Huawei Mate 40: release date, specs, design rumors
The most famous Huawie smartphone can usually be placed in the two flagship series: P Series and Mate Series where the prior is expected to be released during the Spring, while the later is usually announced in Autumn. We already got to see the new P40 model released earlier this year, and we are already looking forward to the complimentary Huawei Mate 40 and 40 Pro models that will be rolling out in a couple of months. Here is everything we know so far about the two devices, including the design, release date, possible price, and most importantly: the specs.
Huawei Mate 40 Specs
One thing that has had an impact on the differences between the previous models and the upcoming Mate 40 is the trade ban imposed by the US which affected some specs which we will mention below.
Focusing on the internals, we can expect Mate 40 to have 8GB RAM option, while the 40 Pro model might even stretch to 12GB as a second model. The minimum internal storage expected is 128GB for both models, while the Pro model is expected to have a second model option with 256GB. When it comes to battery, we can expect something similar to the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra for the Pro model, but the exact numbers have not yet been released.
Camera
Mate 40 Series is expected to pack a very good camera setup. One of the rumors has been focusing on the freeform lens which will be available in the Pro model and is usually used for eye wear. In practice, this advanced type of lens is expected to minimize blurring despite the distance from the object. Unfortunately, we are not yet sure whether the Pro model is going to have a quad camera setup as expected, alongside the triple camera setup on the standard model. As soon as more info is released, we will update the article accordingly.
Huawei Mate 40 Design
Both models in the Mate 40 series are expected to have curved aluminum frames combined with a glass backing. Based on the rumors we can expect the focus of both models to be the back camera housing that is expected to be circular and house three and four lenses on Mate 40 and 40 Pro respectively. The display of the standard model is expected to be around 6.4-inches but we are not yet sure what resolution this will include. The Pro model on the other hand is expected to have 6.7-inches display with at least full HD+ resolution, as well as HDR10 support. When it comes to the front camera, we expect double front camera setup, located in the top left corner of the device. Based on the rumors, this is going to be the first to have an under-display camera, instead of the notch design seen on the predecessors.
At the moment, there is no official information about when the upcoming Huawei flagship Series is going to launch. Nevertheless, based on the release date of its predecessors which were launched in October and September in the past two years, we can expect the launch to take place in October 2020. This idea was also supported by rumors from several sources. When it comes to pricing of Mate 40 Series, it is expected to be very similar to the Mate 30 and 30 Pro which were around $1000 and $1,200 respectively.
UPDATE: 18th October
The company has announced that the new Mate 40 is going to be officially revealed on the 22nd of October 2020 at 2pmCEST. Their announcement promises the phone will offer “unprecedented power” but we are yet to see what exactly that will mean. In the meantime, the company also shared a teaser image on its Weibo account, showing the backside of the new device, barely illuminated. It all seems fairly expected besides the very strange camera housing that doesn’t seem to be rectangular or round. We are yet to see how it will unveil, so stick around on Samma3a Tech for the live updates when the phone launches next week!
Even though October rolled in and there are already two huge events for the new OnePlus 8T Series and iPhone 12 taking place next week, we still do not know anything about the potential launch of Huawei’s new Mate Series. On a positive note, GizmoChina released a new leak that shows the case for the Mate 40 Pro. The case confirms that the camera housing is going to be round like we expected from before, but it also shows that the lenses will be arranged quite differently than what was predicted. On the top of the housing is a rectangular lens opening for a telephoto camera lens, with a flash on its bottom left. In an arc on the bottom, there is a place for the other 3 lenses, but not all holes are the same size.
On the 15 of September, Huawei has officially announced that the new Mate 40 is going to be coming soon on its Twitter account. They have not specified when exactly this will happen, but this tweet does match our previous predictions that the new flagship will be announced at some point in October. This was furthermore confirmed when the reports showed that the devices already got Bluetooth certification, just in time for the release, but other reports have shown up claiming that the release might only be in China for now, with the worldwide availability being pushed to next year. We are yet to get any confirmation, but for now, all we can do is hope that the US sanctions and the worldwide health crisis won’t postpone the launch too much.
UPDATE: 19th August
According to Rodent950 who tweeted new rumors about the upcoming Huawei flagships, we now have an idea of the potential pricing and specs, as well as the code names. Mate 40, known under its codename as Ocean, is supposedly going to have a 6.7″ curved display, 90Hz refresh rate, and a triple rear camera setup. When it comes to Mate 40 Pro, known as Noah, it is also expected to have a 90Hz refresh rate and a quad-camera setup as predicted before. The tweet also mentions a 3D face ID feature, as well as price that ranges between $870 and $1070. Considering that the price mentioned is lower than that of Mate 30 Pro released last year, there is a big chance that the pricing is not as accurate as we would have hoped.
Mate 40 pro prices in Yuan (alleged)
128gt: 5999 yuan
256gt: 6499 yuan
512gt: 7399 yuan— Teme (特米)𝕏|🇫🇮🇨🇳 (@RODENT950) August 14, 2020
