Amazon boo boo gives us the release date and more for the Huawei P30 Pro

A slip by Amazon Italia, uncovered by the locals from HDblog, has revealed the actual launch date for the Huawei P30 Pro. The online retailer accidentally posted a listing for the phone, which has now been taken down, and it showed a release date of April 5th. The device will be unveiled along with the Huawei P30during a press event in Paris scheduled for March 26th. Amazon will sell the P30 Pro with 128GB of storage for 1028.19 EUR, including VAT. That is equivalent to $1,168 USD based on current exchange rates. Not that you'll find the P30 series lining the shelves in the U.S.; Huawei is still considered a national security threat in the states (more on that below).

Meanwhile, Amazon's listing shows that the Huawei P30 Pro will be powered by the Kirin 980 chipset. That is the same chip that powers the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. Android 9 Pie is pre-installed along with Huawei's EMUI 9.1. The phone will be equipped with 8GB of RAM and the aforementioned 128GB of storage, and a 4200mAh battery will be in charge of keeping the lights on. There will be a quad-camera setup in back that includes four Leica cameras. There is a 40MP primary snapper, a 20MP ultra-wide lens, 8MP telephoto lens, and a Time-of-Flight sensor. The camera will offer 10x hybrid zoom, and there is a 32MP front-facing selfie snapper.

Besides the phone itself, the box contains a USB-C headset, a high current charger to rapidly replenish the battery, a type-C cable, and a micro USB to type-C adapter. Amazon's listing showed the phone in Amber Sunrise. While it was not mentioned by the on-line retailer, we expect the phone to feature a 6.5-inch OLED panel with a 1080 x 2340 resolution. That works out to an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. An IP68 rating means that the phone can be submerged in nearly 5 feet of water for as long as 30 minutes

Rumored specs for the Huawei P30 include a 6.1-inch OLED display carrying the same resolution of 1080 x 2340, and the same 19.5:9 aspect ratio. This model will sport a tri-camera setup (it won't have the Time-of-Flight camera), and should come with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of native storage. The phone will include a 3500mAh battery and will also have an IP68 rating,

Even though Huawei is not selling its phones through U.S. carriers, it still believes that it could end up 2019 as the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. Last year, depending on where you get your data, Huawei was either number two or number three behind Samsung and Apple. It shipped over 200 million handsets last year and had several big sellers including the P20 Pro (which was the first smartphone to sport a tri-camera setup on back) and the Mate 20 Pro.

Last year, early in 2018, both Verizon and AT&T planned to offer the Huawei Mate 10 Pro which would have been a big win for the company. But both carriers backed out of their deals at about the same time leading many to believe that the U.S. government had something to do with the about face. Lawmakers' concern is that Huawei phones and networking gear include back doors that spy on consumers and corporations. The communist Chinese government by law requires tech firms to assist in gathering intelligence. However, Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei and company chairman Liang Hua have both fiercely denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, the beat goes on for Huawei and we should see the company continue to rack up huge sales of its high-end models like the P30 Pro. And later this year, Huawei will no doubt unveil the Mate 30 Pro. Will these two handsets take Huawei to the top of the smartphone industry, allowing them to leapfrog over Apple and Samsung? Check in at the end of the year for the answer.