The phone itself is excellent. The world it's trying to operate in is not.
At the intersection of geopolitics and consumer technology, Huawei's Mate 40 Pro arrives as a masterwork of industrial design and engineering ambition — a phone that earns its four-figure price tag in nearly every physical dimension. Yet the hand that built it cannot reach the world it was made for. US government restrictions have severed the device from Google's ecosystem, and in doing so, have transformed a flagship into a cautionary tale about how political forces can render even the finest tools impractical for ordinary life.
- Huawei has engineered one of the most beautiful and capable smartphones of 2020, with a pearlescent finish, sharp display, powerful processor, and a versatile quad-camera system that rivals the best in the industry.
- A US government ban on Google services creates a rupture at the heart of the device — no Gmail, no Maps, no Chrome, and critically, no access to the Google Play Store that billions of users depend on.
- To fill the void, users must hunt for apps across third-party websites riddled with deceptive download buttons and unverified APK files, exposing their most sensitive personal data to potential malware.
- Huawei's own app store is growing — Amazon, Snapchat, and TikTok are present — but the shelves remain sparse, and a crowdsourced app-request system signals a platform still catching up rather than competing.
- The phone lands in a deeply contradictory place: technically excellent, commercially stranded — a superphone that most people, in good conscience, cannot be advised to buy.
Pick up the Huawei Mate 40 Pro and the craftsmanship is immediately apparent. The back shifts through soft oranges, pale blues, and deep indigos as light catches it — a pearlescent finish that feels less like a consumer product and more like something worth keeping. The 6.76-inch display is bright and legible even in direct sunlight, and the Kirin 9000 processor handles everything without hesitation. At roughly $1,418, it looks and performs the part.
The camera system is similarly ambitious. Four rear lenses offer genuine versatility — the main sensor renders colors accurately, the 5x optical zoom captures impressive detail, and video stabilization holds steady even at a brisk walk. There are rough edges: the super-wide lens can produce muted contrast, and an overzealous HDR mode in video lifts shadows and crushes highlights into something that feels artificial. A few software refinements could elevate a good camera into a great one.
But the phone's deeper problem has nothing to do with hardware. US government restrictions have cut Huawei off from Google's services entirely — no Gmail, no Maps, no Chrome, and no Google Play Store. Huawei's own app store has made real progress, with Amazon, Snapchat, and TikTok available, and Facebook and WhatsApp accessible via official APK downloads. Yet for anything beyond that, users must navigate a landscape of third-party websites designed to deceive, where the real download button hides beneath layers of misleading advertisements, and where the file you install may be outdated or compromised.
For a review device, that risk is manageable. For a personal phone carrying banking credentials, contacts, and work email, it is not. Huawei is working to close the gap — a maps service is coming, and a crowdsourced app-request system lets users signal demand. But these are incremental steps within a fundamentally constrained ecosystem. The Mate 40 Pro is, by almost every measure, an excellent phone. The world it must operate in makes it nearly impossible to recommend.
Walk into a phone store and pick up the Huawei Mate 40 Pro and you'll understand immediately why the company is proud of it. The back catches light in ways that feel almost alive—soft oranges and pale blues shift into deeper purples and indigos as you turn it in your hand, a pearlescent finish that makes the device feel less like a tool and more like an object worth keeping. The frosted glass is cool to the touch. The metal edges are precise. At 6.76 inches, the display is bright and sharp, with colors that pop and text so clear you can read it in direct sunlight. This is a phone that costs 1,199 Euros—roughly $1,418—and it looks and feels like it.
The hardware inside matches the exterior promise. Huawei's Kirin 9000 processor handles everything you throw at it without hesitation. The phone supports 5G. It has 8GB of RAM. Playing demanding games like Asphalt 9: Legends produces consistently high frame rates. The battery lasts a full day of mixed use and then some, with fast charging available when you need a quick boost. On paper, this is a superphone designed to compete with the iPhone 12 Pro and Samsung's Galaxy flagships.
The camera system tells a similar story of ambition and capability. Four rear lenses give you options: the main sensor balances exposure well and renders colors accurately and vibrant. The 5x optical zoom captures impressively detailed shots. Even at 10x magnification, the image retains clarity. Video stabilization is excellent, smooth even when you're walking at a brisk pace. The optical zoom proves handy for framing different compositions. But there are rough edges. The super-wide camera sometimes produces shots with muted contrast and white balance shifts, likely from an overzealous HDR mode. In video, that same HDR aggressiveness lifts shadows and crushes highlights so heavily that the result feels processed and artificial. Focus drifts in and out at 5x zoom. The software is doing too much, and a few tweaks could transform a good camera into a great one.
None of this matters much if you can't use the phone. That's where the story breaks. The United States government has imposed restrictions on Huawei that prevent the company from accessing Google's services. No Gmail. No Maps. No Chrome. No Google Play Store. This isn't a minor inconvenience—it's the central problem that makes this phone, despite its beauty and power, nearly impossible to recommend to most people.
Huawei has built its own app store to fill the gap, and the company has made real progress. Amazon, Snapchat, TikTok, and Tinder are available. Facebook and WhatsApp can be downloaded as APK files directly from their official websites. But the shelves remain relatively bare compared to Google Play, and accessing apps outside the official store carries real risk. To get Instagram, for instance, you have to hunt through third-party websites, many of which are designed to trick you—a large "Download Now" button that's actually an advertisement, with the actual install button buried below in smaller text. You're navigating a minefield of deception. And even when you find the right file, you're installing software from unknown sources onto a device that holds your banking details, your contact lists, your work email. You don't know if the APK is current. You don't know if it contains malware. For a review device, it's an acceptable risk. For a personal phone, it's not.
Huawei is working to improve the situation. The company has created a system where users can register interest in apps that aren't yet available, and if enough people do the same, Huawei will prioritize bringing that app to its store. A maps service is coming in the coming weeks. But these are incremental improvements to a fundamentally limited ecosystem. The Mate 40 Pro exists in a constrained world, cut off from the services that billions of people rely on daily. The phone itself is excellent. The world it's trying to operate in is not.
Citas Notables
The fact remains that its shelves are relatively bare right now and if you're into getting the latest games and services then this isn't the phone for you.— CNET review
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
So the phone is genuinely beautiful and fast. Why can't you just recommend it anyway?
Because beauty and speed don't matter if you can't send an email or find a restaurant. The Google Play Store isn't just an app store—it's the infrastructure that makes Android phones work for most people.
But Huawei has its own app store now. Isn't that getting better?
It is getting better, but it's still missing huge gaps. And the workaround—downloading APK files from random websites—is something I wouldn't ask a friend to do with their personal phone. The risk isn't worth it.
What's the actual risk? Is it just malware?
Malware is part of it, but it's also that you don't know if you're getting the current version of an app, or if someone has tampered with it. With Google Play, there's a verification layer. With third-party sites, there's nothing.
So this is really a political problem, not a phone problem.
Exactly. The phone is excellent. The US restrictions are what make it unusable for most people. That's the tragedy of it.