Huawei announces EMUI 10 update schedule starting this month w/ P30, Mate 20

Ben Schoon | Jan 20 2020 - 6:27 am PT

Huawei is still in a tricky spot when it comes to launching new devices, but that hasn’t stopped the company from supporting what’s already on the market. This morning, Huawei is announcing its official update schedule for EMUI 10 and it starts rolling out this month.

EMUI 10 has been available in beta and even on some newly released devices such as the Mate 30 series and “new” P30 as well, but it’s not been rolled out to most consumers. Today, the official update schedule clears up when many users can expect this major update.

Starting this month, Huawei says that the P30, P30 Pro, Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro, Mate 20 X (4G), and nova 5T will all be updated to EMUI 10 with Android 10 in tow. Push notifications will arrive on these devices to indicate the update’s availability.

In “later months,” Huawei will further expand the EMUI 10 update schedule to many more devices. Those devices include:

PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 20 RS, HUAWEI Mate 20 X(5G), HUAWEI P30 lite, HUAWEI nova 4e, HUAWEI P20, HUAWEI P20 Pro, HUAWEI Mate 10, HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro, PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 10, PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate RS, HUAWEI Mate 20 lite, HUAWEI P smart 2019, HUAWEI P smart + 2019, HUAWEI P smart Pro, HUAWEI P Smart Z, HUAWEI nova 4 and HUAWEI nova Lite 3

What does EMUI 10 bring along with it? As we went hands-on with it back in August, it brings some interface improvements, support for a system-wide dark theme, new animations, and more new features. In today’s press release, Huawei emphasizes multi-screen collaboration and improved performance and security features. The full press release is available below.

The elephant in the room with all of this is Google apps. As we’ve seen in the past, Huawei can still update previously sold devices and retain Google app support. So, if you own one of these devices, updating to EMUI 10 won’t remove your Google apps such as the Play Store.

Huawei announces EMUI 10 update schedule

Shenzhen, China, 20 January 2020 – Huawei today announced the global schedule for Huawei devices to receive the free EMUI10 update. First unveiled at Huawei Developer Conference last August, the latest version of EMUI10 introduces a new interface, Dark Mode, improved performance and security and support for Multi-screen Collaboration, a new feature that enables seamless connectivity between Huawei PCs and Android devices.

Beginning this month, HUAWEI P30 Pro, HUAWEI P30, HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro, HUAWEI Mate 20, HUAWEI Mate 20 X (4G) and HUAWEI nova 5T users will start receiving push notifications prompting them to install the EMUI10 update. Users may also check for eligibility by going to Settings > System > Software Update on their devices.

The update will be made globally available to PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 20 RS, HUAWEI Mate 20 X(5G), HUAWEI P30 lite, HUAWEI nova 4e, HUAWEI P20, HUAWEI P20 Pro, HUAWEI Mate 10, HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro, PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 10, PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate RS, HUAWEI Mate 20 lite, HUAWEI P smart 2019, HUAWEI P smart + 2019, HUAWEI P smart Pro, HUAWEI P Smart Z, HUAWEI nova 4 and HUAWEI nova Lite 3 in later months.

A new interface

EMUI10 features an all-new interface that draws inspiration from the layout of magazines. Titles are now presented in a much larger font for emphasis, and a grid system consolidates elements across the UI to create a more focused layout that greatly improves the navigation experience. A new Morandi colour palette consisting of six ashen colours add subtle elegance to the Contacts interface. App icons are revised with respect to the golden ratio for a more consistent and naturally appealing look.

The Camera app is re-designed for simplicity. Aside from the shutter button, which now has a more modernised look, the zoom bar is made larger, enabling users to more easily fine-tune the degree of magnification. Switching modes now triggers a large text prompt on the viewfinder to clearly indicate the change. Additional filters are accessible directly from the viewfinder, allowing users to easily add artistic flair to their photos even before the shot is taken.

Ergonomic Dark Mode

An all-new Dark Mode presents a more comfortable way to navigate the UI. Re-engineered based on ergonomic test results conducted by Huawei’s Human Factors Lab, the upgraded feature makes careful colour adjustments to the UI to retain optimal contrast between text and the background for maximum legibility in the darkened interface. Colour saturation is also adjusted so that the perceived colours are consistent between normal mode and Dark Mode.

More natural animations

UI elements now react to touch inputs quicker and in a way that is better aligned with expectation. The durations of various animations are optimised for smoothness and comfort. Tapping an object now triggers a spring motion that varies depending on the size of the element. To deliver a smoother experience, transitions now feature double the frames compared to EMUI 9.1. When users swipe up to minimise an app, the animation follows the trajectory of the swipe. The speed of the animation is based on the speed, direction and release point of the swipe, with respect to the laws of physics.

Improved performance and security

The new Deterministic Latency Engine intelligently optimises resource allocation for foreground apps and processes to ensure they are allocated the system resources necessary for consistent optimal performance. The upgraded GPU Turbo reduces touch latency while delivering improved gaming performance and battery efficiency.

An isolated secure system is applied in EMUI10. The microkernel of this system has achieved CC EAL 5+, the highest level of security certification for consumer device OS globally. All payment, authentication and other highly sensitive operations are run on-device, preventing potential interception and theft. The connection setup, data transfer and stored information between devices are also encrypted in the system.

Multi-screen Collaboration

EMUI10 brings a new way for Huawei devices to interact with each other. Developed based on the distributed computing model, Multi-screen Collaboration enables a seamless connection between Huawei PCs and smartphones. After a simple pairing process, the smartphone can be directly controlled on the laptop display, using the peripherals connected to the PC. Transferring files between the devices is as simple as dragging and dropping. The clipboard is shared between the PC and the smartphone, allowing users to copy text on one device and paste it on another.