Huawei’s Delayed 5G Handset Arrives In UK

Huawei’s first 5G handset, the Mate 20 X (5G), has arrived in the UK, and is set to be followed by the Honor 20 Pro on Thursday.

There had been doubt whether the handsets would arrive in Europe at all after the US placed Huawei on a national security blacklist in May.

The launches follow the US government’s agreement to issue some licences allowing US companies to sell parts and services to Huawei, ahead of the latest round of US-China trade talks, which began  this week in Shanghai.

The Mate 20 X (5G) is the more significant of the two, as it forms part of Huawei’s effort to push into 5G ahead of rivals.

Balong 5G modem

The handset is available for £999 SIM-free from Carphone Warehouse, Three and Sky Mobile.

It adds a Balong 5000 5G modem to the earlier Huawei Mate 20 X, and features a large 7.2-inch 1080 x 2244 OLED screen.

The device includes three high-end cameras on the back, a Kirin 980 chipset, 8GB of RAM and a 4200mAh battery, as well as 256GB of storage and a fingerprint scanner.

Honor 20 Pro

The Honor 20 Pro was announced in London in May at about the same time as the US blacklist was imposed.

The device is now set to launch in the UK on Thursday, 1 August, at £549.99 SIM-free for the model featuring 256GB of memory.

It inclues 8GB of RAM, photography optimised for low light and the Kirin 980 chipset.

The device is set to sell via Carphone Warehouse, Amazon, Argos and others.

“The Honor 20 Pro has reimagined the smartphone camera in ways that were not possible a decade ago, allowing professional photographers and enthusiasts to express their creativity and capture their life moments in ultra-clarity, low-lit environment and in beautiful detail,” said George Zhao, president of Huawei’s Honor brand.