[5][6] Due to ongoing U.S. sanctions against Huawei that prevented it from licensing the Google-certified Android with Google Mobile Services for new devices, international models of the Mate 30 run an Android 10-derived operating system utilizing a Huawei-provided software stack and application store (similarly to other Chinese smartphones sold domestically, as Google does not do business in mainland China).

Both displays contain notches, with the Mate 30 Pro using a larger tab concealing additional infrared sensors used for a facial recognition system.

[7] Both models utilize the Kirin 990 system-on-chip, an octa-core SoC featuring Cortex-A76 and Cortex-A55 CPU cores, Mali-G76 MP16 GPU, and a pair of AI accelerators.

Both have up to 256 GB of expandable storage via Huawei's proprietary Nano Memory format, which also serves as a hybrid SIM tray.

Due to ongoing United States sanctions against Huawei, international models of the Mate 30 do not ship with or support Google Mobile Services — the proprietary software suite (including Google Play-branded software) shipped on certified Android devices, and Huawei is not allowed to market the device using the Android trademark.

[12][13] A Huawei executive stated that the company had planned to allow bootloader unlocks for the Mate 30, which could have promoted the development of custom operating system ROMs that do support Google's apps.

[15] In late-September 2019, a tool named "LZPlay" surfaced, which allowed the Google Mobile Services apps to be installed on the Mate 30.

On October 1, 2019, after the publication of an article that revealed these mechanics, the app's website abruptly went offline, and devices that had used LZPlay began to fail Google's SafetyNet verification checks.

[16][17] In June 2020, Huawei announced the EMUI 10.1 update (originating from the P40), which includes new first-party apps such as virtual assistant Celia and the video calling service MeeTime, multi-window mode, and various user interface tweaks.

He praised the cameras, battery life, design and hardware, while panning the lack of Google apps, the gesture volume control and screen vignetting.