The Huawei Mate 30 Pro is probably one of the most controversial products of 2019, with the tech giant facing a ban from US-based companies such as Google, Qualcomm, ARM, etc. The Chinese tech giant faced the challenge of launching the Huawei Mate 30 Pro without Google certification.
The Mate 30 Pro has a dual-corning gorilla glass with curved edges, plus a side frame that is metal coated in chrome. The overall color and aesthetics is great, delivering a premium look while still being minimal.
Weight-wise, the Mate 30 Pro is just right for a premium phone. Our only gripe is the camera bump’s metal border can easily get bumped resulting in the paint to be chipped. This also includes the chrome frame, so make sure you use a case.
Yes, there is still the notch but nothing problematic. Huawei has a triple sensor at the front notch, housing the 32MP sensor, 3D depth sensor with IR and even a unique gesture sensor to control to do touchless control.
The horizon display is an ultra-curved screen at the corner. We love that combined with the hydrophobic layer it makes its very premium, a striker to the eyes.
The side bezel is made of metal with chrome finish, because of the Horizon display they removed the volume buttons and just made it a gesture control. While the power button is placed at the back right side, it might get some adjustment at the start especially if it’s your first time to use a curved display phone.
The horizon display isn’t really perfect right now, especially having fat fingers it can result in unresponsive touches as the sides might register a touch already.
The Kirin 990 chipset is absolutely no problem paired with the 8GB RAM, what’s more, important actually to flagship phones today is the capability to multi-task and get outstanding battery life.
No problems in the camera, the 40MP Super Sensing Camera paired with the 40MP video dedicated Cine camera are the two main cameras. Also, we have the ultra-wide mode, 8MP telephoto camera, and the 3D depth-sensing camera.
The overall quad-camera setup is placed on the center fluxed on a concentric circle design. The layout is the first we’ve seen in a while, contradicting to the P series with a vertical camera style.
Photos are vibrant and sharper, which is the taste of Huawei cause if the AI technology in detecting the item or scenery. Photos are more appealing, especially when uploaded in social media as color, highlights are prioritized to the eyes of netizens rather than focusing on sharpness and natural colors.
Night photos are also powerful in detecting what’s bright and just normal. LED lights are detected properly, no overwash in brightness even at nighttime. Seems Huawei is really learning the magic of night photography.
The camera interface is similar to previous Huawei smartphones, unfortunately we find the Master AI mode too intrusive. Like if the camera senses a face, it will automatically activate the portrait mode.
We wish that Huawei has more flexible modes to remove this, like detect if the background is the scenery and you’re in a tourist spot. Of course, you don’t want the background to be blurred.
For the video, our friends from Ungeek actually made a video entirely shoot by the Huawei Mate 30 Pro. The 40MP Cine Camera with the smooth OIS + EIS setup is actually shocking for us, the stability of videos without a glitch is vlog-worthy.
Videos can shoot up to 4K 60fps, but we prefer the 1080p at 60fps as the video is more stable overall. Audio is also good in pickup, just don’t cover the microphone hole to avoid muffle of the audio.
Our battery experience with the Mate 30 Pro is just lovely, the Kirin 990 with its powerful performance is just the right mix with the 4,500mAh battery inside.
We can last a minimum of 20 hours even with heavy 4G connection, with all-day social media and even Mobile Legends playing. Nothing to worry about battery life as the phone can last by the time you need to go home.
Huawei SuperCharge 40W is outstanding, it might not be the fastest but its simply fast enough for today’s superphones. We should say that Huawei SuperCharge 40W is similar to the performance of the OnePlus 7 Pro Warp Charge or even the Reno x10 Zoom VOOC.
The 4,500mAh battery can recharge in just an hour or so using the 40W adapter provided. Even the wireless charging can go up to 27W with the Huawei Wireless SuperCharge.
We like the front camera sensor can detect if you’re looking at the screen, so it won’t rotate on the screen especially when you’re at the bed.
The volume double-tap to activate might be annoying at first, but the removal of a physical button is heaven-sent. In our case, placing the phone in a tripod avoids annoying holding the button accidentally.
The horizon display is an eye-catcher indeed. We like the premium feel but as per se earlier. Accidental touches or unresponsive touch is possible when you have fat fingers.
Running on EMUI interface and no-google play certification, the Mate 30 Pro and Mate 30 are two products that are facing a giant barrier.
But in our experience, of using the Mate 30 Pro. Sideloading Google Play is a little tedious but nothing impossible. For us, it’s manageable that we were able to install all the applications we need.
The only thing not working is the Google Assistant such as “hey google”, there isn’t a shortcut button to activate as well.
The Huawei Mate 30 Pro is an outstanding phone for 2019, the camera is both great in stills and video. Performance is fast as expected, the battery can last a day as needed. While the Horizon display is simply gorgeous, clear, and shouts premium for a flagship.
Priced at Php50,990 the Mate 30 Pro (8GB + 256GB) configuration is steep as compared to the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, or even other flagship phones such as the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
Though Huawei is offering ridiculous bundles to complete the experience. With freebies as much as Php10,000 is pretty tempting, we think this is their method to do for the Google drawback.
For us, the lifestyle of no Google is scary as it might be being left out in the trend. But with the creative side-loading, it’s 95% useable as any other flagship smartphones.
With the outstanding camera, unbelievable video quality, gesture controls, and even the premium horizon display make up to the elephant in the room. We say that the Mate 30 Pro is still a worthy buy, especially if you’re coming from a Huawei smartphone before.
