Now that the official meet with the Huawei Mate 10 is over in Munich, we take a look at some announcements regarding the OS updates. Now, the whole Huawei Mate 10 roster comes with Android Oreo. These devices are the second non-Pixel devices with Oreo after the Xperia XZ1 series from Sony. Huawei said at the meet that the Mate 9 and P10 will “soon” be getting Oreo.
We’d like to highlight that ‘soon’. The company hasn’t provided an ETA not to fall short of user expectations. We’ve already seen the Mate 9 Oreo firmware getting prepped (on Geekbench) so we could see it before the end of 2017. While the P10 could get it in early 2018.
Huawei also seems to be now focusing a lot on the software experience. The AI in the software is a proof of that. More so, Huawei’s statement that flagship phones will get security patches every month. While mid-range handsets will get them every 2 months, the entry level won’t be denied more than three months. While this is a good thing, we would have also liked more clarification on OS updates for devices besides flagships. Also, a more committed approach in that area would give a boost to sales of mid-range handsets.
Huawei also announced EMUI 8.0, its polarising skin on top of Android Oreo on the Mate 10 instead of EMUI 6.0. Now, we don’t know why Huawei jumped from 5.0 to 8.0 but we do know what it offers. EMUI 8.0 comes with faster app launching times and better power allocation. The AI will also suggest features on the Mate 10 based on user needs. Also, some of these features will go down to the Mate 9 family and the P10 family but some like the smart scene recognition will remain exclusive to the Mate 10.
