How to install Google apps on your Mate 30 Pro

SINGAPORE - Huawei's new flagship Mate 30 phones boast top-of-the-line features, but tech analysts spelled doom for their sales due to the fact that they do not come with any Google apps and services.

Amid the ongoing US-China trade war, America has banned its firms from doing business with the Chinese tech giant, with Huawei not allowed to have any Google apps pre-loaded on their new devices such as the Mate 30.

That means that users would not have popular apps such as YouTube, Google Maps and Gmail installed on their phones, and neither will they have access to the Google Play Store.

For most Android users who are locked into the Google ecosystem, this would likely be a huge deterrent to them buying the Mate 30, no matter how fancy its cameras are.

There are ways to work around this, though.

One fuss-free way - which does not involve any software hacking - is to use the third-party development platform app known as LZ Play, which installs Google Play Store on the phone.

It is unclear who is behind this app, although the website is entirely in Chinese.

I tried it on a Mate 30 Pro - the more high-end device in the phone series - and the process was so easy and quick that one really need not have any tech know-how at all.

All you have to do is go on the app's website (www.lzplay.net), click the big blue button, and download the installer.

Then run the app, give it access to permissions, and just let it do its magic. The whole process should take less than five minutes.

When it is all done, Google Play Store should be available on the home screen.

According to tests by tech websites such as 9to5Google and Android Authority, some users had issues with immediately launching the Play Store, but it was resolved as soon as they restarted their phones.

I had no problems at all, and proceeded to use it to download apps such as Google Maps and Gmail after signing in to my Google account. I also downloaded ride-hailing apps Grab and Gojek, as well as banking app OCBC, and all of them appeared to work fine.

There were a few hiccups, however. The Netflix app could not be found on the Play Store at all, and I also had trouble with Google Pay, which noted that the phone was rooted and therefore did not allow me to finish setting up my credit card.

Of course, there is another big catch to doing this. LZ Play is not endorsed by Google nor by Huawei, and it is never a good recommendation to download apps from unknown locations. The need to provide the app with extensive permissions also opens doors to all manners of security and privacy risks.

Do so at your own risk.