Huawei is expected to unveil its next Android flagship, the Mate 9, at an event on November 3. As often happens in the smartphone world, though, images of the device have leaked out ahead of time.
Several images of what is said to be the Huawei Mate 9 have been shared by VentureBeat. The images show a device that doesn’t look too dissimilar from last year’s Mate 8, offering a front that’s mostly display but with a Huawei logo on the bottom bezel and an earpiece, camera, and sensor.
Interestingly, today’s leak shows two versions of the Mate 9: one with a flat screen and one with a dual curved edge display. The latter model looks similar to Samsung’s Galaxy S7 edge, offering display that’s curved on the sides and what looks to be a home button below the screen.
Today’s report says that this dual curved edge Mate 9 is codenamed Long Island. Unfortunately, it’s said that this device will only be sold in Huawei’s home country of China. The flat display Mate 9, codenamed Manhattan, will be offered internationally.
Finally, some spec details for the Mate 9 were also mentioned in today’s report. They include a 2560x1440 display for the dual curved edge Long Island and a 1920x1080 screen for the flat Manhattan. The two phones are also expected to include an octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 960 processor, 5.9-inch display, up to 6GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of storage. Also expected to be included is a dual rear camera setup with Leica with f/2.0 lenses and 20-megapixel sensors.
The Huawei Mate 9 is shaping up to be a pretty high-end flagship phone, giving phablet fans the chance to check out a dual rear camera setup like the one found on Huawei’s smaller P9. It’s kind of disappointing to hear that the dual curved edge version will only be available in China, especially now that more consumers are getting into curved screens thanks to Samsung’s Galaxy S Edge phones.
Huawei is expected to official unveil the Mate 9 on November 3, so stay tuned.