Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is presumably dead after the South Korean tech giant called off its production as well as selling, but it seems the company’s closest rival in the Android niche, Huawei, is ready to take full advantage of the situation.
There is no doubt that the departure of the Galaxy Note 7 from the smartphone market has left a huge hole – a hole that not even the classy iPhone 7 Plus or Google Pixel XL can fill. But with the Huawei Mate 9, the Chinese OEM may have something to prove. If reports are to be believed, the Mate 9 phablet will be unveiled at the beginning of next month at a company event to be held in Munich, Germany.
With a couple of weeks before the Huawei Mate 9 is finally unveiled, new leaks of the supposed flagship have surfaced, with indicators that Huawei might be planning a curved dual-edge variant that borrows the looks of the Galaxy Note 7. The Chinese OEM has been rumored to be working on dual-edge screens for its upcoming flagships, but there is no confirmation of any kind.
The latest leaks come from none other than Evan Blass, a famous leaker in the smartphone world. It is easy to believe him because he has done it before – correctly. As such, expect the Huawei Mate 9 to come in two variants – a flat screen and a dual-edge variant.
Apparently, the flat-screen model has been codenamed Manhattan while the curved display version is known as Long Island. If you are quite familiar with the company, the flat screen model of the Huawei Mate 9 shouldn’t be anything strange. However, the curved dual-edge variant borrows almost every aspect of its design from the Galaxy Note 7 as well as the Galaxy S7 Edge.
As usual with Huawei flagships, expect a HiSilicon Kirin SoC onboard, probably the latest 960 chipset, alongside a massive 6GB RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. As for the display size, the Huawei Mate 9 will reportedly come with a 5.9-inch QHD display screen, which is 0.2 inches larger than the Galaxy Note 7. Two sizes of the phone have been leaked, but there are no details on their exact sizes. It is possible that the curved dual-edge variant will sport the larger display, which should be about the same size as what is found on the Huawei Mate 8 (6 inches).
The rear snapper of the Huawei Mate 9 will reportedly feature a dual-lens camera setup with LEICA branding, the same thing you find on Huawei P9. However, there will be huge improvements on the quality of sensors used on the Mate 9 as compared to the P9. You can expect to see something close to 20MP alongside f/2.0 aperture.
Rumor has it that the flat screen variant of the Huawei Mate 9 will be sold internationally while the curved dual-edge model will remain exclusive to China. This move will boost the company’s local business as buyers who had been attracted to the curved dual-edge design of the Galaxy Note 7 could find refuge in the Mate 9 phablet.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 had a massive price tag of about $900 and if Huawei Mate 9 continues the company’s recent change of pricing, it is possible that it might be priced somewhere in the regions of $700, which is still a cheaper than the Note 7. However, you will still be missing on the likes of S Pen, iris scanner as well as the TouchWiz experience, among other Samsung-exclusive features.