HUAWEI clarifies it has "no plans" to unlock the Mate 30 series' bootloader

Update, Sept 22, 2019, 10:42AM EST: A HUAWEI spokesperson has reached out to Android Authority to clarify comments made by Richard Yu at the Mate 30 series launch, now stating that HUAWEI has “no plans” to unlock the bootloader on Mate 30 series devices. How this choice will impact those wanting to sideload Google Play Services is as yet unknown and we don’t yet know if this decision may be revised in future. With no Google Play Services and no Google apps out of the box, the Mate 30 series has a pretty serious uphill battle on its hands in the West, unless, of course, HUAWEI has another plan up its sleeve – interpret Richard Yu’s comments below as you will. HUAWEI declined to comment any further on the bootloader situation, but we’ll update this article with any more information that comes to light.

Original post, Sept 20, 2019, 10:52AM EST: During the launch of the HUAWEI Mate 30 series of smartphones in Munich, CEO Richard Yu sat down to answer questions from various journalists, including Android Authority. One of the questions had to do with unlocking the HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro bootloader.

Since the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro will ship without Google apps, an unlocked bootloader is the only way users will be able to sideload Play Services onto the devices. However, Huawei’s recent policies have centered on discouraging users from unlocking the bootloaders of its devices.

It appears that, due to the current situation regarding HUAWEI and the United States government, the company is going to alter its position on unlocking the HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro bootloader. The company plans to allow users to unlock the phone.

HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro bootloader will be unlockable

Here is the statement from Richard Yu:

We limited [bootloader unlocking] because we wanted to guarantee more security for consumers. But this time we will leave more freedom for the consumers so they can do more customization by themselves. So we are planning to let consumers do that.

Unfortunately, Richard didn’t elaborate on how this process will work. Will the Mate 30 series come with an unlocked bootloader right out of the box? Will users need to figure out how to unlock the bootloader themselves and then take to XDA Developers‘ forums to spread the word? Could HUAWEI post explicit instructions online on how to unlock the HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro bootloader to make things simple? The company was mum on any of these details.

Related: HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro hands-on: Bigger, faster, sleeker

Still, this is good news. If you want the HUAWEI Mate 30 or Mate 30 Pro because of the stellar hardware but can’t swallow the idea of not using any Google apps, then this will allow you to still get it. Unfortunately, unlocking a bootloader and sideloading apps may still be something the average consumer doesn’t understand, so the jury is still out on whether or not this will help sales of the devices — or barely affect them at all.

Are you planning on buying a Mate 30 device and unlocking the bootloader to sideload Google apps? Are you planning on buying a Mate 30 device and staying Google-free? Or are you avoiding the device altogether? Let us know in the comments.