Huawei’s super-powered mobile is landing in Carphone Warehouse soon, but without access to Google Apps and no confirmation on 5G options.
Carphone announced today that’s it’s going to stock the phone from February 20 – anyone who’s interested can pre-register their interest by filling out a form here.
Related: These are the best smartphones for 2020
Unfortunately, as Huawei has fallen foul of the current US administration, it hasn’t got access to a bunch of handy American features. It does come with Android 10 pre-installed, but the phone won’t be able to carry any Google-built apps. It also won’t have access to the Play Store or any of Google’s backend commerce services.
Instead, anyone who buys the handset will have to rely on Huawei’s pre-installed App Gallery to track down services for their phone – or resort to other outlets, like Amazon’s Appstore.
It’s clear that both Huawei and Carphone are anticipating some grand-scale confusion from future customers. There’s a disclaimer on the Carphone page that reads: “This device does not come with Google Mobile Services, so we have a dedicated VIP support team on hand for you once purchased.”
A “VIP support team” seems like overkill to us, but maybe Google apps are so popular that their disappearance merits an emergency line.
Related: Here’s everything we know about Huawei’s next foldable phone
There is a big sweetener to the deal though. Carphone is chucking in a complimentary set of FreeBuds 3 and a Huawei Watch GT2 for anyone who purchases one of the new mobiles. This definitely take the sting out of losing Gmail.
When we tested out the phone back in October, we were suitably impressed by its slick-finish, impressive battery and the great camera offering. We weren’t blow away by its screen, which is a waterfall design, but it was still a decent display.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.