Huawei Launches P30 Pro New Edition with Access to Google Play Store

BY Asif Shaik

Published 14 May 2020

Huawei P30 Pro New Edition Silver Frost

Huawei is going through a very tough phase due to trade sanctions from the US, and its hopes of becoming the world’s biggest smartphone brand have been dashed. However, the company is still trying all it can. It launched a new version of the P30 Pro today, and it is called Huawei P30 Pro New Edition. It has access to Google services.

The Huawei P30 Pro New Edition has been launched in Europe and the UK. It is a refreshed version of the P30 Pro that debuted back in early 2019. The new version of the phone has two changes: newer storage technology and a new color option. The P30 Pro New Edition features UFS 3.0 storage (vs. UFS 2.1 in original P30 Pro), and it comes in the Silver Frost color.

The smartphone features full access to Google Mobile Services (GMS), which includes the Google Play Store, Gmail, Google Maps, and all other Google services that we usually find on Android smartphones. The P30 Pro was the last flagship smartphone from Huawei before the company was slapped with sanctions and was barred from using Google services on its devices.

Huawei P30 Pro New Edition Features, Specs

The P30 Pro New Edition features a 6.47-inch OLED screen with a bezel-less design, Full HD+ resolution, HDR10+, and an under-display fingerprint reader. There’s a small, U-shaped notch at the top of the screen to accommodate the 32MP selfie camera (F2.0 aperture). It runs Android 10 with EMUI 10.1 and Google Play Store. It is equipped with the 7nm Kirin 980 processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, and a NanoMemory card slot.

At the rear, the phone has a quad-camera setup. There is a 40MP primary camera with F1.6 aperture, PDAF, and OIS. It can record 4K 30fps videos, which is lower than 4K 60fps videos that most other high-end Android smartphones offer since 2018. There is also an 8MP telephoto camera with a 5x periscope optical zoom lens and a 20MP ultrawide-angle camera (16mm lens, F2.2 aperture). The camera setup also includes a 3D ToF depth sensor and a dual-tone LED flash.

In terms of connectivity, the phone features dual-band GPS, LTE, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0, IR port, NFC, and a USB 3.1 Type-C port. The Huawei P30 Pro New Edition is powered by a 4,20mAh battery, and it supports 40W fast charging and 15W fast Qi wireless charging.

Huawei P30 Pro New Edition Launch Date, Price

The Huawei P30 Pro New Edition is priced at £699 in the UK. It will be available through select stores and the company’s retail stores in the country, starting June 03.

Our Take

While the Huawei P30 Pro was a great phone and had some serious camera chops when it was launched in 2019, the P30 Pro New Edition is not a good choice anymore. At a similar, or even lower price, you can find many smartphones from rival brands such as LG, Realme, OPPO, Samsung, and Xiaomi that offer even better features at a lower price. Plus, all of them come with better video recording and promise of future Android version updates.