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Verdict
The Huawei Mate 30 Pro is a victim of circumstance and a bittersweet phone to review - excellent, but with a fatal flaw. It isn’t perfect - we miss the volume rocker, but everything else about it is at the very least great, and its low light photography capabilities are stellar for a phone.
That said, it’s also virtually impossible to recommend to anyone living in a Google Play Store region like the UK or Australia.
It’s also not cheap at £899.99 / AU$1,599 (around $1,200), which makes the fact that it's missing a core part of any smartphone - a competent app experience - impossible to get past.
Who’s this for?
Enthusiasts who don’t mind sideloading apps, and Google-haters, could get on well with the Mate 30 Pro. If you’re prepared to invest in it, then it will reward you with one of the finest smartphone cameras known to man, a stunning design, and an incredibly long-lasting battery.
Should you buy it?
Probably not, sadly; until Play Store access is restored to the phone at least, if indeed it ever is.
The Mate 30 Pro is an expensive option for serious enthusiasts with a fair bit of cash to spare. But if you’re looking for a Google-free phone, however, then no other Android phone untethered from the big G’s all-seeing eye can hold a 7680fps slow-mo match to it.
First reviewed: October 2019
Competition
There are a number of strong alternatives to the Huawei Mate 30 Pro - ones without this phone's software woes. Below you'll find three of the main ones.
Huawei P30 Pro
Huawei’s P30 Pro is still a fantastic camera phone half a year on from its launch, with a more powerful optical zoom than that of the Mate 30 Pro and most of the same core features - reverse wireless charging, 40W SuperCharge tech and excellent battery life.
It’s also significantly more affordable and with Play Store support guaranteed by Huawei, it’s set to deliver a great app experience where the Mate 30 Pro currently can’t.
Read our full Huawei P30 Pro review
iPhone 11 Pro Max
For anyone thinking about the Mate 30 Pro because of the fact it doesn’t run with Google’s services on it, the iPhone 11 Pro Max is a fine alternative with the same type of camera setup - wide, ultra-wide and telephoto.
Running iOS, it delivers a premium, albeit closed ecosystem, but app support on Apple’s iOS range is exceptional.
Read our full iPhone 11 Pro Max review
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus
The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus is both better and worse than the Mate 30 Pro. It has better pen input, a better display and the obvious one - access to the Play Store. That said, the Mate 30 Pro delivers better imaging capabilities, specifically at night, not to mention better charging speeds and battery life.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus review
