Weekly poll: the Huawei P40 phones are so good, but can you love them with no GMS on board?

29 March 2020
Huawei has already replaced much of the Google ecosystem and is offering camera hardware that is (currently) unrivaled. Is that enough?

Sort by:

Great devices if this is cheaper and gets official support and services including software. My experience with Global ROMs from Chinese OEM was not entirely encouraging. They are good as long as it works(LetV Le Max) but once you have issues, or you need service or support, software updates then you will be on your after few months. Right note Huawei mobiles are NOT cheaper either! You can buy them only for great photography beyond that it will be a hit & miss especially without Google Playstore support. Or, you do not use mobiles for Banking, Financial, Enterprise apps etc

    Anon, 29 Mar 2020Are you serious? Iphone has similar resolution. Why don't y... moreWhy would you assume I like iPhone? I made no reference to them?

    I hate iPhones. They all suck, and have always sucked. So I don't expect better from them. Huawei used to be good. Mate 10 is one of the best phones ever made.

    But they are overpriced garbage now. Just like iPhone, Xiaomi, Nokia, Samsung etc. Sony look most promising rn

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • 8pc
      • 30 Mar 2020

      [deleted post]Yeah true, not to mention their violation to human rights, its a shame that people ignore facts and buy chinese stuffs just because they are cheaper.

        Nick Tagataka, 30 Mar 2020Except they didn't.Don't tell me, they had the lowest bitrate all the time.
        Hard to believe.

          • A
          • AJT
          • kuY
          • 30 Mar 2020

          I feel this is an opportunity lost for Huawei to undercut Samsung and Apple on the pricing. Take the hit on the prices but sell these at least 300$ or more lower at each tier and value that investment as an expansion of their ecosystem. They're late to the scene and need to stimulate sales/expand their ecosystem by undercutting on price.

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • PZa
            • 30 Mar 2020

            kinikit, 30 Mar 2020STOP lying. Some Google apps like the ever-important Youtub... moreAndroid is an open source operating system. GMS is Google's attempt to lock down Android like iOS. Anyone is free to fork and customise Android and contribute to Android development. Huawei happens to contribute a lot of code to Linux (the kernel Android uses) and Android development.

              • a
              • aaa
              • fFA
              • 30 Mar 2020

              meowchu, 30 Mar 2020I have the Mate 30 Pro and Netflix s*cks because you can't ... moretry youtube vance?

                • k
                • kinikit
                • ib7
                • 30 Mar 2020

                Adoogle, 30 Mar 2020All the talk of Huawei phones not having GMS thereby curtai... moreSTOP lying. Some Google apps like the ever-important Youtube doesn't work.
                End of story.

                Yeah yeah it's a heaven for you so why use Google's Android in the first place?
                Can't live without Android huh? Go use your own Harmony OS.

                  • c
                  • camrel
                  • ib7
                  • 30 Mar 2020

                  Adoogle, 30 Mar 2020All the talk of Huawei phones not having GMS thereby curtai... moreMate 30 Pro here. Please STOP defending Huawei just because you're a blind follower. Youtube does NOT work in my Mate 30 Pro. It's not as easy as installing a normal APK because Google restricts access to phones that are not secure enough.

                  It's difficult for you to accept the fact that GMS is important. Of course you don't use ALL of their services but by integrating GMS into android, you avoid all these petty issues. A thousand dollar phone with unusable google apps. pfft

                    All the talk of Huawei phones not having Google Mobile Services (GMS) thereby curtailing the ability to install apps from the Google Store, and requiring a different ecosystem of apps from Huawei's store is ABSOLUTELY FALSE AND INCORRECT.

                    Huawei phones are built on the ARM architecture and run an AOSP version of Android, which should allow most (if not all) Google Store apps to run on Kirin-embedded SoC in Huawei phones.

                    Not having GMS should be considered to be blessing on Android – no more blatant and persistent data harvesting from the supremo champion of e-theft, Adoogle (I have yet to determine whether Huawei ravenously siphons data).

                    Obtaining Android apps directly from the Google store does not have to be performed via GMS, with the Play app as the intermediary, for there are several websites that will fetch the Google Play Store link of an app that one desires (via play.googleapis.com) – totally anonymously too (if one knows 'Protocol Buffers', Google's data interchange format, one can fetch any app from the Google Play Store without any assistance)

                    There are also a few highly regarded and trusted sites that have a treasure trove of Android apps available to download from their websites including:

                    * https://mobile.softpedia.com/apk/
                    * https://download.cnet.com/android/
                    * https://www.apkmirror.com/
                    * https://f-droid.org/

                    With the app in question downloaded (.APK file), the app can be sideloaded on the Huawei device), prior to which a permission to allow apps to be installed from unknown sources need to be granted, a setting located in 'Settings' --> 'Security' -> then toggle on the setting for 'Unknown Sources'.

                    As with most things in life, there's always someone attempting to capitalise on someone else's fear or misfortune. In this instance, there are other sites that have an extensive portfolio of apps, but I would stay well clear from them, as the archived apps have the potential to be tampered with malware.

                    The one and fairly big issue surrounding Huawei phones is that their bootloader is locked. For those who desire full control of their device, this will be a restriction too far, and shall not be tolerant of such ridiculous nonsense.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • KRV
                      • 30 Mar 2020

                      Jay, 29 Mar 2020I bought Honor 9X with no GMS onboard, Guess what? Upon pho... moreThen why my 9x did not have procedure like that? Can you explain? Anyway, good try

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • KRV
                        • 30 Mar 2020

                        Bobi7x7, 29 Mar 2020Just watch on TV :)Okay i will bring my tv to subway, office, restaurant, toilet, in my car and i will put a tv in my pocket to bring it everywhere as recommended by a 'genius'

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • KRV
                          • 30 Mar 2020

                          ZHARF259, 29 Mar 2020For me, GMS is second part of the system. Emui 10.1 in Huaw... moreMore 'unusable chinese apps'

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • KRV
                            • 30 Mar 2020

                            Emeline Shaw, 29 Mar 2020I think there are not any alternatives right now but in 1-2... moreYeah yeah when we have triopoly then you will say the quadpoly is very nice and triopoly deserves to get broken into pieces and you will be unsatisfied id!ot forever

                              • S
                              • Shui8
                              • KZK
                              • 30 Mar 2020

                              Anonymous, 30 Mar 20201", Micro 4/3 , APSC and Medium Format too. :) Great. Next time i'll mention each camera brand as well lol.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • KRV
                                • 30 Mar 2020

                                Anonymous, 29 Mar 2020before Google Services, every phone brand has its own app s... moreAnd where all that phones now?

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • KRV
                                  • 30 Mar 2020

                                  abc_to_xyz, 29 Mar 2020Google apps upto some extent are do-able. If you are buying... moreIf i am buying a $1000 phone i SHOULD NOT have to do that. Thats it i am correcting it for you

                                    All the talk of Huawei phones not having GMS thereby curtailing the ability to instal apps from the Google Store, and requiring a different ecosystem of apps from Huawei's store is ABSOLUTELY FALSE AND INCORECT.

                                    Huawei phones are built on the ARM architecture and run an AOSP Android, which should allow most (if not all) Google Store apps to run on Kirin-embedded SoC in Huawei phones.

                                    Not having GMS should be considered to be heaven on Androud

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • KRV
                                      • 30 Mar 2020

                                      Mohsen, 29 Mar 2020I remove gms. performance and battery life became doubled. ... moreLol good try but no one will believe you

                                        • e
                                        • enchelo
                                        • ib7
                                        • 30 Mar 2020

                                        Anonymous, 30 Mar 2020Issues - 2019 cpu that is not on pair with old SD855 - ... moreAnd now Huawei fans are defending the curved displays when they are the same people who bashed Samsung's curved displays. They will try to do their best to defend the mono speaker, non-HD Netflix and unable to run google apps like Youtube, etc. Trying so much so that they can't accept that the Mate 30 Pro is a flop because of it.