A week with Huawei Mate 30 Pro: is there life without Google services

03 February 2020
I was missing a lot of apps, but I found a surprising amount of free time in the process.

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potato4k, 03 Feb 2020Which consumer wants experience the hard way on their expen... moreyou nailed it. hahahaha. to be honest, after reading this article i was tempted to try the phone out myself because i rarely am using my smartphones anyway, like between my 2 phones i only have like 1-2 hours of screen on time in a day. i realized however i have friends and family who are still using android and ios, as well as processes at work that sometimes requires me to use google services, so i figured- what the heck.

    haha but fanboi keep denying. Yes there are alternative but why settle for silver app instead platinum app.

      the best part of this review is... the meme ... damn.. i never thought this meme could perfectly fit with phone review

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        • kerul
        • Hkr
        • 03 Feb 2020

        Dometalican, 03 Feb 2020My perspective: if you can find alternatives to install via... moreYes it's not impossible, but as I told before to beat the whole eco system is not that easy. Samsung, Microsoft and Amazon failed and aa you can read artical you will notice one important thing is banking. Almost 60% of people in the world are using phone banking and I don't think all financial institutes are ready for another platform.

        You can find alternetives but not replacement. You can not stopped using Gmail Just because huwai is not supporting it. You just can't ask your friends and family members to use another app instead of WhatsApp and Facebook Just because your new phone doesn't support them out of the box. Will you be able to avoid social media for you to wait for that someday when your phone will start support those applications, which could be a month or a year or ....

        This is impossible. This is only possible when someone someday come out with whole shit of things working out of the box, right? Okay then it applies for social media also not only Google, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. And that keeps you waiting, so in practical we do have to accept monopoly, like we have accepted Apple iPhone.

        This digital world is a nasty evil and no body can live without it. And some powerful giants have given you more than expected and now you have only choice to obey them.



          That 4th image is hilarious. I applaud the reviewer that thought of that.

            • k
            • kek
            • GBh
            • 03 Feb 2020

            smartphone junkie, 03 Feb 2020Why was aptoide not used? Apptoide is like going to the black market to buy meat. You never know what you might be getting until you install it.

              • k
              • kek
              • GBh
              • 03 Feb 2020

              Well, for all the negative stuff that has happened with the Mate 30, there is one good positive side: this might put an stop to that stupid propietary nano memory card thing. Let's hope they drop that and stick to micro sd card.

                Dometalican, 03 Feb 2020My perspective: if you can find alternatives to install via... moreWhich consumer wants experience the hard way on their expensive smartphone? Nobody.

                  Keeping in mind that this is the first phone Huawei launched without Google Play, they will improve their AppGallery by time and I hope that in future they will at least be able to embed some most commonly used apps into their AppGallery.

                    Richard Conway, 03 Feb 2020I'm looking to seeing what Huawei will cook up for their Ap... moreConsider a giant like Microsoft failed even in the early days of apps, there’s really no place for a third App Store platform. The closest we got is Amazon store, and that still lacks all Google apps.

                    If the ban continues permanently, Huawei phones won’t be a thing outside China. There will be close to zero uptake outside China, especially if Huawei is still chasing the premium market. Google has monopolized the Android app platform.

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                      • Anonymous
                      • I@a
                      • 03 Feb 2020

                      A conclusion that was just as I expected even before reading through the entire article.

                      I have a Mi Pad 4 plus with an original China ROM and despite being able to install Google apps and Google services to it, (I'm no novice android user), the experience was buggy as hell. Many apps wouldn't run, many issues with licensing and DRM content, and Playstore app updates were hopelessly stuck in 'waiting for download'. That doesn't include the security issues that come with unlicensed Google apps/software. ('Play Protect certification: Device is NOT certified').

                      Sure, it now had YouTube, Playstore, Google Maps, etc., but still it feels and behaves like its beta software. I can only conclude that Huawei, for lack of better word, is doomed.

                      The absence of banking apps, social media (FB, messenger), shopping apps, Youtube and Navigation/Maps and app security screening/app updates are enough to send any android phone user to oblivion.

                      The experience really is that of utter isolation, you might as well have a feature phone.

                        I'm looking to seeing what Huawei will cook up for their AppGallery. It's still early days with their app store but it'll be a race against time to get it sorted before they release new phones worldwide.

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                          • Dometalican
                          • B45
                          • 03 Feb 2020

                          My perspective: if you can find alternatives to install via .apks (despite needing to manually update them), you can find them:

                          E-mail: BlueMail or Edison Mail
                          Browser: DuckDuckGo, Brave, Firefox, and yes, even Microsoft Edge
                          Music: Spotify, Tidal, or if you're into having it locally installed, Rocket Music Player or Musicolet

                          Camera: The heck are you doing? Huawei's is much better than most. lol.
                          Maps: If Waze doesn't work, well...this is the hardest part. I don't know if OSMAnd works but I'm sure Huawei's alternative will work when it gets released

                          Streaming: I have not tried MicroG with Youtube Vanced on this as I don't have the phone. Wonder if it works...otherwise, sorry for Netflix and Disney+ users

                          Weather: Accuweather tends to work.

                          Social Media: You can try the 3rd party apps like Metal or Swipe.

                          Office stuff: WPS, OfficeSuite, and Polaris.

                          Is it hard? Yes. Is it impossible? Surprisingly, no.

                            Yeah, as interesting as the phone is, issa nah. I felt the same about the mate 20 when I had it. Can't make a Huawei account from the U.S. And without the account you can't get special features. Sure it is the same with this.

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                              • Anonymous
                              • LQu
                              • 03 Feb 2020

                              Not out of China.

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                                • ZhenWo
                                • KSE
                                • 03 Feb 2020

                                It would be interesting a new ecosystem. That is if they manage to create one.

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                                  • RC255
                                  • 3HT
                                  • 03 Feb 2020

                                  This phone is undeniably a great phone. There's no denying that. The 'issue' with gms is one that some might be ok with. These sort of articles are very damming and always come off negative regardless of the writers opinion. Personally, I have no issue with using an alternative store like aptoid and there are many better email apps out there to replace Gmail. As for Chrome, I disable that immediately anyway and install Firefox or Brave as it still uses excessive resources. The obvious problem is people just want it to work as they know rather than try anything new. We used to have to do this all the time before smart phones. Personally, I see no issue with doing it now. From the comments on here and other sites, I'm in the minority but it's my opinion.

                                    that meme lol

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                                      • I'mPhone
                                      • PU6
                                      • 03 Feb 2020

                                      potato4k, 03 Feb 2020This shows how reliant the mobile industry is to Google. Re... moreIt's Apple who clearly stands out, but even Apple App Store has Google apps listed. At least kudos to Apple for being a standout. Microsoft sorely failed in this respect. There are no proprietary apps in any Apple device which relies on Google.

                                        • I
                                        • I'mPhone
                                        • PU6
                                        • 03 Feb 2020

                                        The Mate 30 Pro is not too expensive in my country in comparison to an iPhone 11 series and Samsung S10/Note 10. But as what the article is mentioning, crucial apps like Whatsapp and Telegram won't even work. Some banking apps, Netflix, etc. also refuses to work. The phone must be bought via online stores in here, there may be warranty but the phone can't be repaired easily. It will cost a lot to repair in the end. Accessories are impossible to find, if not from an online store. Let's forget that the Kirin 990 throttles fairly easily (and heats up) under sustained load, nor the Waterfall display is gimmicky and obtrusive (look at JerryRigEverything's video about the Mate 30, how he uses the volume button). It's sturdy, though, as in the video, which means that it has high-end materials.

                                        It is supposedly an awesome phone. But without GMS, it's very hard to recommend. P30 and P30 Pro's secondhand prices have dropped a lot, it costs no more than a secondhand Samsung S9.

                                        I will rather pick an iPhone 11, S10, or (if available in my country) OnePlus 7T.

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