When the Pixel 3 launches in October, we’ll add Google to the growing list of Android device makers who copied Apple’s iPhone X design this year.
But the Pixel 3 isn’t the only hot new Android device supposed to launch this year, as we’ve got two more incoming flagships this year. They’re both from China — that’s the OnePlus 6T and the Mate 20 — but only one of them will offer specs that are unlike any other 2018 Android flagships.
That’s Huawei’s phone, which should soon become the first Android handset to pack a 7nm chip, and it’ll all happen well before Samsung’s Galaxy S10 drops. Apple’s 2018 iPhones will be the only other smartphones to feature 7nm chips this year.
We saw a variety of Huawei Mate 20 leaks in the previous days, which revealed the phone will come in three versions just like the P20 series, including Lite, regular, and Pro.
The best Mate 20 version is expected to offers users high-end features like a fingerprint sensor under the screen, Face ID-like authentication, a triple-lens rear camera, and a 4,200 mAh battery, according to some reports.
Previous leaks revealed the phone will look a lot like the iPhone X, featuring a large notch at the top. But Huawei’s phone will still have a bezel at the bottom, just like every iPhone X clone out there. The iPhone X, of course, doesn’t have a chin.
A new report from xda-developers now brings an unexpected Mate 20 twist. The site claims it had access to photos of an engineering sample of the device, and created renders based on the leaked images.
The same site had access to the leaked firmware of the Mate 20, which revealed plenty of the phone’s features.
What’s puzzling about these renders is that they show a phone that has a tiny notch, one that reminds us of the Essential Phone’s design. Here’s how it looks like:
If this design is accurate, then it means the Mate 20 won’t have 3D facial recognition like the iPhone X. You need a more prominent top bezel to house all the components that make Face ID possible.
The renders also reveal the phone will have a 3.5mm headphone jack, as well as stereo speakers. If there’s one thing interesting about the Mate 20’s notch is the placement of the speaker, check it out:
On the back, the Mate 20 will have a triple-lens cam, and xda has this render up, which shows a rather peculiar way of arranging those cams — not that it’s wrong or anything like that:
On the other hand, if these Huawei leaks seem confusing, that’s because the same thing happened earlier this year before the P20 series was unveiled. Not all three P20 or Mate 20 phones have the same set of specs and features, and leaks don’t always get things right.
Huawei is expected to launch the Mate 20 phones in October, although the 7nm Kirin 980 chip that will power it should be unveiled soon, at the IFA 2018 event in Germany.
