Huawei debuts phone without Google apps as US sanctions bite

Huawei launched a new flagship smartphone on Thursday but it comes without popular Google apps such as Chrome or YouTube after U.S. sanctions kicked in, limiting its appeal to consumers.

The Chinese tech giant unveiled the Mate 30 series of phones at an event in Munich, Germany.

The devices, including one for new 5G networks, run on an open source version of Google's Android operating system, which by default doesn't come preinstalled with the U.S. tech company's suite of popular apps and services that licensed versions have.

A man takes a picture of the new 'Huawei Mate 30' of China's smartphone manufacturer Huawei during an event in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

It also doesn't come with the Google Play Store, the main way users outside China access Android apps.

Huawei, the world's second-biggest smartphone maker, is fighting to save its business after the Trump administration blocked access to U.S. components and technology in May on national security grounds.

Washington has issued temporary exemptions that let Huawei maintain software for existing devices, but they don't cover new products such as the Mate 30.

The new 'Huawei Mate 30' of China's smartphone manufacturer Huawei is displayed during an event in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

Huawei is using its own, stripped-down version of Android, whose basic code is provided free of charge by Google.

The Mate 30 sports a four-camera system and screen that curves nearly 90 degrees around its long edges, for a borderless effect. Prices start at 799 euros ($880).

The Chinese company's phones are popular in Europe and Asia, but little known in the U.S., where it has been effectively blocked for years.

Richard Yu, CEO of the Huawei consumer business group, presents the new 'Mate 30 Pro' smartphone during an event in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

Losing access to Google's mobile apps will make it harder for Huawei to battle Samsung for top spot in the mobile phone market, because it will be harder to sell wireless carriers on the device, said Jean Baptiste Su, principal analyst at Atherton Research.

"I don't think operators will risk having millions of disappointed customers that rely on Google services (who) see it doesn't work on their brand new devices," he said.

For all of AP's tech coverage, visit https://apnews.com/apf-technology

Richard Yu, CEO of the Huawei consumer business group, presents new devices during an event in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

Richard Yu, CEO of the Huawei consumer business group, presents new devices during an event in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

Richard Yu, CEO of the Huawei consumer business group, presents new devices during an event in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

Richard Yu, CEO of the Huawei consumer business group, presents new devices during an event in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

Richard Yu, CEO of the Huawei consumer business group, presents new devices during an event in Munich, Germany, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed satisfaction on Monday after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor.

Candidates from his pro-European Union centrist Civic Coalition, or running with the party's backing, won in a series of cities in the second round of local elections held on Sunday, among them Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw and Rzeszow.

“It is very difficult to clearly say who won and who lost,” Tusk said Monday. “But if we compare these results, especially in the most attractive places, on these attractive battlefields ... then I actually have reasons for satisfaction.”

“Law and Justice has simply disappeared in many places,” Tusk added at a news conference, referring to the main opposition party.

The results put Civic Coalition in a favorable position as the country looks next to elections to the European Parliament on June 9.

Mayors were chosen in a total of 748 cities and towns where no single candidate won at least 50% of the vote during the first round on April 7.

Candidates for Tusk’s party also recaptured cities where they had not held power for many years, including Zielona Gora, Legnica and Torun.

The local and regional elections were viewed as a test for Tusk's pro-European Union government four months after it took power at the national level. Sunday's second round strengthened the Tusk government's leverage in the cities, which should facilitate cooperation on development projects and allotment of EU funds.

Tusk's allies also won in some places in the first round two weeks ago, including in Warsaw, where incumbent Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski was an easy victor.

In the first round, the right-wing Law and Justice, prevailed on the level of regional assemblies in the country's 16 provinces, where it took 34.3% of the votes, while Tusk's Civic Coalition got 30.6%. Law and Justice governed on the national level from 2015-23.

Tusk’s socially liberal Civic Coalition traditionally has strong support in cities, while Law and Justice has a more solid base in conservative rural areas, particularly in eastern Poland.

Civic Coalition is the largest group in a three-party coalition that governs the EU nation of 38 million people. The coalition is pro-European Union but otherwise spans a wide ideological spectrum with left-wing politicians in the Left party as well as conservatives in the Third Way.

Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Campaign posters promote candidates as Poles vote in local and regional elections in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk reacts during his and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with students in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk listens to the media in Berlin, Germany, Friday, March 15, 2024. Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)