Huawei Mate 30 Pro South African launch postponed

In an interview with Jamie McKane from MyBroadband, Huawei confirmed that South Africa will not be receiving the Mate 30 Series; at least until the next P Series phone is launched.

According to Huawei CBG South Africa General Manager Likun Zhao, the company’s latest flagship launch has been postponed in South Africa as the company is not happy with the quality of its software ecosystem.

This comes as a result of the US trade ban, which has forced Huawei to launch the Mate 30 without Google services and apps.

Huawei Mate 30 Pro launched without Google services

The new flagship is running the latest version of the open-source Android operating system. However, it will not have the Google Play store or any of the Google apps such as Gmail and maps.

The decision to delay the release of the phone in SA is an admission by Huawei that they are still not happy with their alternative software ecosystem; which is at least comparable to what users have come to expect from Google.

Zhao has confirmed that the company is working on it and will have an alternative to Google services and apps by the time the next P series device is launched. However, based on the comments from the company, they haven’t given up hope of the US ban being reversed.

“If the situation with Google and the US is resolved, we will revert to GMS and update the operating system,” Zhao explains.

The future of Huawei, following the US trade ban

The Mate 30 has enjoyed a successful launch in China; but Huawei phones have never shipped with Google apps and services in their home country.

It does appear that Huawei had hoped to have resolved the trade ban with the US by now, despite their decision to go ahead with the release of their latest phones.

Huawei, who are the second biggest handset manufacturer in the world, has tried to set the market’s mind at ease by claiming to have a plan in place for life without Google services.

Huawei have indicated that they will be investing heavily in local developers as they try and reduce the reliance on US software.

As it stands, we will need to wait patiently for the release of the next P Series or the US backtrack on their trade ban, whichever comes first. Either way, Huawei will be counting the cost of the Trump administration’s trade ban.

Despite the undoubted power of the new Mate 30, it’s unlikely that the Mate 30 sales will be able to compete with their rivals outside of China; which is likely to stall the company’s impressive growth in recent years.

Also read – Huawei won’t unlock the Mate 30 series’ bootloader