Huawei launches new flagship phone, but Google apps may be missing

Huawei launched its latest flagship phone on Thursday (September 19).

The Mate 30 range was revealed at an event in Munich.

Huawei claims the 5G handset is the most powerful on sale today.

Just one one problem though.

U.S. sanctions mean it may not be able to fit the phone with Google products like mapping and Gmail.

Thursday's presentation saw it loaded with Huawei's own apps.

And the firm didn't say whether it had access to U.S.-made software.

The phone can, however, run on an older, open-source version of Google's Android operating system.

The question is whether consumers will want a device shorn of top applications.

Huawei has to hope they will.

It's already lost five per cent of market share in Europe following the U.S. sanctions.

Now the Mate 30 range will start at 799 euros, or about 885 dollars.

Analysts think it stacks up well against Apple's new iPhone 11 on design, as well as hardware.

Consumers will decide if that's enough to make up for any missing apps.