A phone that wants to be loved but can't quite ask for it
In the autumn of 2020, Huawei released the Mate 40 Pro into a world where political borders had become technological ones. The phone itself represents a genuine achievement in design and engineering — a €1,199 device with a luminous display, capable cameras, and a fast 5G processor — yet it arrives carrying an invisible wound: US government sanctions that sever it from Google's services and the Play Store that billions of users take for granted. It is a reminder that even the most carefully crafted object cannot escape the geopolitical currents that surround it, and that a smartphone without its ecosystem is, in some essential way, incomplete.
- A phone that is objectively premium — stunning design, sharp display, capable cameras — is rendered functionally compromised before a single app is downloaded.
- The absence of Google services isn't a minor inconvenience; it forces users into a shadow ecosystem of third-party APK files, deceptive download pages, and software that may be outdated or malicious.
- Huawei's own app store is growing — Amazon, TikTok, Snapchat are present — but the shelves are thin, and the gap between what's available and what users expect is still wide enough to matter.
- The company is building workarounds: a user-request system for missing apps, a forthcoming maps service, incremental additions — but these are patches on a structural fracture, not a repair.
- The Mate 40 Pro lands as a phone reviewers can admire but struggle to recommend — its hardware ceiling is high, but its software floor has been cut away by forces entirely outside the device itself.
Huawei's Mate 40 Pro is a phone that earns admiration the moment you hold it. The pearlescent back shifts through oranges, blues, and purples depending on the light. The 6.76-inch display is bright enough for direct sunlight. The quad-camera system handles optical zoom with real skill, and the Kirin 9000 processor keeps everything moving without hesitation. At €1,199, it feels like exactly what it's trying to be: a premium flagship.
But a structural problem sits beneath all that beautiful hardware. US government sanctions mean Huawei cannot access Google's services — no Gmail, no Maps, no Chrome, and most critically, no Google Play Store. This doesn't just limit the phone; it changes what the phone fundamentally is. Huawei's own app store has made genuine progress, with Amazon, Snapchat, TikTok, and Tinder available, and Facebook and WhatsApp accessible via direct downloads. But the gaps are significant, and filling them requires hunting through third-party websites riddled with deceptive download buttons, installing APK files from sources that can't be fully trusted — a reasonable risk on a review device, an unreasonable one on a phone holding your banking details and work email.
The camera system is capable but uneven. The main sensor delivers vibrant, accurate color, and the 5x optical zoom produces impressively detailed shots. The ultra-wide, however, struggles with muted contrast and white balance inconsistencies, and video processing is heavy-handed — shadows lifted, highlights crushed, zoom focus drifting. A few software refinements could make this a great camera. For now, it's merely good. Battery life and performance are solid: the phone lasts a full day with room to spare, and fast charging handles the rest.
Huawei is working on solutions — a user-request system for missing apps, a maps service launching soon, a Mate 40 Pro Plus with a record-setting 17x optical zoom. But these are incremental answers to a foundational question: can you actually use this phone the way you want to? For most people, the honest answer remains no. The hardware is exceptional. The ecosystem it needs to function is locked behind a border it cannot cross.
Huawei's Mate 40 Pro is a phone that wants to be loved but can't quite ask for it. The device itself is stunning—a pearlescent back that shifts from soft orange and blue into deeper purples depending on the light, a 6.76-inch display so bright and sharp you can read small text in direct sunlight, a quad-camera system that handles optical zoom with genuine skill. The Kirin 9000 processor inside keeps everything moving without lag. For €1,199, you're holding something that feels genuinely premium, the kind of device that makes you want to show it to someone just to watch the colors dance across the back.
But there's a problem that no amount of beautiful glass and metal can solve. Due to ongoing restrictions imposed by the US government, Huawei cannot access Google's services. Not Gmail. Not Maps. Not Chrome. Most critically, not the Google Play Store. It's a constraint that doesn't just limit the phone—it fundamentally changes what the phone can be.
Huawei has built its own app store to fill the gap, and the company has made real progress. You can find Amazon, Snapchat, TikTok, and Tinder there now. Facebook and WhatsApp are available as direct downloads from their official websites. But the shelves remain sparse compared to what Google offers, and the workarounds are clumsy and risky. To get apps not in Huawei's store, you have to hunt through third-party websites, many of which are designed to deceive you—a prominent "Download Now" button that's actually an advertisement, the real installation link buried somewhere smaller below. You're downloading APK files from sources you can't fully trust, installing software that might be outdated or compromised. It's the kind of thing a tech reviewer might do on a review device without hesitation. It's something you wouldn't do on a phone that holds your banking details, your work email, your contact list.
The camera system deserves its own consideration. The main sensor balances exposure well and delivers vibrant, accurate color. The 5x optical zoom captures impressively detailed shots, and even at 10x magnification there's still clarity in the frame. But the ultra-wide camera is less impressive, often producing images with muted contrast and visible shifts in white balance, likely from an overly aggressive HDR mode. Video recording shows the same tension between ambition and execution. The stabilization is excellent—footage stays smooth even at a fast walk—but the HDR processing is heavy-handed, lifting shadows and crushing highlights until the result looks oddly processed. At 5x zoom, the focus drifts in and out. A few software tweaks could turn this into a genuinely great camera. Right now it's merely good.
The processor and battery life are solid. The Kirin 9000 delivers fast 5G connectivity and 8GB of RAM. Games like Asphalt 9: Legends run at consistently high frame rates. The phone easily lasts a full day of mixed use with charge to spare into the next day, and fast charging means a quick boost before heading out is no problem. On paper, its 3D Mark benchmark score of 7,827 sits below the OnePlus 8T and iPhone 12, but the difference is marginal.
Huawei is working on solutions. The company is developing a system where users can request unavailable apps, and if enough people express interest, Huawei will prioritize bringing them to the store. A maps service is launching in the coming weeks. The Mate 40 Pro Plus offers a 17x optical zoom—the largest optical zoom ever put in a phone—and a Porsche Design version exists for those who want their premium hardware to look even more exclusive. But these are incremental improvements to a structural problem.
The question isn't whether the Mate 40 Pro is a good phone. It is. The question is whether it's a phone you can actually use the way you want to use it. For most people, the answer is no. The hardware is there. The design is there. But the ecosystem that makes a smartphone genuinely useful—the apps, the services, the seamless integration with the rest of your digital life—that's locked behind a border the Mate 40 Pro cannot cross.
Notable Quotes
Huawei has built its own app store and made real progress, but the shelves remain sparse compared to what Google offers, and the workarounds are clumsy and risky.— CNET review
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
So the phone itself is genuinely good hardware. Why does that matter if you can't recommend it?
Because a phone is only as useful as what you can do with it. You can have the most beautiful screen in the world, but if you can't get Gmail on it, you're not checking your email the way you're used to.
But Huawei has its own app store. Isn't that enough?
It's getting better, but it's not close. And the real problem is what happens when the app you need isn't there. You end up downloading APK files from websites that are actively trying to trick you into clicking ads instead of the download button. You're installing software from sources you can't verify.
That sounds like a security risk.
It is. I tested it on a review device without hesitation. But I wouldn't do it on a phone that holds my banking information and work email. That's the gap between what a tech reviewer can do and what a regular person should do.
Is Huawei's solution working?
They're trying. They've got a request system now—if enough people ask for an app, Huawei will prioritize it. They're launching their own maps service. But these are patches on a fundamental problem. The US restrictions aren't going away anytime soon.
So what's the real story here?
It's a phone that's been cut off from the ecosystem that makes phones useful. The hardware is premium. The design is beautiful. But you're buying a device that's incomplete by design, and no amount of engineering can fix that.