Huawei has unveiled its new flagship smartphone, the Mate 40. This is the second phone after the iPhone 12 to run a 5nm processor, Huawei’s own Kirin 9000, which offers a significant improvement in speed, performance and energy efficiency.
Available as the Mate 40 Pro and Mate 40 Pro+, the new phone also includes 5G with mmWave support, an upgraded camera system, a new ‘Space Ring’ design and a range of new Huawei apps. The new phone will go on sale in early November.
The standard model comes with a 6.76-inch OLED display with 1,344 x 2,772 high resolution. The same as in the previous two generations of Mate phones, the fingerprint sensor is integrated in the display.
The double front camera features in two ‘dot punches’ at the top of the display, along with gesture sensors for touch-less control of the device. Gesture controls include answering a call with an air press gesture, hovering the hand over the device to navigate by swiping or reducing the ring with eye contact.
The quad rear camera comes with a 50-megapixel main sensor, 20-megapixel ultra-wide angle, 12-megapixel periscope telephoto with 5x optical zoom and a Time Of Flight (TOF) for depth sensing. The Pro+ model takes it further with a dual-telephoto camera system that enables 20x hybrid zoom and 100x digital zoom. The front camera offers a 13-megapixel camera and also a TOF sensor, which also supports 3D facial recognition.
The new phone runs Android 10 based on Huawei’s EMUI 11 user interface. Due to the US trade restrictions against the company, this is based on open-source Android and does not include the Google Play Store or other Google services. Huawei has developed its own AppGallery and applications designed to replace the Google services.
The Huawei Mate 40 Pro also includes a 4,400 mAh battery with 65W charging and supports wireless charging up to 50W. It is IP 68 certified for dust and water resistance. It comes in the colours black, white or mystic silver, with the Pro+ also available with ceramic finishes.
Only the Mate 40 Pro will be available in Europe, with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage. The Pro+ model with 12 GB is expected to cost EUR 1,399. A special Porsche design model will cost EUR 2,300.
