Confirmation expected next week

About a month ago, reports out of China stated that Huawei might unload its Honor subsidiary to assist its to continue operations without the sanctions. New developments suggest that the deal has indeed skilled.

Chinese media outlets claim that the decoupling is within the final stages and therefore the official announcement will come around November 20. The independent Honor is claimed to be owned by a newly-formed venture between several top mobile distributors in China — Putian, Tianyin, China Post, Aishide, etc., and an investment trust with a background of Shenzhen SASAC. 

The acquisition cost isn’t mentioned, but it's expected to be within the range of 15-25 billion yuan, which approximately equals $2.2 billion to $3.7 billion. The state-owned company is additionally aiming for an IPO in three years.

The biggest advantage of the deal is that Honor could once more have direct trade relations with American companies, allowing it to source chipsets from Qualcomm and have access to full-fledged Android, among others. Since the sanctions are on Huawei (which includes Huawei Consumer Business Group and Huawei Enterprise also), a split should help Honor subvert those. The deal is additionally said to incorporate the whole employee base, research and development, and therefore the related supply chain, therefore the new owner wouldn't need to start from scratch. 

The split also will let Huawei specialize in the high-end market and telecommunication system, instead of pursuing slimmer profits that affordable Honor phones chase. Ming-Chi Kuo, one of the foremost reliable analysts within the consumer tech space, also suggests that the deal is going to be a “win-win situation” for the brands also because of the suppliers.

A report from Reuters also mentioned that Digital China, the most distributor of Honor devices, TCL, and Xiaomi were also curious about buying Honor. Huawei has remained mum over the speculations, but it shouldn’t be long till we get some clarity on the restructuring. 

We’ve approached Honor India for a press release on this development and can update the story accordingly.

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Mobile Phones: Huawei takes over because the world’s largest smartphone maker - albeit briefly

Defying all odds

Huawei has been within the news for the last few years, mostly for its ongoing battle with the Trump administration which choked supplies of critical hardware and software. However, amidst all this brouhaha, the corporate became the world's largest smartphone maker, overtaking Samsung during April.

GizmoChina has reported that Huawei accounted for 19% of worldwide smartphone shipments while Samsung’s numbers dipped to 17% at an equivalent time in April this year, giving Huawei the position for a quick time and this has been confirmed to GizmoChina by Counterpoint’s VP of Research Neil Shah.

While the US administration was busy flexing its muscle and forcing its allies, including India, to boycott Huawei from the all-important 5G deals for alleged espionage and data theft.

The Chinese company, on the opposite hand, has fought multiple battles to remain afloat. Not only has it found ways to stay selling its products, it's won critical 5G accept the united kingdom and while it's been barred to source critical components from the US linked companies, Huawei has not only been busy finding alternate solutions but was even ready to topple bigwigs Samsung and Apple to become world’s leading smartphone brand in 2020, albeit briefly.

World's leading smartphone brand?

In spite of the worldwide lockdown thanks to the raging Covid-19 pandemic, Huawei edged past Samsung within the number of smartphones shipped during April 2020.

Factors that have helped Huawei rake an enormous number within the Chinese domestic market include a robust nationalist sentiment that resulted in Chinese user's and companies’ preference for Huawei over any international smartphone brands. This retaliatory stance was in response to the American government’s decision of banning Huawei within the US.

Similarly, coronavirus-led lockdowns across various countries just like the US, India, Latin America, and Europe resulted in weaker sales numbers for Samsung. a number of these countries, including India, reported zero smartphone sales during the 75-day odd lockdown period and while factories and businesses sprung back to life in China as early as March giving Huawei a rare and brief window to overtake Samsung’s numbers.

While Huawei's moment of glory was short-lived, the corporate is under tremendous stress thanks to the declining numbers in overseas markets. albeit Huawei is rumoured to be in talks with multiple companies including Samsung to urge chipsets for its smartphones manufactured, this move will only help the corporate stay afloat in China, it’s the sales outside China that's crippled thanks to the shortage of Google Mobile Services (GMS) on its phones.

With the worldwide markets resuming normalcy, Samsung’s numbers also are sure to go up again while Huawei’s digits might not change substantially.





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Mobile Phones: Huawei's new MatePad Pro announced - but is it really an iPad Pro competitor?

But no Google apps

If you have been looking forward to the new iPad Pro 2020 there's actually another tablet arising which may interest you too: the Huawei MatePad Pro.

We'd already heard about the Huawei MatePad Pro from its Chinese announcement in November 2019, but this global launch (to replace the non-existent MWC 2020 event) shows the corporate plans to release the tablet worldwide – or a minimum of in certain non-Chinese countries.

The Huawei MatePad Pro runs on a top-end Kirin 990 chipset, which we have seen within the Huawei Mate 30 Pro and Honor View 30 Pro, and will deliver snappy processing speeds to rival the iPad Pro power.

There's also 6GB or 8GB RAM underneath to assist thereupon speed boost - and maybe a firm rival to the spec list offered by Apple.

The screen may be a 10.8-inch LCD screen, which is that the same tech Apple uses in its iPads (but is slightly smaller in size, and we're confirming it is the same high-end IPS LCD screen too).

This display is choppy by a punch-hole cut-out for the 8MP front-facing camera, which is matched on the rear by a 13MP snapper.

There's also the 'M Pencil', which wirelessly charges on the highest of the tablet, has 4,000 levels of pressure and sensitivity to permit for a spread of sketching and allows you to tap to wake the display of your MatePad Pro tablet.

There's a 7,250mAh battery which supports a quick 40W fast charge but also wireless charging (for if you would like to undertake and balance the massive device on a wireless power mat) and reverse wireless charging, so you'll power up other devices by using the tablet as a charging pad (presumably you cannot use the tablet while you are doing this).

If you are the proud owner of a Huawei phone, you'll use the 2 together and operate your smartphone on your tablet and drag and drop content across the 2 devices.

The Huawei MatePad Pro comes during a sort of options, starting at €549 (around $600 / £470 / AU$900) and up to €799 (around $865 / £670 / AU$1300 for the bottom level of the higher-spec Huawei MatePad Pro 5G.

So what is the problem?

If you think that this seems like a viable alternative to the iPad Pro or Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 (especially given the planning and bundled accessories), there's something you ought to know – there are not any Google apps on this tablet.

Thanks to the Huawei ban, smartphones, and tablets from Huawei don't accompany Google Mobile Services, and this is often the case for the MatePad Pro too.

At the instant, we do not know much about the Huawei Mobile Services (HMS), the company's replacement to Google apps, as no smartphones have begun with it.

Some are expected very soon, but it remains to be seen what percentage productivity apps HMS comes with.

When the Huawei MatePad Pro comes out, we'll test it to ascertain if it is a decent productivity tool despite not having access to the Google Play Store and every one its apps. Stay tuned for our full review within the near future to ascertain if this truly is an iPad competitor.




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We spoke to Vincent Pang, who said 5G's slow rollout, not US politics, is the reason behind the wait

The foldable Huawei Mate X is still coming and we know when it'll launch: September or sooner, according to a Huawei executive who spoke to TechRadar this week.

"It's coming in September – at the latest," said Vincent Pang, President of Huawei's Western European Region, while visiting New York City. "Probably earlier, but definitely September is guaranteed."

Where will the Huawei Mate X launch? "Any country that has 5G," Pang told us, making sure to remind us that Huawei's foldable phone is a 5G phone.

This was likely stressed because the Samsung Galaxy Fold launched with a 4G LTE version (before ultimately being recalled), with a 5G version only spoken about once and never officially priced.

Of course, Pang's "any country that has 5G" comment comes with a caveat. The Mate X isn't coming to the US, which is no surprise given the Huawei ban in the US.

Surprise: it'll still run Android at launch

We got more hands-on time with the Huawei Mate X, going as far as playing a game on all of its screens: folded front, folded back, and unfolded in tablet mode.

While PUBG looked great and felt roomy on the 8-inch screen (foldable phones will almost certainly dominate our best gaming phones list one day), it got us wondering: will the Mate X actually run Android and its apps when it launches?

"Yes," Pang told us. "Because it has already been announced," suggesting that it may fall outside of Trump administration's ban on US companies (including software companies like Google) from dealing with Huawei.

We've seen a lot of your comments predicting "We'll probably never see this phone" in the last two months given the ban. But Pang and Huawei officials we've spoken to seem awfully confident it'll launch, and launch with Android intact.

 Embedded video

Me playing @PUBGMOBILE on the foldable Huawei Mate X and not letting @JulianChokkattu have any time with it 😈 pic.twitter.com/SsQc66tCIC

— Matt Swider (@mattswider) June 21, 2019

Two extra bits of information about the "by September" launch time frame. First, we were told that 5G's slow rollout was the reason for the 'delay,' not US politics.

Huawei is waiting for 5G to cement itself in China and other important areas. 5G just went live in the UK, which has always been a key territory for Huawei smartphones.

Second, the word 'delay' is in dispute: it was always due to launch in the summer (which ends on September 21 in the Northern Hemisphere). A journalist inferred July at MWC 2019, according to Huawei, and the internet ran with that story.



"It's basically the same hardware [as we showed at MWC]," Pang told us. He said Huawei has spent its time tweaking the software so that applications adapt to full-screen mode when the Mate X is unfolded in the tablet orientation.

When asked what Huawei was doing to ensure the durability of the Mate X's plastic OLED screen and avoid mimicking Samsung's botched launch, Pang told us "That's a secret. But we have done a lot of tests, especially for that."





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A video showing little kids singing the praises of Huawei shows that Apple has a long way to go.

Foldable phones: Why they won't change the shape of the smartphone industry
The complaints are often heard, coming from those who claim to know.

Apple's products aren't as good as Samsung's, they say. It's just the marketing that's better.

Also: Homepod long term review: What I like -- and don't -- about Apple's first smart speaker

Worse, some say -- those some includes Samsung -- Apple just waits for others to innovate and then copies them with a slightly different look.

The complainers can't believe how much emotional commitment Apple enjoys from customers.

Yes, Apple fan persons have somewhat grown out of standing in long lines for every product launch. They still blindly buy the next iWhatever in the blink of

Yet I'm here to tell you Apple's supposed emotional hold on humanity is nothing compared to Huawei's.


As my evidence, may I present a recently created video, which is less a musical number than a homage to China's great and, the US government contends, suspicious brand.

The video shows a group of very happy kids singing a song that eulogizes the beauty of the Chinese handset maker.

I offer you sample lyrics, a translation courtesy of Reset Era:

All around the world, which phone is the most pretty?
Everyone says it's Huawei!
Battery lasts long, the design is great,
China Chip is the most valuable!

Oh, this won't go down well in Cupertino, where they feel they own the pulchritude category.

These kids, though, think they know better:

Huawei good, Huawei Beauty,
Huawei makes me smarter!
The teacher teaches me to love my country,
Homemade phones, love Huawei!

The video raced around Chinese social media in what one imagines was a very beautiful way.




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Better than the Samsung Galaxy Fold? Maybe. More expensive? Definitely

The Huawei Mate X is shaping up to be the foldable phone that fixes our concerns over the yet-to-be-held Samsung Galaxy Fold but expects to pay more for it.

We got to see the Mate X smartphone and its folding Falcon Wing hinge in action, and although Huawei wasn't ready to let us touch it, we know a lot of details.

For one thing, it'll be expensive. It cost €2,299 (about $2,605, £1,996, AU$4,769) with 512GB of internal storage and 8GB of RAM. It's been in the works for three years, according to Huawei, and will launch in the UK on EE, Three, and Vodafone this year.

It's poised to be one of many foldable phones at MWC 2019. But from what we've seen so far the Huawei Mate X holds a lot of promise, claiming to be 'the world's fastest foldable 5G phone.' Here's what we saw.

The foldable 8-inch Huawei Mate X screen

The Huawei Mate X folds out into an 8-inch Android tablet, with a 6.6-inch screen on one side and a 6.4-inch (technically 6.38-inch) screen on the other when folded up. Its screen size seems just right for what we've envisioned from the future of foldables.

This OLED display is bigger than Samsung's Fold, which is 7.4-inch unfolded with a folded 4.6-inch bezel-heavy screen... on just one side. Huawei knows it has a winner here in terms of size, one that Samsung can't address until the Fold 2.

When the Huawei Mate X is unfolded, there's no notch or corner cutout for the camera, either. Huawei's first foldable phone has a bezel-reduced FullView display.

The way it folds is a little different, too. The 8-inch screen folds so that it splits into two, broken-down displays face the outside. Samsung's phone folds inward, with an extra small outer screen.

Dimensions and grip


Huawei calls its sophisticated-looking folding hinge the Falcon Wing hinge, and it allows the Mate X to lay completely flat, measuring just 5.4mm thin. The company says the hinge has 100 components inside of it.

For comparison, this foldable phone is thinner than an iPad when it's laid out in tablet mode. Apple's only managed to get its form factor down to 5.9mm thin.


There is a prominent grip on the Mate X that Huawei says is an 'ergonomic curvature'. It's made a good case for why this grip exists: firm, secure holding in the hand.

Really, the grip exists for another good purpose: it's where a lot of the major components are stored. The camera system is here, so is a 2-in-1 fingerprint sensor/power button.

The Huawei Mate X will come in an Interstellar Blue color, according to the company, but you'll only see it on the thin top and bottom, and on the back unfolded. It'll also have a case to protect those screens, although we don't yet know if the case will be included for free.

Specs and battery life

Huawei claims to have the world's fastest foldable 5G phone, and that's not a claim as to how fast you can unfold and fold this thing. That's what it sounded like at first.

No, the company proudly claimed that "5G is on" in its super-charged Kirin 980 chipset, another knock to the fact that the Galaxy Fold will have a 4G LTE at its lofty starting price. Samsung didn't even mention the price of the 5G version.


It has the world's first 7nm 5G chip and sports a quad 5G antenna design, which can reach speeds of 4.6Gbps. You can download a 1GB movie in three seconds, says Huawei.

The company touts that these speeds are 10x current 4G LTE capabilities and it's able to pull them off in 2019 because it's in the middle of building 5G networks, so it's able to do live testing.

Here are more Huawei Mate X specs announced at the press conference: it'll come with 512GB of internal storage, 8GB of RAM, and support Huawei's smaller nano-memory cards.

The battery life, despite the 8-inch screen size, is massive at 4,500mAh. It seems to be broken up into two parts, like the Galaxy Fold.

It's a bit bigger than Samsung's battery capacity, but then again the screen is larger, so it should even out.

The Mate X should also break records for charging. Huawei's 55W SuperCharge tech not only surpasses the 40W charging in the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, but it can also reach 85% battery life in just 30 minutes.

The camera system

Huawei didn't go into detail regarding how many cameras the Huawei Mate X has, but its camera system is located in down the spin hinge, which ends up with a USB-C port at the bottom.


The ideas behind the camera system on a foldable are impressive. You can finally see yourself when you take a selfie with the main camera; not having to choose between blindly snapping a pic with the better rear camera and using an underpowered lower-megapixel selfie camera.

Likewise, when someone else is taking a photo of you, you can primp and adjust your hair with a live view. Using the 6.6-inch screen, you can see what they see on the 6.4-inch side. This is a real-world use case of a foldable phone for average consumers.

Early thoughts on price and release date

Huawei is known for undercutting Samsung, Apple, and other top-tier smartphone makers on price. But it'll actually be more expensive than the nearly $2,000 Galaxy Fold.

Obviously, the tech inside is expensive, and the fact that it touts 5G means it's pricey. Huawei needs to convince us its software is as good as or better than Samsung's, which looks to make multitasking as easy as possible in tablet mode.


We're also interested in finding out about the bendable screen durability. How does it hold up? Does the plastic cover scratch easily? Two outer screens seem prone to danger, even with a case.

We still don't have the official release date. The Samsung Fold comes out on April 26 so Huawei may be itching to compete with this first true foldable phone sooner rather than later in 2019.

We're just as eager to know if you'll be able to buy it in the US, where Huawei phones aren't sold due to government pressure over potential spying (or at least they're not easy to buy from reputable retailers in America).

The Huawei Mate X seems almost too good to be true in some ways. It has a larger 8-inch screen closer to today's tablets and folds with two outers screens closer to the size of current flagship smartphones. That we can get behind.

Durability remains our biggest question, along with availability besides the newly announced EE, Three, and Vodafone carrier details. We'll have more on Huawei's first foldable in the coming days, as we're bound to hear a lot of additional details at MWC 2019.



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Hello FullView

Even though it’s barely been a couple of years, any new phone with bezels looks like its decades old. Recent advancements in screen technology have allowed us to shrink bezels into notches and now, notches into a punch hole as seen on Huawei’s latest FullView display present on the Nova 4.

But where has all the technology that resided in a bezel or a notch disappeared? And how is it even possible to place a camera under the LCD panel? Those are some of the questions we’re going to be answering today by taking a look at the technology advancements Huawei has made with the Nova 4.

Huawei has placed the camera on the top-left side of the Nova 4. The reason Huawei chose this location was following its extensive research on where users usually tap or swipe on the screen. For a right-handed user, the top-left corner is the least accessed area on the screen and thus it made perfect sense to place the camera in that position

Unlike other manufacturers trying to implement this technology by drilling a hole on the LCD panel (known as through hole), Huawei places the camera module behind the LCD panel which preserves the screen integrity and creates a smaller hole diameter. Whereas other manufacturers have a hold that’s 6.5mm I diameter, the Nova 4 has a tiny 4.5mm hole with the smallest front camera in the industry.

Where have all the sensors gone?

With the camera sorted, the next question to ask is where have all the additional components and sensors that have traditionally resided on the bezel and then on the notch gone? Huawei has made some very clever engineering decisions to tackle that.


Let’s start with the proximity sensor that generally resides on top of the screen and is responsible for turning the screen off when you place it next to your ear so you don’t tap anything onscreen when on a call. Using a light bending design, Huawei has placed the proximity sensor on the top of the phone thus making it aware when you place it next to your ear.

The next sensor that Huawei has tackled is the Ambient light sensor which is now so tiny that Huawei has aptly referred it to as the invisible light sensor. And finally, the last piece of the puzzle is the earpiece which Huawei has shrunk to a minuscule 0.85mm. This makes the micro slot earpiece fit inside the frame of the phone. And yes, Huawei has managed to insert a tri-color LED indicator in that earpiece.

What’s extremely impressive is that Huawei has built all this technology around its mid-range Nova range while other manufacturers are introducing the punch hole technology on their flagship devices.



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Our first look at the world's first foldable 5G phone

The Mate 20 Pro is Huawei's most recent flagship phone. Image Credit: TechRadar
We may have just been given our first official glimpse of the Huawei foldable phone.

The Chinese phone manufacturer has sent out invites to its MWC 2019 press conference with a side profile of what appears to be a foldable device.

We already know Huawei will announce a folding phone at MWC, after Huawei CEO Richard Yu confirmed just that last week.

The picture of the phone on the invite doesn't give a huge amount away, but the screen clearly wraps around a hinge, allowing the device to be folded in half, providing a phone-sized handset with display on both sides.

Is this our first look at Huawei's foldable smartphone? Image credit: Huawei

Is this our first look at Huawei's foldable smartphone? Image credit: Huawei

A world first

Yu has also claimed that the device Huawei announces at the show on February 24 will be the world's first 5G phone with a foldable screen.

We also know that the yet-unnamed foldable phone will pack Huawei's new Balong 5000 modem, which will deliver its 5G capabilities, but little else has been leaked about the handset so far.

TechRadar will be reporting live from MWC 2019 to bring you all the latest from Huawei, including everything you need to know about its first foldable phone.



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Washington reportedly steps up opposition to Huawei.

The US is reportedly urging governments and telecoms providers in allied countries to follow its lead and prevent the use of Huawei’s networking equipment in their mobile and fixed infrastructure.

A report in The Wall Street Journal claims US government officials have made contact with foreign counterparts and telecoms executives in several countries to discuss the security concerns it has about the Chinese company.

The site also suggests that Washington is considering an increase in financial aid for telecoms development in countries that avoid Huawei’s products. Countries in which the US has a military base, such as Germany, Italy, and Japan, are of particular interest.

Huawei 5G equipment

Huawei has effectively been frozen out of the US market, although it does provide equipment to a number of smaller players in the country, while Australia has banned its operators from using Huawei equipment in their 5G rollouts on national security grounds.

The main basis for these fears is a perception that Huawei is linked to the Chinese government and that the use of the company’s equipment risks the possibility of backdoors that could be used for espionage.

Huawei has repeatedly denied such accusations, pointing out that it works with security agencies around the world and that it sells products to more than 500 operators in 170 countries without issue. This includes the UK, where BT, EE, Vodafone and Three are all customers.

“Huawei is surprised by the behaviors of the US government detailed in the article,” a Huawei spokesperson told TechRadar Pro. “If a government's behavior extends beyond its jurisdiction, such activity should not be encouraged. Huawei firmly believes that our partners and customers will make the right choice based on their own judgment and experience of working with Huawei. We will continue to serve our global customers with our innovative solutions.”

There is little demand among operators for any barriers to the use of Huawei kit as this would reduce choice, hinder innovation and increase costs. Only this week, Huawei revealed it had shipped more than 10,000 5G base stations outside China and had signed 22 commercial 5G contracts with foreign operators.



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But... will you be able to buy it?

We already know Huawei is working on a foldable phone, but details about it were scarce until now.

Thanks to a presentation to mobile networks in South Korea though, some additional details have reportedly slipped out on the device, including a claim that the phone has a 5-inch screen when folded but extends to 8 inches when unfurled.

That’s according to a source speaking to ETNews, and it’s a size that would likely make it bigger than the Samsung Galaxy X, as that's set to be only 4.6 inches when closed and 7.3 inches when unfolded.

The source also said that Huawei’s phone works with 5G and “was more complete than expected,” hinting that it would be launching soon.

In fact, the article claims that the handset will be announced at MWC 2019 in February, though it might not hit stores until June, as extensive testing on 5G networks will be required first and no commercial 5G networks have launched yet.

A limited launch

What’s not clear at this stage is whether the folding phone will be available outside South Korea.

Given that this is where Huawei chose to show it off and that South Korea is likely to be among the first countries to launch a 5G service (probably in early 2019), it could be that the handset won’t be widely available elsewhere.

Then again, there’s no reason the phone couldn’t be used on a 4G network in other countries. But an earlier report suggested it would only be available in very limited numbers, so it's probably smart to look at this as a very early prototype and assume you'll be buying version two, three or four as a mainstream device.

In any case, we’d expect to hear plenty more about Huawei’s folding phone in the next few months. For now, the only thing we can be sure of is that it will be very expensive.



SOURCE TechRadar:

Both the original Huawei Watch and Huawei Watch 2

The original Huawei Watch and Huawei Watch 2 are two of the best Wear OS watches (originally Android Wear) products released on Google's operating system, and each is about to get a touch better.

A new version of Wear OS (version 2.17) is coming to both the original device and the latter watch from the company. If you own one, you should be able to download the Wear OS update now.

It brings with it a variety of new UI changes for both watches as well as overall improved speed. That's according to the first few who received it and noted so to Android Police as Huawei hasn't included a changelog with the new update.

Years of support

The improved interface means you're now able to swipe right on the watch face to access Google Fit and left to find the Google Assistant. There may be other improvements that haven't been discovered by users yet.

Considering the original Huawei Watch came out in 2015, it's both surprising and reassuring to know the company is continuing to support software updates now the devices have switched from Android Wear to the newer Wear OS platform.

Huawei just announced another new smartwatch called the Watch GT, but this doesn't run Wear OS and instead includes the company's own software.



SOURCE TechRadar:

Based on the dual-NPU Kirin 980 chipset, the Mate 20 series looks set to consolidate Huawei's strengths in on-device AI, photography and battery life.

Huawei has unveiled the 2018 updates to last year's 5.9-inch Mate 10 and 6.0-inch Mate 10 Pro smartphones. There are no surprises with the naming of the two new handsets, the Mate 20 and the Mate 20 Pro, which are targeted at what Huawei calls 'new entrepreneurs' -- typically, the denizens of startups in tech hubs such as the venue for the company's London pre-brief last week.

"That's the audience that really resonates with the Mate family," said Peter Gauden, Huawei's global senior product marketing manager, at the pre-brief: "High achievers who understand technology as a tool, and how it advances what they can do."

The flagship smartphone market is as competitive as ever, with vendors typically pursuing ever more on-device AI and better camera performance, among other things. Huawei has certainly been holding its own up to now, leapfrogging over Apple to take the second spot in IDC's Q2 2018 worldwide ranking, for example. In the second quarter, Huawei shipped 54.2 million phones to Apple's 41.3m -- an impressive year-on-year growth rate of 40.9 percent. So, how can the new Mate handsets help to maintain the company's elevated position?


Underpinning the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro is Huawei's latest HiSilicon Kirin 980 chipset, announced at the end of August. The first commercial SoC manufactured using TSMC's 7-nanometer process, the Kirin 980 delivers 20 percent better performance and 40 percent better power efficiency over the SoC than the previous 10nm Kirin 970, says Huawei.

The Kirin 980 uses four Cortex-A76 cores (two 'super-big' and two 'big') and four 'little' Cortex-A55 cores to handle workloads, ranging from intensive and power-hungry to sustained and power efficient, in a flexible manner. The GPU is the Mali-G76, which can intelligently identify gaming workloads and adjust resource allocation accordingly. There are also two Neural Processing Units (NPUs), targeted at different types of AI/ML task -- relatively straightforward object recognition versus more complex natural language processing, for example. Other Kirin 980 features include a fourth-generation Image Signal Processor (ISP) and a modem with LTE Cat.21 support (peak download speed 1.4Gbps).

Here are the key specifications for the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro:

Column1	Huawei Mate 20	Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Display	6.53 inches, RGBW LCD, 2,244 x 1,080 pixels (381ppi), 18.7:9 aspect ratio	6.39, OLED, 3,120 x 1,440 pixels (538ppi), 19.5:9 aspect ratio
Dimensions	158.2mm x 77.2mm x 8.3mm	57.8mm x 72.3mm x 8.6mm
Screen/body ratio	88%	86.90%
Weight	188g	189g
IP rating	n/a	IP68
Colours	Midnight Blue, Emerald Green, Black, Pink Gold, Twilight	Midnight Blue, Emerald Green, Black, Pink Gold, Twilight
OS / UI overlay	Android 9 (Pie) / EMUI 9.0	Android 9 (Pie) / EMUI 9.0
Chipset	HiSilicon Kirin 980	HiSilicon Kirin 980
RAM	4GB / 6GB	6GB
Internal storage	128GB	128GB
External storage	Nano Memory Card (up to 256GB, in 2nd SIM slot	Nano Memory Card (up to 256GB, in 2nd SIM slot
Rear cameras	12MP (wide angle), 8MP (telephoto), 16MP (ultra-wide-angle)	40MP (wide angle), 8MP (telephoto), 20MP (ultra-wide-angle)
Front cameras	24MP with HDR	24MP with HDR
Speakers	stereo	stereo
3.5mm audio jack	yes	no
USB-C	yes	yes
Wi-fi	802.11ac Wave 2	802.11ac Wave 2
LTE	Cat.21	Cat.21
GPS	dual band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO	dual band A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
NFC	yes	yes
Infrared	yes	yes
FM radio	no	no
Fingerprint reader	rear	integrated on-screen
3D face unlock	no	yes
Battery capacity	4,000mAh	4,200mAh
Fast charging	SuperCharge (58% in 30 mins)	40W SuperCharge (70% in 30 mins)
Wireless charging	no	15W, with reverse wireless charging support
Price	€799 (4GB RAM), €849 (6GB RAM)	€1049 (6GB RAM)

The junior member of the Mate 20 family, the mid-range 6.3-inch Mate 20 Lite, is already available at £379 in the UK (see ZDNet's review).

DESIGN


The Mate 20 Pro has a 6.39-inch OLED display with an on-screen fingerprint reader.

In line with current smartphone trends, the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro both have bigger screens than their 2017 counterparts -- 6.53 and 6.39 inches versus 5.9 and 6.0 inches respectively. The split between LCD on the standard model and OLED on the Pro version remains, while pixel densities are boosted. As before, the standard model (Mate 20) has a 3.5mm headphone jack and no IP dust/water resistance rating, while the Mate 20 Pro uses USB-C for charging and headphone connection and is IP68-rated (up from IP67 in the Mate 10 Pro).

There's no MicroSD slot on either handset. Instead, external storage is catered for by a new form factor: the Nano-Memory Card (NMC), which can fit into the handset's second SIM slot. NMC cards only go up to 256GB, though.

Other design differences include a wider 'notch' on the 19.5:9 aspect ratio Mate 20 Pro, to accommodate an expanded front camera array, and a 'hyper-optical' pattern on the glass back, somewhat reminiscent of vinyl grooves, that helps with grip and minimizes unsightly fingerprints. The 2018 Mate handsets will come in five colors: Midnight Blue and Emerald Green with the hyper-optical pattern, plus Black, Pink Gold, and Twilight (a two-tone scheme).

CAMERAS

The main camera advance is on the Mate 20 Pro which, like the P20 Pro released and reviewed earlier this year, has a three-camera setup with 40MP, 8MP, and 20MP sensors. The 40MP and 8MP cameras have wide-angle and telephoto lenses, as before, but a 20MP camera is now an RGB unit with an ultra-wide-angle lens supporting macro images. On the P20, the 20MP camera had a mono sensor for adding extra detail to images -- now deemed unnecessary due to improvements in the Mate 20 Pro's main 40MP sensor.


The Mate 20 Pro has a distinctive rectangular arrangement of its three-camera system and flash unit. The Mate 20 looks similar but has a conventional fingerprint reader beneath the cameras.

Image: Charles McLellan/ZDNet

The three Leica lenses, plus the two-tone flash unit, are arranged in a rectangle in the middle of the back of the Mate 20 Pro, with the curvature of the corners exactly matching that of the chassis. No other smartphone on the market has this distinctive layout. The Mate 20 has a similar camera arrangement, with lower-resolution wide-angle (12MP) and ultra-wide-angle (16MP) sensors.

The dual-NPU Kirin 980 chipset brings photography advances such as improved object and scene recognition -- some 1,500 different scenarios compared to 500 with the previous-generation system -- and 4D predictive focus, which recognizes moving objects and maintains focus on the video's subject. A new AI Cinema Mode effectively does 'post-processing' in real time, supporting eye-catching features like AI Portrait Color where the subject is in color and the background is monochrome.

POWER

Huawei handsets usually have high-capacity batteries, and the Mate 20 series is no exception. The Mate 20 has a 4,000mAh battery (as did the Mate 10), while the Mate 20 Pro moves up to 4,200mAh -- only massive handsets like the 6.9-inch Xiaomi Mi Max 3 with 5,500mAh exceed this battery capacity. Rapid charging, which Huawei calls SuperCharge, is improved on the Mate 20 Pro, which can reach 70 percent charge in 30 minutes. The Mate 20, by contrast, can reach 58 percent charge in the same time.

Wireless charging is also supported for the first time on Huawei mass-market devices, and at 15W it operates at almost twice the speed of the industry standard, the company says. The Mate 20 Pro also debuts 'reverse wireless charging' -- the ability to use the 4,200mAh handset to power up another wireless-charging-capable device.

SECURITY

The Mate 20 Pro supports 3D face unlock via a 3D facial mapping system built into the front camera array (hence the wider notch on this handset). You can also use your face biometrics to lock apps or files on the device.

The Mate 20 Pro includes an on-screen fingerprint reader -- an improved version of the technology seen earlier this year in the upmarket Porsche Design Mate RS. That means a cleaner design at the back compared to the Mate 10 Pro.

Elsewhere, a new password vault lets you store login information for third-party apps and services, accessible via the face or fingerprint biometrics, while backup options now extend to NAS systems.

OS AND UI OVERLAY

User interface overlays for Android can be a love-hate thing, but over the years various elements of the company's EMUI system have made their way into the mobile OS itself.

The latest version, EMUI 9.0, attempts to simplify the user experience -- consolidating multiple entry points for tweaking the wallpaper down to a single screen, for example. You can also instantly print to nearby wi-fi or Bluetooth printers using a single tap, via Huawei Share. Finally, Huawei's desktop mode, previously enabled via a USB-C connection to an external monitor, now gets wireless support via Miracast.

Two more things...

In classic Apple style, Huawei sprung not 'one more thing' but two extra phones beyond those described at last week's pre-brief. The 7.2-inch OLED-screen Mate 20 X has stylus support (Huawei M-Pen), a 5,000mAh battery and a 'vapor chamber' cooling system. Aimed at gamers, the Mate 20X offers a gamepad attachment and comes in blue and silver colors.

The second phone was the premium Porsche Design Mate 20 RS, with sports-car-style red or black leather trim at the back and a price tag to match (see below). Stay tuned for more on these phones.

Pricing and availability

The Mate 20 will be available from 16 October at €799 with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, and €849 with 6GB of RAM. The Mate 20 Pro, also available from 16 October, will cost €1,049 with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.

The 7.2-inch Mate 20 X will be available from 26 October at €899 with 6GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage. You'll have to wait until 16 November for the Porsche Design Mate 20 RS, which will cost €1,695 (8GB/256GB) or €2,095 (8GB/512GB).


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The biggest leak yet

We've heard lots about the Huawei Watch GT in the last two weeks, but the latest leak is the most comprehensive yet and it comes from an early listing on Huawei's own website.

Huawei put details about the watch up and has since removed them, where it confirms the Watch GT will be running its own software rather than using Wear OS like some had hoped for. We also got a good look at the watch in the picture above.

That's not all we learned though - there are a lot of specs from this leak including confirmation of a 1.39-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 454 x 454. We also know the watch is set to be made out of aluminum and ceramic.

There's a 420mAh battery inside, which previous leaks have suggested will allow the watch to run for 30 days in a standard watch mode and offer around 22 hours of GPS tracking exercise focused wearers.

Goodbye Wear OS

A lot of that improved battery life is probably down to the fact there don't seem to be third-party apps on the watch. Instead, you'll have Huawei made tools for notifications, fitness, calendar and more.

The listing also suggests it'll come with a heart-rate monitor, sleeping monitoring and something called TruRelax atmospheric pressure monitoring too.

The last interesting element in the listing is where it says your phone will need to be running EMUI 9 software to be able to use it with this watch.

That's Huawei's own version of Android 9 Pie software, and it may be you can use it with other Android phones as well, but so far this suggests it may be an exclusive device for those who own a Huawei phone.

We hope to learn everything about the Huawei Watch GT at the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro launch that's set for next week on October 16.

Everything we know so far about the Huawei Watch GT


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Huawei made 326 billion yuan, or almost $48 billion, in revenue during the first half of 2018.