The Nutshell: Huawei's flagship Mate 30 smartphone is set to launch later this week. Thanks to recently leaked photos, we now know what it will look like and that users can choose from four options for the device.
Reliable leaker Evan Blass posted the images on Twitter this morning. They indicated that there will be a high-end Mate 30 Pro, the standard Mate 30, a budget Mate 30 Lite and a Mate 30 Porsche Design.
As we previously reported, Huawei is expected to use its Kirin 990 SoC for the standard Mate 30 and Pro. The new chip supports 5G. The 5G indicator is clearly visible on one of the pictures seeming to confirm this. Two signal strenth icons are also seen indicating dual-SIM capability.
The images show that the Pro version of the phone will have a "waterfall screen" similar to the Oppo prototype reported on back in July. The high-end model also shows a large camera module on the back with four sensors. The sensor array sits in a circular beveled cutout on the back casing.
The standard Mate 30 is similar to the Pro but does not have the curved screen. Both models have a small notch for the front-facing camera and sensors.
The Mate 30 Lite breaks away from the flagship design in a few ways. The selfie camera will be behind a hole punch in the screen instead of a notch. The camera array on the rear will be square and slightly raised. It will also have a fingerprint sensor just below the camera. Blass said that the Lite version will be the same as the Nova 5i Pro, having the less powerful Kirin 810 SoC.
Lastly, Huawei will be releasing a Porsche Design version of the Mate 30 Pro. Instead of the beveled cutout on the back of the case, the camera sensors will be under a flat rectangular strip of glass. The back will feature a leather or faux-leather covering that comes in either red or black as well. It will also have the waterfall screen just like the regular Pro version.
Google recently announced that Huawei devices, including the Mate 30 line, will not launch with official Google apps due to the US ban against the company. This also means no access to the Google Play store, which could be a deal-breaker outside of China.
As with all leaks, take this one with a grain of salt. However, we don't have long to confirm if it is legit. The Mate 30 line launches on Thursday, September 19.
