Huawei Mate 30 Pro will arrive in Italy anyway but can survive even without having Google applications? To find out we put it to the test for a few days and now we are ready for the final verdict.
Huawei Mate 30 Pro: the technical sheet
Before starting, let's see the technical specifications of this very interesting top of the range.
Dimensions: 158.1 x 73.1 x 8.8 mm
Weight: 198 g
Display: 6,53 pollici – OLED – 1176 x 2400 pixel
CPU: Kirin HiSilicon 990
GPU: Mali-G76 MP16
RAM: 8 GB
Memory: 256 GB - expandable via Nano SD
Network: 4G LTE – Dual stand-by
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.1, USB Type-C 3.1, GPS, NFC
Battery: 4500 mAh
Rear camera: 40 + 40 + 8 MP
Front Camera: 32 MP
Videos: 4K @ 30 fps
Operating system: Android 10 with EMUI 10
A necessary premise
The unit we were able to test didn't have the definitive software, so we decided to refrain from writing a classic review.
Having said that, I want to make one thing clear right away: Huawei Mate 30 Pro is a top of the range in all respects. It has an absolutely futuristic design - also thanks to the absence of the volume rocker, now replaced by a double tap on the edge of the display -, boasts excellent build quality, is extremely powerful and has autonomy to sell. In addition, you can count on a versatile and extremely satisfying photographic sector.
In short, know that it is an unquestionably complete smartphone.
Huawei Mate 30 Pro: is it possible to live without Google Apps?
I know, there are various and possible ways to install Google Apps on Huawei Mate 30 Pro but:
- it is not legal;
- it is extremely cumbersome and therefore not within everyone's reach;
- there are important security risks because you just need to rely on the wrong site and infect your new smartphone.
So putting this option aside, let's try to understand what we can and cannot use.
Contacts / Calendar
Let's start from the base: we usually rely on Google to automatically transfer contacts to the new device. Obviously we can't do it with this Mate 30 Pro. Don't panic though: you can use the app Phone Clone to “clone” your previous smartphone. An operation that will transfer both your contacts and your calendar.
But be careful: you will no longer be able to rely on Google's cross-device synchronization. You will then have to mark your appointments on the Huawei Calendar, which can also be accessed via the cloud.huawei.com website.
Don't you like the idea? You could migrate to an alternative solution, such as the Microsoft ecosystem.
Google Play Store
Phone Clone also transfers the applications present on the old smartphone, but do not say victory: they do not necessarily work without Google Play Services.
What about installing new apps? No Play Store of course, but you can use theAppGallery of Huawei which is still poorly supplied. Alternatively you can resort to Amazon App Store or to an unofficial store like Aptoide.
The best? In my opinion that of the e-commerce giant. There are two reasons for my choice: first of all it is very complete and, secondly, the apps are officially published by the developers.
Whatever your choice, know that to install any unofficial store you will have to visit the dedicated web page, download the apk, enable the installation of apps with unknown origins and finalize everything. Once completed, you can download dozens of apps, including Facebook, Instagram and the like.
Banking apps and digital payments
Beware of bank applications: not all of them have a counterpart on the Amazon App Store. Many are still present on unofficial marketplaces but know that you still run an important risk given the sensitivity of the data you are going to enter.
You will also have to forgo digital payments: Google Pay cannot be used and Huawei Pay has not yet arrived in Italy.
gmail
No Gmail and there is little to do here. In fact, you will not be able to install the official app but not even use Outlook or similar. In fact, most of the clients require Chrome to log into Gmail but you will not be able to satisfy it because it is the Google browser.
The only possible solution, by giving up push notifications, is to use the website as well.
Google Drive
You will also have to give up Google Drive but never mind: you can use Dropbox, OneDrive, or any other cloud service.
The only problem in this case concerns WhatsAppIn fact, the messaging service normally backs up to Google Drive to facilitate recovery. In this case, however, you will have to do everything manually, i.e. go to the WhatsApp / Databases folder of the device and search for the most recent backup. You will then have to upload the file to some cloud (Telegram is fine too), download it to Huawei Mate 30 Pro and then place it again in the Databases folder.
In short, a very complex system and certainly not for everyone, but which still makes your old conversations on the messaging platform recoverable, a platform that, I remind you, you will have to download from the official website as it is not present on the AppGallery or on the Amazon App Store. .
Google Maps
No Google navigator, a real shame especially for those used to using it to get around on foot or by public transport. If you use the car, you can always install Waze which works perfectly and is still pretty similar.
Of course, on the various stores you will find a lot of alternatives also suitable for traveling on foot or by public transport, but none reaches the completeness, immediacy and university of Google Maps.
Don't find any apps you like? You can always use the maps.google.com website.
Android Auto
Nothing to do for Android Auto. You will therefore have to give up having your maps, your contacts and your music in one place.
The alternative? The car navigator and the good old Bluetooth.
YouTube
You will have to resort to web version using any browser. Not exactly the same but better than nothing, don't you think?
Google Home
Smart home lovers, here the conclusions are obvious: no, you cannot use Google Home and Google Assistant, but you could turn up Amazon Alexa to have more or less the same functionality.
So, can you live without Google apps?
Actually yes, the “open” nature of Android allows you to find good alternatives to many official services. Of course, you lose some basic comfort and immediacy.
You must then be willing to rely on some other giant if you want to synchronize data, photographs and so on. Not exactly a painless step.
The situation is more dramatic for those who love digital payments and those who usually rely on their bank's apps. The former do not work and the latter may not exist on alternative stores.
Returning to the original question, yes, we can live without Google Apps but it is not a solution for everyone. It requires some adaptability and patience.
We cannot then ignore the price factor: € 1.099 and then having to make do with finding the various alternatives are many.
