Huawei’s New Flagship Smartphones Use Own Browser, Apps


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Huawei has officially unveiled its Mate 30 Pro. It is the first big Huawei launch after the US government’s ban on the company that uses no Google services or apps.

In August, the company unveiled its very own operating system HongmengOS, or in English HarmonyOS, claiming it is "completely different from Android and iOS", and that it would be launched later this year on Huawei smart screen products.

Huawei presented its new phone models - Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro - during an event in Munich on Thursday, Sputnik reported. The smartphones still run on an open-source Android-based OS, but with one crucial difference that changes everything – they have no Google services or apps.

The Chinese Tech giant, sanctioned by the US amid a trade war with Beijing, decided to use its own products instead of Google's.

Huawei Browser replaced Google Chrome as a tool for web surfing.

At the same time, users will have to use Huawei AppGallery, not the Google Play Store. According to the company, it has around 45,000 apps (Google has 2.7 mln apps).

YouTube Apps will also be unavailable.

As the new models use open-source Android, their user interface will be close to Google's Android 10.

The security updates will also be in place, but only after they hit the open-source part.

The company had to react after the US government blacklisted Huawei in May, claiming that it has connections with the Chinese secret service. Beijing denied the allegations, but Washington still banned US businesses from making deals with the corporation without first procuring special licenses.

Google warned about the security risks of the ban, but later stopped updating its products on Huawei devices.