Huawei unveils new 5G phone without Google-licensed apps
Huawei launched a new 5G flagship smartphone lineup Thursday without pre-installed Google-licensed apps as the Chinese tech giant faces fallout from a U.S. blacklist earlier this year.
The Mate 30 series, which was unveiled at a launch event in Munich, will operate on an open-source version of Google’s Android operating system. Huawei has been unable to license the latest version of Android due to restrictions imposed by the U.S. on the Chinese firm.
Some analysts warned the lack of Google software would put Huawei at a disadvantage against rivals like Samsung and Apple.
“I don’t see how many users would make so many compromises with such a phone,” Gartner Research Vice President Annette Zimmermann, told CNBC Thursday. “It’s a lot of uncertainty.”
U.S. officials placed Huawei on a so-called entity list in May that required American companies to get special licenses to sell their technology to the Chinese firm. The U.S. gave a temporary reprieve to Huawei in August, extending its ability to buy from American firms until mid-November. But a Google spokesperson told Reuters last month the reprieve does not apply to new products like the Mate 30.
CNBC reported in August that Huawei was pushing forward with the Mate 30 launch this month despite the U.S. restrictions. Huawei has been working on its own operating system called HarmonyOS, but a source told CNBC it’s too soon to be put on the Mate 30.
The new phones will “probably be available in Europe as early as next month,” according to Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei’s consumer business group.
Other key features of the Mate 30 include:
- A quad-camera system.
- Dark mode.
- Reverse wireless charging.
Read more at: CNBC.COM
