With the P30 Pro running Android, and with Huawei’s Android license revoked, questions have swirled about the P30 Pro’s eligibility for the Android 10 update. At IFA 2019, Huawei has not only promised Android 10 for the P30 Pro, but also given the phone two new colors, Misty Lavender and Mystic Blue. Winfuture’s Roland Quandt leaked the new colors before the big announcement, seen in the photo below.
The Mystic Blue is Deja Vu
The Mystic Blue color is new to Huawei’s phone lineup, but are not native to the P30 Pro or Huawei. Huawei’s Y7 Prime 2018 arrived in a Mystic Blue color option, and Micromax debuted its Canvas Selfie in 2015 with a “Mystic Blue” option. The Misty Lavender is unique to Huawei and is being used with the P30 Pro for the first time.
Android 10 will land on the P30 Pro at some point
Aside from the P30 Pro’s new “paint splashes,” Huawei also showcased the upcoming Android 10 update for the handset. Yep, it may be hard to believe, but Huawei’s additional 3-month reprieve by the US Government after its Android license expired on August 19th gives the company until November 19th to update its Android devices with system updates and security patches.
In the case of the P30 Pro, Huawei is allowed to provide Android 10 for the handset, which means that the P30 Pro retains its Google Play Store access. The company’s upcoming flagship, the Huawei Mate 30, will feature the company’s new HarmonyOS instead. HarmonyOS is said to run on a microkernel like Google’s Fuchsia.
Android 10 brings the coveted Dark Theme, along with tighter location data controls, Family Link parental controls, Smart Reply, Live Caption for the hard-of-hearing (HoH), increased notification controls, more organized privacy settings, and so on.
The P30 Pro’s last go-round
The P30 Pro has been deemed a lowlight photography beast with an impressive zoom quality that consumers can’t help but admire, but Huawei’s tense position with the US Government at this point means that the Android 10 update could very well be the last go-round for the P30 Pro.
Huawei is currently on a 90-day reprieve that allows for updates and security patches, but the niceties will come to an end on November 19th, and Huawei will once again have to rely on the kindness of the US Government to grant it another 90-day reprieve. Meanwhile, the company’s upcoming flagship will run HarmonyOS, the company’s new open-sourced mobile operating system. There are rumors that the company’s upcoming Mate X will run Android Pie, which means that the new device will also lack the Android 10 update.
Giving Android 10 to P30 Pro customers is a determined gesture on Huawei’s part to give customers what it knows they want. The P30 Pro’s Android access is one of a few things that sold the expensive flagship, and customers today who purchase Android flagships demand and expect long-term system and security updates. The new phone colors for the device are a way for Huawei to keep selling the Android-powered smartphone while it deals with the current political mess it’s in with the US Government.
Huawei may still be hoping for a huge olive branch from the government, but the US believes Huawei to be a threat to national security. Huawei has said before that it would sign “no-spy agreements” with client countries if it needs to, though Beijing would ensure that Huawei’s paper signatures mean nothing.
Huawei said, prior to its Android license revocation, that Android would lose 800 million customers if it left Android, but apparently, its continued effort to market Android on the P30 Pro proves that, despite HarmonyOS, customers still want Android.