Huawei has already confirmed that its new P40 series phones will be unveiled next March in Paris, France, revealing that we’re in for a never-before-seen design for the new handset. That’s a wild claim considering that you can’t really do much more with phone design nowadays. Foldable phones are already a thing, and the first prototypes of devices that feature in-display cameras were revealed months ago — the latter is the holy grail we need for perfect all-screen designs. Huawei didn’t explain what design novelties it has in mind for the upcoming P40 series, but the phone seemingly just leaked and we might have an answer for you.
From the looks of the following renders that come via the same @OnLeaks and 91Mobiles partnership that gave us other mobile leaks recently, Huawei intends to curve the P40’s screen on all four sides.
So… Here comes your very first and rather early glimpse at the #HuaweiP40 and #HuaweiP40Pro in form of gorgeous 5K renders! Once again, on behalf of my Friends over @91mobiles -> https://t.co/2SN4aAstJI pic.twitter.com/kuDnSSyc0F
— Steve H.McFly (@OnLeaks) December 18, 2019
At least the P40 Pro flagship version will apparently feature four curved edges on the display. As a result, the corners of the phone will stand out because they’ll be notched, as seen in the following image.
The P40 Pro is expected to feature a glass sandwich design — that’s a metal frame situated between two sheets of glass, one on the front covering the display, and one on the back. The display design makes sense considering other reports claimed this might be the next evolution in smartphone screen design. However, it’s unclear how Huawei will handle the selfie camera.
Curving the top and bottom edges of the screen will help smartphone makers kill the top and bottom bezels, which is the primary purpose of the lateral screen edges. But placing any sort of notch at the top might ruin the design. The report says the phones will feature 2mm holes at the top edge, without explaining the role of the holes. We might be looking at a hole-punch camera, the likes of which we’ve seen on Samsung and Huawei phones this year, with the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 being popular devices that sport such screen designs. A hole-punch camera would definitely work better with a curved edge at the top than a notch.
The phones will also feature in-display fingerprint sensors, according to 91 mobiles.
These renders aren’t enough to clarify what will happen to the selfie camera, but they do suggest the P40 phones will have large rectangular camera modules on the back. The regular P40 might sport four rear cameras, with the Pro getting as many as five lenses on the back.
The report mentions some of the specs of the P40 series, saying the regular model will feature a 6.1-inch or 6.2-inch flat display, while the P40 Pro is getting the unique design above with the screen measuring 6.5 inches or 6.7 inches. The phones will have USB-C connectivity on the bottom, but there’s no 3.5mm audio jack in the cards for the P40 series.
