In interviews following the Mate 30 launch event, CEO Richard Yu talked about leaving the bootloader of new devices open, allowing users to modify pre-installed Android software, hoping that there will be plenty of customers interested in installing Google services on their own. However, it seems that at least for now, the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro models will be delivered with locked bootloader, without the possibility of unlocking by an official method.

Locking the bootloader is something smartphone manufacturers do primarily for security. As long as the phone is locked, users cannot install unauthorized software, such as modified versions of Android. Richard Yu mentioned unlocking it, despite any security issues that might arise, to give users more “freedom” to customize their user experience. Of course, the CEO of the company did not detail the process.

But it seems that this is a plan that has not been 100% developed at the moment. According to company representatives, the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro models will be delivered with locked bootloader, and at this time there are no official plans to provide a simple method for unlocking. This means that the process of modifying the operating system will be very complicated, or even impossible, until Huawei provides a computer application or other simple method to perform this process.

The Android Authority website, which first reported Richard Yu’s statements in the interview session, says company representatives have denied plans to unlock the bootloader. Huawei is one of the companies that in the past has banned this practice on its devices, and in China, it has also banned the possibility of installing a new launcher, applications that allow modification of the design and functionality of the main interface. Basically, Huawei wants all users to stay on its custom Android, with the EMUI interface.

However, given that the Huawei Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro do not even have an official release date and there is no list of countries that will receive the phones in stores, it is hard to guess if these plans will be changed by the launch date. It is true, however, that the process of installing Google applications and services independently will not be a simple process, as many users are “locked” into using phones with pre-installed software.