30 Pro: is there life without Google services
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- AnonD-754814
- uNV
- 03 Feb 2020
Nick Tagataka, 03 Feb 2020I mostly agree with what the author says, except for this o... moreCan you please be more precise here ? I think what he meant is changing the core command to install the google service is risky. WHat did you mean ?
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- Tanase Adrian
- nDD
- 03 Feb 2020
the fact is simple:it takes 2 minutes literally to install gms,AND the big bonus is that get to install EXACTLY what you want,not have them all already install and then try and unistall or disable youtube, gmail etc.....frankly, lately i have come to appreciate the huawei/honor chinese versions, cause they have all the languages, unlike the xiaomi phones, and you can choose what google services to install, and not have all that crap working in the background, eating battery and resources for nothing!!
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- AnonD-754814
- uNV
- 03 Feb 2020
@GSMARENA @Yordan I like the way you wrote this article. I liked the way you categorize the Mate 30 consumers. That was great ! I also like the way you expressed all the details. In GSMARENA it's not really very common to see a post using great words and expressions with artistic merit.
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- Tanase Adrian
- nDD
- 03 Feb 2020
Anonymous, 03 Feb 2020Who cares anyway ? A lot of new flagships of 2020 are about... moreso what is wrong with a stretched fullhd resolution on a screen of that size?you think you will notice the difference between that and the mate 20 pro?and i will tell a secret:better to have one good speaker than 2 shitty ones!and i can confrim the one on the mate 30 pro is pretty damn good!
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- incredibleman
- gyt
- 03 Feb 2020
I'm using my Blackberry Q10 without any problem to connection people to phoning to work ing with mail, internet surfing, to chating etc. Without any google things. I'm pretty happy.
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- Nick Tagataka
- gRy
- 03 Feb 2020
I mostly agree with what the author says, except for this one sentence: " there is a way to get the full Google package on the phone, but that involces a bunch of security compromises so it too risky affair" - Google installer app for Huawei phones work in exactly the same way as Meizu's and Xiaomi's equivalent apps, they all use the companies' proprietary APIs to let the installers have the same level of authority as system apps temporarily and install the Google Framework into data partition.
This method has been used by a few major Chinese manufacturers for a long time now and so far there have been no reported case where those APIs have been used to exploited by malware to escalate privilege without user permission. The reason why the installer app got taken down was that if Huawei had let it exist it would've been against Google's policy (since companies aren't allowed to install GMS on their phones without a licence from Google), not because it posed a security risk.
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- Gerets
- 3k6
- 03 Feb 2020
Dat notch is offensive
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- big Sam
- ptA
- 03 Feb 2020
Anonymous, 03 Feb 2020I don't think people really understand what it means not ha... moregoogle services or china services collect all sensitive data, what difference? Facebook knew all your friends and google knew what you are buying or what commercial to show in your browser. Poor google company miss couple of million dollars from huawei - by the way excellent phone.
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- Anonymous
- KSu
- 03 Feb 2020
Anonymous, 03 Feb 2020I don't think people really understand what it means not ha... moreAll those apps not working if Google Play services isn't there can be fixed via lucky patcher.
Lucky patcher emulates play services running in background.
The problem is this works fine on custom Roms without Google services but Huawei locks bootloaders, hence no Root, so I doubt how efficiently Lucky patcher would work with Huawei. But the major apps like Netflix etc will support Huawei mobile services in their next updates.
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- Anonymous
- KSu
- 03 Feb 2020
YUKI93, 03 Feb 2020I've always wanted to see a mainstream deGoogled device, si... moreHuawei locks bootloaders, so no Custom ROM, no rooting.
- YUKI93
- KZK
- 03 Feb 2020
I've always wanted to see a mainstream deGoogled device, since custom ROMs like LineageOS and /e/ OS are suitable for geeks. And you know what? I'd be getting one soon.
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- The Last Oracle
- vIc
- 03 Feb 2020
Dometalican, 03 Feb 2020My perspective: if you can find alternatives to install via... moreI kind of understand your perspective and it's both brave and commendable because people want to think outside the Matrix of Apple and Google, which we are eerily locked into, for almost everything.
The problem is, quite frankly, much wider and greater.
In China, Facebook, Google search and all major services like Twitter, Instagram and all major American tech platforms are either banned or highly regulated. So Weibo, TikTok and others replace these, with great success. And Chinese consumers are ol with this, because its probably been happening almost since the start of the major platforms were created. So, they have no idea that a world outside this highly regulated and controlled ecosystem, even exists.
Apple tried doing away with google maps once, long ago, and after an Australian (?) couple and a few other users seriously lost their way, until Apple had to stop being stubborn, and give in.
The problem is that it's almost like a cartel. These same apps will not venture outside the safe space of iOS and Google Mobile Services. One, because of the great ecosystem, and two, because there is shadow banning and unfair trade practices done by these companies and the US administration. If they venture out, they will get banned or terribly limited on the Apple or Play store, meaning that it's the end of the App makers kr companies. They would probably also be banned outside the stores via funding or hosting or other services. So, the problem is much wider than one thinks.
If Behemoths like Amazon and Samsung haven't succeeded, there are little chances that Huawei will.
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- Anonymous
- 3Sf
- 03 Feb 2020
I would never buy a phone, on which I cannot use the applications I use frequently.
Even if it was the best in terms of performance, camera, battery, etc.
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- Anonymous
- Scq
- 03 Feb 2020
Whackcar, 03 Feb 2020As someone who has actually experienced the GMS-free life o... moreI don't think people really understand what it means not having google services, it's not just only those google apps, lot of apps have some google services in background in their apps. Just like for example netflix won't start because it needs google services, uber can't work because it uses google maps, and so on.
- Whackcar
- 6i$
- 03 Feb 2020
As someone who has actually experienced the GMS-free life on a different phone for an extensive period in the past (Amazon Fire Phone). I can tell you I was quite satisfied with the overall experience. Yes there were some minor annoyances, but nothing that made me replace the phone (It was a great phone, but I may be in the minority who felt that way).
Simply put. If you're addicted to the Google Ecosystem, then you probably won't be able to settle without GMS. If however you like to experiment with different things, and are quick to adapt to new ways of doing things, then you'll be fine without GMS.
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- Anonymous
- Scq
- 03 Feb 2020
"To no one's surprise, the Amazon App Store lacks Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, HBO, and any other leading streaming platform that isn't called Prime. The last episodes of BoJack Horseman were arriving on Friday, the last day of January and then it hit me:"
Even if you would have found Netflix, it wouldn't have worked. Mobile blogger in our country did this same test and he tried netflix and it gives you pop up window saying; it needs google play service. So it just doesn't work even if you find it.
Huawei is now in same situation were windows phone was, actually not, this is lot worse situation for consumers. I think outside of China Huawei is pretty much done if they can't reverse this ban.
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- Anonymous
- fvN
- 03 Feb 2020
kek, 03 Feb 2020Apptoide is like going to the black market to buy meat. You... moreAptoide is highly recommended in this case tbh.
There are apps section that are marked guaranteed which you can stick with it.
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- Anonymous
- S2T
- 03 Feb 2020
Who cares anyway ? A lot of new flagships of 2020 are about to launch..
Also a funny coincidence. A lot of Youtube reviews call the display Quad hd+. It is in fact just a stretched 1080 panel. An a significant downgrade from the Mate 20 Pro display. Also 1100 Euro for a so called flagship with mono speaker ?!?
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- Anonymous
- 0wY
- 03 Feb 2020
Hard to figure out from the article for a person not already intimately familiar with the eco system of a modern phone which parts are workable and not. Seems tho that once it gets TomTom onboard then it is in much better shape.
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- AdnanAwes
- 8ra
- 03 Feb 2020
Hahaha! A very well refreshing article! Meme references including the wallpapers, dank memes, Duolingo streak, etc. Keep up the great work and hope to see more such articles from you !