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New leak shows the hottest iPhone XS rival of the year

Published Sep 3rd, 2018 10:19AM EDT
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Image: John Locher/AP/REX/Shutterstock

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It’s September already, which means we’re about to see a bunch of new smartphones hit stores, including the upcoming iPhones as well as a few exciting Android handsets. As previous leaks have already shown, the iPhone XS phones will only have one real rival this year, but you’ll have a hard time buying one when it launches in the coming months. And now we have more leaks that suggest the phone is very much worthy of your attention.

Huawei will unveil the iPhone XS equivalents of the Mate 20 series in October, the company confirmed last week when it announced the first 7nm chip to power an Android phone. That’s the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro, which will follow the Mate 20 Lite that was already launched.

Other than the three iPhone models that Apple is about to launch, the premium Mate 20 phones will be the only ones to rock 7nm chips this year. From Huawei’s presentation, we already know that the Kirin 980 chip should be even faster than the Snapdragon 845 that powers Samsung’s Note 9, the Google’s Pixel 3 phones, and the OnePlus 6. That’s why the Mate 20, and especially the Pro version, are the only real iPhone XS rivals that we’re getting this year.

US-based Android users will have a harder time getting a Mate 20 Pro because carriers are still banned from selling Huawei devices. So you’ll have to pay full price for the handset and get it from an online store like Amazon when the phone launches. That’s not ideal, given that the phone will likely cost about as much as the iPhone XS. But the Huawei Mate 20 Pro does sound pretty exciting, especially considering this brand new leak. A Redditor found the following images on Weibo from a source who shared similar spy photos of Huawei’s P20 series. However, the original Weibo source is no longer available.

The three images show the front and back design of the Mate 20 Pro, as well as the rear design of the Mate 20.

Here’s the Mate 20 first:

Image source: Reddit

The phone is rumored to have a teardrop notch on the front that will house a single-lens camera. On the back, we have a triple-lens cam and a fingerprint sensor.

And now, check out the Mate 20 Pro:

Image source: Reddit

This is the more interesting of the three Mate 20 phones, featuring an iPhone X-like notch complete with 3D face recognition just like the iPhone X. The display has a curved edge design like the Galaxy S and Note flagships, and this model features an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Image source: Reddit

On the back, you’ll notice the triple-lens camera setup that looks just like the Mate 20’s. But there’s no rear-facing fingerprint sensor in this phone, of course. A few days ago, Spanish blog Teknofilo caught the Mate 20 Pro in use at IFA 2018. At least, the back of the device in the following images looks a lot like the Mate 20 Pro above.

Image source: Teknofilo
Image source: Teknofilo
Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.