Huawei's P40 Pro - dazzling hardware but is its software a problem?
David PhelanAugust 28 update below. This post was first published on August 26,2020.
Huawei smartphones are arguably among the best in the world, with industry-leading cameras, stellar performance, great build quality and design and high levels of innovation. So, is there anything that should hold you back from buying one, in the United States in particular?
Well…
Read on for full details of why you should or shouldn’t go for Huawei.
August 28 update. In the next few days, Huawei holds its annual developer conference (HDC) – similar to Apple’s annual World Wide Developers’ Conference. Last year, at the same event, Huawei revealed its Harmony operating system, and EMUI 10, the company’s software overlay for its Android phones. As discussed below, the same overlay can be put on top Harmony OS-powered phones, so HDC2020 will be of interest for anyone considering buying into Huawei, because it sees the announcement of EMUI 11.
Rumors of what will emerge, coming from tipsters on Weibo and picked up by Huawei Central, indicate there will be a lot of innovations. Some of them centre on the design of the Always On Display found on Huawei’s phones (though the same feature is also on many other Android handsets). Already, the Always-On Display looks rich and colorful on current phones with EMUI 10.1, with 3D clock images and clocks that change color during the day. Expect further developments along the same lines.
It seems there will also be multitasking and multi-window capabilities to improve the current split-screen mode, so you can send messages from a small window while watching video or playing a game on the phone.
In other words, expect Huawei to come out fighting at HDC on September 10, to further insist that EMUI 11 and Harmony OS are strong, capable alternatives to Android and Google Mobile Services. EMUI 11 will then become available for compatible handsets, and will come pre-installed on the company’s next phones to be launched, the Huawei Mate 40 series. Now, back to whether or not you should go for Huawei.
What’s up between the U.S. Government and Huawei?
More than a year ago, the Trump Government put Huawei on an Entity List, preventing U.S. companies from having business deals with the Chinese manufacturer. Huawei not only makes great phones, but class-leading 5G infrastructure. However, successive countries have now said that this infrastructure should not be built by Huawei. These include the States, Australia, New Zealand and, by implication, Canada which hasn’t said no, but has declined to make a decision for so long that Canadian networks are taking no chances and opting for hardware from Ericsson or Nokia instead.
The U.K., having previously welcomed Huawei to take a limited role in its 5G system has changed its mind, requiring all Huawei 5G equipment to be removed by 2027.
The U.S. Government’s beef is that Huawei is under the thumb of the Chinese Government, though Huawei has always denied this, along with any allegations of using its products to spy on other countries. And indeed, there is no evidence it has ever done so.
Since Google’s Android phone operating system comes from a U.S. company, does that mean Huawei phones can’t have it?
Actually, there’s more to it than that. Android is open-source, so Huawei phones can, and do, have that OS on them. But what’s not open-source, and no longer available to Huawei phones, is Google Mobile Services.
What does that mean, and where does it leave Huawei?
This means that Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube and Google Play Store, for instance, are not available on Huawei’s most recent phones. Since Google Play Store is the main way most Android phone users download apps, it’s the last of those four which is the most serious. After all, Huawei’s own Mail app is very usable and can be configured to work with Gmail accounts, YouTube users can still access the website via their phone and the same for Google Maps which is accessible through the web browser.
Phones which were released before the Entity List came into force do have full-fat Google with access to all these apps. The latest of these is the revised Huawei P30 Pro New Edition.
Most recently, Google has said it won’t be releasing security updates for these phones, though Huawei has said it will continue to support the phones and this will not be a problem. To stress, a Huawei smartphone will continue to work exactly as it does today even without Google support – it ain’t going to turn into an expensive paperweight.
So, the latest Huawei phones don’t have apps?
Far from it. First of all, there’s access to Huawei’s own, rapidly-growing app store, called AppGallery. This includes many big-name apps from Tinder and TikTok to Microsoft Office and Snapchat, but currently lacks direct access to Zoom, Twitter, Instagram and other big apps. It does have alternatives in some cases: Here WeGo Maps is arguably better than Google Maps in some ways and anyway, a Huawei Maps app made in conjunction with TomTom is coming.
Huawei also has Petal Search, a pleasantly-named app which scours where you can safely download apps from if they’re not available directly. For instance, if you go to Amazon and download the Amazon App Store app, you have secure access to all the apps available from there, which adds significantly to the 81,000 apps in the AppGallery. You can also download apps like WhatsApp from the WhatsApp website.
In other words, many of the most popular apps are available, but though it’s safe and straightforward to get them, it’s not as simple as going to the Google Play Store.
What about Harmony OS? Is it very different from Android?
Huawei says its own operating system, called Harmony, is much more efficient and faster than Android. It’s believed it will arrive on Huawei phones later this year, which may signal the end for Huawei Android phones.
In terms of how it feels, it’s likely that phone users won’t spot too much of a difference. That’s because the company’s own EMUI (short for Emotion User Interface) is currently on all Huawei phones, just as all manufacturers put their own spin on Android.
But EMUI is designed so it will look identical on a phone with Harmony OS underneath, so there should be a smooth and seamless move from one OS to the other. So smooth that customers might not even notice.
Like Android, Huawei’s Harmony OS is based on Linux, so it should be easy for Android app developers to make their apps compatible with Harmony OS, too.
Five rear cameras on the Huawei P40 Pro Plus
HuaweiIs it worth getting a Huawei phone in the United States?
Buying Huawei is certainly a little more complicated than choosing a Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy phone. But, set against that, the phones are just sensational. I’ve tested a lot of phones and the Huawei P40 Pro is better than almost all of them when it comes to cameras. The Leica lenses, sophisticated Artificial Intelligence in the software and speedy performance means Huawei’s camera are unstoppably good.
Huawei’s own Kirin processors are world-class. Nothing has yet beaten the A13 Bionic chip in the latest iPhones, but the current chips from Huawei are not far behind. And in the coming days, Huawei is about to reveal its latest chip, which is likely to be ground-breaking and very fast indeed.
Huawei was one of the first companies to put the fingerprint sensor in the screen itself, and to add reverse wireless charging so you can charge a friend’s phone from yours. Future Huawei phones look certain to have distinctive innovations – an all-new camera system has already been predicted for the Huawei Mate 40 Pro when it launches in the coming weeks.
In other words, if you buy a current Huawei phone, you can be sure you’re getting hardware that’s about the best around.
But there’s no denying the fact that the AppGallery and its workarounds currently leave gaps in the app ecosystem, so it’s worth checking before you buy that your favorite apps are there.
As for future handsets, well, the new Harmony OS is as yet untested on mobile phones, so we can’t tell just yet how good it will be. If it lives up to Huawei’s assertions, it could be a very serious contender, perhaps a third operating system alongside iOS and Android.
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The Link LonkAugust 28, 2020 at 08:40PM
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