How Google is making the Huawei Mate 20 Pro the best workplace handset yet
Google is pushing for Android smartphones to become a key part of your working life - including the new Huawei Mate 20 and Huawei Mate 20 Pro.
Speaking at the Huawei Mate 20 launch event in London yesterday, Google VP of marketing Bob Borchers highlighted how closely the two companies had collaborated on making the new handsets appealing to enterprise customers.
Huawei has struggled to gain traction in the US market following concerns over reported spying in its hardware, claims it strongly denies.
Borchers noted that the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro are the latest devices to join the Android Enterprise Recommended program, set up by Google earlier this year to promote what it believes are the top smartphone offerings available for business users today.
“Android isn’t just the leading choice for consumers, but for businesses all around the world,” he noted, “we’re excited that the Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro are the latest devices to join the Android Enterprise Recommended program.”
- Read our hands on: Huawei Mate 20 review
Android Pie and EMUI 9
Huawei has earlier described how its new EMUI 9 software found in the new devices was heavily based on Android 9.0 Pie, showing the close partnership between the two technology giants.
“Android 9 is our latest effort in building a platform that brings AI to everyone,” Borchers said, “it aims to make your phone even smarter by adapting to the world around you and the things you like to do on your phone.”
EMUI 9 also works with Android 9.0 Pie to help improve the security of the device, with Borchers highlighted the new 3D face-scanning capability of the new phones as a particularly key security feature.
Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro users will also be able to use the face-scanning tool to authenticate purchases on the Google Play Store in place of fingerprint scans.
The new devices will also see improved YouTube performance, including HDR and 360 video, and feature special digital wellbeing tools aimed at lessening user reliance on their devices.
“We’ve worked very closely with Huawei to verify that the devices that are launching today meet or exceed our performance expectations," Borchers said.
