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This year’s fall smartphone release cycle looks to be just as exciting at the spring. The upcoming Huawei Mate 20 will likely be one of the most popular devices in Europe and Asia and according to the latest leak, larger Huawei Mate 20 Pro will be packed with new technology which we’ve yet to see in other smartphones.
The Leak
The new Huawei Mate 20 Pro leak appears to be from slides taken from an internal presentation of Huawei’s new phones, confirming that the Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro will both be powered by the new Kirin 980 SoC. The base model will feature a 6.53-inch flat screen, 4GB of RAM and a 4,000 mAh battery while the Mate 20 Pro will come with a 6.9-inch curved display, 6GB of RAM and a 4,200 mAh battery. With the launch of the two devices, Huawei will also be rolling out an upgraded version of its Supercharge technology which will deliver a 70% charge to the Mate 20 Pro’s 4,200 mAh battery in 30 minutes thanks to its new 15W charging speed.
One the camera front, the Mate 20 and the Mate 20 Pro will both feature a triple camera setup on the back. The Mate 20’s 24MP sensor setup will likely replicate what is available on the Huawei P20 Pro while the Mate 20 Pro will swap out the 2X zoom lens for an ultra-wide-angle lens – similar to what the LG G7 offers.
As we saw in the last Huawei Mate 20 Pro leak, the phone will feature an in-display fingerprint sensor, but the smaller Mate 20 will still have a fingerprint sensor located on the back of the phone. Huawei’s also touting the capabilities of the Mate 20 Pro’s 3D Face Unlock feature which it claims will be 50% faster than Apple’s Face Unlock.
The most interesting slide in the presentation is the new Bone Voice ID feature which will allow users to use their voice to unlock the phone. In combination with proprietary headphones, the phone would be able to validate the user’s voice through bone conduction. We’re not sure how secure this new security feature will be, but it’s exciting to see a new option being thrown into the mix.
Huawei’s Desktop Mode which allows you to use the phone as a desktop computer by simply connecting it to an external monitor with a USB-C to HDMI cable appears to be getting a wireless upgrade. It’s not clear if Huawei will the feature would require a proprietary dongle of if it would be compatible with some of the wireless display technologies like WiDi. Therese’s also a reference to Nano SD card support. Huawei’s devices would feature support up to 256GB cards, allowing them to save space on the inside of the phones.
Last but not least is the price points of the two devices. The Huawei Mate 20 Pro will sell for NIS 4,000 ($1,108), and the smaller Mate 20 will have a sticker price of NIS 3,000 ($831).
Our Take
We have to admit that there’s a lot to digest in this latest leak. The first half is pretty underwhelming with specs that most of us were expecting. But things get a little questionable halfway through once the Bone Voice ID, Wireless Desktop Mode and Nano SD card details are introduced, butting the whole leak into question.
While some of the slides look like they could come directly from Huawei, more than a few of them look like they were hacked together with images from the web and other phone presentation slides. And you’ll also notice that the phone images used in the slide don’t look like the Mate 20 Pro leaks we’ve recently seen.
The Bone Voice ID feature sounds pretty intriguing, but the graphics on the slide are sketchy at best. The image of the ear canal and voice waves appear to be pulled directly from the web with no real explanation as to how the feature actually works.
A Wireless Desktop Mode is totally feasible, so we have no issues with that detail, but the Nano SD card support is quite preposterous. Nano SD cards simply aren’t a thing. MicroSD cards are already incredibly small, so there’s really not much to gain by introducing a new smaller format. If you do a web search for Nano SD, you won’t find any references for the card format or news articles about when it is expected to come out.
Based on what we know about the Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro, we’re inclined only to believe the first half of this leak. It would be amazing if Huawei introduced the other features when the two devices are unveiled in October, but we won’t be surprised if we never hear about them again.
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