The Huawei P40 range of smartphones was unveiled at an inconvenient time. Countries around the world are in lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19, which means that people may not focus on updating their smartphones. However, while it looks like the pandemic may have big implications for the tech world, as the iPhone 12 may be delayed by several months, Huawei has confirmed that the availability of its P40 series will not be affected by the lockdowns. factory or supply chain problems. Huawei CEO Richard Yu confirmed this after the launch of the P40, where he said production of the phone had started in December 2019, before the coronavirus became a global pandemic. So all the phones were finished before the massive industry shutdowns began. In fact, Yu would have suggested that because so many people use their phones while locked, the P40 series couldn't have come at a better time. However, it is highly questionable that there is a high demand for the phones right now.
Huawei P40: the perfect storm?
(Image credit: TechRadar) The Huawei P40 actually has two factors that mean customers might not stumble across it to buy it right now. First, it's unlikely that many people will want to buy new smartphones too much given the current uncertain global climate. This is not just a problem for Huawei, as a recent report suggests that Samsung Galaxy S20 phones have only sold 60%, as well as the Galaxy S10 series. Secondly, the Huawei P40 series does not have access to some of the main Google applications. This means there is no Google Play Store, Chrome, YouTube, Gmail and more, greatly reducing its functionality in Western countries. This has been a problem for some of the company's phones since Huawei's ban began shortly after the P30 launched. At the post-P40 briefing, Yu also said that he wants to work with Google again if trade tensions between China (where Huawei is based) and the United States (where Google is based) melt down. Via GSM Arena