Shipments begin today for the Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro today in the UK, so the company decided to use that as an opportunity to take a stroll down memory lane — or maybe we should say a troll down memory lane — and zing its biggest competitors, as the company has been known to do from time to time. This time, it came via a tweet and ribbed Apple and Samsung over a big fine that was issued against the two companies this week.
We would never slow our phones down to force an upgrade. We're proud our new #HuaweiMate20Pro is #BornFastStaysFast – just like every other phone in our range. #NeverSlowDown Learn more now > https://t.co/Fn1ADt5VBW pic.twitter.com/AJihfosqAM
— Huawei Mobile UK (@HuaweiMobileUK) October 25, 2018
That’s a reference, of course, to the multimillion euro fine the Italian Competition Authority slapped both Apple and Samsung with a few days ago for the release of software updates that slowed down older phones, spurring users to consider just springing for a newer phone. And then to drive the company’s point home, Huawei added the hashtag #BornFastStaysFast.
It calls to mind the trolling Huawei pulled off against Apple just a few months ago, when Huawei representatives hit the lines of people in front of Apple stores queuing up for the iPhone XS. The Huawei crew handed out free battery packs to the iPhone buyers, in a well-coordinated campaign that included giving boxes which read: “Here’s a power bank. You’ll need it. Courtesy of Huawei.”
Then there was the time back in March when Huawei drove ad trucks past Apple and Samsung stores in the UK to promote the P20 Pro. And in its recent Mate 20 Pro presentation, the company even included an image of the phone charging up an iPhone XS Max to demonstrate its reverse wireless charging capability.
To be sure, while the company is good at pulling off stuns that make headlines, its Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro definitely wowed us earlier this month when the company finally unveiled them. It showed off features for the regular Mate 20 that include a flat screen and teardrop notch, while the Mate 20 Pro sports an iPhone X-like notch and curved screens along the lines of Samsung’s Galaxy S and Note phones. The Mate 20 phones also come with an in-display fingerprint sensor that’s supposedly 10% faster than other sensors, as well as a USB-C port that doubles as a bottom speaker. There’s no 3.5mm headphone jack on either model, and the phones have IP68 (Mate 20 Pro), and IP53 (Mate 20) ratings.
Unfortunately, of course, these models aren’t available for sale in the US.
