Huawei’s P30 launch event – what to expect

While the governments of the world debate Huawei’s inclusion in 5G networks around the globe, the Chinese juggernaut’s consumer division is set to unveil a new range of products in Paris next week.

At their event, Huawei is expected to launch the P30 range of phones, but as always there’s the spectre of ‘one more thing’ which this time around could include an update to their newly launched Watch GT smartwatch.

There’s been a number of  leaks surrounding the event, so what can we expect?

Huawei P30 Series

Huawei is expected to announce three handsets at the event, a P30 Lite, the P30 and a high end P30 Pro.

All three handsets will feature Huawei’s inhouse developed Kirin processors, though the P30 Lite will be the budget option utilising the Kirin 710 processor. Huawei is expected to include the Kirin 980 processor with its Neural Processing Unit for enhanced AI in the P30 and P30 Pro.

Huawei’s P30 range will feature FullHD+ resolution displays, though the size, type of display and resolution vary. The P30 Lite will have a 6” IPS LCD display, while the P30 and P30 Pro will use an OLED panel with a 6.1” display on the P30 and 6.47” display on the P30 Pro.

Internal specs for the phones show Huawei is being quite generous all the way from the P30 Lite through to the P30 and P30 Pro.

Huawei will offer two options for the P30 Lite either 4GB RAM/64GB storage or 6GB RAM/128GB storage, while the P30 will come with 6GB RAM/128GB storage. The P30 Pro will be the powerhouse of the series with 8GB of RAM and options for 128GB, 256GB or 512GB of storage.

The P30 series will offer expandable storage though the P30 Lite will use microSD cards, while the P30 and P30 Pro will use Huawei’s Nano Memory (NM) cards for expandable storage.

Huawei’s claims on high-end camera phone specs will continue on the P30 range, with triple camera arrays expected on the rear of all three models.

The P30 Lite will feature a 20 MP main sensor and 16MP sensor with a 2MP depth sensor, while the P30 and P30 Pro will feature a 40MP main sensor with 16MP ultrawide sensor and 8MP sensor with telephoto option, thought the P30 Pro is tipped to include a periscope system offering up to 10x optical zoom using both optical imaging and software enhancements. The P30 Pro is also expected to include a Time of Flight sensor for 3D mapping.

A single 32MP selfie camera is expected on the front to really make you look great on Instagram.

Huawei will include fast charging across their range, however only the P30 Pro is expected to include wireless charging. The wireless charging will also extend to reverse wireless charging allowing you to charge other devices by simply placing them atop the rear of the phone.

Given the status of Huawei’s prowess in 5G, the P30 could possibly include support for 5G using their Balong 5000 modem. The modem which is compatible with the Kirin 980 processor can offer download speeds of up to 6.5Gbps on a 5G network making it a desirable inclusion. Unfortunately there’s not a lot of information on whether Huawei will include this or wait for the Mate 30 later in the year to bring 5G to their mainstream consumer phones.

With the release of the P20 series last year, Huawei kicked off a trend in beautifully coloured handsets and the P30 series is expected to continue this trend. The P30 Lite and P30 will come in either Twilight Black or Midnight Blue, with the P30 also offering a Pink Gold variant. The P30 Pro will offer some stunning colours as well as black with Ice White, Sunrise Red and Aurora Blue expected to be unveiled.

Huawei will launch the P30 series running Google’s Android 9.0 (Pie) operating system with their EMUI overlay. Huawei has been making efforts to ensure security and feature updates have been delivered to their high-end handsets and the P30 series should also enjoy these updates.

Huawei Watch GT – Active and Elegant

While the P30 series are expected to be the focus of their event, Huawei is also rumoured to be launching Elegant and Active variants of the Watch GT smartwatch announced alongside the Mate 20 last year.

The Huawei Watch GT Active and Huawei Watch GT Elegant won’t depart from the specs included in the Huawei Watch GT. The watches will run Huawei’s proprietary smartwatch OS and feature the same 1.39-inch OLED screen.

Some refinements are expected on the Elegant and Active versions of the watches including changes to the Bezel as well as the buttons which will be slightly flatter.

Huawei will offer the Watch GT Active with at least Green and Orange bands, while the Elegant will get classic black and white band options – though we wouldn’t be surprised to see even more options made available.

Availability and pricing

After the announcement on March 26th, Huawei is expected to bring the P30 series to market relatively fast.

We expect to see both the P30 and P30 Pro launched in Australia fairly quickly with an April launch not out of the question. The P30 Lite on the other hand may not arrive here at all with Huawei previously preferring to bring their Nova series handsets to Australia to address the mid-to-high end market.

Huawei has always been at the sharp end of pricing for their phones here in Australia, but European pricing for the handsets indicates they won’t be inexpensive. Leaks have pointed to a 749 Euro price tag for the P30, while the P30 Pro starts at 999 Eruro for the 128GB model, going up to 1,099 Euro for the 256GB model – no word on the 512GB model.

The watches are expected to be priced at 229 Euro for the Watch GT Elegant, while the Watch GT Active is set to be priced slightly higher at 249 Euro. Whether they go on-sale here in Australia or are used as gift with purchase similar to the Watch GT and the Mate 20 is the big question for the launch of the new generation Watch GT models.

Huawei’s consumer handset division has come along in leaps and bounds in the past few years. Huawei surpassed Apple as the second largest smartphone maker globally last year, and the P30 series looks set to cement their place in the market.