The Huawei Mate 40 is being unveiled on October 22, we know this as Huawei has confirmed as much, and it will likely land alongside the Huawei Mate 40 Pro. But while we’re now very close to that date, we still know remarkably little about the phone.
There have been a few rumors, but far fewer than we’d typically have this close to a flagship launch, while Huawei itself has teased one or two things, but that still leaves us with a lot more questions than answers.
You’ll find five of the biggest questions below – these are things that we don’t yet know, and in some cases can’t even take much of a guess at, but which are major aspects of the Huawei Mate 40.
1. The price
So far there haven’t been any Huawei Mate 40 price rumors, so we really are left guessing. We can at least look to the Huawei Mate 30 for an idea though. That started at €799 (around $880 / £700 / AU$1,300), while the Huawei Mate 30 Pro launched for £899.99 / AU$1,599 (around $1,200).
So we might be looking at similar for the Huawei Mate 40, but not necessarily – prices often change for new models of a phone.
Typically they increase, so you might have to pay more, but given Huawei has been blocked from accessing Google Mobile Services and the Google Play Store, it’s possible it will look to tempt buyers with a lower price tag. Though that ban was also in place for the Huawei Mate 30 range. In any case, for now pricing is anyone’s guess.
2. The camera configuration
The camera is usually one of the most exciting aspects of Mate phones. In our Huawei Mate 30 Pro review for example we praised its “class-leading low light camera.”
So the camera details are among the things we’re most curious about, and they’re also an aspect that has been both leaked and teased a bit, but not enough to get a remotely clear picture (no pun intended).
A teaser image has shown what looks to be an unusual octagonal arrangement, while leaks have pointed to some sort of 3D imaging and a new 'freeform' camera lens, which can apparently reduce distortion in wide-angle shots.
But we still have no idea about the number and type of lenses, how many megapixels there will be, or really anything else on the camera side. We’re expecting big things, but it remains to be seen what.
3. The screen specs
Another key aspect of the Huawei Mate 40 that we know basically nothing about is the screen.
There have been size leaks, with @OnLeaks (a leaker with a solid track record) claiming via HandsetExpert that the Huawei Mate 40 will have a roughly 6.4-inch screen (a claim that’s backed up by a certification listing spotted by @stufflistings, that states a 6.5-inch screen size).
@OnLeaks has also said – via PriceBaba - that the Huawei Mate 40 Pro will have a roughly 6.7-inch one, but we’d take all of that with a pinch of salt, and there’s no word of resolution or refresh rate.
Huawei doesn’t always go in for super high resolutions, even on its flagships, and the highest refresh rate you’ll find on one of its phone is 90Hz, while many rivals such as the OnePlus 8T and Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra are up to 120Hz, so it will be interesting to see whether the Huawei Mate 40’s screen gets a boost.
4. The power
As with the screen, there have been some leaks regarding the Huawei Mate 40’s chipset, but they don’t all line up, with some calling it the Kirin 1000, others the Kirin 1020, and still others the Kirin 9000.
What they do all agree on though is that it will be a 5nm chipset. So far the only smartphone chipset made on a 5nm process is the A14 Bionic in the iPhone 12 range, and it’s a move that could make this more powerful than any other Android chipset. But we just won’t know until the Huawei Mate 40 range actually launches.
We also don’t know how much RAM the phones will have, so there are a lot of questions here.
5. Whether you’ll be able to buy it
Perhaps the most important question surrounding the Huawei Mate 40 is whether you’ll even be able to buy it. If you’re in the US we can answer that question now, and the answer is sadly no – or not without importing it anyway.
Due to the ongoing Huawei ban in the country you can’t easily get hold of the company’s handsets there.
But that ban – and the resulting limitations on its access to Google services – has meant that availability of Huawei phones in other regions has been limited too. The Huawei Mate 30 for example didn’t land in the UK, though the Mate 30 Pro did.
So it’s unclear whether some, all, or none of the Huawei Mate 40 range will land in the likes of the UK and Australia.
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