Huawei unveils MWC product portfolio led by €2,500 5G smartphone
Chinese tech giant unveils 5G smartphones, tablets, chipsets, AI, Wi-Fi 6, routers, chipsets and cameras that it was set to announce at the cancelled Mobile World Congress
Following the cancellation of MWC 2020, Huawei has unveiled the comms products and services it had pencilled in to reveal at the show, with artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G very much to the fore.
Key products announced include the Huawei Mate Xs, an evolution of the foldable smartphone, available at a suggested retail price of €2,499; the Huawei MatePad Pro 5G flagship tablet; the Huawei Wi-Fi AX3 and Huawei 5G CPE Pro 2, two Wi-Fi 6+ enabled connectivity products; new additions to the Huawei MateBook flagship laptop series; and Huawei AppGallery, the company’s official mobile services-based app marketplace.
The Mate Xs is considered to be Huawei’s most high-end device to date and is based on the Kirin 990 5G system on chip (SoC) and an improved Falcon Wing design, offering smartphone and tablet modes.
The Kirin 990 5G SoC includes an integrated 5G modem and supports 2G, 3G and 4G, as well as 5G NSA and SA. The SoC is said to support the full 5G spectrum and 5G+4G dual SIM dual standby.
First deployed on the Huawei Mate X, the Falcon Wing design has more than 100 interlocking parts to reinforce the display while delivering a user experience across the two modes. It delivers a true FullView experience with an 8in outwards-folding display enabled by a new mechanical hinge design. Made with a zirconium-based liquid metal, the upgraded hinge is said to be much more durable, facilitating a full 180-degree fold.
The Huawei Mate Xs has a flexible display with a two-layer polymer structure. The foldable display is made using a Huawei-pioneered technique adhering two layers of aerospace-grade polyimide with an optically clear adhesive. The material is claimed to allow the display to produce great image quality, colour saturation and brightness while retaining a high degree of durability.
Graphics processing is handled by the 16-core Mali-G76 GPU, to date the most powerful GPU on Huawei handsets, while AI capability is supported by an NPU built on Huawei’s Da Vinci architecture.
The Huawei Mate Xs runs on the EMUI10.0.1 Android Open Source Project-based operating system, which supports a multiscreen collaboration feature developed to break down the boundaries between Windows and Android devices, allowing users to transfer files between the Huawei Mate Xs and a Huawei MateBook, as well as control two systems from a single display.
The company’s MateBook line has also seen enhancements, including 3:2 aspect ratio for the flagship 13.9in Ultra FullView display. This is said to achieve a 91% screen-to-body ratio and its unconventional form is claimed to be more suited for productivity and content creation compared with mainstream widescreens.
The display’s LTPS panel supports up to 3K resolution (3,000x2,000) and 100% of the RGB colour gamut. It also supports 10-point multi-touch and fingers gesture screenshot to give users a new, more intuitive way to interface with their devices.
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The Wi-Fi 6 Gigahome 650 and Kirin W650 chipsets are designed to power next-generation connectivity on routers and smartphones, respectively. The new Huawei WiFi AX3 Series is equipped with the Gigahome 650 chipset, which enables it to support dual-band dual-concurrent (DBDC) operations at speeds of up to 3000Mbps.
When used in conjunction with a Huawei device that also supports Wi-Fi 6+, Huawei WiFi AX3 routers are said to be able to deliver better signal coverage and speeds exceeding that of Wi-Fi 6 routers. Huawei developed Wi-Fi 6+ based on the Wi-Fi 6 standard and its compatible devices support 2.4GHz and 5GHz DBDC data transfer. The company says its technology results in “vastly improved” Wi-Fi speeds and signal coverage.
The routers form bridges in Huawei’s 1+8+N ecosystem, which is designed to provide a secure, intuitive, smart and high-speed connected experience. “The 1+8+N all-scenario hardware ecosystem and the all-scenario service ecosystem not only established a standard for user privacy and security, but also delivers a high-quality experience to consumers around the world,” said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei’s consumer business group.
“Huawei is fully committed to the all-scenario seamless AI life strategy. We will continue investing into our edge technologies, including chipsets, 5G communications, mobile AI, operating systems, cameras and audio-visual solutions.”
