Mate 30

What you need to know

  • The Mate 30 Pro is now official with Kirin 990 5G and 4500mAh battery with 27W wireless charging.
  • A 40MP camera is joined by a second 40MP Cine Camera module, 8MP zoom lens, and a ToF sensor.
  • The phone can shoot 1080p video at 960fps, and has 5x hybrid zoom with 30x digital zoom.
  • There's EMUI 10 based on Android 10, but no Play Store or Google services.

This year has been tumultuous for Huawei, but that hasn't prevented the Chinese manufacturer from releasing new phones. The Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro are now official, and they build on what we've seen last year from the Mate 20 series. The Mate 30 Pro has four cameras at the back, and is the first phone to launch with Huawei's Kirin 990 5G chipset, which was unveiled earlier this month at IFA.

Let's start with the Mate 30 Pro. The phone has a 6.53-inch OLED panel that curves at an angle of 88 degrees, giving you an edge-to-edge viewing experience. There is a cutout at the top that houses the sensors for 3D face unlock, a feature that debuted last year on the Mate 20 Pro. There's also an in-display fingerprint sensor, but what's more interesting on the design front is the virtual buttons on the sides. The phone has an Intuitive Side-touch Interaction feature that sees virtual buttons on either side, and while the power button is intact on the right, you get to choose the position of the volume keys.

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Two 40MP cameras at the back and 1080p video at 960fps give the Mate 30 Pro a distinct edge.

The excitement doesn't end there: the Mate 30 Pro has quad cameras at the back, and the halo design is meant to mimic the look of a DSLR. There's a 40MP primary camera that's similar to what we've seen on the P30 Pro, and that's joined by a second 40MP wide-angle Cine Camera lens as well as an 8MP telephoto shooter and a ToF module.

The Mate 30 Pro is able to shoot 720p at a staggering 7680fps, 1080p at 960fps, and 4K at 60fps. You also get 5x hybrid zoom and 30x digital zoom, and the telephoto lens has OIS along with AI-backed stabilization. The new shooting modes are facilitated by the ISP on the Kirin 990 5G, and give the Mate 30 Pro a distinct edge when it comes to shooting video.

Huawei is calling the Mate 30 series a second-generation 5G phone, with the integrated 5G modem in the Kirin 990 5G offering both Non-StandAlone (NSA) and StandAlone (SA) modes along with Dual SIM, Dual Standby. Both phones are available in 4G variants as well if you're not sold on the idea of 5G just yet. Rounding out the hardware, the Mate 30 Pro is powered by the 7nm Kirin 990 5G, and there's a 4500mAh battery with 40W wired charging and 27W wireless charging.

As for the Mate 30, the phone has three cameras at the back: a 40MP primary sensor joined by a 16MP wide-angle lens and 8MP zoom lens. There's a 6.62-inch panel, and you get 4200mAh battery with 27W wireless charging.

Both phones come with EMUI 10 based on Android 10 out of the box, but there's no Play Store or Google services. Huawei is providing a workaround, but we'll have to wait and see how it works out. The Mate 30 series is available in several enticing color options — Emerald Green, Space Silver, Cosmic Purple, and Black — and you also get Forest Green and Orange variants that are decked out in vegan leather.