Huawei’s flagship Mate 80 series recently got its start in China, and it’s brought some impressive tech along for the ride. It’s clearly proudest of the Oppenheimer-level 6.9in 8,000-nit dual-layer OLED display inside the top-of-the-shelf Mate 80 Pro Max, though that’s not to say its three other siblings are slouches in that regard.
Joining the Huawei Mate 80 Pro Max are the Mate 80, 80 Pro, and the Mate 80 RS Ultimate Design, as well as the new Mate X7 foldable, which makes itself the second such foldable to score an IP59 rating — after the Honor Magic V5. Don’t get your hopes up about seeing this one turn up locally, seeing as the Mate X6 launched locally not so long ago. The Mate 80 Series, on the other hand…
Huawei Mate 80 Pro Max (Ultra Remastered?)
The entire Mate 80 Series strays away from the curved edges seen in the Mate 70, instead opting for a flatter edge than we’ve seen before. Two circles sit on the back, housing both the significant camera tech, while the central ring houses the phone’s wireless charging tech. Both the Mate 80 and Mate 80 Pro feature a 6.75in, 120Hz-capable LTPO OLED display, while the Mate 80 RS mimics the Mate 80 Pro Max’s impressive setup.
Inside each lies a custom Kirin chipset, including 12GB/256GB, 12GB/512GB, and 16GB/512GB RAM and storage options for the regular Mate 80. The Mate 80 Pro steps it up with an additional 16GB/1TB flavour. The beefiest of the lot is the Mate 80 RS Ultimate Design, stowing 20GB physical memory and up to 1TB storage.
Read More: Huawei’s Mate 70 Air is real, skinny, and launching in China (for now)
Whether you go for the regular Mate 80 or pick up the Mate 80 RS at the other end of the spectrum, you won’t be shafted by the dodgy battery life. All four devices pack a 6,000mAh battery, though the more advanced chipsets housed in the Mate 80 Pro, Pro Max, and RS Ultimate might have something to say about extending that a bit.
Huawei SA has confirmed to Stuff that the Mate 80 Series will come to South Africa, although it wasn’t able to confirm which devices would land locally, nor how they would be priced. We’re guessing the company will confine the offering to the cheapest, the Mate 80 and Mate 80 Pro, likely in Q1 or Q2 2026.
