Huawei is relaunching yet another “New Edition” of its 2019 smartphones on May 15, sources indicate, this time focusing on the Huawei P30 Pro. Exact details about the device are still a bit slim on the ground but the news comes via reports of an official Germany-based Huawei promotional offer. So the device is definitely on the way.
Now, the company could follow in a similar vein to the previously relaunched Huawei P30 Lite. If that’s the case, buyers can expect a similar number of changes. That is to say, almost no changes at all.
For the Huawei P30 Lite New Edition, the company simply ramped things up in terms of the internal storage. RAM also got a slight boost. Everything else about the phone stayed the same and there’s no reason to think things would be any different here.
Why isn’t Huawei just releasing a brand new smartphone instead of a “New Edition” P30 Pro?
The Huawei P30 Pro already launched with reasonable specs. Although the lack of a chipset update would place this phone closer to the mid-range than the top-end, it is no slouch. To begin with, the 6.47-inch handset was powered by a Kirin 980 SoC. That’s an AI-first chip that’s more than capable of competing with Snapdragon SoCs.
The chip here was initially powered by either 6GB or 8GB RAM. So Huawei may opt to start at 8GB and bump to 10GB for the premium variant. Or it may choose to start at 10GB and bump the upper reaches to 12GB. Storage, conversely, was made available in 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB. So it’s difficult to see where the company could go on that front unless it offers a faster type of storage than has been used.
Powering that was a 4,800mAh battery.
A quad-camera led by a 40-megapixel sensor was placed at the back of the handset, available in either Mystic Blue and Misty Lavender. A 32-megapixel selfie-snapper adorned the front.
Any of the above-mentioned specs could see a bump here. But there’s at least one good reason for Huawei to keep most of this device the same as before. The biggest of those reasons come down to apps. More directly, that comes back to Google Play Services and associated Google apps.
The Huawei P30 series was the last set of Huawei’s devices to ship with Google Mobile Services.
Afterward, no further devices could utilize the apps due to the Trump administration’s decision to add Huawei to the US government’s entity list. That prevents any US company — including Google, Qualcomm, and others — from working with Huawei or supplying it. Companies require a difficult-to-obtain specialty license to do so, leaving Huawei little recourse with regard to serving customers who need Google apps.
When will the “New Edition” P30 Pro arrive?
Less mysterious than the device’s specs is Huawei’s expected launch date. The official promotional page for the New Edition P30 Pro clearly lists a start date for the “promotion.”
Buyers will be able to purchase the Huawei P30 Pro New Edition from Vodafone or from Otelo starting on May 15. The purchase period will carry over until June 4.