It’s almost time for Huawei to unveil its newest Mate and that of course means it’s also time for the internet to spoil the surprise. Everything the Chinese company is set to reveal later this week has been revealed, at least visually. We’ve seen all the pending members of the Mate 30 family. And now, you are about to too.
Huawei’s Mate 30 lineup was leaked by Evan Blass of @evleaks fame. The Mate 30, 30 Pro, 30 Lite, and Porsche Design Edition all appear to have been spoiled ahead of the company’s 19 September event. In pictures, that is. We’re not exactly sure how Huawei’s chosen to handle that whole pesky using-Android thing. The phones look pretty good, though.
The gang’s all here
The Mate 30 and 30 Pro are the main contenders for your attention this week. Images leak suggest that the 30 Pro is coming to us with a curved display, along the lines of Samsung’s flagships, and will feature the rear camera arrangement in a central, recessed hole or depression. The latter, based on how Android is handled here, may come free with every new Huawei handset.
The Mate 30 (seen in front view here) will sport a smaller notch than its Pro variant but that’s because it’s supposed to have less tech up front. Design for both handsets should be on par and both are expected to feature Huawei’s new Kirin 990 chipset. You know, the one with 5G built into the main chip? The leak is suggestive of very high-end hardware, but it’s software that’ll make or break this year. That’s… a pity.
Lite and Porsche
And then there’s the Lite version of the 30 series. This one looks the oldest of the range, with a hole-punch camera and last year’s square camera array on the rear. Since it’s the Lite version, we’re willing to forgive the lack of design innovation here. Internally, the handset is supposed to be the same as Huawei’s Nova 5i Pro. That’s… not a bad set of hardware.
The Porsche Design model, as always, appears to be visually striking. In terms of hardware, we’re expecting it to exceed the Pro for spec (by at least enough to justify the premium price). The leather-and-glass rear should catch a few eyes, pointing out to said ocular equipment that you paid extra for this one.
But, as mentioned, Huawei’s new lineup doesn’t hinge of just how awesome all the hardware is. It depends on how Huawei has solved its Android/Trump conundrum. There are theories as to how it’ll all work — but we’ll have to wait till Thursday to find out which road has been chosen.