Huawei Mate 30 Pro review

The Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G doesn’t provide a very compelling listening experience, especially for a flagship phone. In large part that is due to its mono-channel, single-speaker design. Some slight improvements in tonal response give it a small advantage over the LTE version we tested previously.  The phone is a much better performer when it comes to recording audio,

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Right now, we can’t recommend the Mate 30 Pro at all, thanks to the segregation the phone offers. In theory, it’s a great device. In practice, you could do so much better with anything else in its category. In Australia, you’d essentially just be buying the Mate 30 Pro for the camera alone, and frankly, if that’s the way you’re feeling, just go buy yourself a camera. It’ll save you so much of the hassle.

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Anyone who is up to the challenge and plumps for the Mate 30 Pro is going to fall in love with its futuristic curved display, its supremely capable rear-cameras, and its clever notification hiding that promises to keep your texts between you and the sender – no matter where you are.

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If you’re planning to use your phone to listen to media using its single speaker, the Mate 30 Pro isn’t a great option. However, if you’re more interested in using it for recording, its microphones are the best of any phone we have tested so far, with excellent frequency response and overall recording volume.

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As an enthusiast, the Mate 30 Pro is an interesting proposition, but even then, I’d recommend caution. You’d have to be prepared for the playing field to change at any time. Yes, it could change for the better (with a Google licence to Huawei to allow official Google apps), but it could also change for the worse (Google neutering its software entirely).

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The LTE version of the Huawei Mate 30 Pro was the top-ranked device for DXOMARK Camera since its launch in September 2019, thanks to excellent performance across all test areas. It has now been dethroned by the Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G, which unsurprisingly delivers very similar image and video quality in most situations, but has been refined in some key areas through optimized software tuning.

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The slick Huawei Mate 30 Pro is a powerhouse phone with a stellar camera. It's also useless outside of China.

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Google services issues aside, I do have the feeling that Huawei is asking too much for a phone that is cutting several corners. The lack of stereo speakers, a better-quality screen, and a more complete camera experience (HDR processing, video quality) are I think the three main gripes about the phone. 1099€ is just too much to ask given these weaknesses.

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Ironic as it may sound, Huawei have made the ultimate smartphone for Android enthusiasts. Unless you see the limitations of the Mate 30 Pro as a challenge, you’re probably best served sitting this one out and waiting for this whole thing to blow over. 

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In some ways, Huawei have made the ultimate smartphone for enthusiasts but it’s that exact quality makes it extremely difficult to recommend for basically anyone else. If you don't see the inherent limitations here as a challenge rather than a compromise, this device isn't going to be for you. The hardware of the Mate 30 Pro is easy to admire but the software makes it almost impossible to recommend.

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