Opinion | Huawei Mate 10 Pro, P20 Pro snubbed in EMUI 10.1 update roadmap
While quietly continuing its EMUI 10 update rollout, Huawei has also unveiled EMUI 10.1, a minor upgrade on EMUI 10 that will bring smoother animations, and a slew of other productivity-focused features. The company recently published its update roadmap for EMUI 10.1, but owners of the Mate 10 Pro and P20 Pro may have been mortified to find their devices missing from the list.
The Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro were the first Huawei devices to be launched with the Android Oreo-based EMUI 8.0, and the phones have received two major OS updates since then: Android Pie and Android 10, although the Android 10-based EMUI 10.0 rollout appears to be rather slow. One would expect the Mate 10 phones, then, to get the EMUI 10.1 update, as it's still based on Android 10, but Huawei appears to have other ideas.
There doesn't seem to be a tangible reason for the phones to be ignored, really, other than the fact that they've gotten a bit long in the tooth. But that's no reason at all. The P20 Pro was released right about two years ago and also appears to be getting snubbed. Out of sight, out of mind, it would seem.
Sadly, this doesn't appear to be an issue peculiar to Huawei either. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has also received two major OS updates: Pie and Android 10, just like the Mate 10 Pro. Samsung's One UI 2.1 is very similar to EMUI 10.1, as it's also a light UI update built on Android 10, but there's a high chance that the Note 9 will not receive the update.
While it'd be silly to request Huawei to provide the Mate 10 Pro and P20 Pro with Android 11—if only for the reason that there's no precedent—EMUI 10.1 can hardly be considered a major update, and is based on an OS version the Mate 10 Pro is entitled to. Perhaps, to Huawei, it's a debate between spending resources on a phone with steadily dwindling ownership, versus directing those resources towards newer offerings. The latter is the sensible business decision, but Mate 10 Pro and P20 Pro owners are unlikely to agree.
