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HUAWEI Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro specs: Kirin 990, 5G, but what else?
It feels like we’ve been hearing about the HUAWEI Mate 30 series for ages now, but Huawei has finally made it official by launching the devices in Munich today. What should you expect from the new phones, then?
HUAWEI Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro specs
| HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro | HUAWEI Mate 30 | |
|---|---|---|
Display | HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro 6.53-inch curved OLED, Horizon Display 2,400 x 1,176 resolution | HUAWEI Mate 30 6.62-inch FHD+ OLED 2,340 x 1,080 resolution 402 ppi 18.7:9 aspect ratio |
Processor | HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro HUAWEI Kirin 990 Octa-core CPU (2 Cortex-A76 @ 2.86GHz, 2 Cortex-A76 @ 2.36GHz, 4 Cortex-A55 @ 1.95GHz) Dual NPU | HUAWEI Mate 30 HUAWEI Kirin 990 Octa-core CPU (2 Cortex-A76 @ 2.86GHz, 2 Cortex-A76 @ 2.36GHz, 4 Cortex-A55 @ 1.95GHz) Dual NPU |
GPU | HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro Mali-G76 MP16 | HUAWEI Mate 30 Mali-G76 MP16 |
RAM | HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro 8GB | HUAWEI Mate 30 6/8GB |
Storage | HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro 128/256GB Nano-Memory slot | HUAWEI Mate 30 128GB Nano-Memory slot |
Cameras | HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro Rear: 40MP f/1.6 with OIS 40MP f/1.6 ultra-wide 8MP f/2.4 3x telephoto with OIS 3D depth sensor Video: 4K at 30/60fps, 1080p at 30/60/960fps, 720p at 7680fps Front: 32MP f/2.0 | HUAWEI Mate 30 Rear: 40MP f/1.6 with OIS 16MP f/2.2 ultra-wide 8MP f/2.2 3x telephoto with OIS Video: 4K at 30/60fps, 720p at 960fps Front: 24MP f/2.0 |
Battery | HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro 4500mAh Non-removable 40W wired charging 27W wireless charging | HUAWEI Mate 30 4,200mAh Non-removable 40W wired charging 27W wireless |
Audio | HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro Sound on Screen technology USB-C No 3.5mm port | HUAWEI Mate 30 USB-C 3.5mm port |
Security | HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro 3D face unlock In-display fingerprint | HUAWEI Mate 30 In-display fingerprint |
Software | HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro EMUI 10 Android 10 | HUAWEI Mate 30 EMUI 10 Android 10 |
Dimensions | HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro 158.1 x 73.1 x 8.8mm 198 grams | HUAWEI Mate 30 160.8 x 76.1 x 8.4mm 196 grams |
The HUAWEI Mate 30 series are the first phones to be powered by the Kirin 990 processor, continuing a tradition of debuting a new flagship processor in a Mate device. This is also the first Kirin processor with an integrated 5G modem, although 4G Mate 30s will be available too. Integrated 5G should translate to more power savings compared to chipsets with a separate 5G modem (such as last year’s Kirin 980).
It’s worth noting that there are slight differences between the 4G and 5G versions of the Kirin 990 chipset. Opt for the 4G model and you’re getting slightly lower clock speeds on the middle and low-end CPU cores, a slightly less capable NPU, and a lower GPU clock speed. But otherwise, they’re offering the same core experience.
Our initial verdict: HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro hands-on: Bigger, faster, sleeker
The Mate 30 Pro is clearly the top dog of the lot though, touting 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage compared to the vanilla Mate 30 (6GB or 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage). HUAWEI’s Pro model also features a 4,500mAh battery compared to the Mate 30’s 4,200mAh battery — both devices pack 40W wired and 27W wireless charging.
Huawei’s new phones also differ somewhat in the photography field. The phones share a 40MP main camera and 8MP 3x telephoto sensor (with OIS on both), but the Mate 30 Pro offers a 3D ToF camera and a 40MP ultra-wide camera compared to the standard model’s 16MP ultra-wide snapper (it has no 3D camera). You can also expect 4K/60fps and 7680fps slow-mo video recording from the Mate 30 Pro model. Otherwise, you’re getting a 32MP selfie camera, 3D face unlock, and 3D ToF camera on the Pro compared to the standard variant’s 24MP camera.
Need a headphone jack on your device? Then you’ll have to opt for the standard HUAWEI Mate 30, as the Pro variant doesn’t offer this. This isn’t unprecedented though, as we saw the same situation with the P30 and P30 Pro. It’s also worth noting that the Mate 30 Pro has IP68 water/dust resistance compared to the Mate 30’s IP53 rating.